Stories of dragons are as old as the written word and probably a lot older. To keep things inside the J.R.R. Tolkien realm, “Beowulf”, one of the oldest written stories of Europe features not only the monstrous Grendel but his serpentine Mother. Ancient biblical writings allude to the great serpent or dragon while global mythology has oversized lizard creatures popping up so consistently that some have suggested there must be some common shared memory or primitive survival instinct built into humanity to cause us to tell our tribal stories about such a monstrosity. Read the rest of this entry »
From MTV Multiplayer: A few days ago, Microsoft quietly added several job listings to its careers website. The company is looking for a Creative Director, Producer, Game Engineers and more to “help develop a new experience in the Halo universe.” Microsoft just contacted MTV Multiplayer with an official statement, confirming the prospective hires will work on Peter Jackson’s “Halo” project. Thanks to MrCere for sending this one in. Read More
Ransom (from mentalfloss.com) writes: It looks like New Zealand is my (somewhat unintentional) theme for the week, which inevitably leads me ’round to my favorite thing about New Zealand — director Peter Jackson. Most folks know the affable, formerly rotund Jackson for his monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy — the amazing locations of which have driven New Zealand tourism of late as much as anything — and for his recent, remarkable King Kong remake. But I discovered Jackson’s work back in early high school, wandering through a local video store with a friend. He picked up what looked like an average low-brow horror flick called Dead-Alive, and showed me the box. It stood out for one reason only: on the back, a critic credited it as being “perhaps the bloodiest movie in cinematic history.” Needless to say, watched it post-haste. Peter Jackson Retrospective
London’s Daily Mail reported that the lucky lad is 17-year-old British actor Thomas Sangster, who has appeared in Love, Actually and Nanny McPhee and has a role in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, which is about to begin filming. A spokesman for Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio declined comment. While specifics about the project have been kept under wraps, Andy Serkis, who is set to play Tintin’s globe-trotting buddy, Captain Haddock, recently told the IndieLondon website that he is about to begin work on the back-to-back features, with Spielberg handling the first film and Jackson taking the directorial reigns for the second.
British writer and comedian Stephen Fry is back at work on a third draft of his screenplay for Peter Jackson’s remake of The Dambusters after being delayed by the United States writers’ strike. Fry also had interviewed squadron members of the famous raid and production staff had visited locations in Britain and Germany where the World War 2 events took place. Jackson is producing the remake of the classic war movie, to be directed by special effects expert Christian Rivers, and has commissioned Fry to write the script. Fry revealed details of his scriptwriting on his internet blog and podcast. He said he spent time last year “zooming around England meeting old survivors of the original raid and people connected with survivors” as research for a second draft of the script. Fry resumes work on Dambusters screenplay
Scenes shot in Wairarapa will feature in the upcoming Peter Jackson film, The Lovely Bones, with the possibility of other Jackson projects yet to come for the region. Jackson said yesterday no further shooting for the film is planned for Wairarapa “at this time” although some “visual effects elements” may be shot in the region in the near future. “I’m grateful for the local support we received and I’m thrilled with the experience. I ‘m shooting at the moment but I’m hoping to use the Wairarapa for future projects,” Jackson said. “It all depends on the locations needed, which is very much a function of the story being told. Hollywood comes to Wairarapa with Lovely Bone
Filming has begun on the dual features adapting Herge’s beloved comic strip ‘Tintin’. Empire caught up with Andy Serkis who talked a bit about the filming, which is taking place in New Zealand. “It was on the Avatar’ stage,” Serkis told Empire, referring to James Cameron’s long-anticipated all-CGI epic. “We had this incredible week. Cameron was there, Peter Jackson was there (who’s directing one of the three Tintin films), and Steven Spielberg was there (who’s directing another). All in the same room!” Andy Serkis says ‘Tintin’ work has begun
After 43 days of hour-long commutes and filming in freezing conditions in the United States, film-maker Peter Jackson is home to film his version of heaven for The Lovely Bones. Completing the movie in Wellington during an uncharacteristically dry summer felt almost like making two separate movies, Jackson told The Dominion Post yesterday. He was giving an exclusive interview during a photo call with his main stars Mark Wahlberg, 13-year-old Irish actress Saoirse Ronan and 18-year-old Kiwi Rose McIver. “It has got a strange feeling about it. I had psychologically got used to the idea that we were done with the movie when we’d shot our chunk in Pennsylvania. But what we are doing here is very different.”
On the Media has a segment today on Tintin, offering a great primer on Georges Remi and his work with Tintin. The joint venture of between Spielburg and Jackson to make a series of movies about the comic.
Andy Serkis is reteaming with director Peter Jackson in DreamWorks’ “Tintin,” the movie trilogy collaboration from Jackson and Steven Spielberg.
Although DreamWorks would not confirm, it is believed Serkis will play the role of Capt. Haddock, a temperamental sea captain, in British scribe Steven Moffat’s adaptation of the European comic strip created by Herge. (HR 10/2) [Read More]
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Stories of dragons are as old as the written word and probably a lot older. To keep things inside the J.R.R. Tolkien realm, “Beowulf”, one of the oldest written stories of Europe features not only the monstrous Grendel but his serpentine Mother. Ancient biblical writings allude to the great serpent or dragon while global mythology has oversized lizard creatures popping up so consistently that some have suggested there must be some common shared memory or primitive survival instinct built into humanity to cause us to tell our tribal stories about such a monstrosity. Read the rest of this entry »
From MTV Multiplayer: A few days ago, Microsoft quietly added several job listings to its careers website. The company is looking for a Creative Director, Producer, Game Engineers and more to “help develop a new experience in the Halo universe.” Microsoft just contacted MTV Multiplayer with an official statement, confirming the prospective hires will work on Peter Jackson’s “Halo” project. Thanks to MrCere for sending this one in. 
Ransom (from mentalfloss.com) writes: It looks like New Zealand is my (somewhat unintentional) theme for the week, which inevitably leads me ’round to my favorite thing about New Zealand — director Peter Jackson. Most folks know the affable, formerly rotund Jackson for his monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy — the amazing locations of which have driven New Zealand tourism of late as much as anything — and for his recent, remarkable King Kong remake. But I discovered Jackson’s work back in early high school, wandering through a local video store with a friend. He picked up what looked like an average low-brow horror flick called Dead-Alive, and showed me the box. It stood out for one reason only: on the back, a critic credited it as being “perhaps the bloodiest movie in cinematic history.” Needless to say, watched it post-haste. 
London’s Daily Mail reported that the lucky lad is 17-year-old British actor Thomas Sangster, who has appeared in Love, Actually and Nanny McPhee and has a role in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, which is about to begin filming. A spokesman for Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio declined comment. While specifics about the project have been kept under wraps, Andy Serkis, who is set to play Tintin’s globe-trotting buddy, Captain Haddock, recently told the IndieLondon website that he is about to begin work on the back-to-back features, with Spielberg handling the first film and Jackson taking the directorial reigns for the second.
Filming has begun on the dual features adapting Herge’s beloved comic strip ‘Tintin’. Empire caught up with Andy Serkis who talked a bit about the filming, which is taking place in New Zealand. “It was on the Avatar’ stage,” Serkis told Empire, referring to James Cameron’s long-anticipated all-CGI epic. “We had this incredible week. Cameron was there, Peter Jackson was there (who’s directing one of the three Tintin films), and Steven Spielberg was there (who’s directing another). All in the same room!” 
After 43 days of hour-long commutes and filming in freezing conditions in the United States, film-maker Peter Jackson is home to film his version of heaven for The Lovely Bones. Completing the movie in Wellington during an uncharacteristically dry summer felt almost like making two separate movies, Jackson told The Dominion Post yesterday. He was giving an exclusive interview during a photo call with his main stars Mark Wahlberg, 13-year-old Irish actress Saoirse Ronan and 18-year-old Kiwi Rose McIver. “It has got a strange feeling about it. I had psychologically got used to the idea that we were done with the movie when we’d shot our chunk in Pennsylvania. But what we are doing here is very different.”
