The most successful movie of 2003 was released...
48Fun Facts:
Billy Boyd's singing scene largely came about because co-writer Philippa Boyens went for a night out at a karaoke bar with the younger male cast members, and she was struck by the quality of his voice. Remembering that Denethor asks Pippin to sing him a song when Faramir heads off to war, she resurrected the lyrics from the novel (where it is actually sung by all four hobbits), and Boyd came up with the tune for it.
The last shot of principal photography was when the newly-crowned Aragorn bows to the four Hobbits. Although Viggo Mortensen did not need to be on-set for that day, he nevertheless insisted on attending. He didn't have a crown (it wasn't necessary, he wasn't being filmed), so he fashioned one out of paper. With each successive take, the crown was becoming more ornate and sillier as crew members kept decorating it, so the four actors playing the Hobbits often had difficulty suppressing their giggles.
Most of the Principal Photography was completed in 2000 with pickups, visual and sound effects work taking place between 2002 and 2003. The final day of filming on the trilogy actually happened over a month after this movie was theatrically released, and three weeks after the 2004 Academy Awards. Sir Peter Jackson arranged to film one final shot of skulls on the floor in the tunnel of the Paths of the Dead, which was included in the Extended Edition DVD. He thought it was funny to be doing filming on a movie that had already won the Best Picture Oscar.
Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood were each given prop rings by Peter Jackson used in the movie. They both thought they had the only one.
The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed at the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield. New Zealand soldiers were hired as extras while guides were on the lookout for unexploded mines. The extras were so enthusiastic that they broke a lot of the wooden swords they were given.
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