Brendan Fehr UnOfficial Fansite

When New Zealand director-writer-producer Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners) first took on the daunting task of making a film of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, he says he tried to keep a simple vision foremost in his mind — “to make a film I’d enjoy seeing myself.” The result is not only the biggest (three films shot back-to-back in New Zealand over 18 months, with another three years spent on post), the longest (each is some three hours long), and the most expensive (around $300 million) fantasy-adventure project ever created, but a triumphant adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Here, Jackson talks about making the trilogy, working with DP Andrew Lesnie, and some of the groundbreaking effects in the final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King. We also talked with producer Barrie Osborne and Richard Taylor of Weta Digital, the New Zealand-based visual effects house that created some 1500 digital shots for the final film.

| Guardian 23Feb2001 | Unofficial website of Magazine et al. | ShotByBothSides.com | www maxi-m