Peter Jackson

See also: Jackson

Peter Jackson is a realizer, producer, scenario writer and a New Zealand actor, born the October 31st 1961 with Pukerua Bay, North Island (New Zealand). He is married with producing and scenario writer Frances Walsh.

Its youth

Peter Jackson, just 8 years old, knows already what he wants to do. With the camera Super 8 of his/her parents, it launches out in the realization. It shows already a certain taste for the special Effets, since it creates, with few means, of the effects similar to those of Ray Harryhausen. At the nine years age, the vision of King Kong marks it forever and, as from this moment, feels a heart of realizer. At 13 years, it turns in the garden of his parents a mini-remake of his film worship with a King-Kong in miniature, a model of the Empire State Building and small toys, reconstituting accurately celebrates it final scene at the time which the monstrous gorilla fights a whole flotilla of planes.

After a Short film, it ends up obtaining sufficient subsidies to put in building site its first great project: Bad Taste . In 1987, after four years of work, the film leaves finally, it acts of a Film of horror which while being burlesque tells the arrival on ground of a band of extraterrestrial cannibals. This film made with his/her friends during the weekends over one four years long period, will become a film worship. It is at that time that it meets also his future wife Frances Walsh, mother of its children, but also her MUSE and its scenario writer.

Justified, it continues on its impetus and turns in 1989, Meet the Feebles , film of puppets, parodies erotic and “trash” Muppet Show of which it wants to be a second reading iconoclast. It will be turned in twelve weeks in a hangar, with small headstocks, except the fact that the nice cuddly toys become horrible individuals devoting itself to drug, corruption and with the murder.

In 1992, with Braindead , Film gore with the omnipresent humor, which will reveal it with the eyes of all. It is about a Film of zombis to the bloody and outrageous activities, populated death-alive idiots and animated scenes of slaughters which will become scenes worships for the amateurs of the kind. This film gains the Grand Prix of the Festival of Avoriaz. However for much its reputation seems made and the critics regard it only as one young realizer, not very serious, just able to make films of horror to the extreme scenes and removed from rim humor.

Its beginnings

In 1993, thanks to the assistance of Richard Taylor, already founder of Weta Workshop, studio of special effects specialized out of prostheses and make-up (which had already worked on Meet the Feebles ) it founds a new section, Weta DIGITAL, which will be this time specialized in the numerical special effects created by computer.

Regarded as the specialist in the kind, it will surprise everyone while leaving in 1994 the film celestial Créatures ( Heavenly creatures ), a drama poetic, tearing and oneiric, inspired of a true criminal case which in its time impassioned the New Zealand. It is the history of a parricide made by two young girls of which one will become the novelist Anne Perry. This film obtained a Money Lion to the Festival of Venice, will collect a harvest of prices in various festival and a nomination with the Oscar of the best scenario. It will also reveal the actress Kate Winslet (the heroin of the film Titanic ).

Thus with this reversal, it proves that it can as attack subjects more serious as that of a mysterious rat, or sexual drifts of puppets. Heavenly creatures reveals it. In 1995, it coréalise Forgotten silver , a documentary forgery on a scenario writer Hake McKenzie, in the spirit of Orson Welles and which will definitively devote it in the heart of Néozélandais. With this film, Peter Jackson carries out a master stroke then: documentary on a New Zealand scenario writer who would have invented about all the techniques of the modern cinema - talking film, color film - assertions supported by many testimonys, people believe in it… and are made have. Because of course, this forever existed last. Trickery is officially revealed a few days afterwards.

Hollywood courts it, and it signs at Universal for the realization of a comedy Fantômes against phantoms , a comedy with Michael J. Fox ( Retour towards the future ) putting in scene a hunter of phantoms. However he does not want to go to turn to Hollywood and lays down his conditions to entirely delocalize the production at his place in New Zealand, because there are its practices, its studios equipped, its company of special effects and the virgin landscapes from a cinematographic point of view. Its conditions are finally accepted because in particular it shows that strongly reduces the production costs.

At the beginning of turning, it receives several other proposals of the Hollywood studios for other projects, of which a remake of the Planet of the monkeys , an adaptation of the Seigneur of the Rings and another remake, of King Kong . The realization of the Planet of the monkeys is finally reserved for the realizer Tim Burton, but Peter Jackson puts an option on the Seigneur of the Rings , and retains King Kong which enables him to return to its young love. He associates, with him, on the project of scenario, his Frances wife and Philippa Boyens, and entrusts the preconception of the special effects to Richard Taylor.

However, its comedy Fantômes against phantoms appears a bide in the American rooms, moreover the imminent exit of two films on the same topic - Godzilla of Roland Emmerich and My friend Joe - will encourage the owners of Universal to push back the project and it is thus folded back towards the project of the Seigneur of the Rings , but the project engages with difficulty and it will devote seven years of its life to it.

The Lord of the rings

Miramax, first investor, wished two films. Then finally only one. Wishing to remain most faithful possible to the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson wished three films absolutely. Although the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, did not design in the beginning his novel like a trilogy -, Peter Jackson finally succeeds in convincing New Line Cinema to make three films, corresponding to the three original volumes, and not two as envisaged initially. Vision which was, with final, more than paying, as well commercially as artistically: 17 Oscars (for 29 nominations) for the whole of the trilogy and more than three billion dollars of receipts (at the end of 2005) for a setting starting three hundred million. This trilogy exceeded the most optimistic forecasts and definitively crowned Peter Jackson like large realizer of cinema.

The lawsuit with New Line

Peter Jackson and his company Wingnut Films are currently in lawsuit with New Line Cinema; the company would not have poured all the incomes of the trilogy the Lord of the rings , who paid more than three billion dollars. Direct consequence: Peter Jackson could not carry out the cinematograhpic adaptation of Bilbo the Hobbit , which is held before the trilogy of the Seigneur of the rings . But in same time, New Line Cinema, which currently holds the rights of Bilbo, could lose them since 2008.

King Kong

Immediately started again by Universal for the project of King Kong , it signs this time very a big contract for a budget of more than 200 million US dollars, with wages of 20 million for him and its coscenarists plus 20% of profit-sharing on the benefit, doing of him one of the directors best paid of Hollywood.

It is about a three hour old film, a true remake of original film of Merian C. Cooper, turned in bay of Wellington with reconstitution of the New York of 1933 with: 3000 plans reconstituted in depth thanks to the special effects, a network of removable streets: 1700 observers and: 1300 technicians. The distribution includes/understands Naomi Watts ( Mulholland Drive ), Jack Black ( Love extra broad ), Adrien Brody ( the Pianist ) and Andy Serkis, the interprête of Gollum in the Seigneur of the rings . Turning just began a month after the death from the actress Fay Wray who had played in the first King Kong and which after having met Peter Jackson had been of agreement to make an appearance in new the King Kong to pronounce the final counterpart. The first world one took place the December 14th, 2005 with New York.

It decides not to occupy the station of realizer but that of producer for Halo , envisaged in 2007.

Catalog of films

Before Bad Taste, Peter Jackson had carried out 5 court-measurings between 1971 and 1981: The Dwarf Patrol , World War 2 , The Valley , James Bond , Curse off the Gravetaker …

Realizer

Scenario writer

The trilogy of the Seigneur of the Rings Co-was written with Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair, according to the novel of J.R.R. Tolkien.