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New Zealand, Top of the Lake not Lord of the Rings.

Last edited by Lantana on Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:46 am

Well said Lantana. The Lovely Bones was apalling and I use the LOTR movies as a cure for insomnia. I shudder to think of the treatment he'll give his 'Dambusters' remake (a film that does not need to be remade - just like King Kong). No, I'm not a tall poppy agent I just don't think a mediocre Kiwi director should be worshipped just because he's a Kiwi.

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Last edited by Lantana on Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:47 am

Poor Les, based on what I see it is actually very hard for old people to get by on superannuation here.

Hobbit movies are fine, but they do not have the technical know-how or resources to pull off good "special fx" type movies for non-fantasy or non-NZ settings.

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It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.
--Leo Tolstoy

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Last edited by Lantana on Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:47 am

I've long said that Peter Jackson is a hack and possibly the luckiest man in NZ.

I was first introduced to his works via a after-pub viewing of Bad Taste, which lead me to his other splatter-movie, Braindead. Two movies so bad that they are good.

How Sir Peter got from zombie eyeballs floating in soup to the Lord of the Rings is an absolute mystery to me. Sure, Heavenly Creatures was OK, but the BBC used to knock stuff like that out all the time once upon a time. It is hardly a calling card for Hollywood to throw money at Jackson.

My theory is that it isn't Peter Jackson, it's those that he surrounds himself with. The likes of Richard Taylor and Fran Walsh bring more to the table than that old little nerd.

Also, New Zealand is full of English-speaking cheap labour, an instant advantage over Eastern-European countries. "Mexicans with cellphones", as they say.

On Jackson's choice of films, well apart from his early splatter movies. None of his films are based on original ideas. The likes of Heavenly Creatures (about a real-life killing), Lord of the Rings, Kong and Lovely Bone are all derivative works. OK, he did that Frighteners movie (but I never saw that).

I also find it interesting that after Lord of the Rings put him on a pedestal, he went on to direct that bore-fest King Kong remake. A overly indulgent, pointless remake that looked nice but bored the pants of it's audience.

As Sir Pete told the world he was hanging up his furry Hobbit feet and moving onto adapt Lovely Bones, poor old Guillermo Del Toro started work on The Hobbit film, that he thought he was going to direct.

As The Lovely Bone crashed and burnt, Jackson could see himself heading for the Hollywood scrap-pile. Suddenly he had a change of heart and his previously documented reluctance to direct Tolkien's work evaporated.

Just as Kevin Smith can only make decent films about d**k and f**t joke, Peter Jackson is the one trick pony that can only direct other peoples epic fantasy stories.

Personally I like the Lord of the Rings films, but when I watch them I can't thinking that I looking at the nice scenery, whilst what is directly front of me isn't actually that good- sort of like New Zealand, really.

On the flip side, Weta (workshop and digital)is probably the only ACTUAL "world-class' thing in NZ. A job at Weta would have been the only thing that would have kept me in NZ. Sure Weta only exists due to Peter Jackson's extraordinary luck, but it is still one of the top special effects studios in the world.

Peter Jackson is a hack (and I understand a nasty piece of work with it- he got NZ's employment laws changed by twisting DonKey's arm).

Weta on the other hand do a pretty fantastic job. Take a look at Rise of the Planet of the Apes, District 9 or the Tintin movie.

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Australia- giving me the lifestyle that NZ promised but never delivered!

District 9 was amazing. I really liked it. Talk about "Massive Prawns"!