Peter Jackson’s coming attractions
The acclaimed filmmaker reveals details about upcoming projects

By Angela Espinoza

nown best for his adaptation of J.

Ke Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
ilogy, Peter Jackson has time and

again brought a level of artistry and genius
to the film genre. Jackson has come a long
way from his days as a creator of gore-
fuelled slapsticks like Bad Taste and black
comedy films like Meet the Feebles, turning
to more serious projects when he tackled
the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder in his film
Heavenly Creatures.

Since then, Jackson has dedicated his
talents to making epically powerful movies,
bringing films back to a time when actual
effort was put into the making of great
films... albeit with the aid of CGI.

Jackson’s most recent project, the long-
awaited film adaption of Alice Sebold’s The
Lovely Bones, will be opened to limited
release this Friday. For those who’ve yet
to read the novel, the story is about Susie

Salmon, a young girl who is brutally raped
and murdered by a neighbour. She then
proceeds to watch over her family from a
personalized heaven, unable to interfere as
her distraught loved ones search for the man
behind her death.

Jackson had been involved with the
film since 2004, working as the director,
producer and screenplay writer amongst
several others. Jackson’s decision to
be involved with the film came from
his fascination with the book, and how
the protagonist’s wit gave the book an
optimistic tone and a level of reassurance,
considering the graphic subject matter.
Another aspect Jackson found intriguing in
the book was that it deals with the subject of
death in a way geared towards adolescents
not lightly, but respectfully, albeit with
fantasy-like overtones. It was Jackson’s
goal to be able to portray these aspects of
the novel onto the big screen. At the film’s
royal premiere in London, England, Jackson

 

 

revealed details about two other long-
awaited projects of his.

First, the proposed 2011 adaption of
another Tolkien classic, The Hobbit. The
Hobbit is a children’s fantasy/adventure
novel that was published back in 1937,
and is today regarded as a classic in the
genre. The story tells of Bilbo Baggins, a
Hobbit who goes on a journey in the hopes
of receiving a portion of a dragon-guarded
treasure.

Jackson plans to turn the novel into
a two-part film series, and plans to have
some continuity with his LOTR trilogy
by keeping Hobbit director Guillermo del
Toro well involved in the development of
the screenplay. Jackson also stated that
they plan to film the movie in a similar
style to the LOTR films, once again using
35mm cameras. However, for you hardcore
Tolkien fans, keep in mind that Jackson is
a writer and producer for this film, and that
del Toro will be directing it in his vision.

 

 

Secondly, Jackson spoke about
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the
Unicorn, which is planned to be released
in December of 2011. I’m excited to say
that the film will be done with the use of
motion capture, however I’m less excited
to mention that this will be a 3D movie.
Not that 3D’s bad—I’m just absolutely sick
of its pointlessness. But more importantly,
Secret of the Unicorn will feature of
combination of The Crab with the Golden
Claws, Red Rackham’s Treasure, and of
course Secret of the Unicorn. The film
will star actor Jamie Bell in the role of
Tintin, Daniel Craig as the villainous Red
Rackham, and my personal favourites
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thompson
and Thompson, a pair of “bumbling
detectives.”

I’m looking forward to all three of
these films, and I hope you are too.

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