| The Lord Of The Rings Film Trilogy |
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''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy comprises three Live Action films, directed by Peter Jackson and released by New Line Cinema . For the most part, they follow the storyline of the books (see J. R. R. Tolkien 's '' The Lord Of The Rings ''). However, there are some major deviations as detailed within the entry for each film. Principal Photography for all three films was conducted concurrently in New Zealand from October of 1999 through December of 2000, while Post-production for each took place consecutively in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Extended versions of the films were post-produced in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Pick-up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2004. PRODUCTION The entire film project took over eight years from start to finish. Peter Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh , began inquiries about the ''Lord of the Rings'' rights in 1995 and struck a deal with copyright holder Saul Zaentz and Miramax Films the following year. The trilogy began Pre-production as a two-film deal similar to A Few Other Projects . Then Miramax, citing budget concerns, decided to condense the project into one film, before selling it off altogether to New Line Cinema in 1998. Robert Shaye , head of New Line Cinema, immediately decided to expand the project to three films (with a budget of $270 million), as his studio had a history of not being able to get sequels made to some of its more successful movies. Peter Jackson described the production as a defining period, in that he now divides his life into three chapters: before ''Lord of the Rings'', during ''Lord of the Rings'', and after ''Lord of the Rings''. Fran Walsh described the production as "laying the track down in front of a moving train" (paraphrased). Production was complicated by the use of scale doubles and serving as a lead character — only the second time this was ever done (the first being Jar Jar Binks of Star Wars ). RELEASES
Each successive film made more money at the Box Office than the last both internationally and in North America — the reverse of what normally happens to a film series. The success of the theatrical cuts brought about Extended Editions, with new editing, added special effects and music. These versions were originally released on DVD and VHS, but they have played at Movie Theaters . They were issued as follows:
More than two hours' bonus footage has been added to the Trilogy which now makes the total over 11 hours of film. CAST
FACTS AND FIGURES
ACADEMY AWARDS The three films were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards , of which they won 17.
The Awards were as follows (a win is marked with a "W" A nomination is marked with a "N"): IS IT A TRILOGY? Because the films were shot together and then edited into three separate films released theatrically over a span of three successive years, a significant number of fans and critics have come to regard the trilogy as a single film. They argue that similar to the book which was written in the long form and then released separately into the three whole parts, the trilogy is one long 10-hour film. When Time placed the trilogy in its Top 100 List it was done under a single heading. While this grouping into a single entity is debated it is not unusual as Krzysztof Kieślowski 's The Decalogue was originally released as ten separate short films with intersecting themes and characters but now is regarded by majority critics as a single work. Satyajit Ray 's The Apu Trilogy is also grouped together quite often. The character development, continuity, look and feel of all three films are regarded as seamless and consistent and that unlike other trilogies where sequels often stand apart, each entry is completely dependent on the earlier and successive entry and cannot exist on its own. This is one of the reasons why critics have regarded the Oscar sweep of the third film as a proxy award. TRIVIA
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