67 Years Ago Today, the Secret Weapon of The Lord of the Rings Movies Was Born (They Created One of the Most Iconic Moments)

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With the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings movies approaching, fans are feeling especially nostalgic for the epic trilogy. This is due to both the passage of time and the films’ outstanding quality, but also because new projects are in the works. While a TV series is coming to Prime Video, Warner Bros. is also developing two more Lord of the Rings films, including The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in 2027. Andy Serkis will return as Gollum, and will also be directing the movie.

With continued excitement around The Lord of the Rings and its recent return, it’s important to remember a key creative force behind both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, someone whose contributions are often overlooked. While Peter Jackson is widely recognized as the director, his partner and collaborator, Fran Walsh, born January 10th, was essential to the franchise’s success.

Fran Walsh Was a Key Contributor to The Lord of the Rings’ Success

Fran Walsh was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1959. She first connected with Peter Jackson in the 1980s while working on the TV series Worzel Gummidge Down Under as a writer. This was around the time Jackson was completing his debut feature film, 1987’s Bad Taste. They quickly formed both a personal and professional relationship, and Walsh went on to co-write all of Jackson’s films, beginning with 1989’s Meet the Feebles and continuing with the popular horror film Dead Alive in 1992.

Peter Jackson has said that Fran Walsh encouraged him to develop the story that would become the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, which earned them both their first Academy Award nomination and set them on the path to creating The Lord of the Rings. Even during the making of Heavenly Creatures – a film based on the real-life 1950s Parker–Hulme murder case in New Zealand – Jackson and Walsh worked closely together creatively. Melanie Lynskey, the film’s star, discovered by Walsh while in high school, has said they “felt like co-directors,” and that Walsh immediately made actors feel both safe and motivated to perform well.

As a huge fan of Peter Jackson’s work, I always knew Fran Walsh was integral to everything he did, but learning the full extent of her contributions to Middle-earth really blew me away. Before they tackled The Lord of the Rings, they did a fun horror-comedy called The Frighteners together, and after that, it was all Tolkien, all the time! She wasn’t just a screenwriter and producer on all six films – The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies – but she really shaped the creative vision, even deciding to feature Galadriel prominently. And get this – that terrifying scream of the Nazgûl? That’s her! But it doesn’t stop there. She was deeply involved in the music too, writing the lyrics for “In Dreams” in Fellowship, and actually composing the music for “Gollum’s Song” (The Two Towers), as well as “A Shadow Lies Between Us” and the incredibly moving “Into the West” (Return of the King). That last one even won her an Academy Award – and rightfully so! It’s amazing to think about all the layers of her talent woven into those films.

Fran Walsh Solely Created One of the Most Memorable Scenes in the Entire Trilogy

Andy Serkis, a star of The Lord of the Rings, has emphasized just how crucial Fran Walsh was to the films. He knows firsthand, as director Peter Jackson credits Walsh with entirely creating one of the trilogy’s most memorable scenes: the moment in The Two Towers where Gollum has a conversation with himself. Jackson even told Stephen Colbert that this scene is his favorite, despite not having been involved in its creation at all.

During the filming of The Two Towers, we were introducing the character of Gollum. It was important to show that Gollum has two distinct personalities – Sméagol and Gollum – but we hadn’t yet filmed a scene that really conveyed that. We were short on time, so my wife, Fran, wrote a scene where Sam and Frodo are sleeping, meaning we didn’t even need actors Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Since we didn’t have a director available, I asked Fran to direct the scene herself. She ended up writing and directing it in a single day, and it’s become quite well-known now.

Everyone experiences self-doubt, that inner voice telling them they aren’t good enough and won’t succeed, explained Walsh in a 2012 interview with The New York Times. He admitted he struggles with those same feelings.

Ultimately, Walsh’s work was essential to the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the films wouldn’t be the same without her. Thankfully, she’s already involved in the upcoming film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, co-writing the screenplay. Considering how brilliantly she brought Gollum to life in the original films, we’re excited to see what she contributes to the new one. It’s good to remember her crucial role in completing one of the greatest movie trilogies ever made.

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2026-01-10 16:44