The Lord of the Rings Brief Information

The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). They are a New Zealand-American venture produced by WingNut Films and The Saul Zaentz Company and distributed by New Line Cinema.

Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $281 million (some sources say $310-$330 million), the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand, Jackson's native country, resulting in 1 in every 160 New Zealanders being part of the production of the trilogy. Each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the book's general storyline, they do omit some of the novel's plot elements and include some additions to and deviations from the source material.

The Lord of the Rings News

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• Cate Blanchett to appear on IFC's 'Documentary Now!'