Making the Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy

Unsung Heroes of the Lord of the Rings: From the Page to the Screen
Lynnette Porter
March 2005
Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated
Hardcover , 240pp
$42.00 US
ISBN-13: 9780275985219
ISBN: 0275985210
For those amongst us who assumed Tolkien's classic leapt to the screen through magic, Porter (literature and humanities, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.) examines the intricacies of modern human expectations for heroes and myths, and how those complex emotions influence what we read under the covers with a flashlight as opposed to what we see from a padded seat with popcorn on our breath. In particular, she focuses on the "unlikely heroes," the minor characters who catch our attention and earn our admiration because they embody some aspect of heroism, such as the character of Merry as the knowledgeable hero, Pippen as the youthful, impulsive hero, Eowyn as the action hero, and so on, and how we seek out those characters who embody what we sense we have , or lack, in ourselves. Porter includes a list of online resources.

The Lord Of The Rings Movies Pocket Guide
Jeremy Mark Robinson
November 2010
Crescent Moon Publishing
Paperback , 444pp
$24.00
ISBN-13: 9781861712790
ISBN: 1861712790
THE LORD OF THE RINGS MOVIES: POCKET GUIDE
A pocket guide to the Hollywood adaptions of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The book tells you everything you need to know about these very popular films, from writing the script through casting and financing, to shooting and performances, to visual effects, editing and theatrical distribution. The pocket guide includes discussions of every single scene in the three movies, including the Special Extended Editions (including some key individual shots). There are sections on the all of the important differences between The Lord of the Ring book and the movies (including numerous details), as well a chapter exploring the additions and the omissions. Looks at behind the scenes stories, and also the critical response to the movies. There are chapters on the visual effects, on the casting and key personnel of the movies, on the studio and the financing of the films, on the music and sound, and the marketing and release of the movies in 2001-2003 (including the home entertainment releases on DVD and video). There is also a chapter on the critical response to the movies. There is also an appendix on other adaptions of J.R.R. Tolkien's books.

Principal Photography of The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
by Lambert M. Surhone (Editor), Mariam T. Tennoe (Editor), Susan F. Henssonow (Editor)
November 2010
Betascript Publishing
Paperback , 104pp
$53.00 US
ISBN-13: 9786133538320
ISBN: 6133538325

Production Design of The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
by Lambert M. Surhone (Editor), Mariam T. Tennoe (Editor), Susan F. Henssonow (Editor)
December 2010
Betascript Publishing
Paperback , 124pp
$51.00 US
ISBN-13: 9786134518802
ISBN: 6134518808
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Lord of the Rings film trilogy began its production design in August 1997. Peter Jackson required complete realism and plausibility in his vision of Middle-earth, and hired Weta Workshop to create the various pieces of armour, weapons, prosthetics and creatures seen in the trilogy, as well as aged costumes and historically influenced sets. Jackson began storyboarding the trilogy with Christian Rivers in August 1997, effectively creating a rough black and white 2-D version of the film. Jackson showed excerpts of the "animated" storyboards (filmed images with voices and a temporary soundtrack) to allow potential cast a view of the film's style. To plan his visual effects sequences, Jackson also utilized a lipstick camera for the models of sets and computer animatics (learned from Industrial Light & Magic), planning the battle sequences like a real general and giving a sense of direction.

The Lord of The Rings: Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic
by Andy Serkis, Gary Russell (Contribution by)
December 2003
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Paperback , 128pp
$10.00 US
ISBN-13: 9780618391042
ISBN: 0618391045
Film-making history was made when, in The Two Towers, an actor's performance and digital animation were seamlessly integrated to create the world's first totally lifelike computer-generated character. Now Andy Serkis tells his own story about how a three-week commission to provide a voiceover for Gollum grew into a five-year commitment to breathe life and soul into The Lord of the Rings' most challenging creation.

- Did the voice of Gollum really start with a cat being sick?
- What was it like acting in a bodysuit covered in dots?
- How much was Gollum modeled to look like Andy?
- What surprises does The Return of the King hold in store?

Fully illustrated with more than one hundred exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and drawings, and with contributions from the many designers and animators who brought Gollum to life, this book examines the transition to the big screen of one of literature's most unforgettable creatures. As the filming takes him from London to Wellington, and from the MIsty Mountains to Mount Doom, Andy Serkis explains the methods - and the madness - behind the most amazing five years in this actor's life.

Horizontal Rain: Memoirs From Middle Earth
Mona-Lia Ventress
Paperback, 180 pages
CreateSpace
May 15, 2008
$15.00 US
ISBN: 1434830098
ISBN-13: 978-1434830098
Mona-Lia and Mark are two ex-scenesters living in Hollywood who uproot their recording studio, two dogs and burgeoning Internet company and move to New Zealand where Mark has landed a visual effects job working on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Both of their lives change completely for better and worse. Mark begins working inhuman hours and is swallowed whole by his new job while Mona-Lia travels around the Southern Hemisphere to escape the domestic stress and strain his new job causes. Mona-Lia and Mark rediscover themselves and each other in their quest to explore new and exotic lands such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Tokyo, Samoa, Fiji and Bali. This three year journey is filled with detailed accounts of the making of the visual effects of The Lord of the Rings films along with in depth observations on what it is they learned about leaving their home, friends and family in California to live and work in a new country.

Lord of the Rings: Making of the Movie Trilogy
Author: Brian Sibley
Paperback, 192pp., Hardcover looks the same.
ISBN: 0618260226
Houghton Mifflin
November 2002
Official inside story on making of the award-winning movie trilogy. Making of the Movie Trilogy is a lavishly illustrated, behind-the-scenes, definitive account of creation of an epic film experience. Hailed by critics worldwide, part one of movie trilogy was a box-office smash, one of the most successful films of its decade. Peter Jackson's "fierce, imaginative movie takes high-flying risks and inspires with its power and scale," wrote Newsweek. "In every way this is moviemaking on a grand scale," wrote San Francisco Chronicle, while Time proclaimed "grandeur, moral heft and emotional depth" of film, which received thirteen Academy Award nominations. Including more than 300 photographs from all three films, most unique to this book, and exclusive interviews with all cast and crew, Brian Sibley's fascinating book takes every fan inside process of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork for a screen. For first time in history, three major movies were made at the same time, a triumphant and monumental undertaking that took our world by storm. Here can be found details about hundreds of dedicated artists, craftspeople and cast and crew members who labored for years -- adding authenticity at every stage -- to bring one of the greatest stories ever told to an eager film audience. Sibley takes us inside process of filmmaking to show us how magic is made -- from director, writers and actors to wardrobe, makeup, miniatures, music and digital special effects, it's all here.

Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion
Author: Jude Fisher
Hardcover, 72pp.
ISBN: 0618154019
Houghton Mifflin
November 2001
Houghton Mifflin is proud to present a full-color, large-format, guide to characters, cultures, and locations of J.R.R. Tolkien's extraordinary creation Middle-earth, as depicted in the movie Fellowship of the Ring - first of three blockbuster films from New Line Cinema. Filled with stunning imagery and with a thorough, informative narrative text, Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion will provide readers with a rich feast of detail and information. Featuring exclusive photos of Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Ringwraiths, elves, and all other main characters and creatures from this first film, the book also includes breathtaking pictures of Hobbiton, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Bree and the Mines of Moria. First of a projected three-book series that no Tolkien fan, from novice to expert, should be without, Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion contains a special eight-page gatefold of large-format images unique to this book.

Two Towers Visual Companion
Author: Jude Fisher
Hardcover, 72pp.
ISBN: 0618258027
Houghton Mifflin
November 2002
This official, fully authorized companion to the second part of Peter Jackson's award-winning trilogy. Two Towers Visual Companion is a full-color guide to characters, places and landscapes of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as depicted in second film in trilogy, and features a special introduction by Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn / Strider. Lavishly illustrated with more than 100 full-color photographs, including exclusive images of Rohan, Isengard, Gollum, Treebeard and battle of Helm's Deep, Two Towers Visual Companion offers a privileged tour through principal events of this second film. It begins with a recounting of Fellowship of the Ring, and then takes readers on separate journeys undertaken by the Fellowship in Two Towers. The Ring Quest: in which Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee journey alone towards Mordor, alone that is, except for sneaking figure of Gollum, who has been dogging their footsteps since the Mines of Moria. The Captives' Journey: in which Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took are carried by fearsome Uruk-hai Orcs towards a fateful encounter with wizard Saruman, at stronghold of Orthanc in Isengard. The Companions' Journey: in which Aragorn of Gondor, along with Legolas of Mirkwood and Gimli pursue these abducted hobbits across Plains of Rohan and into eaves of Fangorn Forest. Also included are a brand new map of Rohan and Gondor and a specially commissioned battle plan of climactic events at Helm's Deep, where a brave stand will be made by Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Saruman's Uruk-Hai horde. Companion offers an unforgettable tour of the haunted swamp of Dead Marshes and lovely but dangerous land of Ithilen which borders Mordor, the breathtaking kingdom of Rohan, home of Horse-lords, its seat of power, Edoras, and an ancient stronghold of Helm's Deep, and provides an invaluable introduction to Peter Jackson's Two Towers.

Return of the King Visual Companion
Jude Fisher
Hardcover, 72pp.
ISBN: 0618390979
Houghton Mifflin
November 2003
This is a visual guide to the third in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. "The Return of the King Visual Companion" takes the reader on their own journey into the world of Peter Jackson's epic movie trilogy. A large-format full-colour photographic encyclopedic guide to the characters, places, landscapes, artefacts, battles, and costumes as seen in the film, as well as images, it features detailed informative text and specially commissioned extras

The Lord of the Rings Complete Visual Companion
Author: Jude Fisher
Paperback, 224 pages
Mariner Books
November 15, 2004
ISBN-10: 0618510826
ASIN: B001TODO2W
The official, fully authorized full-color guide to the characters, places, and landscapes of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as depicted in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Fully illustrated with almost 300 color photographs, including stunning new images from the extended director's versions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and exclusive "first-look" shots from The Return of the King, this Complete Visual Companion now tells the whole tale of The Lord of the Rings in sumptuous detail. The many characters, creatures, and strange lands of Middle-earth encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring in their epic journey are here brought to life: from the magical Elven realms of Rivendell and Lothlorien to the abandoned Dwarven kingdom of Moria; from the wizard Saruman's stronghold at Isengard to the land of the Horse-lords, Rohan; from their last-ditch fortress at Helm's Deep to Minas Tirith, the city-kingdom of the proud Men of Gondor; from the haunted Paths of the Dead to the battlefields of Pelennor and the overrun city of Osgiliath; from Cirith Ungol and the Nazgul's tower of sorcery at Minas Morgul into the very heart of Mordor. Along the way our heroes will encounter Elves and Ents, Uruk-hai and Orcs, Trolls, and Haradrim on their towering war-elephants, the mumakil. The Companion introduces readers to the monstrous Shelob the spider, to the Corsairs of Umbar, and to that pitiful but deadly creature Gollum. This omnibus edition also includes brand-new sections appearing in print for the first time, which take the story of the quest of the Fellowship beyond Mount Doom, all the way to the hearbreaking finale at the Grey Havens.

Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide 
Author: Brian Sibley
Paperback, 120pp.
ISBN: 0618154035
Houghton Mifflin
November 2001
Designed as a celebration of the films, Official Movie Guide is a lavishly illustrated behind-the-scenes guide which includes full-color photos of cast, locations, sets, monsters and costumes, together with exclusive interviews with Peter Jackson and all principal cast. It also features an entertaining overview of conception, design and filming of the trilogy over these last five years, which will give readers a privileged insight into making of the most important movie trilogy of the decade.