Cool and Interesting Facts

There are some interesting facts surrounding The Lord of the Rings. Some facts are about the books and others are about the movies.  Many of these facts came from various websites (http://shinningevenstar.tripod.com/id19.html; http://bardscribe.hubpages.com/hub/Interesting-and-Little-Known-Facts-about-JRR-Tolkien; http://www.empireonline.com/features/lord-of-the-rings-100-facts/; http://www.lotrrulesall.i8.com/funfacts.html; http://scrapbook.theonering.net/scrapbook/movies/promotional/view/12189 ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy#The_Fellowship ) and I thank them.

So the Facts start:

Here are the Major Actors of the The Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson:

Aragorn: Viggo Mortensen

Frodo Baggins: Elijah Wood

Boromir: Sean Bean

Merry Brandybuck: Dominic Monaghan

Samwise Gamgee: Sean Astin

Gandalf: Ian McKellen

Gimli: John Rhys-Davies

Legolas: Orlando Bloom

Pippen Took: Billy Boyd

Bilbo Baggins: Ian Holm

Arwen: Liv Tyler

Lord Celeborn: Marton Csokas

Lord Elrond: Hugo Weaving

Lady Galadriel: Cate Blanchett

Eowyn: Miranda Otto

Faramir: David Wenham

King Theoden: Bernard Hill

Treebeard (Voice): John Rhys-Davies

Smeagol/Gollum: Andy Serkis

Grima Wormtongue: Brad Dourif

The One Ring (Voice): Alan Howard

Sauron: Sala Baker

Saruman: Christopher Lee

Witch-king of Angmar: Shane Rangi, Brent McIntyre, Lawrence Makoare, Andy Serkis (as Voice)

Isildur: Harry Sinclair

Peter Jackson: Director

J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of The Lord of the Rings

Now that you know who everyone is, we can get to the fun and interesting part…

     Orlando managed to get all of the actors in The Fellowship to get a tattoo of the Elvish Number 9 except for John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)

     Viggo broke a toe or two while kicking a helmet. (See a vid of it in my previous post)

     Gimli’s beard was made from the hair of the belly of a yak.

     Lord of the Rings  was a major influence for Star Wars

     The face of the Nazgul is based off the face of a salmon

     There was over 6 million feet of film shot

     Rhys-Davies (Gimli) was the tallest member of the Fellowship.

     Astin had to gain 30 pounds to play Sam, oh how delicious…

     The Crown originally made for Aragorn’s Coronation was too big, the Jeweler had taken Viggo’s head measurements all wrong, it fell around his neck and on his shoulders.

     There were 1600 pairs of hobbit feet total used in the making of the films.

     Tolkien’s aunt lived at a Bag End, this is where Tolkien got his inspiration for Bag End in the Shire.

     “The cave troll in Moria is ‘not really evil; he's just fallen into bad company’, claimed Jackson.”  

     The battle cries of the Orcs in Helm’s Deep were actually 25,000 cricket fans chanting along with words displayed on the big screen.

There are so many more sweet facts that you might find interesting, but I don’t feel like typing them all up… check out the URLs above and read to your heart’s content…

READ THE BOOKS IF YOU HAVEN’T!! THEN WATCH THE MOVIES AND WONDER IN THEIR GREATNESS.

The original book covers.

http://sarahfritzler.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/lord-of-the-rings-lawsuit-hots-up/

http://collider.com/lord-of-the-rings-extended-edition-blu-ray-review/97669/

http://moviemusicuk.us/tag/howard-shore/

Funny Moments with Gimli (and one with Aragorn)

Despite the seriousness of the themes of The Lord of the Rings the Book and the Movie both have an overarching tone that is generally that of suspenseful adventure, lighthearted, slightly humorous, and excited in a suspenseful sort of way. Sure, there are gloomier spots and happier funnier spots, but Tolkien did a great job on the Tone. But I don’t want to talk about Tone and mood, that is no fun to talk about, but I know what is… in Peter Jackson’s Movies, he inserts bits of humor all over the place. In general, they surround Gimli…which is funny in and of itself. So here are some clips I found and have been shown. Enjoy them! Oh, yeah … They are funnier if seen while watching the movie.

When saving him from a fall... 

 Right before The Battle at Helms Deep

Final count at the end of The Battle at Helms Deep

Or..If you prefer an omnibus...

This is Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) breaking his toe (by kicking a helmet). 
Just FWI...WATCH THE MOVIES AND READ THE BOOKS!!! BUT READ THE BOOKS FIRST!!!

Return of the King

http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/VertliebViews/ReturnoftheKing.html

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Doom

The third and final book of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy is called, The Return of the King. Many might be wondering, “Who is this king of which Tolkien speaks?” Aragorn. One of the Dunedain. The King of Gondor.  The story begins with Gandalf riding to Minas Tirith with Pippen. This was after Isengard fell and Pippen looked into the Palantír. When they get into Gondor, into Minas Tirith and meet the Steward of the City, Denethor, who does not like Gandalf at all. Pippen swears himself to the steward and acts as an intermediary between Gandalf and Denethor. The World becomes dark as Mordor leaks darkness over the world, creating gloom and feelings of doom.  Aragorn, who was travelling with the rest of the Riders of Rohan toward Minas Tirith, realized that the riders would not get there in time to help with the upcoming battle at Minas Tirith, and so he rode the Path of the Dead, a feared path. Gimli and Legolas accompany him. With the help of the dead, Aragorn captures some of the enemy’s boats and floats down the river to Minas Tirith, with some of his Brethren, the Dunedain, and men of southern Gondor, to turn the tide of the battle. This was the largest battle in the War of the Ring. After this victory, Aragorn enters the City and heals those who were wounded by the Witch-King (the Head of the Ring-Wraiths) thus fulfilling the prophecy about the return of the king. After the battle, the Captains of the West decide to assault Mordor itself, in order to distract Sauron’s attention from Frodo and Sam. As all of these events are occurring, Frodo is rescued from Cirith Ungol by Samwise Gamgee. They make their way through Mordor as the Ring grows heaver on Frodo. Finally they reach Mount Doom, and the Cracks of Doom. Frodo then claims the Ring, at the very Cracks. However, Gollum appears out of nowhere and tries to wrestles the Ring from Frodo. Finally he bites Frodo finger off that wore the Ring. Then Gollum stumbled and fell into the Cracks of Doom, destroying him, and more importantly, the Ring. Sauron fell, and the Third Age ended.  Back in the Shire, the Hobbits find that a Police state had fallen upon the Shire, and it was being destroyed by the “Police,” Men. They soon learn that the leader of the “Police” is Saruman. However, he is easily overthrown by a rebellion fostered by the Four Hobbits. Saruman is then stabbed in the back by Wormtongue.  A little later, all of the Ringbearers and Gandalf, and an elf or two left Middle Earth for the unknown across the sea.

http://www.theboxset.com/review.php?id=237

Battle of the Hornburg (AKA Battle of Helm's Deep)

http://www.councilofelrond.com/encyclopedia/battle-of-the-hornburg/

I love the Battle at Helms Deep (or more correctly known as the Battle of the Hornburg). This is one of the places that J.R.R. Tolkien really shines. This is one of the best portions of the whole trilogy, but that is just my opinion. It is full of suspense and conflict, which is fully understandable for a battle scene.  This was the second largest battle of The War of the Ring. There are many notable differences between the book’s battle and the one in Peter Jackson’s Film, “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” In the book, there is no elfish reinforcement; there are 2000 defenders, one of whom is Eomer, son of Theoden King of Rohirrim.  When Gandalf arrives, it is upon demoralized orcs, Uruk-Hai and Dunland Men, and it is with the remaining forces of Rohirrim who had been driven from another Garrison, not with Gondor, for the White City had enough problems of its own.  Also in the book, The Huorn “Forest” is there to help surround Saruman’s army and, in the end, to annihilate the remainder of it.  This battle is a turning point in the War of the Ring. It spells the doom for Saruman.  At around this time in Isengard, the Ents and some of their Huorn “forests” and their tree “flocks” destroy Isengard and trap Saruman and Wormtongue in the Isengard Tower, closing the defeat of Saruman.  This Chapter of the book and this Scene of the Movie is amazing, read and watch them. I will not tell you all, for that would ruin the surprise!!

http://stophittingyourbrother.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/of-facebook-radio-family-the-battle-of-helm%E2%80%99s-deep-and-911/

http://s6.invisionfree.com/The_Library/ar/t106.htm

http://www.comicvine.com/aragorn/29-62741/all-images/108-272386/aragorn_04/105-670585/

Enjoy this, But still watch the whole movie if you haven't, and READ THE BOOKS!!!!

(Always be wary of a person who uses more than 5 exclamation points, they might be CRAZY!!!!)

The Two Towers

http://6ringbinders.ringimagesring.com/lord-of-the-rings-two-towers/

All right I’ll tell you of the The Two Towers book. This is the second book in the trilogy. This is the book that really gets the action rolling. This book is divided into two parts, the first following the remnants of the Fellowship; Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Merry, and Pippin in their adventures. And the second part following the two Hobbits who struck out on their own; Frodo, and Sam, in their adventures. In the first part, Merry and Pippin are captured by the very Orcs who had killed Boromir, and are carried away captive in the direction of Isengard, these Orcs' headquarters, the home base of Saruman, a corrupted Wizard. Fortuanatly on the way they are able to escape. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas chase after the Orcs that have carried the Hobbits away. Along the way they meet the Riders of Rohan, led by Eomer. The Hobbits meanwhile meet in the forest that they escape into an Ent named Fangorn who after learning their story, calls an Ent assembly, to crush Saruman, who has been treating them and their Forest cruelly. The three companions searching for the Hobbits in the forest find Gandalf, “reborn”, now Gandalf the White. Later after Gandalf led them to the King Theoden and exposes Wormtongue, the King's advisor, as a spy for Saruman. They head to Isengard and are surprised to find it nearly all destroyed, except for Orthanc the Tower, and Merry and Pippen sitting there waiting for them. Wormtongue is in the tower with Saruman. Wormtongue tries to kill Gandalf by throwing something at him, however he misses. What he threw was a “seeing stone” a Palantir, which is a very important thing, (READ THE BOOKS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!) Meanwhile Frodo and Sam meet Gollum, “tame” him and force him to lead them to Mordor. When they got there they see the impregnable gate into Mordor, and Gollum tells them of another way. Along the way they meet Faramir, Bother of Boromir. Gollum leads the Hobbits up a path into Mordor, where Shelob, the First Spider lives, she is HUGE! (A lot like Aragog in Harry Potter, only more..uh..badder? Let's just say that J.K. Rawlings got her idea from Shelob and dumbed,and watered it down into Aragog in order to not scare any young children.) She stings Frodo, Sam wounds her, and she flees. Sam thinks that Frodo is dead and so takes upon himself the burden of the Ring. Orcs find Frodo and carry him away to search for the Ring. Sam follows. A door gets slammed in his face, separating them, and Sam hears through it that Shelob likes her prey alive, which meant that Frodo was still alive. Sam feels horrible, and scared. I like this book a lot, and I think this book is only second to The Return of the King READ IT!!! PLEASE? Pretty please? You'll enjoy it.

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ents

Enjoy!!

Wait for it

Some of you may be wondering when I was going to tell you all about the next book in my most charming manner. Well you can stop wondering now…because it will be very soon, just as soon as I finish this page. And so finish the book…JK, I already finished the book.

Frodo Baggins

http://most-tranquil.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-lord-of-rings-marshmallows-and-hot.html

Well, I have told you all about The Fellowship of the Ring, and have told you about Frodo, the main, main character, well, I haven’t told about him really, only mentioned him upon occasion, which is why I am composing this blog post.  There are many opinions on this character, some are strong, others not, some are derogatory some are not. Many think that this guy is a “Wuss”, and others think he is a “Stud”. What do I think? Well… he is a Hobbit in possession of the most corrupting, powerful, and evil thing on Middle Earth, besides Sauron himself, (that last phrase is even a little debatable.) Let us consider, Boromir wasn’t even in possession of the Ring and fell under Its power, as did many others before him; Frodo only finally succumbed to the power of the Ring at the very end, at the very Cracks of Doom.  What do I think? He was a Stud. Nah…well… Frodo was from the Shire, and was a cousin of Bilbo’s, and eventually his heir, which is how he inherited the Ring. Frodo was a caring sort of Hobbit, quite unlike the Sackville-Bagginses. He also had a strong sense of loyalty to a cause. He realized that it was the Ring that had splintered the Fellowship and would continue to do so, and so left the Fellowship, so the rest would not be harmed; he also knew that the quest would only be accomplished if he went alone, and so he did. Frodo also loved poetry as his mentor, Bilbo, did. He is also a downright charming fellow.

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Frodo_Baggins 

http://www.squidoo.com/LOTR-v-HarryPotter?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster

The Fellowship of the Ring

Ah, the Real beginning of the trilogy... The Fellowship of the Ring. This book stars Frodo … Bilbo's heir to nearly all that he has, including and most importantly his Ring. The book starts out with Bilbo's birthday party, in which Bilbo plans to use the Ring to disappear forever, but before escaping the Shire completely he sneaks into his house and hands off the Ring to Frodo. The action really starts when the Ringwraiths show up and start chasing Frodo, and his three hobbit friends as they leave the Shire at the bidding of Gandalf the Grey. Merry, Pippen and Sam, the three friends, and Frodo soon got lost in the Old Forest, but are rescued by Tom Bombadil. When they reach the town of Bree they meet Aragorn, AKA, Strider, and Dunedain. Here they are directed to Rivendell, an Elven-haven. Here the Fellowship is formed. And their mission is set forth, to destroy the Ring, in the Cracks of Doom. The Fellowship is made up of a Dwarf, Gimli; an Elf, Legolas; a wizard, Gandalf; a few Humans, Boromir, and Aragorn; and four Hobbits, Frodo, Merry, Pippen and Sam. Eventually the party, in their passage South are forced into the Mines of Moria, where the Fellowship meets a Balgrog, and Gandalf falls with it into a Chasm, leaving the Fellowship to be led by Aragorn. They then head to Lorien, an Elven-haven, where the group meets Galadriel and receive special gifts from her as they leave. As they journey they spot Gollum. (He is never far away.)Finally the group gets to a point of decision, to Mordor or to Minis Tirith, the Party is split. Boromir becomes overcome by the power of the Ring and seeks to take it from Frodo; Frodo eludes him and then later decides to not endanger the group with the Ring and resolves to take it himself, alone. He sneaks out of the camp and is followed by Sam who ends up going with him. (Guess who else follows them? Yep...Gollum.) I love this book, and if you have not read it...READ IT! 

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/2306036

It's a portrait!

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Fellowship_of_the_Ring

For your viewing pleasure....

Sauron

http://www.empireonline.com/features/which-characters-will-return-in-the-hobbit/p14

The Lord of the Rings. The Dark Lord. Gorthaur the Cruel. The Necromancer. The Black Hand. The Nameless Enemy. Sauron. He is the ultimate enemy of Middle Earth's chief servant (Enemy number one being Margoth, his spirit was cast out through the door of time after his form was killed. His will and corruption still roams Middle-Earth). He is the one who forged the One Ring of Power. He is a Maiar of the race Ainur, an immortal, one of the first created in the depths of time, corrupted by Margoth in the First Age. He is the one that the Fellowship sought to destroy. On his side were the Goblins, Orcs, some Men, giant spiders, Nazgul, trolls, and werewolves. Sauron has a long history, but a summary of him in the Hobbit and the Trilogy is as follows; he is weak but gaining power in the Mirkwood forest. Gandalf and other Wizards band together and expel him out of his forest stronghold. He flees to Mordor and starts to build a stronghold. News of the the discovery of the One Ring reaches the very creator of it, who sends out his Ringwraiths to find it. He continues to build power throughout the Trilogy, making war on middle-earth, searching always for the Ring, which if he got a hold of it would make him practically invincible, able to subject all to his will, on his evil throne forever. His fall is caused by the destruction of the One Ring. With his fall, ended the Third Age, and began the Forth Age, the Age of Man.

http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f34/t24819.html

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/sauron/images/25023545/title/sauron-photo

The pictures of Sauron are some of the best, so I gave you a few of my favorites

To read more on this guy, read The Hobbit, the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion.
Here is another picture!!!

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Sauron

Gollum

                Slinker or Stinker.  These are the two nicknames that Sam gave Gollum on his and Frodo’s journey to Mount Doom. Gollum was originally called Sméagol, until he found the One Ring. Looking at him at the time when Sméagol found the Ring to the time that the Ring was found by Bilbo, you would not believe that it was the same creature.  Sméagol was originally of a race not too distant from elves or hobbits, sort of in between; however, years after he found the Ring, he looked like a mix between an emancipated hobbit and an orc or goblin. After Bilbo found the Ring and escaped with it, the long time keeper of the Ring, Gollum, found a new abiding hate for all things Baggins, “We hates Bagginses, yes we do, my preciouses…we hates them,.” This might be something that you would hear out of Gollum’s mouth; however, in The Return of the King he leads Frodo and Sam to Mordor, granted he did it for his own gain,  but he did it. In the final book, Gollum develops or shows two personalities, Slinker and Stinker, or Gollum and Sméagol, when forced to swear on the Ring that he will not betray them or kill them. In the end, it is good that Bilbo and Frodo stayed their hands at killing Gollum, for he is reason that the Ring is finally destroyed. To learn his full story, read The Hobbit and the The Lord of the Rings books.

The One Ring

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

(Lord of the Rings; JRR Tolkien)

 (http://park204.wikispaces.com/Alex+The+Lord+of+the+Rings)

Oh the feeling of Lore that are embedded in these lines. This is the Lore that accompanies the One Ring of Doom. This Ring holds a portion of the Dark Lord's Power. The Dark Lord (AKA: Lord of the Rings, Sauron) forged the Ring in the Mount of Doom (AKA: Orodruin, Amon Amarth), and can only be destroyed in the very fires it was forged within. To Bilbo, this Ring was merely a way of becoming invisible. This Ring was in fact malevolent; it corrupted Sméagol, got a hold of even Bilbo's heart, Boromir attempted to kill Frodo over it (for it had affected Boromir's mind), Saruman betrayed the Wizards and the West and eventually his new master Sauron over it, and Frodo himself could not throw it into the Cracks of Doom willingly. Frodo claimed the Ring and Gollum attempted to steal it back at the very Cracks of Doom; however, this doesn't go so well because as Gollum gets the Ring, (at the expense of Frodo's third finger) he steps and falls into the Cracks of Doom, destroying the Ring forever. This Ring though, could do more than make one invisible, it could allow one to hear better; see Ringwraiths; stretch out one's life; and wield great power. The Dark Lord lost his Ring the first time that he was temporarily defeated. It was cut off of his finger, and after it exchanged hands a few times, (not in the most savory manner most of the time) it ended up in Sméagol's hands. After a long time in the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, Sméagol (now more often called Gollum), lost his Ring, and Bilbo chanced upon it. Frodo became the heir of the Ring and rest is history. (Wait for my later posts to learn more!)

Bilbo Baggins

All right, I have mentioned Bilbo Baggins, but who is he? Some may wonder, (if you are just learning about this wonderful world or what not...). This character is the main one of The Hobbit. Bilbo is a hobbit, or a halfling as they they are called outside of the Shire. A Hobbit is by nature a soul who avoids adventure at nearly any cost, (unless one is a Brandybuck, but all the other hobbits view them as a bit weird...). One day The Wizard Gandalf the Grey showed up and pulled Bilbo into more of an adventure than any respectable hobbit would ever have dreamed of in his worst nightmares. Bilbo was made the 14^th member of a company of Dwarves who were on a mission to drive Smaug the terrible dragon from the Lonely Mountain, the ancestral home of this group of Dwarves. Bilbo was made the Burglar. It was Bilbo who came across the One Ring in the tunnels of the orcs in the Misty Mountains. It is Bilbo who holds the one One Ring until he gives it to his heir, Frodo Baggins. Ever since the Adventure described in The Hobbit (which I have outlined in short detail here) Bilbo was ever after considered a strange hobbit in the Shire.  

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer

For your viewing pleasure, I have provided you with a trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The Hobbit

As many of you may know, The Hobbit is the prequel for the The Lord of the Rings series. This book is different than any of the The Lord of the Rings books in that this book has a more casual style than The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, or The Return of the King. The Hobbit is written in the first person, from the view of the narrator. The Hobbit follows a hobbit, namely Bilbo Baggins, and 13 Dwarves.  In this book, one meets characters that are important in the next novels; Gandalf the Grey, a good wise wizard; Elrond Half-elven, the Lord of Rivendell; and Gollum (Sméagol), the long corrupted holder of The One Ring. This really is a great read… Read it before watching the new movie…

Expectations

In this Blog I would appreciate it if you all would refrain from using explicit and obscene language, I reserve the right to delete your post if such language is used.