The fellowship of the ring
2001 USA Color 178 minutes
Release date: December 10, 2001
Oscars:
Best Cinematography
Best Effects, Visual Effects
Best Makeup
Best Music, Original Score
Best Editing
Best Music, Song -> Enya
Best Sound
Best Writing
Oscar nominees:
Best Director -> Peter Jackson
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Supporting Role -> Ian McKellen
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
New Zealand’s army was cast as extras for large battle scenes in the film, but was forced to back out due to having to serve as peacekeepers in East Timor.
The fellowship of the ring ranks number 72 in the American box-office rankings.
Grossing adjusted for inflation -> $350.1 m Source / More (Web)
This is part one in the trilogy. The other parts are:
The two towers (2002)
The Return of the King (2003).
The movies were filmed simultaneously.
Daniel Day-Lewis turned down the role of Aragon.
The makeup department took six to seven hours a day to put the make-up on John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) Source / More (Book)
Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins turned down the role of Gandalf.
The BBC produced a radio adaptation in 1956. No recording is known to exist.
The book was originally intended by Tolkien to be published in one large volume, but the paper shortage ruled this out. Instead it was divided into three volumes:
The fellowship of the ring
The two towers
The return of the king
50 million copies of the books The Lord of the rings have been sold. Source / More (Book)
A signed first edition of the trilogy (book) cost around $22,000 (€18,000) Source / More (Book)
W.H. Auden (1907-1973): “No fiction I have read in the last five years has given me more joy” Source / More (Book)
Ian was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1991 for his efforts in the arts.
May 25, 1939
Ian Murray McKellen
Ian was born in the industrial north of England McKellen and attended St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. Without any formal dramatic training, he made his professional debut in 1961 in A Man For All Seasons.
Acting steadily throughout the 1960s and 1970s, McKellen won both popular and critical acclaim in his performances and on Broadway, he won every available award including a Tony for his portrayal of Salieri in Amadeus (1981).
Ian appeared in a number of motion pictures but only halfway the nineties he was noticed by Hollywood. He played the title role in Richard III (1995) but his movie breakthrough role for mainstream American audiences came with Apt Pupil, based on a story by Stephen King. Nowadays McKellen has become a major global star by playing leading roles in blockbuster films like X-Men (2000/2003) and the The Lord of the rings trilogies (2001/2002/2003)
2002 Nominated Best Actor for: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
1999 Nominated Best Actor for: Gods and Monsters (1998)