Elijah Wood has boldly claimed Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson made an orc in the films look like disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Speaking on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, the actor who played leading man Frodo Baggins explained how the iconic trilogy nearly didn't get made.
He revealed Miramax bought the rights to the J. R. R. Tolkien's books back in the '90s, however it was clear to Jackson and partner Fran Walsh that the projects were never going to get off the ground.
Advert
So Peter and Fran asked Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein if they could find a new studio to film the movies.
Miramax agreed but told them they would have to make all three movies at once and they would have to do it right away.
Elijah recounted the story to Dax, saying: "The window of time was insane. They shopped it around town.
Advert
"Peter made a pitch video that's pretty impressive, taken to a variety of places. Most people were balking at the notion of doing more than one film. The popular opinion was, 'No, you have to see how [the initial movie] does and then invest the rest of your money.'"
They eventually found a home for the three movies at New Line Cinema, but it was a miracle they were able to secure a deal like this.
Elijah revealed that it appeared Jackson wasn't happy with having to jump through the hoops to get the movies made.
"It's funny, this was recently spoken about because Dom [Monaghan] and Bill [Boyd, who played Hobbits Merry and Pippin in the trilogy] have a podcast, The Friendship Onion," he said.
Advert
"They were talking to Sean Astin [who played Samwise] about his first memory of getting to New Zealand.
"He had seen these orc masks. And one of the orc masks - and I remember this vividly - was designed to look like Harvey Weinstein as a sort of a f**k you.
"I think that is OK to talk about now, the guy is f**king incarcerated. F**k him."
Advert
Weinstein was last year sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault.
Weinstein's defence team pleaded for the most lenient sentence possible, citing his old age, health, and the impact the media spotlight had had on his young children as reasons.
The 69-year-old, who was once one of Hollywood's most powerful figures, went to trial after being charged with five counts of rape and sexual assault.
He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, but was found to be guilty of two.
Advert
This case gave birth to the #MeToo movement that encouraged women to make their allegations against powerful men - particularly within Hollywood - public, so that the men could be brought to justice.
Featured Image Credit: New Line CinemaTopics: Entertainment, Harvey Weinstein, Lord Of The Rings