Looking Back at the Lord of the Rings Effect
“ absolutely put us on the map,” says Jasmine Millet, head of creative industries at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and an advocate for the region’s filmmaking industry. “People started…
Tag Archives: Peter Jackson
Beatles Fan Peter Jackson Directs Music Video
Following his acclaimed documentary Get Back, New Zealand director Peter Jackson is continuing his relationship with the Beatles by directing his first ever music video for the band’s final song, Now and Then, Guardian…
Anne Perry a Crime Writer with Her Own Dark Tale
“Anne Perry, the prolific London-born author of historical and socially conscious crime fiction who in her teens served five years in prison for murder, a sordid past that came to wide attention with the…
Emmy Haul for Peter Jackson’s Beatles Doco
The Beatles: Get Back producer-director New Zealander Peter Jackson has shared the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction series with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and fellow producers Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, Clare Olssen,…
Peter Jackson Talks Getting Back The Beatles
There can be no doubt that New Zealand director Jackson, after his intensive review of 130 hours of audio and 57 hours of long-hidden video of the band at their career hinge point of…
Peter Jackson Has Hand in Beatles Duet
Paul McCartney and his late Beatles songwriting and singing partner John Lennon haven’t sung together in 53 years, but thanks to New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, they got the next best thing recently…
Peter Jackson’s Beatles Epic Unmissable
“Nonplussed coppers, 60s London panoramas and the fab four very much alive … Peter Jackson’s film is moving and unmissable,” according to Guardian reviewer Peter Bradshaw, who rates the series five out of five…
Director Peter Jackson Leads Forbes Rich List
At the end of 2021 he was still making headlines with his Beatles documentary Get Back. Now Forbes magazine has named New Zealand director Sir Peter Jackson, 60, the world’s wealthiest entertainer, Germany’s Der…
How Peter Jackson Became a Local Hero after LOTR
When Amazon announced in August 2021 that its billion-dollar Lord of the Rings TV series would shift production to England, fans were stunned. Though J.R.R. Tolkien was British and though the settings are fictional,…
Peter Jackson Takes Us into the Locked Beatles Vault
Ahead of his epic series Get Back, the New Zealand director Peter Jackson reveals the secrets of 60 hours of intimate, unseen footage of the Fab Four – and why it turns everything we…
Weta Digital Tech Sale has 1.65 Billion Special Effects
Unity Software, a 3D game-development platform, is expanding its VFX footprint in a big way with the US$1.625 billion acquisition of the technology division of Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-based Weta Digital, Todd Spangler reports…
Deep Dive into Peter Jackson’s Beatles Doco
“It’s the Beatles as none would ever see or hear them again – their last live performance as a group, 30 January 1969. It’s also the Beatles as none of us, 52 years on,…
Peter Jackson Astonishes With Beatles Documentary
“In a brilliant move, the Beatles him to work on the 56 hours of…
Weta Digital Looks to Become Content Producer
At a time when much of Hollywood is reeling from Covid-19, Weta Digital, the Wellington visual-effects company behind Avatar and Avengers: Endgame, is looking to pull a growth story out of its magic hat,…
Braindead Reflects Mindset of Early 1990s Youth
“The rebellious nature of the mid-to-late 20th-century teenager sought to expose , deviating from the social norms to embrace the very depths of ‘bad taste’. Simultaneously, whilst yet unknown, New-Zealand…
New Zealand Hosts US Comedian Stephen Colbert
In a stunt hailed as a coup for the New Zealand travel industry, American comedian Stephen Colbert has screened segments from his trip here on The Late Show. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern…
Weta Digital Receives Significant Investment
Napster co-founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker has invested in film director Peter Jackson’s Wellington-based visual effects studio, Weta Digital, Fortune magazine reports. Weta Digital has contributed work on a number of blockbuster films…
Inside Peter Jackson’s Personal Memorabilia Vault
Like many directors, New Zealander Peter Jackson isn’t just a movie-maker, according to Empire magazine correspondent Ben Travis. Like the dragon Smaug, Jackson has his own stash of gold – a collection of some…
Stefania LaVie Owen New Hollywood Star
Young actress Stefania LaVie Owen, 21, from New Zealand stars in The Beach Bum alongside Matthew McConaughey and will appear in a Netflix show later this year. Owen talks to the The New York Times…
They Shall Not Grow Old Highest Grossing Release
Originally presented on 17 and 27 December in the United States, Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old, grossed US$2.6 million in its encore, bringing the total gross for the…
Peter Jackson Making New Beatles Documentary
Lord of the Rings filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson is making a new documentary on The Beatles using 55 hours of never-before-seen studio footage that was shot in early 1969 for the 1970 feature film…
Peter Jackson Calls up Protégé Christian Rivers
In 2015, Peter Jackson was feeling burned out – and you could hardly blame him. The New Zealand director had just finished work on the Hobbit films, wrapping up production on his supersized fantasy…
Peter Jackson Wants to Restore His Gory Early Films
“It’s funny how few of the average theater-goers for Peter Jackson epics, whether it’s The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit or the upcoming Mortal Engines, realize just how debauched the director’s early career…
Peter Jackson Earns Rare Blue Peter Gold Badge
Sir Peter Jackson has received Blue Peter’s highest accolade – a gold badge. The Oscar-winning director, who is best known for The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit films, joins just a select…
Predator Cities Fight For Survival in Mortal Engines
“Oscar winning filmmaker Peter Jackson is returning to the big screen with adventure fantasy “Mortal Engines”, a post-apolcalyptic tale of survival in his first feature film project since his award-winning adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s…
They Shall Not Grow Old – “Utterly Breathtaking”
“Peter Jackson and team’s painstaking restoration of first world war footage is a cinematic triumph that all but brings young British soldiers back to life,” writes film critic Mark Kermode in a review published…
‘Anything You Can Imagine’ Recounts Quest to Film Tolkien
“Reaching the final sentence in film writer Ian Nathan’s 576-page exploration of movie director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy requires the stoicism of Frodo and the vigor of Gandalf. So much…
Peter Jackson Brings to Life WWI on The Big Screen
Peter Jackson “is up to his usual ambitious tricks in his latest project, the World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old,” writes Zack Sharf in an article for…
Meet the Feebles Inspires Happytime Murders Writer
Danny Mulheron, Meet the Feebles writer, and American scriptwriter Todd Berger – for the R-rated puppet comedy, The Happytime Murders – recount almost 30 years of bad taste for an article in The Hollywood…
New Zealand is Paradise Says Actor James Nesbitt
Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt, who played the dwarf Bofur in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, recalls partying with Berliners, the best dish he’s ever had, and how he discovered paradise in New Zealand. “…
London’s Calling in First Trailer for Peter Jackson’s Mortal Engines
The first full trailer for Peter Jackson-produced Mortal Engines has been released, reports Abid Rahman for The Hollywood Reporter. In the trailer the city of London…
Braindead as Outrageous as it is Brilliant
Peter Jackson’s 1992 “gore-fest” Braindead has been named one of the 30 most violent films ever made by entertainment website GamesRadar+. The list also includes Irreversible, Evil Dead and Cannibal Holocaust. Alex Avard writes for the…
Peter Jackson Brings WWI to Life With New 3D Film
“A new 3D film by director Peter Jackson is set to bring the First World War to life in a way never seen before,” writes Laura Lambert in an article in
Meet the Feebles Had No Taste at All
New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson has gained the reputation of being a genuine class act, thanks to films like Heavenly Creatures, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his remake of King Kong. But…
Peter Jackson’s Mortal Engines Teaser Released
The first footage of Peter Jackson’s fantasy movie Mortal Engines, an adaptation of Phillip Reeve’s novel, has finally landed,” writes Jack Shepherd in an article for
New Zealand Film Team Transforms London
The bestselling book by Peter Reeve, Mortal Engines, is now being adapted for film by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, with visual effects specialist New Zealander Christian Rivers directing the project and…
New Zealand Contingent Screenwriting Pioneers
“To make a good film,” Alfred Hitchcock once said, “you need three things: the script, the script, and the script.” Yet while it’s easy to find (and argue over) lists of the greatest films…
Phil Keoghan Captures Essence of NZ in New Show
Phil Keoghan’s 16-year tenure as host of The Amazing Race means he never spends too much time in any given place. But in his off-time from jet setting around the world filming the show’s…
Weta Digital Underway on Avatar Sequels
“Weta Digital has announced that it has gotten underway on the four Avatar sequels that James Cameron will direct for Fox,” writes Mike Fleming Jr in an article for Deadline…
The Life Of A Zombie: Rose McIver Says It’s Great
In iZombie Kiwi actress Rose McIver’s world as a zombie is ever-changing, which often makes preparation difficult. “In the series, McIver’s character, a zombified medical examiner, has to snack on others’ brains in order…
It’s Time to Rethink Peter Jackson’s King Kong
“History has been too unkind to which should be remembered not as lumbering and mindless, but as majestic and mesmerising,” according to critic Chris Hartwell writing for…
Long-Lasting Significance Of LOTR Trilogy
On the 15th anniversary of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, actors Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen reflect on the trilogy’s indelible impression. The film series was…
15 Years as The Real Middle-Earth
“To celebrate 15 years as the real Middle-earth, Tourism New Zealand has come up with a unique way for tourists to explore the country – re-imagining New Zealand experiences through the eyes of Middle-earth’s…
Peter Jackson to Produce Sci-Fi Series Adaptation
Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson will produce an adaptation of British author Philip Reeve’s steampunk series Mortal Engines, the script which the New Zealander has also co-written. Another Academy Award winner, Christian Rivers, Jackson’s long-term collaborator…
Economy Milks Clamour for Middle Earth
Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit series have proved to be as precious to New Zealand’s economy as any magical ring with millions flocking to the country for a glimpse of Middle…
World-Class Creative Peter Jackson Says Dream
Seventeen-time Oscar winning director Peter Jackson spent some time recently with Forbes correspondent Brian Rashid to share his ideas about creativity, his processes, and mindset around being a world-class creative. “Jackson admittedly, does not consider…
Stunning NZ Films You Should Know About
“New Zealand certainly brings a fair few ‘bests’ to the table. Aside from being one of the most beautiful countries in the world, responsible for some of the greatest exploratory and scientific minds,…
Peter Jackson Eyes NZ Island For Tourism Project
“Peter Jackson, the man you know as the spirited angel who bestowed cinematic genius upon the world in the form of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is set to inspire more tourism interest…
Peter Jackson Pro Screening Room First-Run Rental
One director in favour of Napster co-founder Sean Parker’s potential industry-disrupting startup – to sell first-run movies to home viewers at US$50 a pop – is Peter Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director behind The…
Fiona Pardington’s Art Earns Top French Honour
New Zealand photographer Fiona Pardington has been named a Knight (Chevalier) in the Order of Arts and Letters by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls at a ceremony held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Pardington…
Meet the Real-Life Tech Wizards of Middle Earth
Have you ever heard of No. 8 wire? In the 19th century, farmers used the wire to build fences for sheep and later on turned it into a jack-of-all-trades material for getting work done….
Peter Jackson Directing Doctor Who?
Watch this hilarious video published by Peter Jackson on his Facebook page on the possibility of directing the Doctor Who series.
Weta Partners With Te Papa for Larger-Than-Life Exhibit
“From the battlefield to the hospital ship, attendees get a unique look at the battle of Gallipoli with the Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War exhibit” – a collaboration between the museum and Weta Workshop to…
Peter Jackson-Backed Movie Museum Wins Approval
“Hobbits, Orcs, Ents and maybe even some Na’vi are getting their own museum in New Zealand’s capital city,” writes Nancy Tartaglione in an article for Deadline. The project – a combined movie museum…
Peter Jackson: My favorite Doctor Who Episode
For Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, watch as Lord Of The Rings & The Hobbit director Peter Jackson wishes Doctor Who a very Happy 50th Anniversary and talks about his…
Peter Jackson Ad-Libbed Shooting Hobbit
Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, 54, admits he was “winging it” and “was making it up as I went along” for much of the Hobbit trilogy’s chaotic shoot. Jackson has revealed he began filming the blockbuster…
