Peter Jackson

For other people named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation).

Peter Jackson
Jackson at the premiere of the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in Wellington
Spouse	Fran Walsh (1987-)

Peter Jackson CNZM (born October 31, 1961) is an Academy Award-winning New Zealand filmmaker best known as the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which he, along with Fran Walsh, his long time partner, and Philippa Boyens, adapted from the novels by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is also known for his 2005 remake of King Kong.

Jackson first gained attention with his "splatstick" horror comedies, and came to prominence with success and critical acclaim for Heavenly Creatures, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen with Walsh.

Biography

Early life

Jackson was born on 31 October 1961 in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand, an only child to Bill and Joan Jackson, both of whom were immigrants from England. As a child, Jackson was a film fan, growing up on Ray Harryhausen films as well as Thunderbirds and using his parents' Super 8 cine-camera. Citing King Kong as his favourite film at age 9, he attempted to remake it with his own stop-motion models.

Jackson started his career in film as a fanatical hobbyist, creating small films with simple technical means and with the help of his friends. He had no formal training in film-making, and was turned down for a job with the National Film Unit, the government body which produced publicity and tourist films about New Zealand. Eventually, Jackson learned about author J. R. R. Tolkien, after watching the first adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, although he learned that it ended half way through the story. After watching the film, he decided to go read Tolkien's books, in order to learn more about Tolkien's world and characters. He then got a series of other jobs which funded his early experiments in film-making. All shooting was done in the weekends as Jackson was working full-time. One of these early weekend films was to grow into his first feature film, Bad Taste, a movie about some aliens that come to earth with the desire of farming humans for food. He used several special effects, one of which consisted of some muesli hot cereal in a bowl mixed with green food colouring.

Low-budget splatter

Over four years (from 1983 to 1987) the horror comedy Bad Taste grew from the originally planned 10 minute short to a 90-minute feature film. Jackson and his crew took the end result to the Cannes Film Festival, received critical acclaim and sold the rights to twelve countries. This allowed him to start a professional career as a film director. During post-production on Bad Taste, Jackson also met Fran Walsh who would one day become his wife and mother of his son Billy and his daughter Katie.

The success of Bad Taste attracted funding for Jackson's subsequent films. His second production was Meet the Feebles (1989), a warped musical comedy starring Muppet-style puppets. This was Jackson's first collaboration with Richard Taylor, who would subsequently work on all Jackson's movies except Forgotten Silver. Although not a horror movie, Meet the Feebles is in keeping with the other movies from this period - like Jackson's other early work, Feebles features gross-out humour (including the use of vomit), adult themes and recognisably Wellington locations. However it is the only one of his films to date in which Jackson does not have a cameo, presumably because the all-puppet cast made this impossible.

Jackson's next project was Braindead (1992) (released in North America as Dead Alive). Originally a Spanish co-production, this splatter comedy was a reversal of the usual horror plot - rather than keeping the zombies out of his place of refuge, the hero attempts to keep them inside, while maintaining a facade of normality.

'Arthouse'

Released in 1994, Heavenly Creatures was a major change for Jackson in terms of both style and tone. The film depicts the story of the Parker-Hulme murder in which two teenage girls in 1950s Christchurch murdered the mother of one of the girls. Based on his previous filmography, many New Zealanders were apprehensive about how Jackson would treat his subject matter. The early scene in which Parker and Hulme run screaming and covered in blood may be an allusion to these early films, but most commentators felt that Jackson and his co-writer Fran Walsh had dealt with the events sensitively and appropriately. It received considerable critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

The following year Jackson released a 'mockumentary', Forgotten Silver (1995). This claimed to tell the story of (fictional) New Zealand film pioneer Colin McKenzie who had supposedly invented colour film and 'talkies', and attempted to make an epic film of Salome before being killed in the Spanish Civil War and forgotten by the world. The film was screened on New Zealand television as if it were fact, and its spoof nature was only revealed the following day. Many people were outraged at being fooled, and the number of people who believed the increasingly improbable story is testimony to Jackson's skill at playing on the New Zealand national myth of a nation of innovators and forgotten trail-blazers.

In the meantime, Jackson and Walsh welcomed their children, Billy (1995) and Katie (1996) into the world.

Breaking into Hollywood

The acclaim received by Heavenly Creatures led to Jackson's directing the Robert Zemeckis production, The Frighteners (1996), starring Michael J. Fox. This was a commercial failure and most critics were disappointed that it displayed neither the anarchistic humor of Jackson's early movies nor the sensitivity of Heavenly Creatures. Work on a remake of King Kong was shelved by Universal Studios (partly because Mighty Joe Young, another giant gorilla movie, had already gone into production). When pre-production was set on halt, Jackson and Walsh focused on another of Jackson's dreams: to make a film of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings

Main article: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Jackson earned the rights to a film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel in 1997 from Saul Zaentz. Originally working with Miramax towards a two-film production, he was soon put under pressure to render the story as a single film, and eventually made a new deal with New Line for a trilogy in 1998.

Principal photography went on from October 11, 1999 to December 22, 2000 with Jackson monitoring as many as seven units across New Zealand locations and sets. With the benefit of post-production on each film for their December releases, the films were huge successes and sent Jackson's popularity soaring.

Jackson's mother Joan died 3 days before the release of the first movie in the trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring. There was a special showing of the film after her funeral.

Following The Return of the King, Jackson lost a large amount of weight (over 50 lb/22.5 kg) to the point of being unrecognizable to some fans. According to the British Daily Telegraph he attributes his weight loss to his diet. He said, "I just got tired of being overweight and unfit, so I changed my diet from hamburgers to yogurt and muesli and it seems to work."

King Kong

Main article: King Kong (2005 film)

Universal Studios signed Peter Jackson for his first film following The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a remake of the 1933 classic King Kong — the film that inspired him to become a film director when he was 9 years old. He was reportedly being paid a fee of US$20 million upfront, the highest salary ever paid to a film director in advance of production, against a 20 percent take of the box-office rentals (the portion of the price of the ticket that goes to the film distributor, in this case Universal). The film was released on December 14, 2005, and grossed around US$550 million worldwide. Its release on home video and DVD was even bigger, as it set records for a Universal Pictures DVD in sales figures.

Current and future projects

Jackson recently directed a short film entitled "Crossing the Line" to test a new model of digital Cinema camera RED ONE. The film takes place during WWI, and was shot in two days. "Crossing the line" was shown at NAB 2007 (national association of broadcasters) in 4K resolution. Clips of the film can be found at Reduser.net.

He will produce a version of Alice Sebold's bestseller, The Lovely Bones, which he will be writing and directing and which he has said will be a welcome relief from the larger-scale epics and bears some similarities to Heavenly Creatures.

Jackson's involvement in the making of a film version of The Hobbit, along with another possible The Lord of the Rings prequel, has had a long and chequered history. In November 2006, a letter from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh mentioned that due to an ongoing legal dispute between Wingnut Films (Jackson's production company) and New Line Cinema, they would likely not be directing the film. However, in response, MGM spokesman Jeff Pryor has stated that "We still believe this matter of Peter Jackson directing The Hobbit is far from closed." As MGM owns the distribution rights to The Hobbit film, this may carry some weight. New Line Cinema's head, Robert Shaye, said that the studio won't work with Jackson on that film or any other. "He will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company," Shaye said. In response to this statement, an online boycott of New Line Cinema was started in the hopes of compelling New Line Cinema to renegotiate with Peter Jackson. Shaye's comments marked the first time a New Line executive has commented publicly on the franchise since Jackson announced that he was pulled out of the project and also appeared to harden New Line's position against Jackson. In August 2007 though, after a string of flops, Shaye was trying to repair his working relationship with Jackson. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement...I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."

On December 18, 2007, it was announced that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema had reached agreement to make two films based on The Hobbit. Jackson will serve as executive producer. A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Jackson has begun producing. He was set to make a $128 million movie version of the sci-fi video game Halo, but it was scrapped when fiscal backers withdrew their support. Additionally, Jackson will produce a remake of The Dam Busters in 2007, along with Sir David Frost as Executive Producer. Jackson has also earned the rights to a film adaptation of the fantasy novel series Temeraire, a novel about dragons being used in combat in the Napoleonic Wars and the story of a dragon named Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, during that time period, written by Naomi Novik. Dragons and lengthy battle scenes, which the book has plenty of, are some of Jackson's interests, though it remains to be seen if he will direct it.Also he will produce District 9, a sci-fi project which Neill Blomkamp will direct, after the adaptions for Halo is going through difficulties due to creative differences with attached studios. The script is written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, Sony Pictures will distribute the film.

Jackson will make three games with Microsoft Game Studios, a partnership announced on September 27, 2006, at X06. Specifically, Jackson and Microsoft are teaming together to form a new studio called Wingnut Interactive. In collaboration with Bungie Studios, Jackson will co-write, co-design and co-produce a new game taking place in the Halo universe.

He also has announced that he will produce and direct a Tintin movie along with Steven Spielberg using 3-D animation combined with motion capture to bring the project to the silver screen, to be released in 2009.

Charitable activity

He has given NZ$500,000 to stem cell research.

He purchased a church in Wellington for approximately $10 million, saving it from demolition.

Style

Jackson is well known for an attention to detail, a macabre sense of humour and a general playfulness to the point where The Lord of the Rings conceptual designer Alan Lee jokingly remarked "the film is almost incidental really".

Unlike some other New Zealand film directors, Jackson has remained in his native country to make films. This has been the genesis of several production and support companies. Most of Jackson's assets are on the Miramar Peninsula in his home town of Wellington and much of his filming occurs in and around the city. New Line Cinema honoured him by agreeing to hold the world premiere of The Return of the King in the city's iconic Embassy Theatre, which Jackson helped restore.

He was an early user of computer enhancement technology and provided digital special effects to a number of Hollywood films by use of telecommunications and satellite links to transmit raw images and the final results across the Pacific Ocean.

Jackson was noted perfectionist on the Lord of the Rings shoot where he demanded numerous takes of scenes, requesting additional takes by repeatedly saying, "one more for luck".. He was also known to insist that miniatures used in the films were make to exacting, detailed specifications, even on features that would never appear in the film.

Jackson is also renowned within the New Zealand film industry for his insistence on "coverage" — shooting a scene from as many angles as possible, thereby only creating his final vision in the editing process when he has as many options to choose from as possible. A trademark, perhaps, of his roots in do-it-yourself filmmaking, Jackson has been known to spend days shooting a single scene in order to get as much coverage as possible. This is evident in his work where even scenes featuring simple conversations often feature a wide array of multiple camera angles and shot-sizes as well as zooming closeups on characters' faces. One of his most common visual trademarks is shooting close-ups of actors with wide-angle lenses.

Awards

Jackson won three Academy Awards for The Return of the King, including the Academy Award for Best Director.

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Jackson's cameo roles

File:Pjcameo.jpg

Peter Jackson in The Fellowship of the Ring (top), The Two Towers (middle) and The Return of the King (bottom).

Jackson usually makes cameo appearances in his own films:

• In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, he played Albert Dreary, a drunken, carrot-chomping citizen of Bree (The Fellowship of the Ring) and a spear-throwing defender of Helm's Deep in (The Two Towers). He has a third cameo as the boatswain of a corsair ship in The Return of the King, seen in brief in the theatrical version, and longer in the extended version when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli commandeer the ship after recruiting the army of the dead, where he is accidentally killed by Legolas. Though not a cameo in the traditional sense, he also served as a stand-in for Sean Astin in the shot where Samwise Gamgee steps into frame, challenging the monster Shelob, thereby giving him three different appearances in that film. Along with being writer, director, producer, and cameo actor in The Two Towers, he also has a moment on the soundtrack where he plays a gong (When Éowyn seems to disappear from the edge of Edoras as Aragorn looks up a second time, Peter's gong hit is heard).
• Jackson appeared as a bi-plane gunner attacking Kong in New York, reprising the cameo which original King Kong filmmaker Merian C. Cooper made in his 1933 film.
• In The Frighteners, Jackson is a biker bumped into by Frank Bannister.
• In Heavenly Creatures, he is a bum that gets kissed by Juliet Hulme.
• In Braindead, he is the mortician's assistant.
• In Meet the Feebles Jackson has no cameo, making this his only film to date in which he does not appear - however, the film is not a live action film but a puppet animation, making it impossible for Jackson to appear.
• In Bad Taste Jackson has two roles, one of which is Derek.

He has also made cameos in several films not directed by him. In Hot Fuzz (2007), he played a demented Father Christmas, who stabs Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg) in the hand.

Jackson's eldest son Billy (born 1995), has had cameo appearances in every one of his parents' films since his birth, namely The Frighteners (1996), The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and King Kong. His daughter Katie (born 1996) appeared in all the above films, except The Frighteners.

Jackson had a cameo on the HBO show Entourage in the August 5, 2007 episode, "Gary's Desk", in which he offers a business proposal to Eric Murphy, manager to the lead character, Vincent Chase.

Filmography

Director

• The Valley (1976)
• Bad Taste (1987)
• Meet the Feebles (1989)
• Braindead (1992)
• Heavenly Creatures (1994)
• Forgotten Silver (1995)
• The Frighteners (1996)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• King Kong (2005)
• The Lovely Bones (2009)

Producer

• Bad Taste (1987): Producer
• Meet the Feebles (1989): Producer
• Valley of the Stereos (1992): Co-producer
• Jack Brown Genius (1994): Producer
• Heavenly Creatures (1994): Co-producer
• The Frighteners (1996): Producer
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Producer
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Producer
• The Long and Short of It (2003): Executive Producer
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Producer
• King Kong (2005): Producer
• Dambusters (2008): Producer
• The Lovely Bones (2008): Producer
• Halo (2009): Executive Producer
• District 9 (TBA)
• Temeraire (TBA)
• The Hobbit (film) (TBA)

Soundtrack

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Musician, "Edoras"

Miscellaneous crew

• Meet the Feebles (1989): Puppet Designer
• Braindead (1992): Stop-Motion Animator
• The Ugly (1997): Special Thanks
• Heaven (1998): Special Thanks
• Phantom (1998): Special Thanks
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Executive Soundtrack Producer (uncredited)
• I'll See You in My Dreams (2003): Thanks
• The World's Fastest Indian (2005): Thanks
• Hostel (2005): Very Special Thanks

Actor

• The Valley (1976)
• Bad Taste (1989): Derek/Robert
• Braindead (1992): Undertaker's Assistant
• Forgotten Silver (1995)
• Heavenly Creatures (1994): Hobo (uncredited)
• The Frighteners (1996): Man with Piercings (uncredited)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Albert Dreary (uncredited)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Rohan Warrior (uncredited)
• The Long and Short of It (2003): Bus Driver
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Castamir (uncredited)
• King Kong (2005): Gunner
• Hot Fuzz (2007): Father Christmas (uncredited cameo)

Special effects

• The Valley (1976): Special effects
• Bad Taste (1987): Special effects
• The Lounge Bar (1989): Special effects

Visual effects

• Braindead (1992): Miniatures
• Contact (1997): Additional visual effects

Editor

• The Valley (1976)
• Bad Taste (1987)

Makeup

• The Valley (1976): Makeup designer
• Bad Taste (1987): Makeup effects

Second unit director

• Jack Brown Genius (1994): 2nd AD

CAMERA & ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

• Meet the Feebles (1989): Camera Operator

COSTUME DESIGNER

• The Valley (1976)

See also

• New Zealand cinema
• New Zealand Film Makers
• Weta Workshop
• Weta Digital
• Park Road Post

External links

• Peter Jackson at IMDb
• The official Peter Jackson fanclub
• In-depth interview about King Kong and future projects
• Peter Jackson's trip from splatstick to RAF
• Interview of Charlie Rose with Peter Jackson in 2002
• Another Interview of Charlie Rose with Peter Jackson in 2006