Most semi-interested fans know that all three ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies were filmed at the same time over an 18-month time span, but as far as where they were filmed, New Zealand is a just a generalization. More than 350 sets were utilized for the over 100 different shooting sites, which meant bad news for one cast member in particular. As far as getting to these locations, the cast and crew were transported by helicopter, and our buddy Boromir (played by Sean Bean) didn’t like flying (and probably still doesn’t). It was after shooting the scene where he tries to take the ring from Frodo in ‘Fellowship’ that pushed him over the edge, and from then on he refused to fly in the helicopter. So to get to the remote locations, he sometimes had to climb uphill for miles at a time in full Boromir attire. The only other major snag was shooting outside the Black Gate of Mordor, of which the area in real life was the site of a military testing ground and had to be cleared of unexploded ammo. 

Other sets weren’t so difficult to film, fortunately. Fangorn, for example, was created through a combination of miniature pieces, CGI and set designs. Then there was Osgiliath, which was only 25-by-30-feet wide in real life. The majority of it was made of polystyrene and was so lightweight that the entire thing blew away at one time due to high winds.

Read More: 10 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Lord of the Rings' Movies | http://screencrush.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-things-you-didnt-know/?trackback=tsmclip