— Ch. 1 · The Shadow Over The Shire —
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom. This single act imbues the object with power to control other Rings and conquer the land. A final alliance of Men and Elves battles Sauron's forces in Mordor. Isildur of Gondor severs Sauron's finger, vanquishing him and returning him to spirit form. The Ring corrupts Isildur, who takes it and is later killed by Orcs. The Ring is lost in a river for 2,500 years until it is found by Gollum. Gollum possesses the Ring for over four centuries before abandoning it. A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins finds the Ring sixty years after its loss. Bilbo celebrates his 111th birthday in the Shire with his old friend Gandalf the Grey. He leaves the Shire for one last adventure, passing on his inheritance including the Ring to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf investigates the Ring and learns its true nature. He discovers that Gollum revealed two words during interrogation: Shire and Baggins. Gandalf warns Frodo to leave the Shire immediately.
The Casting Of Nine Heroes
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. Wood sent an audition dressed as Frodo reading lines from The Lord of the Rings. Jake Gyllenhaal unsuccessfully auditioned for the role after his agency miscommunicated his direction to an American accent. Ian McKellen played Gandalf the Grey after Sean Connery declined the part. Patrick Stewart turned down the role because he disliked the script. Richard Harris expressed interest in the part but never received it. Viggo Mortensen became Aragorn after Stuart Townsend was replaced during filming. Russell Crowe was considered as a replacement but turned it down. Billy Boyd played Peregrin Took while Dominic Monaghan played Meriadoc Brandybuck. John Rhys-Davies wore heavy prosthetics to play Gimli which limited his vision. Orlando Bloom initially auditioned for Faramir who appears in the second film. Liv Tyler came to shoot on short occasions unlike the rest of the actors. She was one of the last actors cast on the 25th of August 1999.