The Fellowship Behind Fellowship

You don't make a fantasy marathon like The Lord of the Rings without plenty of people working behinds the scenes (and behind the cameras, but we'll get them in a moment).

The Fellowship of the Ring was produced by Peter Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh, but they didn't do it alone. Tim Sanders left the team early but was a producer on the first film, which is added to his resume of other New Zealand-based classics like The Frighteners and Whale Rider.

Then there's Barrie Osborne (producer throughout the LotR trilogy) who also worked on the first Matrix film and more recently produced the latest adaptation of The Great Gatsby. There's been talk about a Muhammad biopic or an epic Viking film to boost Norway tourism: who knows what the future holds for Osborne?

Next up is Paul Zaentz, who's made a career of adapting novels to the big screen. He's an acclaimed producer not just for The Lord of the Rings, but also for adaptations of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient. And not only has he had a thing with adaptations, he's also had a long relationship with our fantasy series of concern. Way back in 1976, he gained rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit (and actually made full length Lord of the Rings animated movie in 1978 that you've probably never heard of).

New Line Cinema "presented" the movie (translation: it was one of the production studios). The studio has a storied history and was saved from bankruptcy—at least for a few years—by the LOTR films. But WingNut Films is the primary production company of the trilogy and is, for the most part, the pet company of Peter Jackson. It produced his earlier films, as well as King Kong, The Hobbit, and more recent adventures. But the real question is this: why is their logo a naked dude riding a dragonfly with a banner?