Therese Sta. MariaOn 19 Dec 2001, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring debuted in theatres all over the world. The introduction of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (LOTR) was cinematic history in the making; the movies revealed the magic of motion capture, CGI, and LOTR was the first film under the Sci-Fi category that was ever awarded Oscars. The last movie, Return of the King, even won the Academy Award for Best Picture!
Late Show host Stephen Colbert, who also happens to be one of the biggest Tolkien nerds in the world, paid tribute to the trilogy’s 20th Anniversary with a rap song that featured the stars of the trilogy. And Filipino LOTR fans even got a special treat when the rap cleverly included Manila; it was done so smoothly that you’d have to do a retake to fully appreciate it!
‘Manila’ in the Lord of the Rings 20th Anniversary rap
Stephen Colbert says, “Lord of the Rings is no doubt the greatest trilogy in movie history.” | Image credit: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
This part of the song goes, “Lord of the Rings is the number one trilly. Ask anybody and they know the dealy, from Jacksonvilly to Manila, Philly!”
Seeing as the rap shortened “trilogy” to “trilly,” it had to find words that rhymed. Ergo, Jacksonville became “Jacksonvilly” and Manila, Philippines became “Manila, Philly.”
Watch the whole video below:
The Philippines’ small contribution to the Lord of the Rings movies
Image credit: Blade Culture International Facebook Page
A lot of Filipinos still don’t know this; but some of the swords that were used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were actually crafted in Pangasinan, Philippines. The blades were made by Blade Culture International (BCI), which is a decades-old family legacy inherited by Hernando de Guzman. His father and grandfather were both blacksmiths; their family business produced swords and knives for other Hollywood productions like Braveheart and Batman Begins.
Blade Culture International also has distributors in the USA, Singapore, Germany, and France, which make its business more accessible to blockbuster films. Learn more about BCI on its Facebook page.
Also read: Everything We Know About the Amazon ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV Series So Far
The LOTR trilogy paved the way for a lot of other fantasy literature-turned-movies. They filmed everything in New Zealand, but that doesn’t mean all the efforts came from there. The Philippines made its contribution, albeit in a very low-key way. Want to see the Philippine destination considered to be the country’s version of NZ? Check out this article!
Featured image credit: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Official YouTube Channel
