20 facts you might not know about 'Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'

Tolkien had been tackled in the past, although previous adaptations went a different route. The previous films were of the animated variety. Perhaps budget and the scale of the story kept anybody from trying to adapt “The Hobbit” or “Lord of the Rings” in live action, at least in film. There were some live- action miniseries in Russia and Scandinavia, though. “The Fellowship of the Ring” was the first Tolkien movie adaption since 1980’s animated “Return of the King.”

In 1995, Jackson and his wife and producing partner Fran Walsh started thinking about using the improvements in CGI to make a movie in the vein of “Lord of the Rings.” They tried writing one, but every time felt like they were making stories that were too similar to Tolkien’s work. As such, Jackson figured he might as well try to get the rights to “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” and just go that route.

Soon after his film “The Frighteners” came out, Jackson got a chance to direct an adaptation of a classic story he loved. That was, of course, “King Kong.” Yes, Jackson was worried on remaking “King Kong” all the way back in the 1990s. However, his film was cancelled in 1997. At that point, he jumped back on “Lord of the Rings,” which he had put on the back burner but never forgotten about. Eventually, Jackson would get around to that “King Kong” remake as well.

When Jackson and Walsh began writing a “Lord of the Rings” movie, they quickly realized there was no way to do it in one film. Trying to keep the project manageable, though, they at first opted for two movies. When they first sold the project, it was indeed for a two-movie deal based on the treatment for both movies written by Jackson and Walsh.

The company that bought the two-film adaptation? That would be Miramax. The project was there for a while, but there were a lot of problems there. Eventually, Miramax tried to push Jackson out of directing, and somehow though they could get Walsh to stay on to write a new movie. Jackson made a 35-minute sizzle reel to pitch the movie to other production companies, and New Line Cinema agreed to make the film.

New Line’s CEO Robert Shaye met with Jackson to check out his sizzle reel. This wasn’t necessarily a lock for the director. Shaye evidently was honest to Jackson that he did not like “The Frighteners,” his most-recent film. Then, Shaye watched Jackson’s promo video. Immediately, he suggested they should just go ahead and make three films, one for each volume of Tolkien’s story.

Jackson and company began working on preproduction for “Lord of the Rings” in 1997. He storyboarded the whole trilogy, and also hired New Zealand’s Weta Workshop to begin working on the production as well. He was interested in making a realistic movie, frequently citing historical epic “Braveheart” as an influence and talking down fantasy films like “Willow.”

Jackson hired Alan Lee and John Howe to be the film’s primary conceptual designers. They had the resumé to earn their role. The two had both previously worked as illustrators for Tolkien books. Lee was in charge of creating the looks of some of the lands of Middle Earth, while Howe, an armor expert, focused on that.

Jackson, a New Zealand native, decided to shoot the film in his home country. Hey, it’s a lush land, so that makes sense. Plus, Weta Workshop was based there as well. Assorted locations across New Zealand were able to serve as representations of lands and locations from Tolkien’s stories.

Hobbiton in The Shire plays home to many a hobbit, including Frodo and Bilbo Baggins. Jackson and Lee found a family farm in New Zealand and were able to get the rights to build their Hobbiton on the land. With the help of the New Zealand Army, Bag’s End and the Hobbit world came to life. After the movies came out, Hobbiton became a tourist attraction, even though some of it was torn down. When “The Hobbit” trilogy was filmed, it was rebuilt in a more-permanent way, and Hobbiton is now a major tourist spot in New Zealand.

Frodo is the key role in “Lord of the Rings,” and Jackson left no stone unturned. Wood, a child actor, beat out 150 actors to win the role. That evidently included Jake Gyllenhaal, who has said he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Frodo.

Sure, this was a potentially huge role for whoever got it, but Wood was not merely looking for a gig. He was a fan of Tolkien’s work. In fact, in his audition he dressed as Frodo and read from Tolkien’s book. Clearly, it worked.

Famously, Sean Connery turned down the chance to play the wizard because he didn’t understand the plot of the movie. Patrick McGoohan was offered the role, but unfortunately had health issues that kept him from taking it. Sam Neill, a Kiwi himself, had to decline to shoot “Jurassic Park III.” Patrick Stewart did not like the script, and that opened the door for his “X-Men” costar Ian McKellen.

In the earliest days of the project, Daniel Day-Lewis was offered the role of Aragon, but he declined. This was back when the movie was at Miramax. When the time came to get serious about casting, and after one actor was cast and then replaced, Day-Lewis was approached again. His mind was not changed, and he still turned down the role.

Stuart Townsend came so close to a career-changing opportunity. He was indeed cast to play Aragorn. Then, Jackson had second thoughts. Namely, he believed Townsend was too young for the role. As such, Jackson changed his mind and removed Townsend from the role.

Mark Ordesky, an executive producer on the movie, saw Mortensen in a play. With the role of Aragorn now open, the producer thought maybe Viggo was the guy for the part. Luckily for the movie, the actor’s son was a fan of Tolkien’s books and pushed his dad to take the role. After that, things moved at a speedy pace. Mortensen hopped on a plane, read “The Fellowship of the Ring” on the way, got a quick lesson in fencing, and began filming.

Lee, no stranger to fantastical films, said that he read “Lord of the Rings” once a year. He also even met Tolkien once. The actor wanted to play Gandalf, but Jackson thought he was too old (aka the reverse Townsend). However, Jackson gave the massive Tolkien fan the role of Saruman.

David Bowie reportedly wanted to play Elrond. Now, some directors would jump at the chance. Not Jackson. He turned down the opportunity to cast Bowie, saying, “To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable.”

Any worries about the success of the trilogy quickly dissipated. “The Fellowship of the Ring” made $880 million worldwide off of a budget of $93 million. That made it the second-highest-grossing movie of 2001, and at the time the fifth-highest-grossing movie ever. Re-releases have gotten the film up to an all-time box office of $897.7 million.

Jackson’s trilogy was a true Academy darling, and it started with the first film. “The Fellowship of the Ring” got 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. In the end, the movie won four Oscars: Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, and Best Visual Effects.

Now, you may be saying, “Hey, you barely scratched the surface!” That’s true! There is much more to say about the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Fortunately, the three films shot one after another, so it’s all basically one film shoot. You can check out our lists on “Two Towers” and “Return of the King” for more facts on the trilogy, including some that bear relevance to “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The adventure has only just begun!