{"id":98091,"date":"2015-04-28T01:28:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T06:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=98091"},"modified":"2015-04-28T06:01:24","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T11:01:24","slug":"r-i-p-andrew-lesnie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2015\/04\/28\/98091-r-i-p-andrew-lesnie\/","title":{"rendered":"R.I.P. Andrew Lesnie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AndrewWe’ve just heard the sad news that Andrew Lesnie has died of a heart attack at the age of 59.<\/p>\n

The filmmaker from Sydney, Australia, won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Peter Jackson\u2018s \u201cThe Fellowship Of The Ring\u201d in 2002. He is most associated for his work with Peter Jackson on the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” trilogy and on “The Hobbit.” But his film catalog is much larger, including the just released Russell Crow-directed film, “The Water Diviner.”<\/p>\n

He also served as director of photography for the Australian “Babe,” movies which led Jackson to him. In an interview with DigitalProducer.com<\/a>, Jackson talked about the series of events, including Lesnie leaving “Mission Impossible 2,” to come to the Tolkien films. Said Jackson:<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d never worked with him or even met him before, but he\u2019d shot the Babe films and I thought they looked amazing, the way he\u2019d used backlight and the sun and natural light to create a very magical effect. And Babe had that larger-than-life feel about it that I wanted. So when we began looking for DPs in early 1999, I first decided to get either an Australian or New Zealand DP as they\u2019d be used to the way we make films. Every country is slightly different in that way, and I immediately thought of Andrew. But he was shooting MI2 in Sydney, so I was a bit stuck then. But then after three weeks he left MI2 \u2014 apparently there was a lot of friction on the set, and we called him the next day and persuaded him to fly over to meet. Then we showed him all the designs and sets and he got very excited, and I liked him a lot.”<\/p>\n

Jackson and Lesnie made the six Tolkien films together but they also collaborated on “King Kong,” and “The Lovely Bones.” Other notable films he worked on:
\n“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and “I Am Legend,” among others.<\/p>\n

He can be seen as a painter acting in the Sean Astin-directed short film, “The Long and Short of It.” He made a cameo in “Return of the King,” as a Corsair of Umbar sailing to battle. By all accounts and from personal observations, Lesnie was excellent to work with. He is immortalized through his work. <\/p>\n

All of us here at TheOneRing.net send our best wishes and condolences to his family and friends.<\/p>\n

Below is the video of Lesnie winning his Academy Award for “Fellowship,” where he is graceful, humorous and thanks many people person-to-person before walking on stage to accept the award. It is a fine example of his professionalism and good nature.<\/p>\n

Namari\u00eb Andrew! You will be greatly missed.<\/p>\n

Rest in Peace<\/p>\n