The Untold Aspects of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Pt.2

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8.
Avatar (2009) drew significant inspiration from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. How? Let’s explain. In 1994, James Cameron had already completed about 80% of the conceptual work for Avatar. However, due to the limitations of visual effects at the time, he didn’t feel confident enough to begin production. Lacking advanced CGI and VFX, he decided to wait patiently for technological advancements. In 2002, after witnessing the CGI and motion capture used for Gollum in The Two Towers, Cameron was blown away. He realized the time had finally come to bring his dream project to life. And so, he jumped in headfirst to make it happen.

9.
The legendary rock band The Beatles were huge fans of the franchise. They once wanted to make a Lord of the Rings movie with acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick. The plan was for Paul McCartney to play Frodo, Ringo Starr as Sam, George Harrison as Gandalf, and John Lennon as Gollum.
The Beatles; Image Source: Alamy
11.
Let’s now talk about Tolkien’s created universe. Many refer to this universe as Middle-earth, which isn’t entirely accurate. Middle-earth is actually a continent on the planet Arda, which itself is a part of the universe called Eä. The entire Lord of the Rings universe was born from the music of a divine being named Eru Ilúvatar. These divine creations, known as the Ainur, were responsible for shaping various elements of this universe.

12.
The Lord of the Rings franchise features a total of seven constructed languages. Tolkien, a philologist and professor of English at the University of Leeds, created each of these languages with distinct grammatical structures. The most notable include the Elvish languages Sindarin and Quenya, Sauron’s Black Speech, the Valar’s language, Entish, and the Dwarvish secret language Khuzdul. Each language has a written grammar, allowing them to be used in real life by dedicated fans.
Many assume Tolkien invented the languages for the story. In fact, it was the other way around—he created the languages first, and later built the stories around them. Quenya was developed in 1917, about 20 years before The Hobbit was published. Later, Tolkien went on to complete The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Quenya was inspired by the rare Finnish language of ancient England, while Sindarin drew influence from Welsh. Quenya was used by the High Elves of Valinor, while the Grey Elves and educated men like Aragorn in Middle-earth spoke Sindarin.

13.
At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, we see the fiery demon Balrog. Interestingly, Balrog, Gandalf, and Sauron all come from the same ancient origin. They were part of a race known as the Maiar, spiritual beings with shape-shifting powers, created by the god-like Valar to help shape the world. However, a division among the Valar caused Sauron and Balrog to side with evil, while Gandalf chose the path of good.
Balrog; Image Source: New Line Cinema
14.
The box office success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was staggering. Each film had an average budget of around $93 million. Yet each one earned approximately $970 million globally, bringing in about ten times the investment. In total, the trilogy grossed around $2.9 billion worldwide, dominating the box office like a tornado.
To this day, no film has broken its Oscar record. The Fellowship of the Ring won four Academy Awards, The Two Towers won two, and the final installment The Return of the King won eleven. Incredibly, The Return of the King won every single one of its eleven nominations—an exceptionally rare feat in Oscar history. Even after more than two decades, the trilogy’s popularity remains as strong as ever.

The End!