‘Lord of the Rings’ at 20: Why Peter Jackson’s Trilogy Was One of Hollywood’s Riskiest Projects Ever
After success with several small-scale films, Peter Jackson in 1992 told Variety he was looking for a project “that will really push me.”
He found something that surpassed everyone’s expectations. This month marks the 20th anniversary of Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings,” which kicked off the 2001-2003 film trilogy based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
In 2000, Jackson told Variety “Lotr” was “the Holy Grail of filmmaking, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
In retrospect, handing this massive project to Jackson seems like a no-brainer: great material for a great filmmaker. But in fact, there were so many unknown factors that it was immediately recognized as one of film history’s greatest gambles.
“I read ‘Lord of the Rings’ first as a 17 year-old,” Jackson told Variety. “I wasn’t one of those avid fans who read it every year. Fran and I were childhood fan of the ‘Sinbad’ movies,...
He found something that surpassed everyone’s expectations. This month marks the 20th anniversary of Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings,” which kicked off the 2001-2003 film trilogy based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
In 2000, Jackson told Variety “Lotr” was “the Holy Grail of filmmaking, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
In retrospect, handing this massive project to Jackson seems like a no-brainer: great material for a great filmmaker. But in fact, there were so many unknown factors that it was immediately recognized as one of film history’s greatest gambles.
“I read ‘Lord of the Rings’ first as a 17 year-old,” Jackson told Variety. “I wasn’t one of those avid fans who read it every year. Fran and I were childhood fan of the ‘Sinbad’ movies,...
- 12/14/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
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