[imagesource: HBO Max]

The third and final The Lord of the Rings movie came out in 2003 but we are still learning about some fascinating behind-the-scenes tidbits.

Most recently, we have learnt that one of the orc masks used in the films (like the one above) bears an uncanny resemblance to a real-life villain, Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein’s crimes are well documented, but the mask was apparently a bit of a “f**k you” as he almost ruined The Lord of the Rings on multiple occasions before it could even get off the ground.

Glance between this picture of Weinstein and the orc above and you’ll notice the likeness immediately:

Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

This amusing anecdote is courtesy of the hobbit actor Elijah Wood speaking in the Armchair Expert podcast.

Here’s the snippet in question, via IndieWire:

“It’s funny, this was recently spoken about because Dom [Monaghan] and Bill [Boyd] have a podcast, The Friendship Onion.

They were talking to Sean Astin about his first memory of getting to New Zealand,” recalled Wood. “He had seen these Orc masks. And one of the Orc masks — and I remember this vividly — was designed to look like Harvey Weinstein as a sort of a fuck you.”

“I think that is Ok to talk about now, the guy is fucking incarcerated,” Wood added about Weinstein. “Fuck him.”

That’s right, folks: Frodo teamed up with some other hobbit friends to bring this vital information to the public and we owe them all some gratitude.

As a former film producer, Weinstein grated on everyone’s nerves, with The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson saying it was basically impossible to work with him.

Weinstein’s company, Miramax, was the initial holder of film rights to JRR Tolkein’s book series:

Weinstein demanded Jackson make only one movie of all three Tolkien books. Jackson wanted at least two films under Miramax, with Weinstein reportedly rejecting Jackson’s wishes and threatening to replace him with Quentin Tarantino or Shakespeare in Love director John Madden.

When Weinstein agreed to make a two-part movie, he allegedly capped the budget at $75 million and never disclosed that sum to Jackson as pre-production continued for a year and a half.

When the “Rings” team found out about the financial cap, they took matters into their own hands by leaking the script in an attempt to get the project away from Weinstein.

This worked, with Bob Shaye at New Line Cinema entering the picture and agreeing to make it a trilogy.

Basically, Weinstein tampered to ensure that making The Lord of the Rings would be as painful and torturous as humanely possible.

Weinstein, a convicted sex offender and an all-around monster, certainly deserves a hideous orc tribute.

If you’re interested, you can listen to Wood’s full podcast episode on the Armchair Expert website.

[source:indiewire]