Overview

Peter Jackson is one of the most acclaimed and influential contemporary film-makers. This is the first book to combine the examination of Jackson’s career with an in-depth critical analysis of his films, thus providing readers with the most comprehensive study of the New Zealand film-maker’s body of work. The first section of the book concentrates on Jackson's biography, surveying the evolution of his career from the director of cult slapstick movies such as Meet the Feebles (1989) and Braindead (1992) to an entrepreneur responsible for the foundation of companies such as Wingnut Films and Weta Workshop, and finally to producer and director of mega blockbuster projects such as The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit (2012-2013). The book further examines Jackson's work at the level of production, reception and textuality, along with key collaborative relationships and significant themes associated with Jackson's films. The examination of Peter Jackson's work and career ties into significant academic debates, including the relationship between national cinema and global Hollywood; the global dispersal of film production; the relationship between film authorship and industrial modes of production; the impact of the creative industries on the construction of national identity; and new developments in film technology.

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9781501338557

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Reviews

[Peter Jackson] is a fascinating read, appealing to both those who love this filmmaker's creations as well as academics ... Leotta writes in an accessible and engaging way and has a fresh and breezy style that pulls you from chapter to chapter ... [A] must-have addition for any film fan's book shelf. We Are Cult From edgy Aotearoan independent to global Hollywood imperialist, Peter Jackson's career has been consistently fascinating, and he has an able chronicler here in Alfio Leotta. We are all the richer for this fine study. Toby Miller, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, University of California, Riverside, USA; Sir Walter Murdoch Professor of Cultural Policy Studies, Murdoch University, Australia; Profesor Invitado de Comunicacion Social, Universidad del Norte, Colombia; Professor of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University/Prifysgol Caerdydd, UK; and Director of the Institute of Media and Creative Industries, Loughborough University in London, UK Alfio Leotta's new book on Peter Jackson is the essential work on Peter Jackson and New Zealand Cinema, with particular strengths in Jackson's relationship to tourism and the roles that Wellington and the national New Zealand film industry played in shaping his career. Crucially, it also innovates in discussing Jackson's key collaborators and their contributions to the Jackson empire. Kirsten Moana Thompson, Professor and Director of Film Studies, Victoria University, New Zealand As the first book in the new Bloomsbury Companions to Contemporary Filmmakers, Alfio Leotta's Peter Jackson sets the bar high for this new series. Leotta provides a must go-to guide to the work of this maverick filmmaker responsible for the most significant film franchise in film history. In equal measure an auteur, production, screen innovation, business and political economy study Leotta adroitly analyses the films, their critical reception, the contribution made by Jackson's key collaborators, and the filmmaker's trajectory from a low budget New Zealand filmmaker to a major Hollywood director. Along the way we encounter Jackson's transformation of his home town of Wellington into an important centre for filmmaking innovation and his reengineering of our contemporary systems of globally dispersed production to his advantage. Tom O'Regan, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland, Australia One in Bloomsbury's Companions to Contemporary Filmmakers series, this book offers a comprehensive but concise profile of New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson. American Reference Books Annual

[Peter Jackson] is a fascinating read, appealing to both those who love this filmmaker's creations as well as academics ... Leotta writes in an accessible and engaging way and has a fresh and breezy style that pulls you from chapter to chapter ... [A] must-have addition for any film fan's book shelf. * We Are Cult * From edgy Aotearoan independent to global Hollywood imperialist, Peter Jackson’s career has been consistently fascinating, and he has an able chronicler here in Alfio Leotta. We are all the richer for this fine study. * Toby Miller, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, University of California, Riverside, USA; Sir Walter Murdoch Professor of Cultural Policy Studies, Murdoch University, Australia; Profesor Invitado de Comunicación Social, Universidad del Norte, Colombia; Professor of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University/Prifysgol Caerdydd, UK; and Director of the Institute of Media and Creative Industries, Loughborough University in London, UK * Alfio Leotta’s new book on Peter Jackson is the essential work on Peter Jackson and New Zealand Cinema, with particular strengths in Jackson’s relationship to tourism and the roles that Wellington and the national New Zealand film industry played in shaping his career. Crucially, it also innovates in discussing Jackson’s key collaborators and their contributions to the Jackson empire. * Kirsten Moana Thompson, Professor and Director of Film Studies, Victoria University, New Zealand * As the first book in the new Bloomsbury Companions to Contemporary Filmmakers, Alfio Leotta's Peter Jackson sets the bar high for this new series. Leotta provides a must go-to guide to the work of this maverick filmmaker responsible for the most significant film franchise in film history. In equal measure an auteur, production, screen innovation, business and political economy study Leotta adroitly analyses the films, their critical reception, the contribution made by Jackson's key collaborators, and the filmmaker’s trajectory from a low budget New Zealand filmmaker to a major Hollywood director. Along the way we encounter Jackson's transformation of his home town of Wellington into an important centre for filmmaking innovation and his reengineering of our contemporary systems of globally dispersed production to his advantage. * Tom O’Regan, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland, Australia * One in Bloomsbury’s Companions to Contemporary Filmmakers series, this book offers a comprehensive but concise profile of New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson. * American Reference Books Annual *

Author Information

Alfio Leotta is Lecturer in Film Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His main research interests are the relation between film and tourism; the global dispersal of film production; the history of New Zealand film, and contemporary Italian cinema. He is the author of Touring the Screen: Tourism and New Zealand Film Geographies (2011).

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