Geoff Murphy

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Geoff Murphy (2013)

Geoff Murphy (born October 12, 1938 in Wellington , † December 3, 2018 ibid) was a New Zealand film director and screenwriter . He became internationally known for the sci-fi thrillers Quiet Earth - The Last Experiment and Freejack - Hostage of the Future , and as a second unit director he worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson .

life and career

The early years

Murphy grew up in Highbury , a suburb of Wellington, and went to St. Vincent de Paul School in Kelburn and later to St. Patrick's College in Wellington. He then studied and started working as a teacher.

Early works

Murphy made a name for himself with the New Zealand road movie Mach’s Well, Pork Pie (1981), in which the two main characters drive a yellow mini through New Zealand from north to south, competing with the police. This film has cult status in New Zealand. This was followed by the Māori western Utu (1983) and the sci-fi film Quiet Earth - The Last Experiment (1985) , both with Bruno Lawrence . With the New Zealand composer John Charles , whom he had known since 1966 and with whom he was a close friend, he worked together on four joint films: Mach's gut, Pork Pie , Utu - The last battle of the Maoris , Quiet Earth - The last experiment and Spooked .

Hollywood

Motivated by the successes at home, Murphy went to Hollywood in the 1990s, where he made films on a larger budget, including Blaze of Glory and Freejack - Hostage of the Future .

Return to New Zealand

Murphy later returned to New Zealand to work as second unit director on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy . He also directed the thriller Spooked with Cliff Curtis .

His work as a director from 1970 to 2009 includes two dozen film and television productions.

In 2015 he published his memoirs under the title A Life on Film (HarperCollins, ISBN 978-1-77554-079-3 ).

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Murphy, Geoff
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand director and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Wellington
DATE OF DEATH 3rd December 2018
Place of death Wellington