National Film Vault
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FILM NOTES
New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, adapting the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved trilogy. Peter Jackson's production represented an enormous gamble for the studio, filming all three chapters simultaneously in New Zealand. The theatrical trailer introduced audiences worldwide to Middle-earth and generated considerable anticipation ahead of the film's release.
This cell, titled Merry and Pippin by the operator, actually frames Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee against a mountainous, rocky landscape, with the title card for The Two Towers visible across the frames. The discrepancy between the confirmed title and the depicted hobbits makes this a genuinely curious piece for collectors interested in the provenance and cataloguing history of trailer materials.