1956

Walt Disney expresses its interest in making a movie about The Lord Of The Rings. Tolkien, being very sceptical, insists on seeing some sketches of the film script before selling his film rights and thus Forrest J. Ackerman starts to write a film script. The result is a script that has almost nothing to do with the original book. Ackerman's Orcs wear feathers and beaks, the Eagles appear every two seconds. Tolkien is shocked and no longer ready to sell his film rights.

1966

After the rejection of all the offers made by different firms, Saul Zaentz from United Artists offers Tolkien 10.000 pounds. As Zaentz is a big fan of Middle-Earth, Tolkien finally accepts the offer. Favourites for the directors' seats are John Boorman and Stanley Kubrik. But both reject the offer because they know that it will be hard to make a good movie about such a complex world like the one described in Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings.

1973

Some years after Tolkien's death, Ralph Bakshi, being known for movies like Fritz The Cat and Heavy Traffic, convinces Zaentz of making a cartoon of The Lord Of The Rings.

1978

The 17-year-old Peter Jackson and some of his friends go to see The Lord Of The Rings from Ralph Bakshi in the cinema. The movie is rather disappointing and only a few scenes show the brillance of Tolkien's novel. At this time, Jackson is still working as a Lithographer at Wellington's newspaper The Evening Post. Sent by his boss to where he could extend his knowledge, Jackson buys a copy of Tolkien's novel for the long travel that is waiting for him. During the 14 hours lasting travel, Jackson devoures the book and slipps into the fascinating world of Middle-Earth. At the time, he sees the potential of the story and hopes that someone will turn it to a live action movie.

Jackson indeed becomes a director, and after doing some short movies he celebrates his first success with the movie Bad Taste (and even gets a nomination at the Acadamy Awards for the movie Heavenly Creatures).

1995

After he finished The Frighteners, Peter Jackson and his wife think about the next movie to do. For long it had been Jackson's dream to film King Kong, so at this time he tells his old friend Richard Taylor, from WETA Workshop, about his idea. The film rights for King Kong had been bought by Universal Pictures long ago. The directors of Universal Pictures agree with Peter's idea and the preparation begins. Soon one can find models of apes and dinosaures in the production halls of WETA.

1996

After eight months of preparation, Universal Pictures cancels Peter Jackson's project because now Walt Disney and Roland Emmerich are planning to do movies along the same lines, like Godzilla, for example. But being rather defiant, Peter and Fran embrace an even bigger project : The filming of The Lord Of The Rings. Miramax is not completely against this idea, but Jackson's plan to do 2 movies instead of one puts the project at risk of being rejected by the studio. Luckly for the NZ director, Saul Zaentz was the sponsor of Miramax's latest movie, The English Patient, the same and only owner of the Trilogy's movie rights. Miramax accepts Jackson's offer and Peter and Fran start to work on the film script. WETA, John Howe and Alan Lee join the production and in the following 700 days uncounted sketches, special effect and monsters are created.

1997

January 1997 : Rumours about Peter Jackson doing The Hobbit grow up on the internet. Peter and Fran are writing the film script for The Lord Of The Rings for almost a year now. Philippa Boyens, who knows the book by heart, joins the team, and WETA creates the new software "Massive". The production costs grow up too.

May 1997 : Peter and Fran start to search for the right actors. Sean Bean is considered to play the ranger Aragorn. Richard Taylor searches for special effect specialists all over the world. The whole project is still top secret.

1998

January 1998 : In a plane above New Zealand, Alan Lee and John Howe meet on their way to the set.

January 30, 1998 : After rumours grew up online, Peter Jackson posts the first statement in the forum of his official fanclub, telling the fans that he is working on something big, but that he is not allowed to tell more about it.

May 1998 : WETA Workshop inserts a newspaper advertisment, searching for people smaller than 1.27 meters and taller than 2.03 meters for special effect tests. The fans get sure that Peter Jackson is working on The Hobbit.

June 1998 : The project becomes too expensive and Miramax tells Peter Jackson that they are willing to produce one movie only. Peter Jackson rejects that offer. He knows it would be impossible to compress such a big story in one movie. WETA workshop stops working, the people are dismissed and John Howe as well as Alan Lee leave to Europe again. But Peter Jackson is not willing to give up that fast and produces, together with Richard Taylor, a 36 minutes long demo-video. Together with his wife Fran he showes this video to New Line Cinema's boss Robert Shaye who (after a long break) tells them that they are not going to make two movies but three !

For a transfer fee of 10 million dollars, New Line buys the film rights of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, as well as the commercial rights over all future merchandising.

July 1998 : Great halls are built all around Wellington to welcome the future studios. Jean Jonhson, a member of Wellingthon's town council, supports the project without even knowing what it is about. All is still top secret.

August 24, 1998 : New Line Cinema officially announces that they are producing a three-part-movie of The Lord Of The Rings. Robert Shaye gives his first interview, telling the press that now, after 45 years, the film technology is developped far enough to make Tolkien's vision come true. He also insists on the fact that, not only were they going to do three great films, but would also respect Tolkien's work.

August 30, 1998 : Peter Jackson gives his first interview, telling the fans that each movie based on books is an adaptation of the novels, not the novel itself, and that The Lord Of The Rings will be no exception to this rule.

September 1998 : Near Matamata, Hobbiton is built on the ground of the farmer Ian Alexander. The crew gets the help of the armee of New Zealand.

December 1998 : The insistent rumour that Sean Connery will play a part in the movies is rejected by Peter Jackson. At the same time, Jackson announces that Tom Bombadil will not appear in the movies.

1999

January 1999 : Peter and Fran start to work on the film script of The Return Of The King. Again a newspaper advertisement is inserted in The Evening Post, searching for tall, strong men with good skills in horse riding.

April 1999 : The first photos and videos of the set of Hobbiton appear. 15.000 extras are auditioned.

May 1999 : Online rumours (true and false ones) are insistent. It is said that Elijah Wood will play Frodo and that Sir Ian McKellen was auditioned for Gandalf's part.

June 09, 1999 : 2 ½ years before the release of The Fellowship Of The Ring, the official website www.Lordoftherings.net is launched. At this time the site only shows some sketches, but whatever few pics made available, are enough to get fans very curious and excited already. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the locations for the different sets are searched.

July 08, 1999 : Elijah Wood signs his contract and becomes Frodo in The Lord Of The Rings. Some days later Sean Astin, Ian McKellen and Ian Holm sign their own contracts. Stuart Townsend accepts the offer to play Aragorn.

August 1999 : Liv Tyler agrees to play the She-Elf Arwen. Saruman will be played by Christopher Lee. The actors visit Peter Jackson in Wellington to get an impression of the locations and sets.

September 1999 : John Rhys-Davis announces that he will play the Dwarf Gimli. Orlando Bloom is confirmed to play Legolas, and Sean Bean for the role of Boromir. Now the actors for the key roles are found.

October 11, 1999 : On top of Mount Victoria the filming of The Lord Of The Rings begins. The first scene to be shot is the one when the four Hobbits hide from the Ringwraiths. Even thouhg the first day of filming goes well, Peter Jackson has a problem with Stuart Townsend, who is meant to play Aragorn. It turns out that the actor is too young for his role, and so the search for a new Aragorn begins (read more in the Rushes section).

October 14, 1999 : Peter Jackson wants Viggo Mortensen to play Aragorn, but Viggo is not very attracted by the idea.

October 15, 1999 : In Fort Dorset, near Wellington, the set of Bree is built. Meanwhile, Viggo Mortensen is convinced by his son Henry to accept the role. He calls Peter Jackson and one day later is in a plane to New Zealand.

October 16, 1999 : At midnight starts the shooting of the scenes in Bree.

From October 19 to 31, 1999 : After Viggo's arrival in New Zealand, the fighting scene at the Weathertop as well as the meeting with the Hobbits in the Prancing Pony are shot. In Harcourt Park, 30 minutes ride from Wellington, the trees that will be destroyed by Saruman's Orcs are built . While shooting the escape of the Hobbits to Buckleburry Ferry, one of the Nazgul's horses fails to stop on the landing stage and falls into the water. Fortunately neither horse nor the rider were hurt.

From November 11 to 13, 1999 : In Harcourt Park, the scenes in which Saruman's Orcs destroy the trees around Orthanc are shot.

November 15, 1999 : The building of the set of Helm's Deep begins. Peter Jackson, the actors and the whole crew move to the southern part of New Zealand, to Te Anau, where the chasing of Arwen and Frodo by the Nazgul as well as the arrival of the Fellowship at Amon Hen should be filmed. But it starts to rain so strongly that the set of Amon Hen is completely destroyed. The film crew is surrounded by water and must be evacuated. The crew is forced to wait.

November 17, 1999 : Peter Jackson uses the free time to search for actors for the Rohirrim.

November 18, 1999 : Peter Jackson decides to shoot a scene with the Hobbits and Aragorn, but it starts to snow... In the middle of the summer.

From November 20 to 30, 1999 : The rain stops and finally the shooting of Amon Hen begins. At the end of the month, Liv Tyler gets a holiday and takes a plane back to New York. When she is asked what she remembers the most about New Zealand, her answer is : "Rain !"

December 08, 1999 : The shooting of the Shire-scenes begins in Matamata.

December 10, 1999 : With more than 100 stuntmen, the fight at Amon Hen is shot. The most stuntmen are actually women as it is very hot and they can get along much better with the heat and the heavy Uruk-Hai costumes.

December 11, 1999 : The set of Amon Hen is changed into the set of Lothlórien.

December 22, 1999 : The whole crew goes on holidays and spends the christmas days with their families.

2000

January 08, 2000 : Ian McKellen arrives in Wellington to prepare himself for the shooting.

January 14, 2000 : Producer Tim Sanders leaves the production for a private reason.

January 17, 2000 : It's the first day of shooting for Ian McKellen. He starts by arriving in Hobbiton and meeting Frodo Baggins. At the same time, in Hayward's Hill, the battle of Helm's Deep begins.

January 27, 2000 : Ian McKellen finishes his work at the Hobbiton-Set and now starts to shoot his scenes with Christopher Lee, in Wellington.

Januay 28, 2000 : It's Elijah Wood's 19th brithday, but there is no time for a big party. The flight from Farmer Maggot's farm is filmed instead.

February 02, 2000 : The battle of Helm's Deep goes on. On the set there are now not only Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davis and Orlando Bloom but also Liv Tyler. Later her battle scenes will be deleted.

February 04, 2000 : It is the last day of shooting in the Hobbiton-Set. For later addition to Frodo's vision in Galadriel's mirror, the "Green Dragon" is set on fire for the rolling camera.

February 05, 2000 : The arguement between Gandalf and Saruman in Orthanc is shot.

February 09, 2000 : For a few days now, the shooting of the battle of Helm's Deep has been done every day from midnight to 6 am.

February 23, 2000 : In the Kaitoke Regional Parks, near Wellington, the set of Rivendell is built.

March 07, 2000 : New Line Cinema shows six minutes of the film at the SHOW*West Convention, in Las Vegas. The audience is very impressed.

March 17, 2000 : The battle of Helm's Deep isn't over yet.

March 19, 2000 : The wedding of Make-Up-Stylist Gail Wilson takes place in the set of Rivendell. The guests are forced to sign a contract which forbids them to tell anybody about the set.

April 07, 2000 : The first trailer for The Lord Of The Rings is released. During the first 24 hours, there are 1.67 million downloads.

April 11, 2000 : Helm's Deep ends. All the stuntmen and actors get a T-Shirt saying "I survived Helm's Deep !"

April 17, 2000 : The prologue battle for FOTR is filmed on a plateau of the Ruapehu volcano. 

May 01, 2000 : In the Tongariro National Park, the scenes in the Emyn Muil are shot. The Black Gate of Mordor is built in Rangipo Desert.

May 15, 2000 : The set of Edoras is built on Mount Potts.

June 06, 2000 : Peter Jackson carries the Olympic fire across Wellington.

June 07, 2000 : Cate Blanchett arrives in New Zealand. All her scenes will be shot in just two weeks.

June 24, 2000 : The crew gets one month of summer holidays.

August 01, 2000 : The scenes on the river Anduin are shot.

August 07, 2000 : The scenes between Gandalf and the three hunters talking to Saruman, after the destruction of Isengard, are shot.

August 28, 2000 : On top of the 1840 feet high Mount Olympus, the hiding of the Fellowship from the Crebain is shot.

September 12, 2000 : At Lake Mavora, more of the river Anduin scenes are shot. Sean Astin is badly injured after stepping a big peace of glass that was hidden in the water. A helicopter takes him to the hospital but he's back the following day. The set of Edoras is finished.

September 21, 2000 : A photograph manages to take the first photo of one of the Hobbits.

September 27, 2000 : The funeral of Theoden is shot.

September 29, 2000 : Shooting in the Edoras set is finished.

October 13, 2000 : The first year of shooting is now over, and Barrie Osborne invites the cast and crew to a big party in his house.

October 24, 2000 : Orlando Bloom falls down of his horse and breaks one rib. He's able to leave the hospital the same day and resumes shooting.

October 29, 2000 : The Osgiliath-set is built in Taita, near Wellington.

November 13, 2000 : There are still scenes of the first movie to be shot, like for example Balin's Tomb.

November 16, 2000 : It's the Orc day... Only scenes with Orcs are shot. 10 actors are playing Moria Orcs and 20 actors are playing Uruk-Hai. Costume design sets them apart, with the actors wearing different costumes to create the various Orc species.

November 20, 2000 : The fight with the Cave Troll in Moria (FOTR) is shot.

November 24, 2000 : The fantastic fight between Gandalf and the Balrog (TTT) is shot.

November 27, 2000 : The scenes in the Houses of Healing are shot.

December 01, 2000 : The last month of shooting starts. Scenes between Merry, Pippin and Treebeard are shot.

December 13, 2000 : The fight between the Watcher in the Water and the Fellowship in front of the Gate of Moria is filmed (FOTR).

December 15, 2000 : Just 7 days of shooting are left, and the scenes between Faramir and Denethor, who turned mad, are shot.

December 17, 2000 : All the actors (except John Rhys-Davis) meet in Wellington to get the tattoo of an elvish sign.

December 20, 2000 : Peter Jackson himself films Aragorn's crowning.

December 22, 2000 : The last day of principal shooting is celebrated with a big party. Fans are ready to pay 1000 $/€ for a ticket.

2001

March 2001 : The first official teaser-poster is published.

April 17, 2001 : The work on the soundtrack begins.

May 13, 2001 : In Cannes, New Line shows 25 minutes of the first movie to an impressed audience.

December 19, 2001 : The Fellowship Of The Ring hits theaters.

2002

March 24, 2002 : The first part of the trilogy wins four Acadamy Awards.

May 29, 2002 : The first trailer for The Two Towers is released.

From May 26 to 31, 2002 : Additional shooting for The Two Towers is filmed.

December 19, 2002 : The Two Towers is released and gets even more viewers than The Fellowship Of The Ring.

2003

From March 2003 to May 31, 2003 : More additional shooting is filmed, while The Two Towers wins two Acadamy Awards and four MTV Awards.

June/July 2003 : Even more additional shooting is filmed in six weeks.

2004

March 2004 : Howard Shore records the soundtrack for the Return of the King Extended Edition DVD.