scale of the lord of the rings

..boggles the mind.

The films were seven years in the making – two years
of pre-production, two of main production and three of
post-production. The scale of the project is shown in
New Line Production’s number list:

100,000,000 - estimated number of people worldwide who
have read the trilogy.

40 - languages (at least) into which the books have
been translated.

12,500,000 --hand-linked rings used to create chain
mail by Weta workshop for the films.

3,000,000 - feet of film (at least) used to film the
trilogy.

250,000 - silk leaves applied by hand to a tree in
Hobbiton.

90,000 - still photographs shot on set.

48,000 - swords, scabbards, axes, shields made by Weta
workshop for the films.

20,602 - extras cast for the films.

15,000 - costumes made by costume department for the
films.

10,000 - members of crowd at New Zealand cricket game
recorded making Orc sounds.

5,000 - cubic meters of vegetables and flowers planted
in Hobbiton a year before filming started.

2,400 - crew members at height of production.

2,000 - illustrations drawn for production by
conceptual designer Alan Lee.

1,600 - pairs of prosthetic Hobbit feet used by
principal Hobbit cast.

1,460 - largest number of eggs served at breakfast for
crew.

800 - largest number of lunches served on set at once.

900 - suits of armor made by Weta workshop.

550 - hours of film (at least) shot on set for
behind-the-scenes footage.

350 - sets constructed for films.

300 - handmade, knotted wigs made for films.

274 - shooting days for trilogy.

250 - horses used in one scene.

200 - individually crafted Orc masks created by Weta
workshop.

180 - artists created computerized effects at Weta
digital.

114 - speaking roles.

100 - locations, at least.

100 - hand-forged, inlaid weapons crafted by Weta
workshop.

68 - miniature sets.

30 - actors trained by two dialect and creative
languages coaches.

13 - months the Fellowship travels on its journey in
the trilogy.

9 - the numeral, in Elvish script, tattooed on nine
members of the cast following the shoot.

8 - acres of farm land in Matamata, New Zealand, used
for set of Hobbiton.

7 - years of development of the film trilogy by
writer/producer/director Peter Jackson.

5 - shooting units : Unit 1, two second units,
blue-screen unit and miniature unit.


(source: www.lordoftherings.net)

LOTR won seventeen Oscars in total, including eleven
for The Return of the King