Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom during the Second Age of Middle-earth. This act imbues the object with power to control other Rings and conquer the land.
Principal actors trained for six weeks in sword fighting with Bob Anderson before filming began on the 11th of October 1999. Elijah Wood was the first actor cast on the 7th of July 1999 as Frodo Baggins.
Filming took place at many places across New Zealand including the Arrow River in the Otago region and Whakapapa skifield in Tongariro National Park. Matamata served as Hobbiton while Kaitoke Regional Park in Upper Hutt became Rivendell.
Howard Shore composed the film score performed by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. The London Voices and Maori Samoan Choir joined the ensemble for vocal parts.
Opening day grossed $18.2 million in United States and Canada from 3,359 cinemas. Worldwide total reached $362.2 million in first 15 days with a final worldwide total of $868.4 million.