All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S07E03.1080p.HEVC.x265-MeGusta[EZTVx.to]_Subtitles01.ENG

[narrator] The future of "The
Lord of the Rings'" production

was on the line.

The realization came to everyone

that New Line could go under.

What do we do now?

The idea was to do a huge
press event in Cannes

and then this huge party

to pre-sell the international
distribution rights.

Huh.

[narrator] Everything hinged
on an epic 20-minute sequence

in the Mines of Moria

that had been shot
in just seven days.

They wanted to really show
the world

how "Lord of the Rings"
was gonna look on screen.

But this film was gonna be
something really exciting.

[man] And then say, you know,
"You can have the films,

but you gotta give us
money up front

and you have to book
all three films."

[narrator] New Lines' fate
now rested in the hands

of Weta's post production.

There were time constraints.

It was very short order.

You only got one chance
to get it right.

[narrator] But even with the
dark cloud of dwindling funds

hanging over them

and key cast and crew now
on the French Riviera...

[Mahaffie]
We didn't stop filming.

If we don't succeed, it won't be
because we haven't put

every last ounce
of energy into this.

[narrator]
...through accidents...

Sean got, like,
16 or 20 stitches.

[narrator] ...a director

hell-bent
on achieving his vision...

Cast had got bigger,
the crew had got bigger.

[narrator] ...production
was already sailing

unchartered waters.

-Three films.
-Three films.

Three films at once.

Don't you see this is madness?

It was always going to be
a lot of anxiety.

[narrator] Now with the release
of "The Fellowship of the Ring"

only seven months away,
and a shaky financial future,

would Peter Jackson's epic

become just another
failed film project?

A just question, my liege.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator]
In Wellington, New Zealand,

the clock was ticking
for Weta Digital.

Time was fast running out

to complete
the Mines of Moria sequence

to the standard required
before its screening.

We couldn't show anything
that had green screen

because we all know
that film reviewers can't look

at green screen and understand
what that shot's supposed to be.

[narrator] To bring

the Mines of Moria to life

in such a short time
would require

a large cave-troll-sized
effort.

But within it...

[Osborne]
Peter saw an opportunity.

What happens often
in visual effects is,

the visual effects team want as
much time as they can for R&D

and they don't really want us
to get into

starting to do shots
until they feel confident

and feel
they won't be embarrassed.

So, he used this as a tool
to force them

to get into production.
[laughs]

[narrator] And then, with

the sequence almost completed,

a last-minute suggestion
from an unlikely source

made the schedule even tighter.

One of the assistant editors,
a guy named Peter Skarratt,

who I really admire quite a bit,
he came to me and said,

"You know, this is great,
but there's a problem

because you haven't
introduced the characters.

Introduce the characters before
we see the cave-troll sequence.

And you haven't given us a lead
out where this is going,

like, a teaser
that gives some sense

of what the shape
of the movie's gonna be."

So, Peter added those.

He took the suggestion,
added that.

[narrator] Added was scene
setting up the Shire

and the Hobbits, along with
some of the principal villains

and, of course, heroes.

Along with snippets
of "Two Towers"

and "Return of the King"

and a few battle scenes
thrown in for good measure.

They made it in time for Cannes.
It was really great.

[narrator]
They packed it up

in the most secure package
they could find --

Dean Lyons' carry-on.

So, I carried a hard drive
to France.

It wasn't, like,
something we could send.

It was way too important.

[narrator] With the air mail
safely delivered...

Everything was riding on this.

[narrator]
...the real work began.

[Osborne]
Bob Shaye took a gigantic risk.

Peter hadn't done anything
of this magnitude.

There wasn't a huge movie star
in the film.

We had distributors from Europe,
from Asia,

Australia, from all, all over.

Half the Shire's been invited.

And what we were asking,
very upfront, a lot of money.

Even if the first one did work,

they still had to pay
for the other two.

[narrator]
So, on May the 11th, 2001,

distributors and the world-wide

press sat down

to decide the fate
of "Lord of the Rings."

And that room full of people
lost their minds.

[screaming]

[growling]

[cheers and applause]

Aah!

And people went nuts.

I get the chills right now,
even remembering that.

It was brilliant.

You work very hard on something,

you're not quite sure
how it's gonna look.

It was a pretty exciting moment
for all of us

that were able
to see that footage.

I thought, "Wow, this is gonna
blow people's minds."

I've never seen
anything like this.

[narrator] The Mines of Moria

sequence in particular

had people begging for more.

A lot more.

That whole sequence is so much
of the essence

of what this franchise is about.

It looks beautiful,
it's intense, it's emotional.

Gandalf!

What they did in that room was,
they blew everybody's mind

in the middle
of the Cannes Film Festival,

where you're there to see
high-minded art

from around the world by the
greatest filmmakers working,

20 minutes
of "Lord of the Rings"

stole the oxygen
of that entire festival.

The thing that at least my
friends were talking about were,

"This looks exactly like
I imagined it,

this looks exactly the way
it was described in the book."

You work very hard on something,

you're not quite sure
how it's gonna look

and getting to see
that footage was an eye-opener.

I think we realized
that we were part of something

that was at a higher level of
anything that we'd done before.

[Osborne] I decided to sneak
into the theater

and just sit down anonymously
behind three British reporters.

One of them turned
to the other one and said,

"Gee, I thought Tolkien
was gonna be boring."

And I knew then
that we had a film

that was working really,
really well.

[narrator] But perhaps no one
was quite as elated

as the foreign distributors.

Distributors
came out with tears.

I remember, I think it was
Samuel Hadida

went up to Mark Ordesky

and, like, grabbed him
and started kissing him.

I mean, they were just thrilled
and just stunned

at what they had seen
and the potential of the film.

[narrator] And after several
successful screenings,

they packed it up
and went home.

Oh, no, you don't.

[narrator] Just kidding.

They had a huge party
afterwards.

♪♪

Basically reconstructed
the Shire, everything.

It was phenomenal.

There had never been
anything like this

to really introduce these films
as something spectacular.

Yeah, it was, it was exciting.

It's a great party at Cannes,
lots of people.

I'm sure New Line spent
a lot of money on it.

[narrator]
$2 million, to be precise.

All the cast where there.

A lot of the key crew
were there.

[narrator] Even Peter Jackson
got all dolled up

and put on a nice suit.

But he refused to put on shoes
and we were like,

"Peter, at least put on sandals
or something."

[narrator]
But with shoes on or off,

New Line could feel a bit
of a spring in Peter's step.

They realized that Peter
was a true auteur

and the team around him
were delivering something

that was gonna be a lot more
than what they imagined.

[narrator] With everyone drunk
on Hobbit ale and elvish wine,

New Line's sales department
got to work.

We did it.
We did it successfully.

And by the end of Cannes,

New Line had closed
all the foreign pre-sales.

[narrator] And with that,
the party could truly begin.

For some, though, the victories
were more than financial.

These were really male films,

but the deals we negotiated
were mostly all with men.

And I was very, very proud
to be a woman representing this.

My team had a lot
of really strong women

and I'm really proud
to have been a part of it.

Yeah.

[narrator] And there was a lot
to be proud of.

I truly think
once Cannes happened,

that's the moment that everybody
exhales for the first time.

That was good.

It was maybe the biggest
moment of hype

I've ever witnessed
and deservedly.

That was so successful
that everything changed.

[narrator]
With a newly earned hype,

the relationship between Peter
and New Line changed as well.

I know that there were worries
about the budget blowing out,

that, you know,
that the cast had got bigger,

the crew had got bigger.
More was being spent.

I think there was an assurance
after that footage at Cannes

that this was gonna be worth the
money that they were spending.

[narrator]
Arriving back in New Zealand,

Peter Jackson and his team
got back to work,

albeit with a strong wind
in their sails.

The floodgates opened, you know?

But it didn't feel like
a completely different movie.

Peter knew what he was doing
and he didn't,

even if they gave him
three times the money,

he wasn't gonna turn it into
something else all of a sudden.

You know? I think he knew
he'd found the right language

for the film before
they got the cash injection.

A lot of the pressure
was taken off of us.

[narrator]
But not all the pressure.

We knew we had to have it
finished for December that year.

[narrator] With six months
till the end of the year,

production kicked it up
into high gear.

At one point, we had, like,
four or five units

shooting onto the two islands.

And it was like at one point,

we had four Orlandos
shooting simultaneously

on four different parts
of the island.

[narrator]
And if you're wondering

how that was possible...

We had so many Orlando doubles.
I think we had seven.

[narrator] All of which would
soon become very necessary.

We were filming

and we had nearly finished
the, the sequence,

but one of the shots
that we had left was aerobatic,

acrobatic of mounting
onto the horse.

And he fell off the horse.

He fell badly, and I think
he fell onto some hard rocks.

And they were all very concerned
that he'd damaged his spine.

[narrator] Orlando was quickly
rushed to the local hospital.

But he was fine,
he was out the next day.

And he was very sore,
but that was it.

Whatever luck you all live by,
let's hope it lasts the night.

[narrator] And the production
breathed a sigh of relief,

having avoided what could have
been a very costly mistake.

Peter's very good. He says,
"Okay, quick,

get the Orlando double ready.
Who's doing it today?"

You know, nothing's gonna
stop us filming,

just have to adjust
what we are filming.

[narrator] Even if the injuries
were starting to pile up.

It was leaning over them
and saying...

Squeal. No one's
gonna save you now.

Then they had this sword
which were real

and I kinda donged him
on the head with it.

He's sort of bleeding
just very slightly.

You know, then a few days later,
we're doing the next scene

and I get kicked in the face.

Similar thing, they were
trying to find

Merry and Pippin and they came
upon this encampment

where the Uruk-hai were in.

Aragorn thought
that they were dead.

So, he kicked a helmet.

And broke his toe [laughs]
kicking the helmet.

[screams]

Which is in the movie,
and he kept on going.

He didn't let that stop him

and it probably added
to his performance.

But I know [laughs]
it was very painful.

[yelling and screaming]

It was an absolute marathon
of energy

and draining long days
and long nights.

Keep breathing, that's the key.

There was a sense of,
"We can't afford to fail.

We've been given
this opportunity to film

one of the most
amazing pieces of literature

and it's our responsibility

to do everything we can
to make it a success."

[narrator]
"The Lord of the Rings'"

production schedule
was relentless.

Never before had a studio
committed

to shooting a complete trilogy
in one straight run.

It was a massive
logistical challenge.

266 main unit principal
photography days

for three movies,
but we did have the luxury

of numerous units
running at times,

you know, second units,
a second, second unit,

blue-screen units,
miniature units.

[narrator] But no one was more
embedded than Peter Jackson.

For days, Peter would sit
at a monitor

and he would call [indistinct]
he would look

directly across
to another monitor

which was a feed
from second unit

and pick up the phone
and make performance notes,

continuity notes,
whatever it might be.

He had his head around things
like I've never seen

anyone juggle prior to,
or previously, I don't think.

[narrator] With "The Fellowship
of the Rings'" release date

rapidly approaching,

it was time for Jackson
to narrow his focus.

[Sauron] The hour is later
than you think.

"Lord of the Rings,"
we always talk about

they made
all the films together.

That's sort of a misnomer.
There was an extended process

by which all three
of those films were made.

But at a certain point,
they narrowed

everyone's interest
to "Fellowship of the Ring"

because it became very clear --

"This is all ambitious,
this is all great,

but we have a movie
that has to be in theaters

Christmas of 2001
and it has to work.

And we're terrified."

[narrator]
So, Peter focused his attention

on the first film,
"The Fellowship of the Ring."

It was important to everyone
that the first film worked

and he put most
of his energy into that.

[narrator]
But his many second units

kept chugging away
at the latter two films.

He had second-unit directors

working on Helm's Deep,
for example.

The enormity of the battle
certainly got my attention.

[narrator]
John Mahaffie was now in charge

of the biggest battle scene
in the history of cinema,

an intimidating prospect.

Your friends are with you,
Aragorn.

The main gaffer,
Brian Bansgrove,

who was legendary, said,

"This one's gonna sort out
the men from the boys

and I intend
to finish it a man."

[Alley] It's kind of legendary

in the New Zealand
film industry now

for just the worst,
most difficult,

impossible shoot
that anyone's ever done.

[narrator] And while there were

many reasons for this,

the first was simply the sheer
number of people needed.

We had 200 extras that we could
get in close to.

[narrator]
That's 200 extras

that would serve as the models
for the 10,000 Orcs.

We hadn't really had those
sort of numbers of extras

in New Zealand before,
so just things like, you know,

"When do we give them
the swords?

When do we put
the masks on them?"

[narrator]
And unfortunately for Matt,

he was the one tasked
with figuring it out.

Well, I was in charge
of the Orc army,

getting them dressed
into their armor

and coming up
with different looks.

In fact, the prosthetics guys
would say to me,

"This is kind of a hillbilly
look,"

or "This is kind of
a rock and roll guy,"

which was kind of fun.

[narrator] Which leads
to the second reason

why this was such
a long, arduous shoot.

The stunt players, they'd be
there in their rubber suits,

heads on.

We could film
for 15, 20 minutes.

If we didn't stop at that point
and take their heads off,

some of them would actually
expire through lack of oxygen.

[narrator] And with the battle
taking place in the rain,

it was untenable to constantly
douse the Orcs in water.

To keep them looking wet,
really wet,

there were literally buckets
of KY jelly.

So, it was [laughs]

I mean, everyone got over
the jokes very quickly.

But, you know, you just
slop it on and it stays wet.

[narrator]
The result was a mosh pit

of extras covered
in latex and lube.

It was a lot of what we call
"organized chaos".

'Cause the actual battle scene
is chaotic and accidents galore.

[narrator] And no one
would know this better

than stunt man Sala Baker

who portrayed many
of the Uruk-hai.

Sala Baker, he got hit
by one of the horses

and I think we measured
he flew through the air 20 feet

before he hit the ground again.

[narrator] With so many swords
and weapons,

even the principal cast
were bound to get hit.

Viggo was sword fighting
and the stunt guy hit

Viggo right across the mouth
and broke a tooth.

And the tooth fell out
into the mud and muck of the set

and Viggo just picked it up.

[narrator]
And walked right over

to the special effects
department to see if...

We could just Super-Glue it
back on.

[narrator] While they said "No"

to the Super Glue,

they did offer to send him
to a dentist.

He said, "No, no,
I'm gonna keep going. [laughs]

I don't have to go
to the dentist."

[narrator]
The battle of Helm's Deep

was turning
into an extreme sport.

I said to Peter at one point,

"When Legolas is trying
to rescue Gimli,

why doesn't he throw
a shield on the ground

and ride it down the stairs
like a snow board?"

[narrator]
Executed to perfection

by stunt man Morgan Evans.

And if ever I mention
to someone,

"Oh, I was double for Legolas
in those movies,"

that's the thing they remember,
you know?

'Cause it was just so cool
and so slick.

[narrator] Jones' unorthodox
inspiration continued,

while observing the Uruk-hai
performance between takes.

These guys that looked like big,
ugly Uruk-hai

with their hats off,
they were like a football team

or, you know,
for us in New Zealand,

a rugby team that were committed
to get across the line.

[narrator]
But with the constant start

and stop of production...

the team had to find ways

to stay awake
during the long nights.

The boys would stand around
and one of them would sing

and then they would starting
to dance in these suits

that I had said to Peter,

"Why don't we do, like,
the Maori haka?"

Which is a war challenge.

[narrator]
Often performed before matches

by the New Zealand
national rugby team.

And so, that came in as
they started the chant...

...that built up to their moment
of their charging.

[growls]

[narrator]
This clever addition,

along with several other
punch-ups and rewrites

was the third reason
why filming the epic battle

took so long.

There's "Two Towers" footage
that you can see

that they shot with Arwen
at the Battle of Helm's Deep.

[narrator] The remnants
of an early script,

which featured the elvish
princess more prominently.

She was supposed to come
and fight as well.

[narrator]
Because if you recall,

she was supposed to be...

A female warrior.

But they took that out
because it just kind of

didn't make sense from
a narrative point of view.

So, they decided to replace her
with Haldir.

[narrator] Not just Haldir,
but a whole battalion of elves.

We are proud to fight
alongside men once more.

[narrator]
Meanwhile, the changes

only extended production
on the battle.

We filmed there for a long,
long time. All nights.

And you were just basically,
you know, waiting

till the sun came up and then
you could pretty much go home.

[narrator] Fatigue began to cast
its long shadow

over the production.

After about a couple of months,
they'd go in

and people were weird,
in a funny mood

because they
weren't seeing any daylight.

We had one person out there
who was threatening

to jump off the set,
you know, suicide attempt.

One of the crew
became disorientated

and climbed inside the tower.

[narrator] Which,
while only a miniature,

was still 40 feet tall.

Fortunately,
we were able to assure him

and get him down for help
and diffuse the situation

that could have
literally been tragic.

It kind of impressed
upon all of us

that we needed to look out
for each other,

that we needed to be able
to be honest with each other

about the pressures
that people were experiencing.

[narrator] With a renewed sense
of brotherhood,

filming continued.

But there was trouble ahead.

[narrator]
The epic battle of Helm's Deep

had pushed John Mahaffie's
second unit to the brink.

We'd be in a studio and then
the first studio go,

"That's a wrap on Helm's Deep."

And then we'd be doing
another studio,

"That's a wrap on Helm's Deep"
and by the third time,

it's like, "Yeah, really?
Are you sure we're wrapped

or are we gonna do
something else?"

[narrator]
But the war was far from over

and new challenges emerged
with each and every scene.

This particular day,
we were to film the sequence

at Minas Tirith.

And my steady-cam operator
was away

at a dental appointment.

[narrator] And not wanting
to lose the day...

I put on the steady cam,
so we roll the camera

and I say, "Action,"

and I'm sort of running
backwards through this market

and Peter comes round
onto our set and says,

"That's great, let's do
this one, we'll try this."

And so we do another take.
He goes, "Oh, that's great.

Let's do another,
we'll try this."

And it was like, 15 takes later,
I'm going, "Ahh." [laughs]

[narrator]
It was becoming apparent

that to film this epic story,

it would require
total commitment.

I got to do some of the training
with a horse called Brownie

for the scene where the horse
sits down on Viggo

and lets him get on.
It was a scene

that I think Peter
was a bit dubious about doing.

He didn't want his horse to sit
down on his lead actor's face.

[narrator]
Thankfully, his leading man

was up for the challenge.

He would come out after work
to ride the horse,

to feed the horse,
to groom the horse.

He totally believed that if you
were gonna bond with a horse,

you should spend
as much time as possible.

That was Viggo. He would live
in the field with the horse.

He and the horse were as one.

But it took him months.

He is incredibly dedicated.

And we shot there on the day

and it was kind of
the horse did it perfectly.

He's kind of almost like
a horse whisperer.

[narrator] While the horses
could be tamed,

the same couldn't be said
for the weather.

We were shooting in a place
called Skipper's Canyon.

It was the scene where Arwen is
one side of the river

and the Nazgul are on the other,
and we'd filmed the day before

and then there was

an unseasonable
fall of snow that night.

It started snowing very,
very hard.

And we knew that we had to keep
filming with those horses

at another location,

so we literally had
to ride them out of there.

Otherwise they would have
got us stuck in there for days.

[narrator]
With the weather closing in

on one side and a 400-foot drop
into the canyon on the other,

the team of wranglers
had to work together

to get out alive.

I couldn't see the horse
in front of me,

the blizzard was kind of,

the snow was coming
straight into our faces.

So, that was a moment
where we really had to trust

both ourselves and our mount
to get out safely, yeah.

[narrator]
But to be honest, each location

tested the ingenuity
and resilience

of the New Zealand crew,

including the sleepy town
of Twizel.

That whole area in the south
island was inhabited by,

you know, millions upon millions
of rabbits once upon a time.

[narrator]
And fuzzy rabbits

make fuzzy rabbit homes.

And each time we galloped,

the horses would stumble
into these rabbit holes

and we had hundreds of people
with sandbags

filling in these rabbit holes
in between takes

to make it safe for the 300
horses to gallop on.

[narrator]
And shooting in the north

was potentially equally
catastrophic.

It was a open desert in
the middle of the north island.

[narrator]
A perfect location

for the Mordor sets.

Well, except for the one
explosive detail.

There was mines underground.

[narrator] Luckily, the nearby
military base

offered their support.

"So, we're gonna have to be
on set to kind of help you out"

and then it was
also turned into,

"Well, you guys are military,
you guys march.

You guys wanna just be Gondor's
army for this scene right here?

That'd be great."

[narrator]
So, like, many New Zealanders,

they too decided to pitch in.

And while the horses
survived the rabbit holes

and the military survived
the minefield,

one hobbit couldn't make it
past the sandy beach.

Sean got, like,
16 or 20 stitches.

Quite a big cut.

[narrator]
When an errant stick

pierced the Hobbit
through his oversized feet.

So, I had to cut the bottom
of the foot off,

this blob
of clear plasma dropped.

And then Elijah came over with
a stick and started poking it.

[laughs]

[narrator]
Sean would make a full recovery

and thankfully, he wouldn't
have to get wet again.

He could not or would not go
in the water.

[narrator] So, green screen DP,

Nigel Bluck,

was tasked with the impossible.

I remember getting that call,
"Ah, can you figure out a way

to shoot dry for it?"
I had no idea, none.

But I do have a good knowledge
about water and being in water,

I've grown up around that,
so I just sort of broke it down

and figured out.

We just shot at very high speed,

used a lot of wind to make
his skin move as it should.

Put his cape on wires.

It was, you know, very simple.

[narrator]
Once again, proving

the ingenuity and resilience of
"The Lord of the Rings" crew.

Bare bones, we made things up.

We built things to do things,

we did things
in very basic ways sometimes.

And it worked.

[narrator] If production
on "Lord of the Rings"

was a logistical nightmare,

then post production
was sure to be no easier.

And like all things
on this film,

it was complicated in the sense
that Peter had a great idea.

He was gonna have three editors.

[narrator] John Gilbert editing
"Fellowship of the Ring."

Michael J. Horton
editing "Two Towers"

and Jamie Selkirk editing
"Return of the King."

And that he would be able to go
from one cutting room

to another on all three films

and he could get it all done
in a year,

but that was not possible.

[narrator] So, with a rapidly
approaching deadline,

Peter Jackson was forced
to pivot.

So, we did have three editors

and they were
cutting during production.

But he couldn't physically
and mentally be so engaged

in all three films
at the same time.

[narrator]
But given the scope

of Peter Jackson's vision,
New Line had doubts

whether he could even deliver
the first film on time.

[narrator] "Lord of the Rings"
director, Peter Jackson,

wasn't the only one struggling

to juggle three mammoth films
at once.

I tried to ignore
the other two movies.

[narrator] Editor John Gilbert
had to keep his blinkers on.

I saw my movie as a complete
article on its own

and I tried not
to think about the other two.

I was barely involved.

[narrator]
Adding to the complications

was the shift from film
to digital.

Peter had a regular editor,
Jamie Selkirk,

he'd worked with a lot.

And he was used
to editing on film.

But I'd been working on Avid
for maybe four years,

I suppose, by then.

[narrator]
So, John was hired

for his expertise with this new
software, Avid,

that was revolutionizing
the film industry

and allowing post teams
to edit faster.

I mean, it's an incredibly
elaborate task,

making a film like this.

[narrator] Peter Jackson's
high shooting rate

meant there was almost
an infinite amount of choices.

Some days, I would get so much
footage just to view it all

and then try and construct
a sequence out of it

and then be ready
for the next day's footage

was quite daunting.

[narrator] More than
6 million feet of film

would be shot for the trilogy,

which is how John ended up
with a four-hour rough cut.

The film was quite long.

[narrator]
Too long.

And there was only one thing
for that.

I was concerned about the length
at times and I would try

and find things I thought
that I could take aside and say,

"This'll be good
for the DVD extras,"

so it was a way of saying,
"All is not lost."

Because some of them
had expensive

visual effects were done

and it becomes a commitment
to them being in the film

once they sort of are
so extensively worked on.

[narrator] Nevertheless,
fitting the whole scope

of Tolkien's Middle Earth
into the first film

was a lot of responsibility.

I didn't really care
about the fans, to be honest.

I just wanted the film to work

as its own entity
and to make sense.

I didn't want you
to have to know the books

to enjoy the film.

[narrator]
So, John made sure audiences

never lost focus on the main
character's journey.

The audience has to run
with Frodo.

If the narrative wasn't talking
about Frodo or the ring,

it had to be cut.

I will take the ring to Mordor.

[Gilbert] He's a little guy who
takes on this huge mission

and I wanted the audience
to really empathize with him

taking it on and see his act
of courage for what it was.

[narrator]
And while Frodo's sacrifice

was something all audiences
could relate to,

John and Peter struggled
with how to properly

drop audiences
into Middle Earth.

[Galadriel] It began with
the forging of the great rings.

[narrator] Eventually, having
Philippa Boyens write

a near 7-minute-long prologue.

That was a real struggle,
trying to find the rhythm of it,

the weight
of the various elements.

[Galadriel] Nine rings were

gifted to the race of men.

[Gilbert] And there was a lot
of different elements to it,

so it was shot very piecemeal.

[McWeeny] The prologue was
something that took shape

over several different
iterations of this,

is necessary, I think,
in order to drop the world in.

[Galadriel]
In the fires of Mount Doom.

But it's also a big ask.

You're asking an audience
to absorb

this massive amount
of material up front

and you're gambling
that the normies,

the people that aren't already
"Lord of the Rings" fanatics,

aren't going to be
absolutely baffled

by what you're throwing at them.

[Gilbert] It was so important.

We sort of fiddled with it
for a long time

to make sure that
it was just right.

[narrator] 'Cause while it may
be hard to believe,

there were plenty of folks
back then

that were unfamiliar
with what a Hobbit was.

And so, Peter Jackson
figured he could hook

uninitiated audiences
with one thing.

Peter wanted there to be
something epic

right from the start,
rather than we have to wait

for the third film
to see the big battles.

It's like, "Let's put a big
battle right at the start."

We had elves and Orcs and men

all fighting together
in this big battle.

[narrator] Die-hard fans,

on the other hand,

would need something a little
more tantalizing.

[Gollum] My precious.

We had very few Gollum shots
in the first film.

[narrator]
So, they made sure

to include him in the prologue.

A tease of him,
'cause obviously,

they were working on the digital
Gollum right until the very end.

[narrator]
The prologue also meant

the trilogy would need
to establish its storyteller,

the voice of the film.

But who should that be?

At first, it was going
to be Frodo.

Then they considered Gandalf.

Ahh, if you can have anyone
do a voice-over,

anyone do narration,

just let Cate Blanchett
do all of it.

[narrator] Unfortunately,
the late call on narrator

meant a late call to Sydney.

Peter and Fran couldn't go.

[narrator] So, they asked

Barrie to supervise.

I was tapped in by phone.

[narrator] And while
the Australian actress

recorded her lines from afar,

she definitely
didn't phone it in.

[Galadriel] I amar presten.

The world is changed.

I feel it in the water.

I remember, it was breathtaking.

I was just blown away.

Take one was perfect.

[narrator] But without Peter
and Fran's feedback,

Cate wasn't convinced.

She said, "Well, I'd really like
to know what they think."

And thankfully,
Fran became available.

I got on the phone with her.

And Fran said, "Oh,
that's perfect." [laughs]

'Cause it was perfect.

[narrator]
But what wasn't perfect yet

was the end of "The Fellowship
of the Ring,"

which presented a challenge.

It became absolutely important
to them to find a note

that they could leave
"Fellowship of the Ring" on,

that felt hopeful,
that still felt like,

"Yes, there's more story,
but this story is done."

[narrator]
With post production

on "Fellowship of the Ring"
in full gear,

Peter Jackson was still
looking to create

a satisfying end that would
also serve as a beginning

for part two.

[Gandalf] The Two Towers.

It became very tricky
and it was a moving target

that changed several times,
even during production.

[narrator]
One thing that Philippa,

Fran and Peter could agree on
was the need to have a death

before the ending.

You fought bravely.

Eventually, they settle
on the death of Boromir.

They settle on that moment.

It is over.

[narrator] In the novel,
the death of Boromir

takes places at the beginning
of "The Two Towers"

and by moving it up to the end

of "The Fellowship
of the Ring,"

it gave the film
an emotional climax.

And Peter shot a lot of film
for Sean Bean's death scene.

No!

He had some particular ideas
about how it would go together.

And some quite impressionistic
kind of moments in there

with him fighting on, manfully,

while he's got all these arrows
stuck in him.

And Viggo running to him

and them having their little
piece of dialogue at the end.

They took the little ones.

-Be still.
-And I cut the scene...

I would have followed you,
my brother.

[Gilbert]
I heard a couple of weeks later

that Peter was very pleased
with what I did,

so we didn't go back and mess
with it too much.

[narrator]
Well, as they say,

you don't mess with perfection.

But one thing that was messed
with was the film's finale.

[Bennett] At the end of the day,
it was Frodo's story,

so they wanted to end it
on Frodo instead of Aragorn.

[narrator]
And New Line insisted

on a big action moment for him,
in fact, they insisted on this.

Frodo and Sam are in the water,

heading across
to the other side.

When all of a sudden, the
Uruk-hai pop out of the water

and then they drag
Mr. Frodo under

and they wrestle with him
in the water.

When the ring falls off his neck

and starts floating down
to the bottom,

the Uruk-hai,
infatuated with the ring,

swim after it, but then drown.

So, then Sam can pull Mr. Frodo
out of the water and hurray,

he's saved,
and then they take a big breath,

they go down and get the ring,
they come back up.

They get in the boat,
they drive to the other side.

Badda bing, badda boom,
they're out.

[narrator]
And so was that scene.

Because Peter wanted
an emotional ending

rather than a Hollywood
action scene.

[Busch] If you end a film where
someone is thinking like,

"I can stop now, it'd be better
for me if I stopped now..."

[Frodo] I wish the ring
had never come to me.

"But it won't."

That's the moment where
everyone knows that moment,

everyone knows the moment
they didn't take that step.

Everyone knows the moment
they did take that step.

I think that that's a really
powerful thing for people.

Go back, Sam!

[narrator]
Peter eventually

convinced New Line
he was right.

He will persevere until
he's got exactly what he wants.

He's willing to go through
whatever it takes

to make the film
as good as it can be.

Sam nearly drowning
was a difficult scene.

You had to empathize
with Frodo...

-Sam!
-...and feel for his courage.

That was the key to the end
of the story for me.

[Busch] That leaves you
with such a gut punch

that it's the perfect stopping
point for the first film.

[narrator]
With only a few months

before "The Fellowship of
the Ring" was due in theaters,

New Line was eager
to see a cut.

I think the first screening
was in July of 2001.

[narrator] And after the lights

came up in the room,

there was only one thing
New Line's CEO, Bob Shaye,

could do.

Bob is an emotional guy
and he cried.

He went into the restroom
and cried.

I can't say if it was cry
of relief

or cry of excitement
and appreciation.

[narrator] It was good news
for Peter and the team.

[Lyon] They were all excited
and celebrating

that they had just gotten
the first cut

approved by the studio.

[narrator] But it was only
a momentary victory.

There still was a lot of work
to be done

because there was
a lot of green screen.

[Gilbert] We were supposed
to lock the film in August

and we didn't quite make it.

[narrator] To make the tight
deadline even worse...

[Gilbert] Peter was recording
with the London Philharmonic

at the end of August.
-[narrator] So once again,

they had to pivot
and think outside the box.

And when Peter flew to London

to work with composer
Howard Shore...

We had to set up an editing room
in London to continue editing.

[narrator]
Thankfully, the score

put the finishing touch
on many of the scenes.

Oh, Howard Shore's score
was fantastic. I was so pleased.

[dramatic music playing]

Big score for the battle scenes
and so on.

I thought he did
a fantastic job.

[sweeping music playing]

I think his theme for Hobbinton
from the beginning of the film

was something that stuck
in people's heads immediately

and I can still hear it
playing in my head now if I try.

I think it was
an integral part of the story.

[narrator] But just as the score
was wrapped up...

[Gilbert]
We were in the cutting room

and someone came in and said,

"Oh, well, you should come out
and watch this TV,

there's something
weird going on."

[narrator] It was the morning

of September the 11th.

[Gilbert] There on live TV
right in front of us

as we walked into the room,
the second plane hit the tower.

[narrator]
With all flights grounded,

they soon realized they'd be
staying in London indefinitely.

Meanwhile, new problems
suddenly emerged.

I knew we had ratings issues
that we were concerned about.

We have a cave troll.

[narrator]
The MPAA was concerned

with the amount of blood
in the Mines of Moria scene.

Yah!

[Osborne]
But we successfully argued

that it's mostly Orc blood,
it's all black not red.

So it's not as frightening
to people.

[narrator] Thankfully, there
were no Orcs in the MPAA.

We basically got our rating.

We had to make a few changes,
minor changes.

[narrator] But even the most
minor of changes

had New Line concerned.

It was a lot of work.
I mean, the deadlines,

everything was so tight.
So, so tight.

I think they were probably
anxious right through

to the end, really,
until the film opened.

I'm sure they were anxious.

[narrator]
"The Fellowship of the Ring"

premiered
in J.R.R. Tolkien's homeland

on December the 10th, 2001.

[Galano] The first premiere,
we did in London

and we did a huge event there.

And then we had a huge
screening in Leicester Square.

[narrator]
Few could deny

that Tolkien's magic kingdom
now had a definitive look.

It was as good as official.

What blew us away and what
everybody was saying

when we came out was
that's exactly what we'd seen

in our minds
when we read the book.

That was Middle Earth,
that was "Lord of the Rings."

It just seemed right,
it just seemed like,

"Yeah, that's what
it should be."

[Galano] I've never experienced
anything like that before.

When the film started opening,
the numbers that were coming in

from every single country
around the world,

that people were just shocked.

All I can say is from the film
we saw in July of 2001

to the finished film
and what Peter did,

he's a master filmmaker.

I mean,
it was just unbelievable.

I remember going to midnight
screenings of it.

Like, it was intense.

If you want him,
come and claim him.

[Busch] With all the wonderful
things I'd heard,

even with all the rumors,
and I still walked in

and I don't think I closed
my mouth for the entire film.

It was exactly what I'd
envisioned in my head.

[narrator] As the film rippled
around the world...

-Gahh!
-Gahh!

[narrator]
...it became clear

"The Fellowship of the Ring"
had not only redefined Tolkien

on screen, but had taken
his work mainstream.

[Drout] After the Ralph Bakshi
movie in 1978,

it was really still
very much a subculture.

Like, you couldn't make
a "Lord of the Rings"

reference...

One ring to bring them all.

...and not be flagged as a nerd.

Or just have no one understand
what you're referring to.

[narrator] That was now
a thing of the past.

One ring to rule them all.

[narrator] But perhaps
the film's greatest achievement

was something
no one saw coming.

[McWeeny] "Lord of the Rings"
had an emotional note

that even if you were
a "Lord of the Rings" fan,

I don't think you could have
predicted the way

it just pierced
pop consciousness.

It wasn't just big,
it was massive.

[narrator] For the first time,
fantasy was cool.

Fantasy was thought of
by everybody that it was a genre

that very few women
were interested in

and that was proven utterly
and completely wrong.

And that, like that, doubled
the size of the audience.

[narrator] "Lord of the Rings"
also happened to arrive

just as fandom was searching
for a new cinematic dynasty.

"Star Wars" had been
nothing but divisive

when it came out in 1999.

Mesa called Jar Jar Binks.

It had broken fandom
to a large degree.

"Lord of the Rings"
was the opposite

and it really opened the door
for a lot of people.

[narrator] The film also put
New Zealand on the map.

Now Middle Earth, no longer
middle of the road.

We'd gone from this little sort
of tiny island backwater

to the center of Hollywood.

And just really gave everyone
a sense of pride,

and like, "Oh, wow,
we can do this.

We can kick it
with the big boys."

[narrator]
Proof of that came

at the 74th Academy Awards.

-And the Oscar goes to...

-And the Oscar goes to...
-Goes to...

-..."The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring."

[narrator] "The Fellowship"

collected four Oscars.

The success of the first film
ensured the biggest project

in movie history could fly.

Now it was a question
of how high and how far.

Where do you go from making
that kind of art at that level?

Where do you go from there?

There's only up
or there's only sideways.

[narrator]
Whether the trilogy

would go sideways or even
backwards would depend

on more than just a vision.

[McCaffrey] The first movie,
obviously, set a platform,

but then in the back
of our minds,

we potentially
were always going,

"Will two and three be
as well received?"

[narrator] That would depend
in part on technology.

There's gotta be another way
to do this.

[narrator] The only problem was,
it didn't exist yet.

New Line was worried
about the Weta,

about their capacity to deliver.

[narrator] And the people
who needed to create it

had their own problems.

I found out that there was
a lot of dysfunction at Weta.

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