Strange but true LotR facts...

[Airerûthiel]

If you have any strange but true facts about LotR (movies or books, doesn't matter which), then this is the board to post them. It's also good if you want trivia for dinner parties or to get rid of people you don't like with (just kidding )<P>So to start things off:<P>At their height of their fame, the Beatles wanted to beat Peter Jackson and the guy who made the animated version by making the first film version of Lord of the Rings. The cast would have starred John as Gollum, Paul as Frodo, George as Gandalf and Ringo as Sam.

[HCIsland]

Oh God! Could you imagine.<P>Would they have replaced the orcs with Blue Meanies? <P>H.C.

[aragornreborn]

During one of the fight scenes in the movie, Viggo got a tooth knocked out. But he had them superglue it back in so they could continue the scene.

[eleanor_niphredil]

How about this one:<P>Over £50,000 of coffee was drunk by the crew and cast during the 18 months of filming.<P>That supried me. I hate coffee. I like the smell, but I doubt that people would spend that much just to shove their noses in it!

[HCIsland]

During the filming of the three movies, they were the largest buyer of foam-latex in the world.<P>H.C.

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Just a question. What is foam-latex?

[aragornreborn]

Here's another one. In the special edition FOTR when the company is leaving Rivendell right at the gate, the camera pans across all the characters including Boromir. Boromir wasn't there when they shot that scene, though, so they put him in using previous computer images of him or something really complicated like that.

[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Just a question. What is foam-latex? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>It's what they build most of the prostetics out of. All the orc masks and body stuff, Hobbit feet, Gimli's face, Gandalf's nose, etc.<P>H.C.

[eleanor_niphredil]

I thought it was the stuff that they make the bottom of mouse mats from!

[aragornreborn]

I just remembered another one. I have a mind like a steel sieve. In TTT, when Aragorn kicks the orc helemet beside the burning pile of Uruk-hai, he broke his toe but stuck with the rehearsed yell instead of a yell of pain. Kinda cool, I thought.

[Gorwingel]

The computer system that Weta, the special effects company uses to do all the special effects for the film. Is the most powerful computer system in the southern hemisphere

[Dimannûnien]

10,000 arrows were made, only 78 still exist.

[Elven-Maiden]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> It's what they build most of the prostetics out of. All the orc masks and body stuff, Hobbit feet, Gimli's face, Gandalf's nose, etc. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Gandalf's nose is <B>FAKE!</B> I didn't realize that! It looked so real! I know it was supposed to, but.... OK, I'll stop now.

[Tar-Palantir]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Gandalf's nose is FAKE! I didn't realize that! It looked so real! I know it was supposed to, but.... OK, I'll stop now. <P> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>That shocked me too, because they did so many closeups with it, and yet it still looked natural. Ian Mckellen said that even though his schnozz was pretty big already, by the time the long wig and the big eyebrows and the big beard go on, all his facial features photographed much smaller. <P><BR>One of my favorite movie facts was Hobbiton, and how they built it a year prior to filming so all the grasses, bushes, and trees would grow in to add to the reality of it.

[doug*platypus]

The Vigster almost drowned filming Aragorn's floating down the river scene from TTT (yet another reason they shouldn't have done it!). He was trapped by an undercurrent about fifteen feet (according to him) underwater for so long that he thought he was going to die. Eventually though disoriented he managed to kick off a rock and get out of the undercurrent to resurface. The rapids of Aotearoa/New Zealand are not to be trifled with.

[doug*platypus]

Most of the orc extras were girls (or short people, myself included!) for reasons of realistic stature. That's normal orcs and not Uruk-hai. <P>Some of the Fijian army was in New Zealand on maneuvers when the final battle scenes were being filmed. If you look closely at the big battle scene on Dagorlad in ROTK, you might be shocked to see some enormous black/polynesian guys in a Minas Tirith army which you used to think wasn't an equal opportunity employer!

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

I read once that Viggo had a bet going with the Hobbits and Orlando involving surfing, or something like that. When he went surfing, the board flipped and hit his face, giving him a black eye and some scratches. During one part of the Moria scenes, they had to film Viggo on his left side because they couldn't cover the bruise and black eye up!<P>I can only imagine all those fake furry hobbit's feet. <P>Aylwen

[dunadan_aragorn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>The Vigster almost drowned filming Aragorn's floating down the river scene from TTT (yet another reason they shouldn't have done it!). He was trapped by an undercurrent about fifteen feet (according to him) underwater for so long that he thought he was going to die. Eventually though disoriented he managed to kick off a rock and get out of the undercurrent to resurface. The rapids of Aotearoa/New Zealand are not to be trifled with <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I know! And then to top it all off, they cut the scene where he is floating in the rapids! all that trouble and they cut the scene! I would he MAD!

[Fingo]

During the one of the last scenes in FotR, Sean Astin stepped on a stick in the river that poked him all the way through the hobbit foot and his own real foot. He had to go to the hospital and he felt really bad because he thought he was going to hold up filming. However, he was on the set the next day, filming the scene where he and Frodo CRAWL up to the gates of Mordor. Talk about determination! Although Viggo is right up there with the toe and the tooth deal. <BR>Also, in the cast commentary of the extended version of FotR, the Hobbits talk about a game they played called Tig waiting to film the Weathertop sequence. Billy Boyd started it with Dominic Monaghan, just poking each other and saying "Tig... tig..." Then Sean Astin got involved and finally Elijah walks up and wants to play too. So they start making up ruls as they play so there's no way for Elijah to do it right. They never told him about their litle joke and they never played it again. About a year later, naive Elijah asks the others why they never play Tig anymore and they burst out laughing and finally told him the truth. Elijah said "My whole world came crashing down when I found out Tig wasn't real."<BR>Watch the commentary, it's hilarious!

[maikafanawen]

Also on the extended version they talk about how Dominic Monaghan got a splinter in his foot jumping onto Buckleberry Ferry in FOTR. I can't explain it, but Billy Boyd made it sound so funny. <P>Also, while filming Buckleberry Ferry, on one take, Elijah jumps clear over the ferry landing in the water on the otherside. (It may not sound that funny but in the movie he just glides onto the ferry, and it would be very funny seeing him glide completely *over* the ferry while Sean, Dom, and Billy watch helplessly). LoL

[The Saucepan Man]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> It's what they build most of the prostetics out of. All the orc masks and body stuff, Hobbit feet, Gimli's face, Gandalf's nose, etc. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>... Arwen's personality

[Alaggaeriel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>... Arwen's personality <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Good one!!

[Nurumaiel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>During the one of the last scenes in FotR, Sean Astin stepped on a stick in the river that poked him all the way through the hobbit foot and his own real foot.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>'Twas glass. <P>HA HA HA!! TIG!! And the splinter! How about the cricket type bug (I could not catch what Fran Walsh called it) got killed by the centipide?<P>Oh, yeah, and Elijah jumping over the ferry. That was funny. How about the horse drowning? If it had drowned I would have been very sad. And Buckleberry Ferry started collapsing, as well.<P>Oh, oh, YES! I remembered a cool one. Dominic Monaghan got to play Gollum during the scene where it shows Bilbo find the Ring. Now, is that cool or what?<P>*starts thinking*... Everything else has been mentioned already. I mean, everything else that comes to my mind.

[Brinniel]

The part where Gandalf bumps his head in Bag End was not in the script. Ian McKellan did not mean to do that!<P>According to Peter Jackson, in one of the bloopers in FOTR, instead of saying, "spies of Saruman," Ian McKellan says, "spies of Star Wars."<P>In the fireworks scene at Bilbo's party, Billy Boyd's girlish scream was not a fake. He did that out of surprise.

[Fingo]

*slaps hand over face in embarresment* I apologize Nurumaiel. I had heard from my best friend it was a stick, however I watched more of the Appendices today and realized my mistake. *bows* Again, I am sorry, you were right. "Twas a shard of glass. Elijah was fascinated by this lump of bloody mess they pulled out of Sean's foot. Weird *laughs*<P>Also, as I watched the Appendices today, I learned that Sean Bean was deathly afraid to fly in a helicopter. He flew to the sight where they shot the scene where he picks up the Ring in the snow (bleh, mouthful) and he flew back, but he wouldn't fly again. He would climb up cliffs, dressed as Boromir to get to where they were shooting on the mountain that day, leaving almost two hours earlier than the rest of the cast. I'm so serious. Watch the Second Appedix that comes with the extended version. <P>*Another note on Tig. My best Tolkien friend and I pulled the joke on two of our other Tolkien friends that had not watched the commentary on the EV. They believed it was a real game, and after a while, we actually developed it into something we play regularly now.*<p>[ January 18, 2003: Message edited by: Fingo ]

[Maikadilwen]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Viggo got a tooth knocked out. But he had them superglue it back in <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>But they wouldn't do it and he had to take a trip to the dentists chair.

[The Green Ringwraith]

The thing about Dom's splinter was that they were running away from the Nazgul. When they jumped the fence, Billy, Elijah, and Sean kept running, but Dom fell to the grond and started screaming loudly or something. The other three turned around and ran back to Dom and were saying "What's wrong?" and everything. Dom was sweating and screaming and going on about how big the splinter was and "just watch, it'll be as big as my finger". Well, they pulled it out and it was soooooo tiny, and Billy, Sean, and Elijah wouldn't stop teasing him about it for days.<BR> That's cool about Dom playing Gollum! Is he the figure hunching over or did he do the voice? Or both?<BR> And about Billy's scream- he didn't know that the firework was actually going to go off. When it did, he screamed AND he wet himself. I think that was hilarious.<P>-Nazzy

[the mortal elf]

Each Ringwraith wore 50 YARDS of black cloth. Can you imagine riding a horse in that much fabric?<P>In the scene where Gollum jumps in the river to catch the fish, Andy Serkiss (sp?) had to act it out. The only problem was that the water was below freezing, it was the middle of winter, he had to wear a tight (cold!) bodysuit, and he had to do it about 5 times! Poor guy...

[doug*platypus]

Many of you won't find this interesting, but when filming near Rivendell (e.g. the bridge scene), the crew had to create an entirely closed system for the river. Wellington Regional Council would not let them either add to or take away from the amount of water naturally in the ecosystem. Go kiwi. Of course, the Fish scene mentioned above (filmed in the central North Island) required about 6 hours of snow melting.

[Rosemary Took]

The computer program that was invented for LOTR called Massive had a problem while developing it. The little soldiers were so lifelike that some fled the battle! Can you imagine some of the orcs at helm's deep fleeing the battle!LOL

[Rosemary Took]

Ooh I found another thing, The moria door was made out of this reflective stuff so that it glowed when there was some light. Before this however you see Gandalf wiping his hand over the door right? They had to fill in the pattern with plasticine so that no light got refelcted. When they had to take the plasticine out they ran out of time and didn't get it all out so if you look carefully parts of the tree and writing aren't there!

[Blue Elf]

A few interesting things, but everyone might know 'em already...<P>-The guy who played Gimli developed an allergic reaction to his make up<P>-The guy who played Legolas broke rib<P>Just a few random facts, and I would use the actor's names if I ever remembered who was who...<P>And that guy who played Gollum deserved to freeze. I WANTED to play Gollum, and should of. Hmph. Yes, I am obsessed with Gollum. AND HE WASN'T A JOKE!! **reminds herself to stop ranting*<P>Some of these facts are really funny...

[Lily Bracegirdle]

John Rhys-Davies (the dwarf!) is the tallest of the Fellowship members.<P>Sean Bean, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and (I think?) Orlando Bloom went out and got the elvish character for "9" tattooed on them.<P>When Bilbo lets the ring drop to the floor and it sticks with that gorgeous "BOOM" noise, they used a magnetic floor so the ring wouldn't bounce.<P>-Lily

[aragornreborn]

Not only did Viggo lose a tooth, but apparently he caused some other people's teeth to be lost as well. According to the other cast members, he got a little carried away sometimes and got too physical in his fighting and some of the stunt guys got teeth knocked out. Also, in Viggo's battle scene with Lurtz, they both misjudged a few of their hits. So, some of it is real contact like when Lurtz butts heads with Aragorn. They were both full of bruises afterwards.<p>[ January 23, 2003: Message edited by: aragornreborn ]

[zacattack]

Orlando Bloom had 13 horses and he still broke his rib when he fell off one of them.

[Morgul Queen]

And what about Viggo Mortenson's collage on the mirrors and Ian's dislike of the hobbits music...did anyone hear Elijah's Impersonation of Ian while grumbling.<BR>And especially the...ah...boat sinking thing with John and Orlando?

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> John Rhys-Davies (the dwarf!) is the tallest of the Fellowship members. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Really? Wow. I saw somewhere that it took some getting used to, having to look up while acting. <P>Aylwen

[aragornreborn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> 10,000 arrows were made, only 78 still exist. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>And who knows how many CG arrows! At Amon Hen, (after Legolas stabs the arrow into that first orc and then shoots it into the second) when Legolas is shooting the arrows really quickly one right after the other, he was just pantomiming and the arrows were put in later. It kind of ruins the magic, but... But (this was my favorite part) when Aragorn knocks the dagger out of the air with his sword at Amon Hen, that is real! Oh, so cool!

[Sauron the deciever]

After practicing some sword moves for a scene, Viggo mortensen was walking to where he parked his car down the road still practicng the moves he had just learnt. While walking down the street wearing aragorn clothes Someone reported a mad man walking about waving a sword and the police came to investigate.

[Gorwingel]

All the actors who played members of the fellowship got the elvish tattoo of 9, they did it as something to remember the experience they had while making the films. Also some of the directors and producers got a tattoo of the elvish number 10, including Peter Jackson.

[Garen LiLorian]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> when Aragorn knocks the dagger out of the air with his sword at Amon Hen, that is real! Oh, so cool! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hah! You have no idea how heartening that is to me. I always wondered how they did that so perfectly, because I can almost always tell when CG is added to a shot, and I couldn't tell on that one.<P>Rhys-Davies is 6'6", and says the hardest thing he's ever done is learning to look up to talk to the shorter members of the Fellowship.<P>Did you hear the one about Billy and Dom making a prank call to PJ? Apparently one of them (I don't remember which) does a spot on impression of Elijah's midget double, and they spent an hour on the phone with Peter, pretending to be the double, and arguing why he should be playing Frodo instead of Elijah.<P>Before filming, Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee were the only two main actors to have read the books all the way through. (Including the Silmarillion) I find that one to be rather sad, but oh well.

[Purple Monkey]

Hows this for weird...<BR><p><BR>When the Nazgul with Arry's flaming stick in it's face screams as he leaves Weathertop in FotR, the scream is actually that of Fran Walsh. She must have a hell of a pair of lungs...

[Carrûn]

I was under the impression that the screams of Fran Walsh came from when PJ supposedly told her he had also obtained the rights to produce the Sil., the Hobbit, etc.

[Galadrie1]

All the Nazgul screams are Fran Walsh. The sound people had some digitized sound for it, but they wanted it to sound more "real". When they played their sound for Peter Jackson, he said something like "Oh, well, Fran can scream like that." (I guess he knew that from the 'rights for the Sil.' incident, eh, Carrûn? )<P>EDIT: Wow, I can't believe I used the word "sound" four times in two sentences.... I think I need a thesaurus. <p>[ January 28, 2003: Message edited by: Galadrie1 ]

[Lily Bracegirdle]

At Ian McKellan's site, he says his tattoo of "nine" is on his upper right arm. Apparently he can only look at it upside down, and claims it looks like it spells "Gucci" when in that orientation. <P>-Lily<p>[ January 29, 2003: Message edited by: Lily Bracegirdle ]

[HCIsland]

I'm pretty sure I heard an interview with McKellen saying that all the actors of the Fellowship have the same tatoo.<P>Maybe I'm mistaken.<P>H.C.

[Lily Bracegirdle]

Orlando Bloom's is on his forearm, and I heard somewhere that two of the hobbits had theirs on their ankles. Someone had a pic of Elijah Wood's on one of the other threads. It looked somewhere around his waistband...<P>Amyone know the location of Sean Bean's tattoo?<P>-Lily

[Aratlithiel]

They made him have his removed when they killed off Boromir.

[Carorëiel]

This is somewhat off topic, and I hesitate to add it here and resurrect such an old thread. But I've got a burning question and this seems about as good a place as any to ask. <P>Does anyone know if David Wenham (Faramir) has a tattoo? I don't mean an Elvish 9 tattoo like the members of the fellowship got--just any tattoo. In some of his movies when you see his bare (right) arm, it looks like an attempt has been made to cover a tattoo.

[Lathriel]

I am not sure. I don't think so since he was never really i the fellowship. Anyway her are some fun facts.<BR>The bearded woman of Rohan<BR>The wind that blew PJ's glasses of his face at Edoras.<BR>Plus the T-Shirts saying I survived helm's deep with the M crossed out.

[Enedbelethiel]

Apparently, there was one day when Orlando Bloom was grumbling a little bit about shooting a certain scene on one day and was altogether in a grumpy mood. The hobbits, Viggo, and Sean Bean decided to "kidnap" him from his hotel room and then proceeded to slap, as Dom put it, "the hell out of his belly" all in good fun. Sir Ian McKellan was supposedly passing by the hoopla and simply shook his head it all. I like the fact that if anyone was getting a little bit off balance, they were close enough to set each other straight. I don't know anything about the normal repartee among actors on set, but I think that this was just one of the examples of how they all were able to solidify their relationship as friends and members of the Fellowship. I would have loved to have been walking through that hotel lobby to witness that little moment.<P>*DISCLAIMER*<BR>From what I've heard anyway, no Orlando Blooms were seriously injured in the belly-slapping fiasco

[Oddwen]

John Rhys-Davies is the only fellowship actor not to get a "9" tattoo-he sent his stunt double.

[King Elessar]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> The guy who played Legolas broke rib <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Not only that<P>It was broken at the warg scene, so the Legolas you see jumping awkwardly onto the horse is computer generated<P>all orlando did was jump up on the spot and the computer did the rest