What does Sir Peter Jackson do when he isn’t in pre-pre-production and scripting a pair of forthcoming “Hobbit” movies? He comes to terms with accepts his knighthood and wears one of those super cool Dracula-looking awards around his neck.
He talked to Stuff.co.nz (on video here) and said, among other things:
“I feel incredibly humbled and the truth is making movies is not a solo effort – it involves hundreds of people, thousands of people, so I feel as though I’m accepting it on behalf of a huge industry,” Sir Peter said.
Congrats to Sir Peter and the thousands who helped and thanks to message board hero Ataahua for the tip.
Michael Pellerin has long been a much admired figure for his work on the standard-setting “Lord of the Rings” Extended Edition DVDs and his contributions to our sister site “KongIsKing.net” where you can still see the final goodbye from the production diaries. He is a key figure in what the world knows about the whole LOTR production. With the release of the movie trilogy on Blu-ray, Pellerin has turned in a written account that covers a lot of ground that only he is in a position to explain. It is a great read, full of interesting information:
Such as:
“Peter (Jackson) and I began talking about LOTR on HD as far back as 2001 – during the making of the films. As we knew the film would eventually be released in some yet-to-be-determined HD format, we began planning The Lord of the Rings HD Box Set from the very beginning, nearly a decade ago.”
And this bit about the ultimate box set which does not yet exist:
“We had made a very conscious decision to make everything on the original Appendices Supplemental discs very specifically about the technical process of making the three films, as told by the many, many voices of the people who made them. Therefore, anything that was not specific to that goal, or approach, we saved for the Box Set.”
His own words can be read right here, so enjoy and thanks to message board members Patty and Oscarilbo for finding the interview.
Weta is today hugely excited to bring to the world Weta Legs, a digitigrades leg extension for performers, costumers and anyone who’s ever wanted to walk like an animal. Since they were displayed a year ago on the Internet for the first time, there has been tremendous interest from performers across the world.
Weta Legs are a unique, low profile, professional grade, reverse leg stilt for creature and costume performances in movies, television, theatre, circus, street performances and other creative contexts. Something previously reserved for commercial film and television projects, they are the first of their kind available commercially to the public. More..
(CNN) — Before “The Lovely Bones,” the aughts had been a charmed decade for Peter Jackson.
It began with the one-two-three punch of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, a juggernaut that grossed almost $4 billion worldwide at the box office and won 17 Oscars — 11 of those, including best picture and best director, for the final chapter, “The Return of the King.”
Jackson followed “Rings” with his 2005 remake of “King Kong,” which was another huge success both at the box office and with critics. He donned his producer’s hat for 2009’s “District 9,” a low-budget South African film that made $200 million worldwide and was nominated for best picture. [Read Full Story]
In an interview withThe Wall Street Journal, Peter Jackson, Executive Producer of the upcoming Hobbit films says of the films’ behind-the-scenes footage that “We’ve been filming DVD material for about a year. Guillermo has been doing location scouts and design work, with the DVD people following him around, so we’ve shot 20 or 30 hours of DVD material so far and we’re still a few months away from the first day of shooting.”
Asked about converting the LOTR films to 3D, he says, “You can do [2D to 3D] conversions well if you take time. If you do it quickly, fast and cheap, it’s not going to turn out well. If we were going to convert LOTR, I’d want to do it properly, which would be a very long, time-consuming, and expensive process.”
Lastly, his opinion on the not-so-positive fan reaction to the recently released Theatrical BluRay version seems to jibe with the majority of the fans. “I agree with the fans”, he says. “I was heavily involved in the DVD process when the films were being released through New Line, but now that Warner Brothers has taken control over the releasing of the films, they just tell me what they’re doing and don’t involve me in the process. [With New Line,] the one thing we never did with the fans was make them feel cheated. Back in the original release, we always put extra material in, extra documentaries — a lot of added value. I so totally understand why the fans would be upset; I don’t disagree with them.”
Linuxelf sends along another batch of LOTR archive clips: Weta Digital on CGI Animation, Weta Team On Oscar Wins and future projects & Peter Jackson talks about FOTR Premier. Enjoy!
What does Sir Peter Jackson do when he isn’t in pre-pre-production and scripting a pair of forthcoming “Hobbit” movies? He 
