New Line Cinema's THE LORD OF THE RINGS film trilogy, based on the classic fantasy trilogy by J.
R. R. Tolkien, began principal photography in Wellington, New Zealand, on
October 11, 1999. Peter Jackson (DEAD ALIVE aka BRAIN DEAD, MEET THE
FEEBLES, HEAVENLY CREATURES) is directing from his own script. The three
films that will make up the trilogy - THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE TWO
TOWERS and THE RETURN OF THE KING - are being filmed at the same time, a
tactic that worked for the first two SUPERMAN films with Christopher Reeve.
WETA Digital is doing the special visual effects under the direction of
visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson (THE FIFTH ELEMENT and the upcoming
SUPER NOVA). The story is about a fellowship of men, dwarves and hobbits,
who set out on a journey to cast an evil, magical ring into the abyss
before an evil wizard can get it and use its power to take over the land
called Middle Earth. It is a ring that, before the tale is over, tempts and
tests everyone, especially the tale's heroes, with a dream of absolute
power. Previously, the first book of the RINGS trilogy provided the basis
for Ralph Bakshi's THE LORD OF RINGS (1978), the first film of a never
finished trilogy, and Rankin-Bass' television special THE RETURN OF THE
KING (1980) was based on Tolkien's third volume.