Lord of the Rings

[Lee909]

Was thinking these films are nearly 20 years old already, and just read up a little of the filming and casting. I have read bits of it before.

The filming started just under 20 years ago. Some of the back and forth on casting is pretty mad

 

Excuse the links i cant be arse typing everything out so copy and paste job

 

 

So Cate Blanchett(back up options  Lucy Lawless and Nicole Kidman)  and Ian Holm (back up  Anthony Hopkins or Sylvester McCoy) where first choice(i know Ian Holm got the job on the back of his work on the BBC radio production of LOTR)

 

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens compiled a casting wishlist, which included Cate Blanchett for Galadriel, and Ian Holm for Bilbo

 

 

Gandalf

 

Jackson considered Sir Nigel Hawthorne for Gandalf, but the actor was suffering from pancreatic cancer.^[3] Wondering whether Patrick Stewart would be right for the part, Philippa Boyens drew a tape of him performing opposite Ian McKellen, only to suggest the latter to Jackson.^[4] McKellen became Jackson's first choice for Gandalf.^[5] Christopher Lee sent Jackson a photograph of him in a wizard's costume, wanting to play Gandalf,^[6] but Jackson decided he would be a perfect Saruman, instead.

Miramax wanted a recognisable name for Gandalf, and suggested Max von Sydow or Paul Scofield and, wanting an American star, even mentioned Morgan Freeman.^[1][7] When New Line took over, they suggested Christopher Plummer or Sean Connery for the part (both declined),^[8] and put a veto against Richard Harris when his name came up. When von Sydow inquired for the part later, his agent told him they were looking for an English actor. Back ups included Tom Baker, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Neil, Bernard Hill (who was instead cast as Theoden)^[ and Peter O'Toole,

 

Christopher Lee wanted this part but eneded up with Sauroman which was a great casting( Paul Scofield, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm McDowell or Tim Curry back ups for Saruman)

 

 

 

 

Fucking hell cant quite image Morgan Freeman as Gandalf or Max von Sydow. 

 

 

 

Aragon

Daniel Day Lewis was looked at, the cast Stuart Townsend and then replaced him early in shooting as he was deemed to look to young, the spoke to Russell Crowe who auditioned for Boromir and didn't get it, pretty mad considering this was the same year Gladiator came out. Daniel Craig auditioned for Boromir aswell. Newline wanted Nick cage as Bormir and Liam Neason declined the role

 

Billy Connolly was nearly cast as Gimli

 

Fucking can you imagine

 

Morgan Freeman as Gandlaf

Tim Curry as Sauroman

Stuart Townsend as Aragon

Billy Connolly as Gimli

Nick Cage as Boromir

 

 

 

[niallers]

My favourite films and books. I hope amazon don't fucking ruin the upcoming series set in the 2nd age on Númenor. There's enough in it to not be adding characters and legolas better not make an appearance either!

[Anubis]

When news first broke that Stuart Townsend had been cast as Aragorn I was ready to sack it off. Best decision ever to recast him.

 

Can you seriously imagine anyone other than Viggo Mortenson in the role?

[Pidge]

Used to go on the website daily when they were announcing casting decisions. 

 

Recently re-read Fellowship for the first time as an adult and it's great, absolutely holds up. Reading a few others but will go for two towers prob in the winter. 

 

Mad reading it and remembering the hundreds of pages before you even get to Bree.

[Lee909]

4 minutes ago, Pidge said:

 

Mad reading it and remembering the hundreds of pages before you even get to Bree.

Yeah I listened to the audio book the other year 3 or 4 days into listening while travelling to work and they were still on the run from the Black riders

[Bobby Hundreds]

Reading the book for the first time was a genuine adventure, when I finished I was almost depressed it was over. Some books I wish I could erase from my mind and read again.

 

The films were done brilliantly, make up, costumes not the CGI shitfest the hobbit was. Fuck me those hobbit films were atrocious.

 

[Bjornebye]

Great films, The Two Towers is one of the greatest things I've seen 

[Anubis]

 

Considering how much money Amazon have already dropped on this they’re keeping things remarkably quiet.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

2 hours ago, Anubis said:

When news first broke that Stuart Townsend had been cast as Aragorn I was ready to sack it off. Best decision ever to recast him.

 

Can you seriously imagine anyone other than Viggo Mortenson in the role?

Charles Hawtrey?

[Guest]

I've heard a couple of times that Sean Connery was offered Gandalf first and they wanted him so much they offered him as much as 15% of the profits. 

[Guest]

And The Beatles wanted to make a movie of The Lord of the Rings in the 1960s. They asked Stanley Kubrick to direct but when they asked for the rights in the 1960s, Tolkien was not happy with The Beatles vision (they all each wanted a part in it with Lennon playing Gollum) and refused them the rights to make it. 

 

Crazy times. 

[Paulie Dangerously]

"I'd like to tell you that Faramir fought the good fight and the orcs let him be. I'd like to tell you that."

 

"Why do they call you Gandalf the Grey?"

"I dunno, maybe it's because I'm Irish."

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Fluter in Dakota said:

And The Beatles wanted to make a movie of The Lord of the Rings in the 1960s. They asked Stanley Kubrick to direct but when they asked for the rights in the 1960s, Tolkien was not happy with The Beatles vision (they all each wanted a part in it with Lennon playing Gollum) and refused them the rights to make it. 

 

Crazy times. 

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/01/14/lord-of-the-rings-beatles

 

Although the official career of the Beatles lasted for 10 years, from 1960 to 1970, their unprecedented style influenced the course of late 20th-century music. Nowadays, the band’s music still sounds fresh, and their visionary legacy continues to inspire countless listeners as well as numerous musicians and artists.

 

In 1963, the Beatles accepted a three-movie deal offered to them by the United Artists production company. However, due to their abrupt break-up, the band members starred in only two movies. A Hard Day’s Night, a mocumentary in which the band members play themselves, became an instant commercial success. Time magazine even listed it among the 100 greatest movies of all time. The second movie, Help!, is an adventurous James Bond parody in which the Beatles fight an evil cult. Although it received mixed reviews, the original soundtrack was inventive and enjoyable.

 

The Beatles never made their third movie, but they did make plans to create something quite ambitious. They were planning on starring in an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The famous epic fantasy trilogy was first published in 1952 and quickly gained a cult following. All four members of the Beatles, who were teenagers in the 1950s, were greatly influenced by Tolkien’s work.

 

They wanted to honor it by creating an epic psychedelic adaptation that would feature their original songs. Paul McCartney would portray Frodo Baggins, and Ringo Starr would star as his affectionate sidekick, Sam Gamgee. George Harrison would portray the wise wizard Gandalf and John Lennon would appear as the unfortunate Gollum.

The first two movies that featured the Beatles were directed by Richard Lester. Although the members of the band were quite satisfied with Lester’s work, they had someone else in mind for their Tolkien-related films. Namely, they approached Stanley Kubrick, the visionary director known for his complex narrative techniques and pioneering work with special effects. At that time, Kubrick already had several major successes under his belt, including Spartacus, Lolita, and Dr. Strangelove. The Beatles thought that Kubrick’s expertise and vision could conjure up a mind-blowing on-screen adaptation of Tolkien’s masterpiece.

 

However, Kubrick wasn’t as taken with the idea of directing The Lord of the Rings. He was a fan of the trilogy but thought that it was too complex to be properly adapted for the screen. Therefore, he declined to collaborate with the Beatles on the project and instead concentrated on his work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, the groundbreaking science fiction epic that established him as one of the greatest directors of all time.

 

At the time when the Beatles wanted to make an on-screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien hadn’t yet sold the rights to the trilogy to any production company. When the band approached him with their idea and asked him to sell the rights to them so that they could start working on the movie, he refused without any negotiation. Tolkien was quite a traditionalist and he openly disliked the new musical trend sparked by the Beatles. At the time, he lived on Sandfield Road in Oxford: incidentally, a band practice garage was situated just three doors away from his house.

 

An unknown local band whose members frequently used the garage may have amplified his hatred of the Beatles and their music, which he considered overly aggressive. In a 1964 letter to his friend Christopher Bretherton, Tolkien wrote: “In a house three doors away dwells a member of a group of young men who are evidently aiming to turn themselves into a Beatle Group. On days when it falls to his turn to have a practice session the noise is indescribable.”

Tolkien, aged 24 in 1916

If the Beatles had somehow managed to persuade Tolkien to sell them the rights to The Lord of the Rings and if Stanley Kubrick had agreed to direct the movie, we would live in a world in which the on-screen trilogy would be something entirely different.

 

Tolkien did eventually sell the rights to United Artists. In 2001, when Peter Jackson’s first part of the on-screen trilogy was released, the surviving members of the Beatles reportedly stated that they were satisfied with the movie and that the only thing that was missing from it was an original Beatles soundtrack.

[Ezekiel 25:17]

11 hours ago, Fluter in Dakota said:

And The Beatles wanted to make a movie of The Lord of the Rings in the 1960s. They asked Stanley Kubrick to direct but when they asked for the rights in the 1960s, Tolkien was not happy with The Beatles vision (they all each wanted a part in it with Lennon playing Gollum) and refused them the rights to make it. 

 

Crazy times. 

It's only the film the Lord of the rings could have been, I'd watch it.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

12 hours ago, Anubis said:

 

Considering how much money Amazon have already dropped on this they’re keeping things remarkably quiet.

 

Isn't the budget already topping 1 billion? Really looking forward to watching it and hopefully they'll do a great job. 

[Johnlj]

On 17/08/2020 at 20:02, Anubis said:

When news first broke that Stuart Townsend had been cast as Aragorn I was ready to sack it off. Best decision ever to recast him.

 

Can you seriously imagine anyone other than Viggo Mortenson in the role?

SEN fucking SEN, not fucking SON. Danish names ends in SEN. Swedish cunts end in SON.

 

Just joking, but never understood why English speaking people can't see the letter E in a scandinavian surname.

[Rico1304]

It was my brother’s nickname, on account of all the women he bummed.  Different times. 

[Sugar Ape]

 

[Harry's Lad]

8 minutes ago, Sugar Ape said:

 

Looking forward to that.

[Chris]

34 minutes ago, Harry's Lad said:

Looking forward to that.

 

BOOOOOOOINNNNNG! 

[Elite]

I still need to watch the films if I can muster up the courage. As it looks boring as fuck.

[J-V]

Just now, Elite said:

I still need to watch the films if I can muster up the courage. As it looks boring as fuck.

When you do watch the extended cuts.

[Elite]

14 minutes ago, J-V said:

When you do watch the extended cuts.

The standard cuts are 3 hours each aren't they? That's long enough.

[J-V]

3 minutes ago, Elite said:

The standard cuts are 3 hours each aren't they? That's long enough.

 

It's a quality watch the first time around.  Also a good film series to stick on if you want to clear mates from your house.

 

[Section_31]

1 hour ago, Elite said:

I still need to watch the films if I can muster up the courage. As it looks boring as fuck.

Woah there Nelly, the films are sensational. You won't be disappointed.