Question: In the trivia section, it is said that the movie editors made a video clip of Elijah Wood and Sean Astin to the song "I Got You". Can anyone please tell me where I could find this?
Chosen answer: The song on the video montage is "I got you babe." Just as the rest of the main cast received personal gifts, this was a personal meaningful gift to Sean and Elijah, at the wrap of the films and it is not for the general public.
Question: Tolkien never gave any age for Legolas but Peter Jackson did (I think it's 2100 years or so). Where did he get the idea for Legolas' age? Was it just arbitrary or was it based on other evidence (like that Legolas is obviously a younger elf- younger than, say, Elrond or Arwen)?
Answer: We know he must be older than Arwen as she is the last elf born in Middle Earth. She is around 1657 at the beginning of the War of the Rings.
Question: After the Ring has been destroyed we see the reactions from the Fellowship members. Pippin is kneeling on the ground, sobbing Frodo's name. Is he crying out of joy because Frodo succeeded or is he crying because he thinks Frodo died in the process?
Answer: Probably both. It's something he would have very mixed emotions about.
Question: What was the title of the score that was played after Theoden says "And Rohan will answer" in response to the Beacons of Minas Tirith until the part where the Rohirrim leave Edoras for Gondor? It's a Rohan theme and it seems that it is not in the soundtrack.
Answer: The movie is 201 minutes long, the soundtrack album is at most 74 minutes long. Other than what's on the soundtrack we are not privy to the score to even know if the individual bits have titles.
Question: If Sauron's forces did get the Ring, how are they supposed to give it to Sauron? Do they throw it in the eye or something?
Answer: I would imagine that simple proximity would do it - when the Ring was close enough, Sauron would be able to tap into the magical power stored within, which would give him the power required to take physical form. At which point, they just give it to him.
Question: I don't know where I can find the music track that was played right after Theoden said "And Rohan will answer", until the moment the Rohirrim left Edoras. It's a Rohan theme and it seems that it is not in the soundtrack.
Answer: Well, the movie is roughly three hours long and the soundtrack is around 80 minutes. Almost half of the music is not on the soundtrack. You'll have to wait until they release the complete soundtrack which runs almost as long as the film itself.
Question: Does it take hundreds and hundreds of years for elven children to grow into adult elves or do they grow into an adult fast and then age slowly? We don't see many little elves in the movie.
Answer: Tolkien doesn't discuss it - the most likely path would seem to be a relatively quick growth to adulthood (probably still slower than human children, though) followed by the very slow aging process of the adult elf. This would account for the apparent absence of little elves, although it should be said that elves are not prolific breeders at the best of times - they're also a reasonably private race and might deliberately keep their young away from non-elves.
Question: I've been reading a lot of spoilers of what will be in the Special Edition release. However one thing from the theatrical trailer which I've found nothing about is the shot of Pippin holding a weeping Merry. I was hoping SE spoilers would help me figure out where this shot belongs but I've had no luck. At first I thought it was Pelennor, but since Pippin is wearing his helmet it can't be then. Then I thought it was Cornmallen after the Ring has been destroyed and they seem to think Frodo is dead, but that doesn't add up either since people are fighting behind them. Does anyone know where this shot is from? I really want to know, I love this shot since it's a reverse from the shot in FotR where Merry held a weeping Pippin.
Answer: I've been through the theatrical trailers for this film, but I can't actually find the shot you're referring to. Logically, though, it has to either be at the Pelennor Fields or at the Morannon. If there are people visible fighting behind them, that seems to rule out the Pelennor Fields, as Merry and Pippin aren't reunited until some time after the fighting has ended, so the battle at the Black Gate seems like the only option. The flow of events there will change in the Extended Edition - the Mouth of Sauron sequence will be going in there, for example - so the reason for continued fighting in the shot may become clear.
Question: I know about Peter Jackson's kids appearing as extras several times in the films, but there are other people who are used as extras several times. Like the old woman in the caves at Helm's Deep and in the streets of Minas Tirith. Since a lot of the extras are crew members or relatives of people involved in the films, I was wondering if anyone knows who the recurring extras are.
Answer: There are far too many crew and family members appearing in the three films to list here. A few examples - and this really is only a few - include conceptual artist Alan Lee, who played one of the nine kings of men as seen in the prologue of FOTR (second king from the right if I remember correctly) and who also appeared as a Rohirrim peasant in TTT, when swords are being handed out in Helm's Deep. Right next to Alan Lee in that same scene is supervising art director Dan Hennah. Liv Tyler's riding double, Jane Abbott, appears as an elf during the wedding scene at the end of ROTK. Viggo Mortensen's son Henry appeared in TTT, standing behind the boy Haleth whose sword Aragorn examines. And of course, Peter Jackson himself appeared in all three films: in FOTR as a dirty Breelander the hobbits pass on their way to the Prancing Pony; in TTT as a Rohirrim soldier who throws a spear at the invading orcs from above the top of the ramp to Helm's Deep; and in ROTK as a Corsair of Umbar, seen standing on one of the black ships. There are many, many, many other cameos as well.
Question: This is actually to do with the book. When Sam finds that Frodo is dead he says: 'Gilthoniel A Elbereth. A Elbereth Gilthoniel o menel palan-diriel, le nallon sà di'nguruthos. A tiro nin, Fanuilos'. What does this mean?
Answer: O Elbereth Star-kindler, from heaven gazing afar, to thee I cry now in the shadow of death! O watch over me, Everwhite!
Question: I doubt whether if this is a movie mistake or not so I better ask this question first: Where does the "lightning effect" come from in the Mount Doom sequence? Is this just a filmmaking technique to make the scene scary and climactic? As you can notice from other movies like Titanic where Jack and Rose where running along the flooded corridors of the ship and saving a child, there are broken electric wires that create this effect (lights flashing on and off continuously). In horror movies, there are always thunderstorm to justify that the "lightning effect" come from a real lightning. And now in ROTK, especially when Frodo is having his last look on the Ring before he says 'The Ring is mine.', there are "lightning effects." I don't think it's from the lava nor a thunderstorm and not certainly from a broken electric wire.
Answer: It's a big volcano jam-packed full of Sauron's wild magical power flashing around, also the volcano must have some sort of magic power in and of itself if it can be used to forge/unforge magical rings.
Question: Kind of random, in the MTV Movie Awards 2004, when they announced Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King as best film a song was played for a few seconds, does anyone knows what song it was?
Answer: The song was 'Bright Lights' by Matchbox Twenty.
Question: In the song "Into the West," what is silver glass?
Answer: The surface of the water colored by "the pale moon..."
Question: Could anyone tell me who the big pig-like orc is who leads Sauron's armies against Minas-Tirith? I've read somewhere that he's a kind of incarnation of Sauron, but I'm not too sure.
Answer: His name is Gothmog and, no, he's not an incarnation of Sauron. He officially holds the title of Lieutenant of Morgul, a position of considerable power within Mordor, and acts as the second-in-command to the Witch King of Angmar. He's mentioned precisely once in the books and Tolkien doesn't even mention what race he's from - it was the filmmakers choice to make him an orc.
Question: This question is more about the book, but I'll ask it here anyway. Are Elladan and Elrohir, the Sons of Elrond, men or elves? The timeline in the appendix of the book says they were born at the beginning of the Third Age, 3000 years before the Ring was destroyed, and yet they fought in the war. However, the book implied that Legolas was the only elf to travel the Paths of the Dead with Aragorn and the Grey Company, which the Sons of Elrond were a part of.
Answer: Elladan and Elrohir were twins, and half-elven like their father. They returned to Rivendell after the War of the Rings, and were given the choice of going into the west or staying and becoming mortal. It is not known which choice they made.
Answer: Since Elrond had chosen to be of Elven kind when given the choice by the Valar, his children were of Elven kind too. But they were given the choice of either and leaving Middle-earth with him, or remaining and becoming mortal. "Elladan and Elrohir remained in Imladris well into the Fourth Age, and since they did not accompany Elrond over Sea they seem to have chosen to become Mortal." Robert Foster, "Complete Guide to Middle-Earth" (2nd edition p. 144).
Question: Did Denethor in the original book suffer from some form of mental illness?
Chosen answer: Not exactly. While this isn't stated in the film (unless it appears in the Extended Cut), Denethor has access to a palantir, like the one Saruman possessed that Pippin ultimately looks in. Denethor has used this palantir to follow events in Middle-Earth, but, just as Pippin did, he has encountered Sauron. The Dark Lord used this opportunity to mess with Denethor's mind, bringing him to the point of terrible despair, where he simply cannot conceive of anything other than defeat at Sauron's hands. This affects Denethor's judgement horribly, leading him to first send out Faramir's suicide mission, and then to break completely when he sees the Mordor forces arrayed against him.
Question: The ring of Barahir that Aragorn wears - what is 'Barahir' ? A person or place?
Answer: Barahir was a human warrior in the First Age, who was given the ring that bears his name by an elf whose life he saved in the great battles of that Age. The ring has been passed down through many generations to his distant descendant, Aragorn.
Answer: Who knows - he's just an extra.
Tailkinker ★