It’s an open secret that Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson didn’t have a good relationship with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Originally, Weinstein’s company Miramax was supposed to finance the Lord of the Rings film adaptation, but spoke out against the risk of three films. After a falling out, New Line Cinema became the fantasy epic’s new production company and the rest is history. In a more or less subtle revenge, Peter Jackson then let one Orc in Harvey Weinstein’s likeness model.
The Lord of the Rings and the Lord of the Masks: Peter Jackson’s Orc Fingers to Harvey Weinstein
Peter Jackson’s orcish vengeance has been making the rounds in Lord of the Rings circles for the past year. Because the cinematic dig but came up again in the course of the 2022 Oscars, we want to explain the amazing story again here to all those who have missed it so far. That actress Wanda Sykes during the ceremony touring the newly opened Oscar Museum at the Sight of an orc mask namely “Oh, Harvey Weinstein!” exclaimed is no coincidence.
The Lord of the Rings Orcs and Uruk-hai: Middle-earth Monsters
Sam actor Sean Astin joined the podcast last summer The Friendship Onion his two hobbit colleagues Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd and was followed by the two Lord of the Rings friends (at minute 12:10) after his very first memories on the set asked. Here’s how he brought up the Harvey Weinstein orc:
What I remember (oh, should I really tell you this?) are the Uruk-hai outfits: the Rubber suits of disgusting villainsthat poor actors have had to wear for so many months. There was one who looked like Harvey Weinstein! It was an absolute Photorealistic image on this evil Uruk-hai mask. And I didn’t know if I should say anything about that. At the time, I didn’t know the history of Miramax and the difficulties of developing the film and the problems they had with this man…
Elijah Wood also remembers the Harvey Weinstein orc
The case of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein became one of the focal points of the MeToo movement. In 2020, the producer was sentenced to 23 years in prison for (to date denied) sexual abuse and rape. Now filmmakers are speaking more openly about its toxic influence.
Orc Lord of the Rings Opponent: Gothmog
Shortly after Sam’s revelation, Frodo also followed suit: Elijah Wood spoke on the podcast Armchair Expert
by Dax Shepard about the orcish Weinstein mask and found even clearer words:
One of the orc masks, I remember vividly, was specifically designed to look just like Harvey Weinstein. As a kind of fuck you. I think it’s okay to talk about it now. The guy’s fucking in jail. fuck him
That the Weinsteins were never interested in Peter Jackson’s Tolkien vision, only interested in business, earned them not only an ork comparison, but one as well Troll drawing on her credits in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It has not been confirmed which Ork or Uruk-hai Harvey Weinstein was actually the godfather. However, many have the suspicion that it is this beauty called Gothmog could act:
At this point you will find external content from Twitter, which complements the article. You can show it and hide it again with one click.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series: Will It Be a Fantasy Highlight or a Disappointment?
As the next Middle-earth excursion, Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series The Rings of Power will soon be told a story set thousands of years before the events of the films. But what exactly awaits us in it?
At this point you will find external content, which complements the article. You can show it and hide it again with one click.
In the Moviepilot podcast, we talk about what we already know about the Lord of the Rings series, what excites us about it and what might also put us off a bit.
*The link to the Amazon offer is a so-called affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.
What do you think of Harvey Weinstein Lord of the Rings ‘Orcification’ by Peter Jackson?