Middle-earth from Script to Screen: Building the World of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

For the first time ever, the epic, in-depth story of the creation of one of the most famous fantasy worlds ever imagined—an illustrious compendium that reveals the breathtaking craftsmanship, artistry, and technology behind the magical Middle-earth of the blockbuster film franchises, The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.

The Making of Middle-Earth tells the complete story of how J. R. R. Tolkien’s magic world was brought to vivid life on the big screen in the record-breaking film trilogies The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy and The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy. Drawing on resources, stories, and content from the archives of the companies and individuals behind the films, much of which have never appeared in print before, as well as interviews and a foreword by director Peter Jackson and key members of the Art Department, Shooting Crews, Park Road Post, and Weta Digital teams who share their personal insights on the creative process, this astonishing resource reveals:

• How the worlds were built, brick by brick and pixel by pixel;
• How environments were extended digitally or imagined entirely as computer generated spaces;
• How the multiple shooting units functioned;
• How cast members and characters interacted with their environments.

Daniel Falconer takes fans from storyboard concepts to deep into the post-production process where the films were edited, graded, and scored, explaining in depth how each enhanced the films. He also discusses how the processes involved in establishing Middle-earth for the screen have evolved over the fifteen years between the start and finish of the trilogies. Going region by region and culture by culture in this fantasy realm, The Making of Middle-Earth describes how each area created for the films was defined, what made it unique, and what role it played in the stories.

Illustrated with final film imagery, behind-the-scenes pictures and conceptual artwork, including places not seen in the final films, this monumental compilation offers unique and far-reaching insights into the creation of the world we know and love as Middle-earth.

Daniel Falconer has been a designer at Weta Workshop for more than a decade, producing conceptual art as part of the design team on many of the company's high profile projects, including The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the short-lived Halo movie adaptation. Daniel wrote and collated Weta's first two books, The World of Kong (Simon & Schuster, 2005) and The Crafting of Narnia (HarperOne, 2008), art books that showcased the illustrative work of the entire design departments behind on King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia movies, and has provided descriptive copy for movie-based toys and collectibles including The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He lives in Wellington with his wife Catherine and two daughters, reveling in his dream career of playing in imaginary worlds every day.

K.M. Rice is a national award-winning screenwriter and author who has worked for both Magic Leap and Weta Workshop. Her first novel, Darkling, is a young adult dark fantasy that now has a companion novel titled The Watcher. Her novella The Wild Frontier is an ode to the American spirit of adventure and seeks to awaken the wildish nature in all of us. Her upcoming Afterworld series is set to debut with the first book, Ophelia. Over the years, her love of storytelling has led to producing and geeking out in various webshows and short films. When not writing or filming, she can be found hiking in the woods, baking, running, and enjoying the company of the many animals on her family ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.