The Lord of the Rings has become one of the most notable epic films of recent times. For fans of the picture, a film was even shot that told the story of the creation of a movie masterpiece.
Place for shooting
Initially, the choice of location - New Zealand - was determined by two factors. Firstly, the director of the film, Peter Jackson, was not only born in this country, but also shot several paintings there at his own studio Wingnut Films. Thus, filming in New Zealand gave Jackson much more opportunities for independent decision-making than he would have in Hollywood.
Secondly, the specifics of the film determined the choice. The Lord of the Rings demanded not only the highly professional work of computer graphics specialists, but also beautiful, wild natural landscapes. The nature of New Zealand gave the painting an additional flavor: since the shooting of large-budget paintings in this country is not frequent, the landscapes shown in The Lord of the Rings looked fresh and original.
The filming process itself took place both in the pavilions and in the open air. Separate scenes, including battle scenes, were filmed on the territory of New Zealand national parks - in places with specially protected flora and fauna.
After filming in nature reserves, environmentalists criticized Peter Jackson for the damage done to one of the national parks.
Script work
Before filming The Lord of the Rings, it was necessary to prepare a script. Work on it took Peter Jackson more than 2 years. The original version implied that on the basis of three Tolkien books, 2 films with a duration of about 2 hours would be shot. A number of heroes, as well as some storylines, have been removed or recycled. However, at the stage of preparation for the shooting, it turned out that the initial budget was too small.
Miramax Studio, together with whom it was planned to make a film, proposed a new version of the script in which all the events of three books fit into one film. Jackson opposed this decision and terminated the contract with the studio, which delayed the shooting for several years. As a result, a compromise was found, but with another studio - New Line Cinema. The final version of the script has become even more detailed than the first - Jackson still decided to follow the structure of the trilogy, highlighting one film for each book.
Filming the picture turned out to be much more expensive than originally planned, however, the costs fully paid off at the box office.
