LO R D OF TH E T H E R I NG S 20 YEARS ON The Origins, the Stories, the FILM Extraordinary Adventure A New Journey to Middle-earth The Genius of J.R.R. Tolkien LORD THE OF � E � NGS The Lord of the Rings EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Kostya Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Gary Stewart EDITOR Erik Forrest Jackson DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Christina Lieberman ART DIRECTOR Kory Kennedy WRITER Gina McIntyre COPY EDITOR Toni Rumore, Vanessa Weiman PICTURE EDITOR Rachel Hatch WRITER-REPORTER Michelle DuPré ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR Steph Durante PHOTO ASSISTANT Charlotte Borge PRODUCTION DESIGNER Sandra Jurevics PREMEDIA TRAFFICKING SUPERVISOR Justin Atterberg COLOR QUALITY ANALYST Ben Anderson IMAGING SPECIALIST Tony Jungweber MEREDITH PREMIUM PUBLISHING VICE PRESIDENT & GROUP PUBLISHER Scott Mortimer VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Stephen Orr VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING Jeremy Biloon DIRECTOR, BRAND MARKETING Jean Kennedy ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, BRAND MARKETING Bryan Christian SENIOR BRAND MANAGER Katherine Barnet EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Kostya Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Gary Stewart DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Christina Lieberman EDITORIAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Jamie Roth Major MANAGER, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Gina Scauzillo SPECIAL THANKS Brad Beatson, Samantha Lebofsky, Kate Roncinske, Laura Villano MEREDITH NATIONAL MEDIA GROUP PRESIDENT Catherine Levene PRESIDENT, MEREDITH MAGAZINES Doug Olson PRESIDENT, CONSUMER PRODUCTS Tom Witschi PRESIDENT, MEREDITH DIGITAL Alysia Borsa EVP, STRATEGIC & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Daphne Kwon EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Michael Brownstein DIGITAL SALES Marla Newman FINANCE Michael Riggs MARKETING & INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS Nancy Weber SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS CONSUMER MARKETING Steve Crowe CONSUMER REVENUE Andy Wilson CORPORATE SALES Brian Kightlinger FOUNDRY 360 Matt Petersen PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY Justin Law RESEARCH SOLUTIONS Britta Cleveland STRATEGIC PLANNING Amy Thind STRATEGIC SOURCING, NEWSSTAND, PRODUCTION Chuck Howell VICE PRESIDENTS BRAND LICENSING Toye Cody and Sondra Newkirk BUSINESS PLANNING & ANALYSIS Rob Silverstone FINANCE Chris Susil STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT Kelsey Andersen STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Alicia Cervini VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Stephen Orr CHIEF DIGITAL CONTENT OFFICER Amanda Dameron DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS & FINANCE Greg Kayko MEREDITH CORPORATION CHAIRMAN & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Tom Harty CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jason Frierott CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER John Zieser PRESIDENT, MEREDITH LOCAL MEDIA GROUP Patrick McCreery SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Dina Nathanson SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Erica Jensen VICE CHAIRMAN Mell Meredith Frazier Copyright © 2021 Meredith Operations Corporation 225 Liberty Street • New York, NY 10281 All rights reserved. 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PRINTED IN THE USA 2 LIFE THE LORD OF THE RINGS COVER PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN MCCABE 4 46 The Reach of the Rings The Two Towers 50 Part Two’s New Crew 10 The Magical Mind 58 The Secrets of Helm’s Deep Behind Middle-earth 64 20 Architect of Argot The Return of the King 80 26 Drawn Together The Fellowship of the Ring 82 32 The Fellowship's Primary Players The Hobbit Trilogy 90 Beast in Show IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE Ring (2001), an imminent attack in the Mines of Moria puts (from left) Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, and Sean Bean on guard. 33 4 LIFE THE LORD OF THE RINGS PRODUCTION DESIGNER Grant Major masterfully planned the shoot for Peter Jackson’s fi lms, allowing a full year for greenery to grow on locations like the Hobbiton countryside . He was nominated for an Oscar for his work on all three Rings fi lms, ultimately winning for The Return of the King. deeds captured the imagination of a generation and legitimized an entire genre. Its infl uence is still being felt today. 5 F antasy has a history of the sequel, and it proved worth the wait. the American counterculture, becom- misfires,” filmmaker Spanning more than 1,100 pages over ing fi xtures on university bookshelves The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson told three volumes, across the country, which grew their Entertainment Weekly in told a far more complicated story, dense popularity and influence. “The hob- 2001, just weeks before with mythology and invented lan- bit habit seems to be almost as catch- Time the release of his first guages, and made for a dazzling read. ing as LSD,” proclaimed magazine The movie based on Even if it perplexed certain critics, it in 1966. “On many U.S. campuses, but- Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien’s liter- gained an immediate foothold with tons declaring FRODO LIVES and GO ary landmark. “For every other genre— a generation of readers and forever GO GANDALF—frequently written in Westerns, war—you can name truly changed the cultural landscape. Elvish script—are almost as common amazing fi lms. So fantasy is interest- “His work reflected the potential as football letters.” ing, because there aren’t really any cli- of fantasy as a genre, and its infl uence Among those Me Generation fans chés. It’s [a chance] to give an audience extended beyond fantasy as well,” was future author Stephen King, who The Lord of the Rings an original experience.” says Tolkien scholar Amy H. Sturgis, has cited as one Back in 1937, that’s precisely what an author and professor at Lenoir- of his 10 favorite novels. “Hobbits were the fledgling novelist and distin- Rhyne University in North Carolina. big when I was nineteen ,” King writes guished Oxford professor had done “His stories spawned many imitators, in the introduction to one of the books The Hobbit. Dark Tower with His debut, set in his but they also continue to inspire cre- in his Tolkien-inspired imagined world of Middle-earth, drew ators who seek to tell different tales series. “There were probably half a on a long- running fascination with from other perspectives. Just think dozen Merrys and Pippins slogging Star Trek fairy tales and Norse myth, creating of modern mythologies like through the mud at Max Yasgur’s farm Star Wars a high- fantasy world unlike anything or ; they use detailed maps during the Great Woodstock Music ever previously committed to paper. and created languages and invented Festival, twice as many Frodos, and The tale of a resolute homebody, hob- histories for imaginary cultures in hippie Gandalfs without number,” he bit Bilbo Baggins, drawn into a quest— order to build immersive worlds and continued, naming popular characters involving wizards, dwarves, elves, galaxies. They invite audiences to from the saga. The Lord of giant spiders, a fi re-breathing dragon, inhabit these fi ctional landscapes and In the decades since, the Rings a hoard of gold, and a massive confl ict explore the human condition through has served as a gateway for among fi ve armies— immediately cap- their hopeful morality tales. That’s readers to discover the joys of adven- tured the public’s imagination and Tolkienian storytelling.” ture stories set in worlds far beyond Lord of the Rings vaulted the novel to best-seller status. The novels found their own. It has inspired authors to Tolkien then spent 17 years crafting an especially receptive audience among explore the furthest reaches of their ACROSS THE GLOBE, INTEREST in the Rings fl ourished. In 2004, Priscilla Tolkien (left), the author’s daughter, unveiled a British stamp featuring her father’s drawing The Hall at Bag- End. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Tourists visit the fi lms’ Hobbiton sets in New Zealand in 2012; fans cavorted in costume at the 2001 German premiere of Fellowship; the stage-musical adaptation got a second chance in 2007 on London’s West End, where it ran for 13 months; afi cionados soaked in the sights at Switzerland’s Greisinger Museum, a trove of all things Tolkien; and, in 2017, the Florence Opera performed along with a screening of The Two Towers. 6 LIFE THE LORD OF THE RINGS A NEW SERIES FROM AMAZON based on Tolkien’s works will be set in the Second Age, when villain Sauron forged the all- important Ring . imaginations and conjure countless me—truly a light in dark places when Power became inescapable—though stories that are equally beloved. “Of all other lights went out,” Colbert wrote some longtime Tolkien experts were EW all the authors [that] had an impact on in in 2014. “For an awkward teen- less enamored with the movies than me . . . Tolkien is right up there at the ager, Middle-earth was a world I could general audiences. top,” said George R.R. Martin, whose escape to.” “Ever since the Jackson adaptations F novels spawned the blockbuster TV were released there have been fans who Game of Thrones, series in 2019. “I yield ilmmaker Peter Jackson read confuse what Tolkien wrote with what The The Lord of the Rings to no one in my admiration for in his Jackson fi lmed,” say Tolkien scholars Lord of the Rings —I re-read it every later teen years, not realizing Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull . few years. It’s one of the great books of he’d someday return Tolkien’s in an e-mail to LIFE “Jackson did well the 20th century . . .” epic to the forefront of popular cul- from his fi lms, but they sharply [and] Of Tolkien’s many famous fans, ture. Released between 2001 and sometimes angrily divided Tolkien Rings however, few may understand and trea- 2003, Jackson’s cinematic tril- enthusiasts, some of whom praise sure his work more deeply than come- ogy dominated the worldwide box them highly and accept their many dian and late-night talk show host off ice, earning billions and racking up departures from their source, while Stephen Colbert, who can even read countless critical accolades. No lon- others—such as ourselves— fi nd them Tolkien’s invented Elvish language (see ger just the domain of fantasy devo- seriously fl awed.” “Architect of Argot,” page 20). “Tolkien’s tees, the story of heroic Frodo Baggins Subsequent attempts at adaptation work has been a lifelong haven for and his quest to destroy the Ring of have fared less well than Jackson’s 8 LIFE THE LORD OF THE RINGS