1. Hollywood’s Biggest Gamble The Lord of the Rings Time Management Group Casey Briscoe - Presenter Josh Schubert Greg Hinck Matt Decker Fall 2004, University of Minnesota

2. Time Management A look at movie distribution and the Lord of the Rings

3. Background Information: Lord of the Rings Author of the books was John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien (1892-1973) The Hobbit, the predecessor to the Lord of Rings, was written in 1937 The title of The Lord of the Rings was published in three parts during 1954 and 1955

4. Early Stages Director Peter Jackson wrote the scripts for the Lord of the Rings movies It took 8 years from obtaining film rights to the final product film. It took 3 years of preparation to build sets, find locations, write scripts, and cast actors.

5. Peter Jackson “The amount of [early] planning made it easier than you would imagine.”

6. Scope To bring the JRR Tolkien books to life with three full feature films.

7. Cost Budget of more than $270 million dollars for the three films.

8. Time Principal photography on the trilogy began October 11, 1999 and wrapped up on December 22, 2000.

9. Casting Crew of 2500 people with 77 speaking parts and over 26,000 extras. Casting extras began April 1999. Main characters were cast in July and August 1999.

10. Filming August 1998 - Miramax agrees to fund production of 3 movies at once. Filming lasted 274 days. Filming the 3 movies at once allowed the movies to be released in 3 consecutive years.

11. Locations Filming took place in many remote parts of New Zealand.

12. Special Effects 1200 state-of-the-art computer generated effect shots.

13. Distribution The distribution company New Line Cinema shows the movie to prospective buyers representing the theaters. The prints are sent to the theaters a few days before the opening day.

15. Movie Releases The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Release Date: 12/19/2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Release Date: 12/18/2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Release Date: 12/17/2003

16. Time Management Excellent planning led to a successful launch. Project integration allowed all three films to be shot at the same time. To date, the films have grossed over $1 Billion

17. References http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biogr aphy.htmlhttp://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biogr aphy.html http://www.compleatseanbean.com/rings.ht mlhttp://www.compleatseanbean.com/rings.ht ml http://www.howstuffworks.com http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1214/p17s 1-almo.htmhttp://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1214/p17s 1-almo.htm