(C) 2015
It all began with a gamble. No one knew how this project would turn out in the end. An amateur film team with a director who hadn’t even had proper training in film. They had made a few small films in the past but none of this seemed like it could lead up to a huge production such as this!
It all began with a gamble. No one knew how this project would turn out in the end. An amateur film team with a director who hadn’t even had proper training in film. They had made a few small films in the past but none of this seemed like it could lead up to a huge production such as this!
Peter Jackson started filming when he was just a child using his parent’s camera to make various little fantasy videos. When he got into his teenage years most of those videos consisted of blowing up models he had constructed. But his desire to become a real filmmaker all really took off when he saved enough and got a video camera of his own.
His first amateur feature film that he directed was Bad Taste, and although it was only a home movie really it enabled Peter to become a full-time filmmaker.
The films Peter Jackson made previous to The Lord of the Rings were: Meet the Feebles, Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, and The Frighteners. Although these films were based around the movies he liked watching when he was young, such as horror type and zombies and stuff. Peter admits he feels strongly about the character and story of the film. Which ultimately leads up to the great story and legend which is The Lord of the Rings.
Peter began the process of making The Lord of the Rings in 1995 by collaborating with his wife and fellow film writer Fran Walsh along with screenwriter Phillipa Boyens. They began the idea with the film producers known as Miramax, and it began with one script for the whole of the novel trilogy. It was soon realized that there was no way they could fit a story over 1,000 pages long into an hour and a half film. So they decided to make it into two scripts--two films.
The scripts were written but not completely satisfied and determined to do the books and stories justice Peter decided to join on with New Line Cinema. It was with them Peter was allowed to write three scripts--for three films.
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
and, The Return of the King.
They were on their way to making these films a reality.
By this time almost everything was in place, they would shoot both on locations around the great two islands of New Zealand and a film studio which not long before was an abandoned paint factory.
It was now time for one of the most crucial moments of the entire process: casting the characters. Casting the people of Middle-earth mind you was no easy task, by casting this film wrong--or any film for that matter--you could kill a movie. The search was difficult but paid off in the end.
Finding the main character of Frodo was no easy task. Peter felt it to be right to cast British actors as the hobbits. Since the evident english way in which the hobbits behave and how they were written. Although after auditioning many british actors, a Frodo simply couldn’t be found. It wasn’t too long after that Peter came upon young American actor; Elijah Wood.
Elijah was asked to audition, but he didn’t feel right just doing it in a white room with a script in his hand. So after he had rented a costume he took a couple of friends up on location in the mountains in LA California and was recorded as he acted out a few scenes. The tapes were sent to Peter Jackson and he loved them, and he was instantly cast as Frodo. The director admits he cannot see any other actor playing the part, Elijah was simply perfect.
As it turned out only one of the Hobbits ended up being an English actor; Ian Holm who played the elderly Bilbo. Sean Astin who was also American played Frodo’s right hand gardener and unshakeable companion; Samwise Gamgee.
Billy Boyd, a Scottish actor who later in the project would show his remarkable ability to sing played the young free-spirited Peregrin Took, also known as Pippin.
Dominic Mohagan a German born actor who was relatively new to the screen played the more mature but equally mischievous cousin to Pippin—Meriadoc Brandybuck more commonly known as; Merry.
The casting process for the character of Aragorn had it’s troubles. They had already cast the four hobbits and had cast an actor for Aragorn, but it was realized they had cast the role a little too young. It was at this point Peter called up actor Viggo Mortensen who he thought would be perfect for the role.
When Viggo got the call about the part he asked if he could think about it. Viggo’s son Henry who was about 11 or 12 at the time knew The Lord of the Rings from front to back and was a huge fan. The prospect that his dad could play Aragorn was outstanding to him. So Viggo decided to take the part and was flown to New Zealand shortly after.
Compared to finding the right actors for humans and Hobbits, elves pose a far greater challenge. Not only do they have to look ageless, noble and graceful but they also have to give a performance that you totally believe they are an elf.
Casting the role for the elven member of the Fellowship—Legolas posed just as much of a challenge as any of the other characters.
Young Actor Orlando Bloom who was still in Drama school when he heard about The Lord of the Rings project decided to audition. He originally auditioned for the role of Faramir, Boromir’s younger brother who would not appear until the second film. But when Peter saw his audition he liked it so much that he thought Orlando may not be the right actor for Faramir but possibly for the role of Legolas. He was asked to audition again, but this time for the role of the elven Prince Legolas. Orlando got the part and was flown in to New Zealand from his home in London.
One of the most magical moments during the casting process would probably when Ian McKellen—an older british actor—was cast as the legendary wizard: Gandalf the Grey. He met with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and they told him their vision for the the Gandalf they wanted to bring to the screen. Ian, pleased with their vision joined the cast and gave them the Gandalf that they had always dreamed of.
With the characters cast and the filming process underway, the films were finally becoming real. One by one the cast was flown into the beautiful landscape in which they would spend the next two years of their life. None of cast had never met each other or even worked together before, so it was a scary moment when they all got to New Zealand to meet for the first time. When the four actors who were going to play the hobbits met, they instantly bonded and the fact that they became so close made the process of filming both easier and more enjoyable.
Life truly did imitate art in the case of Sean and Elijah, who played best friends; Sam and Frodo. Sean appointed himself to watch over Elijah as a ‘big brother’ figure during the course of the filming.
So too did actors Viggo and Orlando bond during the filming, since a majority of their filming time was together. Orlando says he looked up to and learned a great deal from Viggo. Who not only had been acting for some time but was exceptional at it.
The remaining two hobbits, played by Dominic and Billy also spent a great deal of time together on and off the set and were natural comedy team. Putting them together as Merry and Pippin added a great deal of lightness and innocence to the dark tone of the three films.
And so it turned out that the perfect actors had been cast, they were getting along and were each magnificent and extremely talented. Not to mention strong and hearty due to the troubles and extremes they faced while filming. Surely not many of them knew what kind of adventure they were embarking on when they arrived in the lush country of New Zealand. And so the Fellowship began, both on film and reality.
Even as the films were being shot, the scripts were constantly being re-written. Over…and over again. It was not unusual for a cast member to get at least one re-write every day.
Actor John Rys-Davies who plays the dwarven member of the Fellowship; Gimli, says that he has file-folder boxes full of script re-writes, and admits that he hasn’t even looked at most of them because a new script would come in only hours after he had just received one.
Through the course of the two years there wasn’t a day when someone didn’t get a new script re-write. But it was all worth it, and in the end, not only did the actors get to work on their quick-memorizing skills. But also the film adaptation slowly became what Peter and his fellow writers Phillipa and Fran were envisioning to bring this great tale to life.
Weta Workshop began back when Peter was still making some of his first films. It is actually named after a giant native New Zealand cricket which is the largest in the world, and quite scary to boot. Richard Taylor, along with his wife; Tanya head the workshop.
Weta consists of artists, both young and old who design, build, mould, sculpt, paint, bake and make everything you see on film. From the delicate gelatin ears the actors who play elves wear to the hardy intricate epic armor for ever single race in Middle-earth. The chain mail suits and shirts were actually hand-made by two men who in the process rubbed off some of their fingerprints in the process.
Every item Weta makes is to the utmost realism, so as an actor is putting on his or her costume, or donning their weapon they actually feel like they’re that character and it just helps to drive and feed their already trained and toned performance.
Due to the massive scale of the project, massive miniatures of various sets that simply could not be built in real life such as Minas Tirith and Helms Deep. These large structures were built with exceptional detail and skill and many were several feet high, and one ‘miniature’ towered 20 feet in the air. Since the structures had such massive scale they eventually nicknamed ‘bigatures’ because, really it fit.
To the wonderful surprise and delight of Weta Workshop they actually found a real sword smith in the two islands of New Zealand. He made real swords for re-enactments in the country and was glad to help out with the project. There were a few different types of each weapon made: The hero version was the real, heavy-weight weapons made from real steel that were used mostly in close-ups and photo shoots. There was the light-weight version that was used for battle scenes. And there was the stunt version made from rubber so the actors and stunt people wouldn’t get too hurt in large-scale chaotic battles.
Not only does Weta make the physical, real props, costumes, prosthetics and weapons for the actors and stunt crew. They also have a digital department where their animators make the digital charters come to life; such as the pivotal character of Gollum. Weta Digital also brought to life the various monsters and even digital doubles for each of the characters. These ‘doubles’ were used when the actors either were unable to actually physically do something or when large-scale shots were needed. Not only did were the digital achievements substantial and like nothing no one had ever seen on screen at that point in time. But it also led the way for other monumental digital achievements in the world of film.
Heading the design department, was Alan Lee and John Howe two exceptional artists who had been bringing the world of J.R.R Tolkien to life through their various paintings and drawings throughout the many years. Both men had illustrated many prints of the The Lord of the Rings, and Peter; who was a huge admirer of their work said that their artwork was a huge influence of the design of the entire three films.
The ultimate design for every aspect of The Lord of the Rings took many tries and re-tries. There were countless drawings and sculptures. Dozens of artists from the native country of New Zealand and also some from other countries as well participated in Weta Workshop’s pursuit to give the true authentic feel to the design of The Lord of the Rings. And with the help off all of the people participating on the project, the goal was eventually reached.
The beginning of filming on The Lord of the Rings began in the summer 1999. It had been over four years since the process had begun and slowly but surely it was becoming real. The actors were in their costumes and reading over their lines hoping they wouldn’t get a script re-write after practicing the script they had. And the journey begun!
Over the two-year period of time the cast was in New Zealand the films were shot on various locations, studios, squash courts, tin sheds, and warehouses. Since Stone Street Studios the studio which had once been an abandoned paint factory had some fixing up to do. Along with the fact that when they were on location for a shoot but then the weather went bad and they couldn’t shoot any more. So then they needed to do a scene that they had to build on a set inside and when they were a thousand or so miles from the studio. It gets a little complicated.
The crew and cast of The Lord of the Rings built sets and filmed scenes in warehouses civilians owned, to a hotel’s squash court.
All in all, it was huge project to overcome and an epic task to take on. Every department had to do their job and every job had a purpose. From lighting to design, and from acting to catering. And when everyone did their job and had fun, the stress of the whole of the task began lighter.
Another big job was the location scouting for the film. Peter and his team took all the advantage they could out of the epic, beautiful landscape which makes up the two islands of New Zealand.
The location for Hobbiton, where the hobbits mainly live, was one of the first locations chosen for the film and it was beyond what anyone dreamed they would find. Being practically identical to the Hobbiton described in the book, it was amazing that they found it.
The location itself: Matamata, was farmland owned by a local farmer. The farmer agreed to let Peter and his crew build and film there. It took a building crew a while before the set was ready to film on. Not only did they have to create over 30 separate hobbit holes in the hills of the land. But they also had to build Bag End itself on the top hill of the land, the home in which Bilbo Baggins himself lives. Along with a Hobbit-town and a bridge that went across the lake. Unfortunately all the materials that were used to build the sets were deterrable and had to be taken down after filming. But in later years when Peter would come back to film The Hobbit, Hobbiton would be built permanently in the rolling green hills, lasting for years to come.
Another location was Paradise, a forest that was used for filming both the Golden Wood of Lothlórien—an Elven paradise. And Amon Hen, a site in Middle-earth where the Fellowship fought the band of Uruk-Hai sent to hunt them down.
Many other locations were scouted and chosen, and those that were and weren’t used were both kept in mind for when Peter and his crew would come back over ten years later to film The Hobbit.
Many sets both small and massive were built to film on. From foam rocks in front of a blue screen to the huge set of Helms Deep. The Helms Deep set was built in a large rock quarry, where a building team took months to build it. Of course the fortress could not be built from actual rock, the set was mostly composed of wood frames and polystyrene but there was a fair amount of concrete so as the structure would hold. The large set of the city of Minas Tirith was built with the same materials as well and in the same quarry when the filming for Helms Deep was completed. Both of these sets were not built to their actual scale that they would be in real life. But enough was built for the various scenes and battles for the films.
Shooting on location was perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the project, as well as being the most difficult. There were times when only a small crew was taken to location. Such as the more remote areas like the high volcano where many Frodo and Sam scenes were shot. Then there were the times when the large crew was taken to a location, such as the plains area where the Warg battle was shot, along with the location for the camp of Dunharrow.
One of the most interesting and challenging shots on location was the scenes of the battle before the Black Gates of Mordor. Since there are very few ‘desert-like’ areas in the green lush land of New Zealand it was not only difficult to find a location. But when one was found, it turned out to be where the New Zealand military trained and tested bombs and such.
Peter asked the military if he and his crew could shoot there, because it was really the only location in the country where they could shoot the scenes. The military agreed but fair warned the crew and cast to be wary of where they stepped. Because due to all the bombs they had dropped there, there were many that were hidden and hard to find. Thankfully many of the bombs were cleared out but still some remained.
None the less Peter and his team of cast and crew got the shots, and despite the battle scenes filmed there with all the yelling and running around and tussling, no one was blown up. And this was just one of the many risks the team took to make theses films.
Many other adventures took place during the shoot. There was many locations that were only accessible by helicopter, and while Sean Bean was on the project-the actor who plays the character of Boromir-it was well known he did not like riding in helicopters. It went so far as to the actor climbing up a mountain to get to the set instead of riding in the helicopter.
There was no guarantee no one wasn’t going to get hurt on the film. One of the first incidents that took place when the team was filming the scene where Sam rushes out to Frodo while he is in a boat in the river. The water Sean Astin would be running into was not only cold but when he rushed in, a jagged piece of glass impaled his foot. He was taken to the hospital and got it stitched up, and was back on set the very next day ready for filming.
One of the next injuries was taken by Orlando Bloom. While filming the Warg battle, he fell off his horse and the scale double of Gimli fell onto of him and broke one of his ribs. Even while it was healing he went on filming, and thankfully it didn’t take too long before he was completely better.
Viggo Mortenson, who plays Aragorn, suffered two breaks while filming. The first was when he broke his big toe on one of his feet while kicking an orc helmet for the fifth time. The next was when he took a whack to his mouth while filming the Helms Deep battle which broke the front off one of his front teeth. Viggo was taken to the dentist where his tooth was successfully fixed.
The least serious and possibly the most silly incident was when the four hobbits were running across a wooden bridge to get to the Buckleberry Ferry. Dominic Monaghan, who plays the hobbit, Merry, got a splinter in one of his feet. He was sure it was going to be a whopper of a splinter because of how much it hurt. But it turned out to be only a tiny thing.
Possibly one of the most painful shoots was the scenes where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were pursing the Uruk-Hai who had taken Merry and Pippin through the Rohan plains. The three actors in the shots were all not doing so well at all to be running as much as they did. Viggo-Aragorn-had a broken toe. Orlando-Legolas-had a cracked rib. And Bret-who was the Gimli scale double-had a dislocated knee. Peter called them the walking wounded and tried to keep the shots as short and as few as possible. But to everyone’s relief they got the shots they needed.
With all the work the team of The Lord of the Rings had done in the past two years it looked as if it was finally paying off. December of 2001 was the release of the first film in the trilogy--The Fellowship of the Ring. The film turned out with a greater response from both audience and critics than anyone thought possible. It was one of the most highest ranking films of the year.
Following the next year in December of 2002 was the second installment: The Two Towers. There were many moments when Peter and his team were frightened that the second film would not do as good as the first. As it turned out, it did even better. Everyone was wild for it and the premieres were packed.
Concluding the trilogy in December of 2003; was the final installment: The Return of the King. And it came as a huge and wonderful surprise when this third film was received in the amazing way it was. At the Oscars, The Return of the King won every single award the Oscars could offer. It is possible that is the only time that has ever happened for a single film.
It seemed as if The Lord of the Rings led the way into the 20th century of modern filmmaking, with all that it accomplished and showed the world.
No one realized at the end of the shoot of The Lord of the Rings, that most all of them would be coming back for pickups for the films. So three years after the team had parted for what seemed like forever, in early of 2003 they all came back together to spend a few more months together shooting scenes for all three films. What was shot was primarily for the extended editions of the films, but also for The Return of the King which had yet to be released.
Each moment was treasured and counted, and when the end was drawing near everyone had a heavy heart. After all, many of the team had worked on the films for more than three years, and when you’ve been together on a project for that long you tend to grow close to those around you. Many of both the crew and cast formed friendships that would last a lifetime.
As the actors left for there homes in the final moments in 2003, they were each given a memorabilia from their character’s costume or weapons. Elijah Wood was given his sword—Sting, along with his last pair of Hobbit feet and a One Ring, Andy Serkis, the actor who played the creature Gollum was also given a One Ring as was appropriate for his character. Viggo received his sword, the one Araogrn wielded throughout the films. Liv Tyler-the actress who played Arwen the elf-was given one of the beautiful dresses her character wore. Orlando was given his Elven Lothlórien bow, and Sean Astin was given the large pack his character Sam lugs around for most of the entire trilogy. More gifts were given, as were hugs and tears. No one knew when they may see each other again after parting on the day of the final shots.
Elijah, was the last to leave, and that day while shooting Frodo’s final shots Peter had no desire to stop. When the shoot finally did finish the actor and director shared a long tearful hug and farewell.
It was hard to believe the journey had been nearly completed, and even though the road had been tough, even though pain had been endured. Joy had been felt as well, along with friendship and love. And in that way…the Fellowship became a reality, and even though they would be forever bonded by friendship and love, the Fellowship had ended.
But Peter along with many others would return over a decade later to join again to film in the wonderful realm of Middle-earth.
The End
Information credits:
The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Appendices
The Lord of the Rings Official Movie guide—By Brain Sibley
The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie trilogy—By Brain Sibley
His first amateur feature film that he directed was Bad Taste, and although it was only a home movie really it enabled Peter to become a full-time filmmaker.
The films Peter Jackson made previous to The Lord of the Rings were: Meet the Feebles, Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, and The Frighteners. Although these films were based around the movies he liked watching when he was young, such as horror type and zombies and stuff. Peter admits he feels strongly about the character and story of the film. Which ultimately leads up to the great story and legend which is The Lord of the Rings.
Peter began the process of making The Lord of the Rings in 1995 by collaborating with his wife and fellow film writer Fran Walsh along with screenwriter Phillipa Boyens. They began the idea with the film producers known as Miramax, and it began with one script for the whole of the novel trilogy. It was soon realized that there was no way they could fit a story over 1,000 pages long into an hour and a half film. So they decided to make it into two scripts--two films.
The scripts were written but not completely satisfied and determined to do the books and stories justice Peter decided to join on with New Line Cinema. It was with them Peter was allowed to write three scripts--for three films.
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
and, The Return of the King.
They were on their way to making these films a reality.
By this time almost everything was in place, they would shoot both on locations around the great two islands of New Zealand and a film studio which not long before was an abandoned paint factory.
It was now time for one of the most crucial moments of the entire process: casting the characters. Casting the people of Middle-earth mind you was no easy task, by casting this film wrong--or any film for that matter--you could kill a movie. The search was difficult but paid off in the end.
Finding the main character of Frodo was no easy task. Peter felt it to be right to cast British actors as the hobbits. Since the evident english way in which the hobbits behave and how they were written. Although after auditioning many british actors, a Frodo simply couldn’t be found. It wasn’t too long after that Peter came upon young American actor; Elijah Wood.
Elijah was asked to audition, but he didn’t feel right just doing it in a white room with a script in his hand. So after he had rented a costume he took a couple of friends up on location in the mountains in LA California and was recorded as he acted out a few scenes. The tapes were sent to Peter Jackson and he loved them, and he was instantly cast as Frodo. The director admits he cannot see any other actor playing the part, Elijah was simply perfect.
As it turned out only one of the Hobbits ended up being an English actor; Ian Holm who played the elderly Bilbo. Sean Astin who was also American played Frodo’s right hand gardener and unshakeable companion; Samwise Gamgee.
Billy Boyd, a Scottish actor who later in the project would show his remarkable ability to sing played the young free-spirited Peregrin Took, also known as Pippin.
Dominic Mohagan a German born actor who was relatively new to the screen played the more mature but equally mischievous cousin to Pippin—Meriadoc Brandybuck more commonly known as; Merry.
The casting process for the character of Aragorn had it’s troubles. They had already cast the four hobbits and had cast an actor for Aragorn, but it was realized they had cast the role a little too young. It was at this point Peter called up actor Viggo Mortensen who he thought would be perfect for the role.
When Viggo got the call about the part he asked if he could think about it. Viggo’s son Henry who was about 11 or 12 at the time knew The Lord of the Rings from front to back and was a huge fan. The prospect that his dad could play Aragorn was outstanding to him. So Viggo decided to take the part and was flown to New Zealand shortly after.
Compared to finding the right actors for humans and Hobbits, elves pose a far greater challenge. Not only do they have to look ageless, noble and graceful but they also have to give a performance that you totally believe they are an elf.
Casting the role for the elven member of the Fellowship—Legolas posed just as much of a challenge as any of the other characters.
Young Actor Orlando Bloom who was still in Drama school when he heard about The Lord of the Rings project decided to audition. He originally auditioned for the role of Faramir, Boromir’s younger brother who would not appear until the second film. But when Peter saw his audition he liked it so much that he thought Orlando may not be the right actor for Faramir but possibly for the role of Legolas. He was asked to audition again, but this time for the role of the elven Prince Legolas. Orlando got the part and was flown in to New Zealand from his home in London.
One of the most magical moments during the casting process would probably when Ian McKellen—an older british actor—was cast as the legendary wizard: Gandalf the Grey. He met with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and they told him their vision for the the Gandalf they wanted to bring to the screen. Ian, pleased with their vision joined the cast and gave them the Gandalf that they had always dreamed of.
With the characters cast and the filming process underway, the films were finally becoming real. One by one the cast was flown into the beautiful landscape in which they would spend the next two years of their life. None of cast had never met each other or even worked together before, so it was a scary moment when they all got to New Zealand to meet for the first time. When the four actors who were going to play the hobbits met, they instantly bonded and the fact that they became so close made the process of filming both easier and more enjoyable.
Life truly did imitate art in the case of Sean and Elijah, who played best friends; Sam and Frodo. Sean appointed himself to watch over Elijah as a ‘big brother’ figure during the course of the filming.
So too did actors Viggo and Orlando bond during the filming, since a majority of their filming time was together. Orlando says he looked up to and learned a great deal from Viggo. Who not only had been acting for some time but was exceptional at it.
The remaining two hobbits, played by Dominic and Billy also spent a great deal of time together on and off the set and were natural comedy team. Putting them together as Merry and Pippin added a great deal of lightness and innocence to the dark tone of the three films.
And so it turned out that the perfect actors had been cast, they were getting along and were each magnificent and extremely talented. Not to mention strong and hearty due to the troubles and extremes they faced while filming. Surely not many of them knew what kind of adventure they were embarking on when they arrived in the lush country of New Zealand. And so the Fellowship began, both on film and reality.
Even as the films were being shot, the scripts were constantly being re-written. Over…and over again. It was not unusual for a cast member to get at least one re-write every day.
Actor John Rys-Davies who plays the dwarven member of the Fellowship; Gimli, says that he has file-folder boxes full of script re-writes, and admits that he hasn’t even looked at most of them because a new script would come in only hours after he had just received one.
Through the course of the two years there wasn’t a day when someone didn’t get a new script re-write. But it was all worth it, and in the end, not only did the actors get to work on their quick-memorizing skills. But also the film adaptation slowly became what Peter and his fellow writers Phillipa and Fran were envisioning to bring this great tale to life.
Weta Workshop began back when Peter was still making some of his first films. It is actually named after a giant native New Zealand cricket which is the largest in the world, and quite scary to boot. Richard Taylor, along with his wife; Tanya head the workshop.
Weta consists of artists, both young and old who design, build, mould, sculpt, paint, bake and make everything you see on film. From the delicate gelatin ears the actors who play elves wear to the hardy intricate epic armor for ever single race in Middle-earth. The chain mail suits and shirts were actually hand-made by two men who in the process rubbed off some of their fingerprints in the process.
Every item Weta makes is to the utmost realism, so as an actor is putting on his or her costume, or donning their weapon they actually feel like they’re that character and it just helps to drive and feed their already trained and toned performance.
Due to the massive scale of the project, massive miniatures of various sets that simply could not be built in real life such as Minas Tirith and Helms Deep. These large structures were built with exceptional detail and skill and many were several feet high, and one ‘miniature’ towered 20 feet in the air. Since the structures had such massive scale they eventually nicknamed ‘bigatures’ because, really it fit.
To the wonderful surprise and delight of Weta Workshop they actually found a real sword smith in the two islands of New Zealand. He made real swords for re-enactments in the country and was glad to help out with the project. There were a few different types of each weapon made: The hero version was the real, heavy-weight weapons made from real steel that were used mostly in close-ups and photo shoots. There was the light-weight version that was used for battle scenes. And there was the stunt version made from rubber so the actors and stunt people wouldn’t get too hurt in large-scale chaotic battles.
Not only does Weta make the physical, real props, costumes, prosthetics and weapons for the actors and stunt crew. They also have a digital department where their animators make the digital charters come to life; such as the pivotal character of Gollum. Weta Digital also brought to life the various monsters and even digital doubles for each of the characters. These ‘doubles’ were used when the actors either were unable to actually physically do something or when large-scale shots were needed. Not only did were the digital achievements substantial and like nothing no one had ever seen on screen at that point in time. But it also led the way for other monumental digital achievements in the world of film.
Heading the design department, was Alan Lee and John Howe two exceptional artists who had been bringing the world of J.R.R Tolkien to life through their various paintings and drawings throughout the many years. Both men had illustrated many prints of the The Lord of the Rings, and Peter; who was a huge admirer of their work said that their artwork was a huge influence of the design of the entire three films.
The ultimate design for every aspect of The Lord of the Rings took many tries and re-tries. There were countless drawings and sculptures. Dozens of artists from the native country of New Zealand and also some from other countries as well participated in Weta Workshop’s pursuit to give the true authentic feel to the design of The Lord of the Rings. And with the help off all of the people participating on the project, the goal was eventually reached.
The beginning of filming on The Lord of the Rings began in the summer 1999. It had been over four years since the process had begun and slowly but surely it was becoming real. The actors were in their costumes and reading over their lines hoping they wouldn’t get a script re-write after practicing the script they had. And the journey begun!
Over the two-year period of time the cast was in New Zealand the films were shot on various locations, studios, squash courts, tin sheds, and warehouses. Since Stone Street Studios the studio which had once been an abandoned paint factory had some fixing up to do. Along with the fact that when they were on location for a shoot but then the weather went bad and they couldn’t shoot any more. So then they needed to do a scene that they had to build on a set inside and when they were a thousand or so miles from the studio. It gets a little complicated.
The crew and cast of The Lord of the Rings built sets and filmed scenes in warehouses civilians owned, to a hotel’s squash court.
All in all, it was huge project to overcome and an epic task to take on. Every department had to do their job and every job had a purpose. From lighting to design, and from acting to catering. And when everyone did their job and had fun, the stress of the whole of the task began lighter.
Another big job was the location scouting for the film. Peter and his team took all the advantage they could out of the epic, beautiful landscape which makes up the two islands of New Zealand.
The location for Hobbiton, where the hobbits mainly live, was one of the first locations chosen for the film and it was beyond what anyone dreamed they would find. Being practically identical to the Hobbiton described in the book, it was amazing that they found it.
The location itself: Matamata, was farmland owned by a local farmer. The farmer agreed to let Peter and his crew build and film there. It took a building crew a while before the set was ready to film on. Not only did they have to create over 30 separate hobbit holes in the hills of the land. But they also had to build Bag End itself on the top hill of the land, the home in which Bilbo Baggins himself lives. Along with a Hobbit-town and a bridge that went across the lake. Unfortunately all the materials that were used to build the sets were deterrable and had to be taken down after filming. But in later years when Peter would come back to film The Hobbit, Hobbiton would be built permanently in the rolling green hills, lasting for years to come.
Another location was Paradise, a forest that was used for filming both the Golden Wood of Lothlórien—an Elven paradise. And Amon Hen, a site in Middle-earth where the Fellowship fought the band of Uruk-Hai sent to hunt them down.
Many other locations were scouted and chosen, and those that were and weren’t used were both kept in mind for when Peter and his crew would come back over ten years later to film The Hobbit.
Many sets both small and massive were built to film on. From foam rocks in front of a blue screen to the huge set of Helms Deep. The Helms Deep set was built in a large rock quarry, where a building team took months to build it. Of course the fortress could not be built from actual rock, the set was mostly composed of wood frames and polystyrene but there was a fair amount of concrete so as the structure would hold. The large set of the city of Minas Tirith was built with the same materials as well and in the same quarry when the filming for Helms Deep was completed. Both of these sets were not built to their actual scale that they would be in real life. But enough was built for the various scenes and battles for the films.
Shooting on location was perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the project, as well as being the most difficult. There were times when only a small crew was taken to location. Such as the more remote areas like the high volcano where many Frodo and Sam scenes were shot. Then there were the times when the large crew was taken to a location, such as the plains area where the Warg battle was shot, along with the location for the camp of Dunharrow.
One of the most interesting and challenging shots on location was the scenes of the battle before the Black Gates of Mordor. Since there are very few ‘desert-like’ areas in the green lush land of New Zealand it was not only difficult to find a location. But when one was found, it turned out to be where the New Zealand military trained and tested bombs and such.
Peter asked the military if he and his crew could shoot there, because it was really the only location in the country where they could shoot the scenes. The military agreed but fair warned the crew and cast to be wary of where they stepped. Because due to all the bombs they had dropped there, there were many that were hidden and hard to find. Thankfully many of the bombs were cleared out but still some remained.
None the less Peter and his team of cast and crew got the shots, and despite the battle scenes filmed there with all the yelling and running around and tussling, no one was blown up. And this was just one of the many risks the team took to make theses films.
Many other adventures took place during the shoot. There was many locations that were only accessible by helicopter, and while Sean Bean was on the project-the actor who plays the character of Boromir-it was well known he did not like riding in helicopters. It went so far as to the actor climbing up a mountain to get to the set instead of riding in the helicopter.
There was no guarantee no one wasn’t going to get hurt on the film. One of the first incidents that took place when the team was filming the scene where Sam rushes out to Frodo while he is in a boat in the river. The water Sean Astin would be running into was not only cold but when he rushed in, a jagged piece of glass impaled his foot. He was taken to the hospital and got it stitched up, and was back on set the very next day ready for filming.
One of the next injuries was taken by Orlando Bloom. While filming the Warg battle, he fell off his horse and the scale double of Gimli fell onto of him and broke one of his ribs. Even while it was healing he went on filming, and thankfully it didn’t take too long before he was completely better.
Viggo Mortenson, who plays Aragorn, suffered two breaks while filming. The first was when he broke his big toe on one of his feet while kicking an orc helmet for the fifth time. The next was when he took a whack to his mouth while filming the Helms Deep battle which broke the front off one of his front teeth. Viggo was taken to the dentist where his tooth was successfully fixed.
The least serious and possibly the most silly incident was when the four hobbits were running across a wooden bridge to get to the Buckleberry Ferry. Dominic Monaghan, who plays the hobbit, Merry, got a splinter in one of his feet. He was sure it was going to be a whopper of a splinter because of how much it hurt. But it turned out to be only a tiny thing.
Possibly one of the most painful shoots was the scenes where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were pursing the Uruk-Hai who had taken Merry and Pippin through the Rohan plains. The three actors in the shots were all not doing so well at all to be running as much as they did. Viggo-Aragorn-had a broken toe. Orlando-Legolas-had a cracked rib. And Bret-who was the Gimli scale double-had a dislocated knee. Peter called them the walking wounded and tried to keep the shots as short and as few as possible. But to everyone’s relief they got the shots they needed.
With all the work the team of The Lord of the Rings had done in the past two years it looked as if it was finally paying off. December of 2001 was the release of the first film in the trilogy--The Fellowship of the Ring. The film turned out with a greater response from both audience and critics than anyone thought possible. It was one of the most highest ranking films of the year.
Following the next year in December of 2002 was the second installment: The Two Towers. There were many moments when Peter and his team were frightened that the second film would not do as good as the first. As it turned out, it did even better. Everyone was wild for it and the premieres were packed.
Concluding the trilogy in December of 2003; was the final installment: The Return of the King. And it came as a huge and wonderful surprise when this third film was received in the amazing way it was. At the Oscars, The Return of the King won every single award the Oscars could offer. It is possible that is the only time that has ever happened for a single film.
It seemed as if The Lord of the Rings led the way into the 20th century of modern filmmaking, with all that it accomplished and showed the world.
No one realized at the end of the shoot of The Lord of the Rings, that most all of them would be coming back for pickups for the films. So three years after the team had parted for what seemed like forever, in early of 2003 they all came back together to spend a few more months together shooting scenes for all three films. What was shot was primarily for the extended editions of the films, but also for The Return of the King which had yet to be released.
Each moment was treasured and counted, and when the end was drawing near everyone had a heavy heart. After all, many of the team had worked on the films for more than three years, and when you’ve been together on a project for that long you tend to grow close to those around you. Many of both the crew and cast formed friendships that would last a lifetime.
As the actors left for there homes in the final moments in 2003, they were each given a memorabilia from their character’s costume or weapons. Elijah Wood was given his sword—Sting, along with his last pair of Hobbit feet and a One Ring, Andy Serkis, the actor who played the creature Gollum was also given a One Ring as was appropriate for his character. Viggo received his sword, the one Araogrn wielded throughout the films. Liv Tyler-the actress who played Arwen the elf-was given one of the beautiful dresses her character wore. Orlando was given his Elven Lothlórien bow, and Sean Astin was given the large pack his character Sam lugs around for most of the entire trilogy. More gifts were given, as were hugs and tears. No one knew when they may see each other again after parting on the day of the final shots.
Elijah, was the last to leave, and that day while shooting Frodo’s final shots Peter had no desire to stop. When the shoot finally did finish the actor and director shared a long tearful hug and farewell.
It was hard to believe the journey had been nearly completed, and even though the road had been tough, even though pain had been endured. Joy had been felt as well, along with friendship and love. And in that way…the Fellowship became a reality, and even though they would be forever bonded by friendship and love, the Fellowship had ended.
But Peter along with many others would return over a decade later to join again to film in the wonderful realm of Middle-earth.
The End
Information credits:
The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Appendices
The Lord of the Rings Official Movie guide—By Brain Sibley
The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie trilogy—By Brain Sibley