Peter Jackson
| Sir Peter Jackson ONZ KNZM | |
|---|---|
 Jackson at the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, in November 2012 Wellington, New Zealand | |
| Born |
Peter Robert Jackson 31 October 1961 Wellington, New Zealand[1] |
| Occupation | Film director, film producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Net worth | NZ $450 million |
| Spouse(s) | Fran Walsh (1987–present) |
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, ONZ KNZM (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter who is best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its prequel The Hobbit trilogy, based on the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. His other notable films include King Kong, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, Forgotten Silver and The Lovely Bones. He also produced District 9, The Adventures of Tintin and the documentary West of Memphis.
Jackson began his career with the "splatstick" horror comedies Bad Taste and Braindead, before filming the black comedy Meet the Feebles. He shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination with his partner Fran Walsh[2] for the film Heavenly Creatures, which brought him to mainstream prominence in the film industry.[3] Jackson has been awarded three Academy Awards in his career, including the award for Best Director in 2003, and has been nominated for nine Academy Awards overall. He has also received a Golden Globe, four Saturn Awards and three BAFTAs amongst others.
His production company is Wingnut Films, and his most regular collaborators are co-writers and producers Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Jackson was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002. He was later knighted (as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit) by Anand Satyanand, the Governor-General of New Zealand, at a ceremony in Wellington in April 2010.
Early life
Jackson was born on 31 October 1961. He grew up in Pukerua Bay,[4] a coastal town near Wellington. His parents - Joan (née Ruck),[5][6] a factory worker and housewife, and William (Bill) Jackson, a wages clerk - were both immigrants from England.[7][8] His father was a veteran of the Siege of Malta in World War II. As a child, Jackson was a keen film fan, growing up on Ray Harryhausen films as well as finding inspiration in the television series Thunderbirds and Monty Python's Flying Circus. After a family friend gave the Jacksons a Super 8 cine-camera with Peter in mind, he began making short films with his friends. Jackson has long cited King Kong as his favourite film and around the age of nine he attempted to remake it using his own stop-motion models.[9] Also as a child Jackson made a WWII epic called "The Dwarf Patrol" seen on the Bad Taste bonus disc which featured his first special effect of poking pinholes in the film for gun shots, and a James Bond spoof named Coldfinger.[10] Most notably though was a 20-minute short called The Valley which won him a special prize because of the shots he used.
In school, Jackson expressed no interest (or skill) in sports. His classmates also remember him wearing a duffle coat with "an obsession verging on religious". Jackson had no formal training in film-making, but learned about editing, special effects and make-up largely through his own trial and error. As a young adult, Jackson discovered the work of author J. R. R. Tolkien after watching The Lord of the Rings (1978), an animated film by Ralph Bakshi that was a part-adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy trilogy.[11] When he was 16 years old, Jackson left school and began working full-time as a photo-engraver for the local newspaper. For the 7 years he worked there, Jackson lived at home with his parents so he could save as much money as possible to spend on film equipment. After two years of work Jackson bought a 16 mm camera, and began shooting a film that later became Bad Taste.[12]
Influences and inspirations
Jackson has long cited several films as influence. It is a well known fact that Jackson has a passion for King Kong often citing it as his favourite film and also the film that inspired him early in his life. Jackson recalls attempting to remake King Kong when he was 12. At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, while being interviewed alongside Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron, Jackson gave some further insight into his influences saying certain films gave him a "kick". He also cited the Martin Scorsese directed films Goodfellas and Casino as inspirational, saying, "Something about those particular movies and the way Martin Scorsese just fearlessly rockets his camera around and has shot those films that I can watch those movies and feel inspired."[13] Jackson also says the 1970 film Waterloo inspired him in his youth.[14]
Career
The splatter period
Jackson's first feature, Bad Taste, a haphazard fashion splatter comedy, which included many of Jackson's friends acting and working on it for free. Shooting was normally done in the weekends since Jackson was then working full-time. Bad Taste is about aliens that come to earth with the intention of turning humans into food. Jackson had two acting roles including a famous scene in which he fights himself on top of a cliff.
The film was finally completed thanks to a late injection of finance from the New Zealand Film Commission, after Jim Booth, the body's executive director, became convinced of Jackson's talent (Booth later left the Commission to become Jackson's producer). In May 1987, Bad Taste was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival, where rights to the film quickly sold to twelve countries.
Around this time Peter Jackson began working on writing a number of film scripts, in varied collaborative groupings with playwright Stephen Sinclair, writer Fran Walsh and writer/actor Danny Mulheron. Walsh would later become his life partner.[2] Some of the scripts from this period, including a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, have never been made into movies; the proposed zombie film Braindead underwent extensive rewrites.
Jackson's next film to see release was Meet the Feebles (1989), co-written by the four writers mentioned above. An ensemble musical comedy starring Muppet-style puppets, Meet the Feebles originally began as a short film intended for television, but was rapidly expanded into a full-length film after unexpected enthusiasm from Japanese investors, and the collapse of Braindead, six weeks before filming. Begun on a very low budget, Meet the Feebles went weeks over schedule. Jackson stated of his second feature length film, "It's got a quality of humour that alienates a lot of people.. It's very black, very satirical, very savage."[15] Feebles marked Jackson's first collaboration with special effects team Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, who would later work on all Jackson's movies.
Jackson's next release was the horror comedy Braindead (1992) (released in North America as Dead Alive), now seen as a landmark in splatter movies.[citation needed] Originally planned as a Spanish co-production, the film reversed the usual zombie plot. Rather than keeping the zombies out of his place of refuge, the hero attempts to keep them inside, while maintaining a façade of normality. The film features extensive special effects including miniature trams, stop motion and a plethora of gory make-up effects.
Heavenly Creatures and Forgotten Silver
Released in 1994 after Jackson won a race to bring the story to the screen, Heavenly Creatures marked a major change for Jackson in terms of both style and tone. The film is based on real-life events: namely the Parker–Hulme murder case in which two teenage girls in 1950s Christchurch became close friends and later murdered the mother of one of the girls. Jackson's partner Fran Walsh helped persuade him that the events had the makings of a movie; Jackson has been quoted saying that the film "only got made" because of her enthusiasm for the subject matter.[16] Many New Zealanders were apprehensive about how Jackson would treat the material, an apprehension that would later turn in many cases to relief. The film's fame coincided with the New Zealand media tracking down the real-life Juliet Hulme, who now writes books under the name Anne Perry. Jackson would cast the actors Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in the roles of Parker and Hulme. Heavenly Creatures received considerable critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and making top ten of the year lists in Time, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The New Zealand Herald. The success of Heavenly Creatures won Jackson attention from US company Miramax, who promoted the film vigorously in America and signed the director to a first-look deal.
The following year, in collaboration with Wellington film-maker Costa Botes, Jackson co-directed the mockumentary Forgotten Silver (1995). This ambitious made-for-television piece told the story of New Zealand film pioneer Colin McKenzie, who had supposedly invented colour film and 'talkies', and attempted an epic film of Salome before being forgotten by the world. Though the programme played in a slot normally reserved for drama, no other warning was given that it was fictionalised and many viewers were outraged at discovering Colin McKenzie had never existed.[17][18] The number of people who believed the increasingly improbable story provides testimony to Jackson and Botes' skill at playing on New Zealand's national myth of a nation of innovators and forgotten trail-blazers.[19]
Hollywood, Weta, and the Film Commission
The success of Heavenly Creatures helped pave the way for Jackson's first big budget Hollywood film, The Frighteners starring Michael J. Fox, in 1996. Thanks partly to support from American producer Robert Zemeckis, Jackson was given permission to make this comedy/horror film entirely in New Zealand despite being set in a North American town. This period was a key one of change for both Jackson and Weta Workshop, the special effects company—born from the one-man contributions of George Port to Heavenly Creatures—with which Jackson is often associated. Weta, initiated by Jackson and key collaborators, grew rapidly during this period to incorporate both digital and physical effects, make-up and costumes, the first two areas normally commanded by Jackson collaborator Richard Taylor.
The Frighteners was regarded as a commercial failure. Some critics expressed disappointment that it displayed little of the anarchistic humor of Jackson's early movies and that the script felt underdeveloped.[citation needed] In February 1997, Jackson launched legal proceedings against the New Zealand Listener magazine for defamation, over a review of The Frighteners which claimed that the film was "built from the rubble of other people's movies".[20] In the end, the case was not pursued further. Around this time Jackson's remake of King Kong was shelved by Universal Studios, partly because of Mighty Joe Young and Godzilla, both giant monster movies, that had already gone into production. Universal feared it would be thrown aside by the two higher budget movies.
This period of transition seems not to have been entirely a happy one; it also marked one of the high points of tension between Jackson and the New Zealand Film Commission since Meet the Feebles had gone over-budget earlier in his career. Jackson has claimed the Commission considered firing him from Feebles, though the NZFC went on to help fund his next three films. In 1997, the director submitted a lengthy criticism of the Commission for a magazine supplement meant to celebrate the body's 20th anniversary, criticising what he called inconsistent decision-making by inexperienced board members. The magazine felt that the material was too long and potentially defamatory to publish in that form; a shortened version of the material went on to appear in Metro magazine.[21] In the Metro article Jackson criticized the Commission over funding decisions concerning a film he was hoping to executive produce, but refused to drop a client-confidentiality clause that allowed them to publicly reply to his criticisms.
The Lord of the Rings
Peter Jackson won the rights to film J. R. R. Tolkien's epic in 1997 after meeting with producer Saul Zaentz. Originally working with Miramax towards a two-film production, Jackson was later pressured to render the story as a single film, and finally overcame a tight deadline by making a last minute deal with New Line, who were keen on a trilogy.
Principal photography stretched from 11 October 1999 to 22 December 2000 with extensive location filming across New Zealand. With the benefit of extended post-production and extra periods of shooting before each film's release, the series met huge success and sent Jackson's popularity soaring. The Return of the King itself met with huge critical acclaim, winning eleven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film was the first of the fantasy film genre to win the award for Best Picture and was the second sequel to win Best Picture (the first being The Godfather Part II).
Jackson's mother, Joan, died three 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.[22]
Following The Return of the King, Jackson lost a large amount of weight –over 50 pounds (23 kg) to the point of being unrecognisable to some fans. In The Daily Telegraph, he attributed 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."[23]
King Kong
Universal Studios signed Peter Jackson for a second time to remake the 1933 classic King Kong—the film that inspired him to become a film director as a child.[24] He was reportedly paid a fee of US$20 million upfront, the highest salary ever paid to date 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 14 December 2005, and grossed around US$550 million worldwide.[25]
The Lovely Bones
Jackson completed an adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestseller, The Lovely Bones, which was released in the United States on 11 December 2009.[26] Jackson has said the film was a welcome relief from his larger-scale epics. The storyline's combination of fantasy aspects and themes of murder bears some similarities to Heavenly Creatures.
The film ended up receiving generally negative reviews and middling box office returns. It currently holds 32% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes.
Current and future projects
Jackson had talked of producing films for others as early as 1995, but a number of factors slowed developments in this regard, including the failure of Jack Brown Genius (1995). After he became a force in Hollywood, he was set to produce a $128 million movie version of the science fiction video game series Halo, but the project went on hold when financial backers withdrew their support.[27][28] Instead Jackson worked with Halo director Neill Blomkamp on science fiction project District 9, which proved a box office hit and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.[29]
Jackson was set to produce a remake of The Dam Busters, to be directed by longtime Weta designer Christian Rivers. Stephen Fry has written a screenplay.[30][31] Originally scheduled for 2009-10, the project has been postponed.
Jackson has also won 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 a dragon named Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, written by Naomi Novik. It remains to be seen if he will direct it.[32]
In recent years, Jackson has also directed a short film entitled Crossing the Line to test a new model of digital cinema camera, the RED ONE. The film takes place during World War I, and was shot in two days. "Crossing the Line" was shown at NAB 2007 (the USA National Association of Broadcasters). Clips of the film can be found at Reduser.net.[33]
Jackson and his newly formed studio Wingnut Interactive were working on an unrevealed project being developed by Microsoft Game Studios in collaboration with Bungie Studios. The project has been officially titled Halo: Chronicles but beyond speculation little else was known about its nature. He was to be the executive producer on a Halo film, developed and released by Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox but in October 2006 the film was postponed indefinitely. The film was never officially cancelled. In June 2008 Peter Jackson commented that, "With upcoming developments (Halo: Chronicles), I wouldn't know when to expect a movie, and I'm the producer."
Jackson spent $5 million to purchase 20 hectares of land in Wairarapa, a property containing a mansion, private lake, tunnel and the interior of Bag End from The Lord of the Rings. In 2009, he purchased a Gulfstream G550 jet; his total net worth is estimated by National Business Review at NZ$450 million.[34] Jackson owns an aircraft restoration and manufacturing company, The Vintage Aviator, which is dedicated to World War I and World War II fighter planes among other planes from the 1920s and 1930s. He is chairman of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Trust, which hosts a biennial air show.[35]
In late December 2009, Peter Jackson announced his interest on the movie adaption of the novel Mortal Engines.[36] In April 2010 it was confirmed that he would be both director and producer of the project.
Tintin franchise
Jackson was one of three producers on The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2011. He is officially labeled as producer but helped Spielberg, before he began working on The Hobbit, directing the film. Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis were cast due to their collaboration with Peter Jackson on King Kong and The Lord of the Rings. Spielberg also chose to work with Peter Jackson due to the impressive digital work on the Lord of the Rings films, and knew Peter Jackson's company Weta Workshop would make his vision a reality. It received positive reviews and grossed $373 million at the box office.
In December 2011, Spielberg confirmed a sequel to his 3D movie will be made and are said to be based on The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun.[37] He explained the Thompson detectives will "have a much bigger role". The sequel will be produced by Spielberg and directed by Jackson.[37] Kathleen Kennedy said the script might be done by February or March 2012 and motion-captured in summer 2012, so that the movie will be on track to be released on either Christmas 2014 or summer 2015.[38] In February 2012, Spielberg revealed to Total Film that they had completed a story outline for the sequel.
During a press tour in Belgium for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December 2012, Jackson said that the plan for a Tintin sequel would be to shoot the performance capture sometime in 2013, with a release date aimed for 2015.[39] On March 12, 2013, in a visit to India to celebrate the success of his film Lincoln, Spielberg was asked by The Times of India about the status of the Tintin sequel. In response, Spielberg said, "Don't hold me to it, but we're hoping the film will come out around Christmas-time in 2015. We know which books we're making, we can't share that now but we're combining two books which were always intended to be combined by Herge."
The Hobbit
Jackson's involvement in the making of a film version of The Hobbit has a long and chequered history. In November 2006, a letter from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh stated that due to an ongoing legal dispute between Wingnut Films (Jackson's production company) and New Line Cinema, Jackson would not be directing the film.[40] New Line Cinema's head Robert Shaye commented that Jackson "...will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working at the company...".[41] This prompted an online call for a boycott of New Line Cinema,[42] and by August 2007 Shaye was trying to repair his working relationship.[43] On 18 December 2007, it was announced that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema had reached agreement to make two prequels, both based on The Hobbit, and to be released in 2012 and 2013 with Jackson as a writer and executive producer and Guillermo del Toro directing.[44][45]
However, in early 2010, del Toro dropped out of directing the film because of production delays[46] and a month later Jackson was back in negotiations to direct The Hobbit;[47] and on 15 October he was finalised as the director[48][49]—with New Zealand confirmed as the location a couple of weeks later.[50] The film started production on 20 March 2011. On 30 July 2012, Peter Jackson announced via his Facebook page that the two planned 'Hobbit' movies would be expanded into a trilogy. The third film will not act as a bridge between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, but would continue to expand The Hobbit story by using material found in the Lord of the Rings Appendices.[51]
Games
Jackson was set to make games with Microsoft Game Studios, a partnership announced on 27 September 2006, at X06.[52] Specifically, Jackson and Microsoft were teaming together to form a new studio called Wingnut Interactive.[53] In collaboration with Bungie Studios, Jackson was to co-write, co-design and co-produce a new game taking place in the Halo universe - tentatively called Halo: Chronicles. However on 27 July 2009, in an interview about his new movie (as producer) District 9, he said that Halo: Chronicles had been cancelled, while Microsoft confirmed that the game is "on hold". Jackson's game studio Wingnut Interactive is now at work on original intellectual property.[54]
Charitable activities
Jackson has given NZ$500,000 to stem cell research.[55]
He purchased a church in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun for about $10 million, saving it from demolition.[56]
He also contributes his expertise to 48HOURS, a New Zealand film-making competition, through annually selecting 3 "Wildcards" for the National Final. Jackson, a World War I aviation enthusiast, is chair of the 14-18 Aviation Heritage Trust.[57] He donated his services and provided replica aircraft to create a 10 minute multimedia display called Over the Front for the Australian War Memorial in 2008.[58]
He contributed to the defense fund for the West Memphis Three.[59]
In 2011, Jackson and Walsh purchased 1 Kent Terrace, the home of BATS Theatre in Wellington, effectively securing the theatre's future.[60]
Style
Jackson is known for his attention to detail, a habit of shooting scenes from many angles, a macabre sense of humour, and a general playfulness - the latter to the point where The Lord of the Rings conceptual designer Alan Lee jokingly remarked "the film is almost incidental really".[61]
Jackson was a 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".[62] Jackson is also renowned within the New Zealand film industry for his insistence on "coverage"—shooting a scene from as many angles as possible, giving him more options during editing.[citation needed] Jackson has been known to spend days shooting a single scene. 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.
Unlike some other 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 found on the Miramar Peninsula in his home town of Wellington where much of his filming occurs; and he was instrumental in having the world premiere of The Return of the King in the city's iconic Embassy Theatre which he 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.[citation needed]
During filming of The Lord of the Rings, Jackson was famous for wearing shorts and going barefoot under most circumstances, especially during film shoots.[63]
Cameo roles
Jackson is one of the lead actors in two of his films: in Bad Taste, he plays two characters named Derek and Robert, even engaging them both in a fight. In the mockumentary Forgotten Silver, he plays his own role.
However he appears in every film he directed, mostly in cameos:
- In the puppet movie Meet the Feebles, Jackson appears as an audience member disguised as one of the aliens from Bad Taste.[citation needed]
- In Braindead, he is the mortician's assistant.
- In Heavenly Creatures, he is the tramp who gets kissed by Juliet Hulme.
- In The Frighteners, Jackson is a biker bumped into by Frank Bannister.
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson plays a drunken, carrot-chomping citizen of Bree when the four hobbits are entering in town.
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, he plays a spear-throwing defender of Helm's Deep.
- In his significant cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King he is seen as the boatswain of a murderous corsair ship. This character is seen very briefly in the theatrical version. In the extended version he is onscreen for a longer period of time and is accidentally killed by Legolas's "warning shot". A detailed action figure of Jackson was made of this character in the same line as the rest of the Lord of the Rings toys. Jackson actually makes two cameos in Return of the King: during the scene of Shelob's Lair, where Sam's hands (i.e. Jackson's) are seen entering the shot as Shelob is wrapping Frodo in webbing. This was due to Sean Astin's temporary absence, and Jackson wanted to progress the production of the scene as much as possible, even without the actor.[64]
- Jackson appears in his version of King Kong as a biplane gunner attacking Kong in New York, reprising the cameo which original King Kong filmmaker Merian C. Cooper made in the original 1933 film.
- In The Lovely Bones, he appears as a customer in a camera store playing with a camera.
- In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jackson plays one of the dwarves escaping from Erebor after Smaug has attacked.[65]
- In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, he appears as a drunken, carrot-chomping citizen of Bree, much like his appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
He has also made cameos in several films not directed by him. In the opening sequence of Hot Fuzz (2007), he played a demented man dressed as Father Christmas, who stabs Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg) in the hand.[66] Pegg, in the commentary, joked that when Jackson saw that his cameo was extremely short, he walked out of the cinema and walked in circles in the hallway for the rest of the duration of the film.
Jackson's eldest son, Billy (born 1995), has made cameo appearances in every one of his father's films since his birth, namely The Frighteners (1996), The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and King Kong. His daughter, Katie (born 1996), appears in all the above films except The Frighteners. His life-partner and co-writer Fran Walsh makes a short cameo in The Frighteners as a woman walking next to Cyrus and Stuar just prior the scene featuring their son Billy.[67]
Jackson had a cameo on the HBO show Entourage in 5 August 2007 episode, "Gary's Desk", in which he offers a business proposal to Eric Murphy, manager to the lead character, Vincent Chase.
Jackson also appears as himself in the 2013 Doctor Who 50th anniversary spoof The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot,[68] alongside Ian McKellen.
Jackson appeared briefly in an airline passenger safety video for Air New Zealand, made in the style of a Hobbit movie, called "An Unexpected Briefing".[69]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Functioned as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Role | |||
| 1976 | The Valley (short) |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Prospector #4 (also cinematographer, editor, makeup designer, costume designer, special effects supervisor) | |
| 1987 | Bad Taste | Yes | Yes | Yes | Derek and Robert (dual role) (also editor, makeup effects supervisor, special effects supervisor) | |
| 1989 | Meet the Feebles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Audience Member in the Theater wearing "Bad Taste" Mask (also camera operator, puppet maker) | |
| 1992 | Valley of the Stereos (short) | No | No | Yes | ||
| Braindead (Dead Alive) | Yes | Yes | No | Undertaker's assistant (cameo) (also top motion animator) | ||
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Bum outside theater (uncredited cameo) | |
| 1995 | Forgotten Silver | Yes | Yes | No | Himself | |
| 1996 | Jack Brown Genius | No | Yes | Yes | ||
| The Frighteners | Yes | Yes | Yes | Man with piercings (uncredited cameo) | ||
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Yes | Yes | Yes | Man eating carrot in Bree (uncredited cameo) | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rohan warrior throwing spear at the gate of Helms Deep (uncredited cameo) | |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mercenary on boat (uncredited cameo) | |
| The Long and Short of It (short) | No | No | Yes (executive) |
Bus driver | ||
| 2005 | Lord of the Brush | No | No | No | ||
| King Kong | Yes | Yes | Yes | Biplane gunner (cameo) | ||
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | No | No | No | Thief dressed as Father Christmas (uncredited cameo) | |
| Entourage (TV series) (episode: "Gary's Desk") |
No | No | No | Himself | ||
| 2008 | Crossing the Line (short) | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 2009 | District 9 | No | No | Yes | ||
| The Lovely Bones | Yes | Yes | Yes | Man at pharmacy (uncredited cameo) | ||
| 2011 | The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2012 | West of Memphis | No | No | Yes | ||
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Dwarf fleeing from Smaug (uncredited cameo) | ||
| 2013 | The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | No | No | No | Himself (cameo) | |
| The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Yes | Yes | Yes | Man eating carrot in Bree (uncredited cameo) | ||
| 2014 | The Hobbit: There and Back Again | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cameo | |
| 2015 | The Adventures of Tintin sequel | Yes | No | Yes | ||
As Director
Since 1994's Heavenly Creatures Peter Jackson's films have enjoyed success in the annual awards season, earning many nominations and winning several awards; The Frighteners being his only directed effort since 1994 not to be nominated for either an Oscar a BAFTA or a Golden Globe. The Lord of the Ring's trilogy is one of the most successful trilogies of all time in terms of awards, winning more Academy Awards than the Francis Ford Coppola directed Godfather Trilogy, with 2003's The Return of the King winning in all 11 categories for which it was nominated including; Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Jackson's films have faired extremely well in the technical categories as well as the major categories, all three Lord of the Rings pictures won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in their respective years. King Kong also won the Award for visual effects. In total Jackson's directed efforts have been the most awarded films at 3 separate, the 74th, 76th and 78th, annual Academy Award ceremonies.
| Year | Film | Academy Award Nominations | Academy Award Wins | Golden Globe Nominations | Golden Globe Wins | BAFTA Nominations | BAFTA Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Bad Taste | ||||||
| 1989 | Meet the Feebles | ||||||
| 1992 | Braindead | ||||||
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | 1 | |||||
| 1996 | The Frighteners | ||||||
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 13 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 5 | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 11 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 5 |
| 2005 | King Kong | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2009 | The Lovely Bones | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 45 | 14 | |
Box office
Jackson's films have enjoyed great success at the box office. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the highest-grossing motion picture trilogy, unadjusted for inflation. It holds the record for the highest average of any film series in history, totaling around $973 million per film. 2003's The Return of the King became only the second film ever to earn $1 billion at the international Box office and remains the 7th highest grossing film of all time. Since the success of The Lord of the Rings, Jackson's films have continued to enjoy success with 2005's King Kong passing $500 million worldwide and his Middle-earth saga continuing to enjoy success in 2012 when An Unexpected Journey became his second film to gross over $1 billion worldwide and again in 2013 when The Desolation of Smaug went on to earn in excess of $800 million worldwide.[70] The Middle-earth saga is the 4th highest grossing film series of all time and is also the most consistent performer, averaging at about $980 million with each film earning over $870 million; adjusted for inflation they have performed similarly to the Star Wars saga, averaging over $1 billion per film. His efforts as a producer have also enjoyed success with District 9 and The Adventures of Tintin grossing $210 million and $373 million respectively. In total Jackson's films have earned over $6 billion at the worldwide Box Office, indeed 5 of his films are among the 50 highest grossing films of all time, making him the 3rd most successful director of all time,[71] behind only James Cameron and Steven Spielberg.
| Year | Film | Domestic (USA, CAN) | Overseas | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Bad Taste | - | - | $26,000 |
| 1989 | Meet the Feebles | - | - | $750,000 |
| 1992 | Braindead | $242,623[72] | $1,627,955[72] | $1,870,578[72] |
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | - | - | $3,049,135[73] |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | $16,759,216 [74] | $12,600,000[74] | $29,359,216[74] |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | $315,544,750[75] | $555,985,574[75] | $871,530,324[75] |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | $339,789,881[76] | $583,495,746[76] | $926,047,111[76] |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | $377,845,905[77] | $742,083,616[77] | $1,119,929,521[77] |
| 2005 | King Kong | $218,080,025[78] | $332,437,332[78] | $550,517,357[78] |
| 2009 | District 9 | $115,646,235[79] | $95,173,376[79] | $210,819,611[79] |
| 2009 | The Lovely Bones | $44,114,232[80] | $49,507,108[80] | $93,621,340[80] |
| 2011 | The Adventures of Tintin | $77,591,831[81] | $296,402,120[81] | $373,993,951[81] |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | $303,003,568[82] | $714,000,000[82] | $1,017,003,568[82] |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | $248,695,000[70] | $585,000,000[70] | $833,695,000[70] |
| 2014 | The Hobbit: There and Back Again | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 2015 | The Adventures of Tintin sequel | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Total | $2,042,728,266 | $3,968,312,827 | $6,032,212,631 | |
| Average | $145,589,447 | $282,093,773 | $429,052,616 | |
Awards and Honours
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Heavenly Creatures | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Nominated | |||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | |
| Best Director | Won | |||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Won | |||
| 2010 | Best Picture | District 9 | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Foreign Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Won |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Won | ||
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | ||
| 2002 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Won |
| David Lean Award for Direction | Won | |||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Best Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | |
| David Lean Award for Direction | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Best Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | |
| David Lean Award for Direction | Nominated | |||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Won | |||
| 2002 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated |
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | ||
| 2006 | King Kong | Nominated | ||
| 2002 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing - Motion Pictures | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | ||
| 2002 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | ||
| 2006 | King Kong | Nominated | ||
| 1993 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Best Director - Film | Braindead | Won |
| Best Screenplay - Film | Won | |||
| 1995 | Best Director - Film | Heavenly Creatures | Won | |
| 2002 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | ||
| 2010 | District 9 | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture | The Adventures of Tintin | Won | |
| 1997 | Saturn Awards | Best Director | The Frighteners | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Won | |
| Best Writing | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | |
| Best Writing | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | |
| Best Writing | Won | |||
| 2006 | Best Director | King Kong | Won | |
| Best Writing | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Best Director | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated | |
| 1995 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Heavenly Creatures | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Adapted Screenplay | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | |
| 2004 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Nominated |
Honours
In the New Year Honours 2002 Jackson was appointed as a Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit.[83][84] In the New Year Honours 2010 Jackson was promoted to Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film.[85] The investiture ceremony took place at Premier House in Wellington on 28 April 2010.[86][87]
In The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours 2012 Jackson was appointed to the Order of New Zealand.[88][89][90] This is New Zealand's highest honour and with the previous honours is now Sir Peter Jackson ONZ KNZM.
Titles and Styles
- Mr Peter Robert Jackson 1961 - 2002
- Mr Peter Robert Jackson CNZM 2002 - 2010 [83][84]
- Sir Peter Robert Jackson KNZM 2010 - 2012 [85]
- Sir Peter Robert Jackson ONZ KNZM 2012 - .[88][89][90]
Bibliography
- Brian Sibley. Peter Jackson- A Film-maker's Journey. Sydney, HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN 0-7322-8562-3.
- Ian Pryor. Peter Jackson- From prince of splatter to lord of the rings. Auckland, Random House, 2003, New York, St. Martin's Press, 2004. ISBN 1-86941-555-8 (NZ Edition)
- Andrea Bordoni, Matteo Marino, "Peter Jackson". Milan, Il Castoro, 2002. ISBN 978-88-8033-225-1. The first book-length study of the director. (Italian)
See also
References
- ↑ Pryor, Ian (2003). Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings (Paperback edition ed.). Random House. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7528-6970-4. "Shortly before sunset on October 31, Joan Jackson gave birth to her first child at Wellington Hospital"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brooks Barnes (November 30, 2012). "Middle-Earth Wizard’s Not-So-Silent Partner". New York Times.
- ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/chart/?view=allcategories&yr=1994&p=.htm
- ↑ "Peter Jackson - Biography". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ Pryor, Ian (2003). Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings (Paperback edition ed.). Random House. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7528-6970-4.
- ↑ Hill, Richard (2006). Richard Hill: The Autobigraphy (Hardcover edition ed.). Orion Books. p. 22. ISBN 1-86941-555-8.
- ↑ "FilmReference.com". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ David Smith (30 November 2003). "Guardian.co.uk". Guardian (London). Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ Paul Fischer (5 December 2005). "Interview: Peter Jackson "King Kong"". Gorilla Nation. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ↑ Gandert, Sean (11 December 2009). "Salute Your Shorts: Peter Jackson's "Forgotten Silver"". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ↑ Baillie, Russell (29 October 2006). "Peter Jackson's trip from splatstick to RAF". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ↑ "interview, 3 June 2006". Achievement.org. 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson Inspiration". Youtube. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson Inspiration 2". Youtube. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ↑ Ian Pryor, 'Meet the Feebles', Evening Post, 24 August 1989, p.25.
- ↑ Andy Webster, 'The Frightener', Premiere, August 1996, p.26.
- ↑ "Observations on film art and Film Art". David Bordwell. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
- ↑ Hight, Craig. "Forgotten Silver". Mock-documentary: the subversion of factuality. Screen and Media Studies Department, University of Waikato, New Zealand. Retrieved 27 March 2007. Derived from Roscoe, Jane; Craig Hight (2001). Faking It: Mock-documentary and the subversion of factuality. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-5641-1.
- ↑ Geoff Chapple, 'Gone, not forgotten', New Zealand Listener, 25 November 1995, p.26.
- ↑ Philip Matthews, 'Spectral Steel', New Zealand Listener, 14 December 1996
- ↑ Andrew Heal, 'Horror story', Metro, December 1997
- ↑ "Charlie Rose - Peter Jackson", February 2004
- ↑ "Peter Jackson's muesli diet secret", kongisking.net, 12 April
- ↑ "Peter Jackson's Labor of Love" by Stone Phillips, MSNBC, 2 December 2005
- ↑ King Kong figures from Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Submitted by ambear913 on Thu, 15 October 2009 - 9:07pm. (15 October 2009). "The Lovely Bones Is Fit for a Queen". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "Jackson Says He Won't Be Making `Hobbit'". Comcast.net. Associated Press. 21 November 2006.
- ↑ "Xbox Family — Home". N4g.com. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ Michael Fleming (1 November 2007). "Peter Jackson gears up for 'District'". Variety. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson to film Dam Busters". BBC News. 31 August 2006.
- ↑ Aviles, Omar (28 May 2007). "Fry writes Dambusters". Joblo.com. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "Temeraire on Warpath". IGN.com. 12 September 2006.
- ↑ "RedUser.net". RedUser.net. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ Rebecca Lewis (12 April 2009). "Peter Jackson's jet set upgrade". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ↑ Tammy Buckley (13 April 2009). "Peter Jackson causes stir". Stuff (Fairfax New Zealand). Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- ↑ DreadCentral.com, Peter Jackson Revving His Mortal Engines
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 AFP (13 December 2011). "Spielberg announces new Tintin movie". Google News. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ↑ Adam Chitwood (4 December 2011). "Producer Kathleen Kennedy Talks JURASSIC PARK 4, a 3D Re-Release for JURASSIC PARK, and the TINTIN Sequel". collider.com. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ↑ Connelly, Brendon (12 December 2012). "Peter Jackson Won’t Finish Hobbit Before Shooting Next Tintin". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ xoanon (19 November 2006). "Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh talk The Hobbit". TheOneRing.net. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ↑ "New Line boss hits out at Peter Jackson". The New Zealand Herald. AFP, NZPA. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ↑ "McKellen 'sad' that Jackson may not make Hobbit". The New Zealand Herald. Reuters. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ↑ "Hobbit studio sweet-talks Jackson". The Dominion Post. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ↑ "Press Release: Announcing The Hobbit". Press Release. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
- ↑ "Del Toro to take charge of The Hobbit". guardian.co.uk (London). 3 January 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ↑ Adam Vary (31 May 2010). "Why Guillermo del Toro left 'The Hobbit' -- and Peter Jackson will not replace him as director". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ↑ Nicole Sperling. "Peter Jackson in negotiations for 'The Hobbit'".
- ↑ Cieply, Michael (15 October 2010). "Peter Jackson’s Deal for ‘The Hobbit’ Is Finalized". New York Times.
- ↑ Tom Cardy (16 October 2010). "Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit in 3-D". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ↑ Cheng, Derek (27 October 2010). "Hobbit to stay in NZ". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson Confirms Third 'Hobbit' Film". Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ "X06: Halo Wars revealed at Microsoft briefing". Uk.gamespot.com. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "X06: Peter Jackson Forms a Game Studio". 1UP.com. 27 September 2006.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson´s game studio to work on original IP". Comic-con.gamespot.com. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ Atkinson, Kent (15 July 2006). "Peter Jackson gives $500,000 for stem cell research". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "Stella Maris Retreat Centre and Chapel saved". Scoop. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
- ↑ "New Zealand Aircraft History".
- ↑ "Jackson behind War Memorial display". ABC News. 16 September 2008.
- ↑ Bulbeck, Pip (22 August 2011). "Peter Jackson Helped West Memphis Three Defense". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ "Stuff.co.nz". 2011.
- ↑ "Big-atures" Rotk see DVD Documentary
- ↑ Cameras in Middle-earth: The Fellowship of the Ring, Special Extended Edition DVD Documentary. Actor Christopher Lee remarks about having twelve takes for one scene, before being told by Ian McKellen he did 24 takes for two lines the previous day
- ↑ Heptanesia Mumbaikar (1 March 2004). "11 things you must know about Peter Jackson". Rediff.com. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ As stated in the bonus material delivered with the special extended edition of Return of the King.
- ↑ "Peter Jackson Talks The Dambusters". Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ↑ Zingale, Jason. "Hot Fuzz review". Retrieved 30 April 2008.
- ↑ As stated in the audio commentary of the 4-disc special edition of The Frighteners.
- ↑ "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot", BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013
- ↑ An Unexpected Briefing
- ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 "The Desolation of Smaug Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ↑ "28 most successful filmmakers based on average". Pajiba. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 72.2 "Braindead Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ "Heavenly Creatures Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 74.2 "The Frighteners Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 "The Fellowship of the Ring Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 76.0 76.1 76.2 "The Two Towers Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 77.0 77.1 77.2 "The Return of the King Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 78.0 78.1 78.2 "King Kong Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 "District 9 Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 80.2 "The Lovely Bones Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 81.0 81.1 81.2 "The Adventures of Tintin Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ 82.0 82.1 82.2 "An Unexpected Journey Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ 83.0 83.1 "New Year Honours 2002" (11 January 2003) 3 New Zealand Gazette 113.
- ↑ 84.0 84.1 "New Year Honours 2002". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2001.
- ↑ 85.0 85.1 "New Year Honours 2010" (29 Jan 2010) 6 New Zealand Gazette 239.
- ↑ "New Year Honours 2010". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2009.
- ↑ Tan, Lucinda (31 December 2009). "Better than the Oscars, says Sir Peter Jackson". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ↑ 88.0 88.1 "The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours 2012" (28 June 2012) 74 New Zealand Gazette 2091.
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 "The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours List 2012". New Zealand Honours Lists. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ↑ 90.0 90.1 Dastgheib, Shabnam (4 June 2012). "Peter Jackson Makes Order of New Zealand". Dominion Post. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
External links
| Find more about Peter Jackson at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Media from Commons |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
- Peter Jackson on Facebook
- Peter Jackson at the Internet Movie Database
- Peter Jackson collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Peter Jackson at FEARnet
- Peter Jackson's trip from splatstick to RAF
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