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20 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The 'Lord Of The Rings' And 'Hobbit' Movies

One Pictofact to lure them all (into clicking).

20 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The 'Lord Of The Rings' And 'Hobbit' Movies

June 24, 2022

After a little don’t make Ian McKellen cry…

20

Viggo Mortensen

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT VIGGO MORTENSEN WAS CAST AT THE LAST MINUTE. The original Aragorn, Queen of the Damned's Stuart Townsend, was fired just one day before filming, as he was suddenly deemed too young for the part. He's still bitter about it. — Source: Independent.ie

19

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS A SINGLE HOBBIT + LOTR TRILOGY. Back in 1995, Peter Jackson's idea was to shoot The Hobbit as one movie, and The Lord of the Rings for part two and three. So apparently, we were close to having a good Hobbit movie. CRACKED.COM — Source: ScreenCrush/YouTube

18

Jake Gyllenhaal

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT JAKE GYLLENHAAL AUDITIONED FOR FRODO. (НЕ SUCKED.) Gyllenhaal failed his audition hard, as he didn't even bother with an English accent. Не heard days later that his was one of the worst auditions for the part. CRACKED.COM — Source: Yahoo Entertainment

17

The Lord of the Rings

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT SEAN BEAN WAS READING HIS MONOLOGUE OFF HIS CROTCH. Peter Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens wrote the scene the night before, so Bean had to read off a crib sheet. On his crotch. One does not simply look away from Sean Bean's crotch. CRACKED.COM — More: Peter Jackson Revealed The Chaotic Origins Of The Best 'Lord Of The Rings' Meme

16

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT GANDALF'S HEAD BUMP WAS AN ACCIDENT (OR WAS IT?). Peter Jackson recalls the bump as a real accident he chose to leave in. According to lan McKellen, though, it was an intentional move - he just didn't tell Jackson he planned to do that. CRACKED.COM — Source: Screen Rant

15

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT RON PERLMAN WAS ALMOST SMAUG. Back when The Hobbit was supposed to be directed by Guillermo del Toro, Perlman was to voice the big dragon. No disrespect to Benedict Cumberbatch, but come on, it's Ron Perlman. — Source: 5 Amazing 'Lord of the Rings' Movies We'll Never See

14

The Two Hobbit Movies

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT THE HOBBIT WAS GOING TO BE TWO MOVIES, NOT THREE. As of 2007, the adaptation had two parts: An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again. But then studio heads changed their minds. CRACKED.COM — Source: ScreenCrush/YouTube

13

The Hobbit

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT THE WITCH-KING WAS RESHOT. During initial test screenings, audiences couldn't tell the Witch-king apart from Sauron. Apparently Peter Jackson agreed, because he reshot the character's scenes with a whole new design. — Source: Screen Rant

12

The Lord of the Rings

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT VIGGO MORTENSEN SLAYED HIS SON (AS AN ORC). The very first orc Aragorn kills in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is played by his son Henry. It's like Vin Diesel always says - it's all about fambly. CRACKED.COM — Source: Screen Rant

11

Smaug's Legs

CRACKED.COM THE HOBBIT THE LORD OF THE RINGS SMAUG LOST TWO LEGS BETWEEN MOVIES. The dragon's first, quick appearance in An Unexpected Journey was heavily modified later on, and he goes from being four-legged to a two-legged, wyvern-like form. — Source: Wikipedia

10

Andy Serkis

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT ANDY SERKIS DIDN'T JUST PLAY GOLLUM. A big contribution he did to the Hobbit trilogy was directing the second unit for the three movies. That's... that's actually cool. CRACKED.COM — Source: ScreenCrush/YouTube

9

Hobbiton

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT HOBBITON WAS BUILT A FULL YEAR BEFORE FILMING. The producers wanted it to be truly lush and beautiful, so they gave the vegetation time to grow. We'd say they could have just green-screened it, but, erm, we all know what happens when Tolkien movies over-rely on CGI. CRACKED.COM — Source: Screen Rant

8

Gollum the Junkie

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT ANDY SERKIS PLAYED GOLLUM AS A JUNKIE. Serkis based Gollum's craving for his precious on actual drug-addicts going through withdrawal. Power, indeed, is addictive. — Source: Screen Rant

7

Gollum's Design

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT GOLLUM CHANGED. The little glimpses we get in The Fellowship of the Ring show a different, more animalistic Gollum. The character design was still not based on Andy Serkis' motion capture performance by then. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Screen Rant, Screen Rant

6

Lord of the Rings

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT FRODO WAS A MURDERER. A scene was actually shot where Frodo simply pushed Gollum into the lava. Damn. Then Peter Jackson realized that wasn't very Tolkien-like, and reshot the scene. — Source: Mental Floss

5

Stephen Colbert is a big Tolkien nerd

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT STEPHEN COLBERT MAKES A CAMEO. Colbert't blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance is not as random as it might look like, as he's a huge Tolkien nerd. CRACKED.COM — Source: WhatCulture

4

Bag End

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT THE BAG END SET WAS BUILT TWICE. A hobbit-size set was made for lan McKellen (with little people standing in for hobbits), and one much bigger for Elijah Wood and lan Holm (walking around a 7-foot-4-tall Gandalf). CRACKED.COM — Source: Sir Ian McKellen - Official Home Page

3

Peter Jackson's Cameos

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT PETER JACKSON CAMEOS IN ALL THE MOVIES. Drunkard Albert Dreary seems to be his favorite, as he plays him in both trilogies - but he actually has a small part in every movie of the saga. CRACKED.COM — Source: CBR

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2

The Lord of the Rings

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT BOLG WAS MUCH COOLER. The orc leader is fully CGI, but we have photos of the original, physical version, which did a much better job of not looking like Zack Snyder's Doomsday. — Source: WhatCulture

1

Christopher Lee

CRACKED.COM THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT CHRISTOPHER LEE WAS A HUGE TOLKIEN FANBOY. The movie legend campaigned for a Tolkien-related part for decades, accepting fantasy roles just to get the point across. Even more, he's the only actor in the saga to have actually met J. R. R. Tolkien. — Sources: Screen Rant, BuzzFeed

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