Peter Jackson: A Film-Maker’s Journey ~Brian Sibley

–2006
–569 pages, Harpercollins UK
–5/5 rings…er…stars

It is no great secret that I am immensely fond of Peter Jackson. I consider myself to be just on the sane side of being obsessed about him and his work. It doesn’t take too much searching to find a vocal and occasionally intelligent group of haters out there who delight in branding all fans of Peter Jackson as sheep, as band-wagon fans, etc. I disagree and honestly don’t mind their misguided criticism. Peter Jackson has earned my devotion. He did so with both with his spectacular rendering of the Lord of the Rings novels on the silver screen and with his equally spectacular behind the scenes access made available in the appendicies of the the extended editions of all three films.

Peter Jackson took my appreciation and understanding of film-making to an entirely new level that has fueled an interest that goes far beyond merely watching a film play out on the big screen. At the same time the quality of his work caused me to pick up the work of another master that I had not considered before the release of these movies: J.R.R. Tolkien. Since the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy I have read The Hobbit, the trilogy, and The Silmarillion. I have read sections of these books more than once. I have also collected and read an impressive array of Tolkien biographies and critical essays on his work.

I consider my reading life and my movie watching life to be immensely richer due to the vision and passion of Peter Jackson. It was no surprise then that this book, not as readily available as it should be, wound up on my Amazon wish list the moment I first heard of it. And this past Christmas my lovely wife tracked down a copy for me.

If this book was so coveted, why did it take you so long to get to it?

That’s a legitimate question answered easily with the excuse that I am a whim reader. 99% of what I read comes from the inspiration of the muse. A few weeks ago I happened to get Heavenly Creatures from Netflix, a film that I had wanted to see for some time. Once again I was blown away by Peter Jackson’s talent and I immediately grabbed this book from my summer reading pile and dove in.

It may seem to be an exaggeration to say that a biography was a ‘couldn’t-put-it-down’ book but that is exactly what this book turned out to be. It is written by Tolkien scholar Brian Sibley, whose presence is seen throughout the Tolkien sections of the appendicies of all three extended editions of the LOTR films. It is written in the kind of conversational tone that just pulls you right in and has you anticipating each new event in Peter Jackson’s film-making career.

And that is what makes this such a superb biography–it is called “A Film-Maker’s Journey” for a reason: it is about Peter Jackson the film-maker. Not Peter Jackson the son, the father, the partner, etc. Sure, all those things get treated in one from or another but are only touched on in ways that serve the main premise of the book: to showcase the rise of Peter Jackson as New Zealand’s premiere film-maker. As such you don’t get loads of introductory chapters explaining the gritty details of Peter Jackson’s upbringing. There is just enough detail there to give you an idea of his heritage and to later showcase just how important his parent’s patience and support was to his career.

This is a biography about a man’s passion and how he pursued that passion. It is evident early on that Peter Jackson has that genius touch when it comes to film-making. As early as age 7 he was filming make believe war scenes with his friends and later using a stick pin to poke holes in the frames of his film to create gun discharge special effects. All throughout the book you get glimpses of just how creative and visionary Peter Jackson is. And yet all this is told in a way that isn’t an over-the-top Peter Jackson love-fest. Instead you get a very honest look into his growth and the creation of his films.

What makes this biography extra special is that Brian Sibley had access to Peter Jackson all along the way. All throughout the book there are sections of direct quotes from Peter Jackson related to the subject being discussed. It is brilliant and almost reads at times like a live television interview. It is interesting and intriguing and is genuinely a page-turner. If, that is, you are interested in film, in Peter Jackson, and/or in being inspired by someone who has always followed his passion. There is also an incredible amount of participation from Peter Jackson’s friends and colleagues that give the book a very warm, personal feeling.

I walked away from this book wanting to see all the Peter Jackson films that have been made, including the splatter films that I really had no previous interest in. As I mentioned, I have now see Heavenly Creatures and after I read this book I ordered a copy of Forgotten Silver, the mockumentary that Peter Jackson and Costa Botes made that showcased New Zealand’s greatest forgotten film-maker. The fact that it was all made up created a bit of a War of the Worlds type furor in that many in New Zealand thought it was real and the reaction of several people was one of outrage. Having watched the film it is quite incredible to see the talent used to create this documentary of a man who never existed, including many samples of his long-lost and recently discovered films. I highly recommend it.

What I like so much about Peter Jackson is that I find him to be a celebrity that relates to the everyman. Reading about him one discovers that he was, and is, every bit the geek that many of us are…his current financial situation just allows him to take geek obsession up to another level:

“My hobbies and interests are exactly the same now as they were when I was 12–they are essentially no different. Most people develop their hobbies when they’re young; certainly I don’t have any hobbies that I’ve taken up as an adult. For me, everything is an extension to what has gone before. Owning a WWI airplane is just a continuation from buying and building Airfix plastic kits when I was a kid; I’ve just been lucky enough now to have earned sufficient money to move on to full-sized planes. It’s really just the same old hobbies! I still have Super 8 footage of WWI dogfights I shot when I was about 10 years old.”

A significant portion of the book covers the Lord of the Rings saga and yet because Brian Sibley himself has been involved in a number of other ‘making of’ projects he goes out of his way to not rehash a lot of material that is available elsewhere. Instead he allows Peter Jackson and company to provide more insight into the process of getting these films made. It is fascinating to see just how close these films came to not being made, including a time when Weta was told that it was all over, John Howe and Alan Lee went back home, etc. It is also interesting to see Peter Jackson and his friends being open about his stubborn tenacity and his dogged unwillingness to budge at times from his creative vision.

The book manages to talk about the tension that existed during the filming between Peter Jackson and New Line executes long into the beginning of shooting. Ever increasing budgets and worry about what the end result would be caused quite a bit of tension up until the point that Peter Jackson and crew screened a 20 minute portion of Fellowship at the Cannes Film Festival and blew everyone away. Quotes like “I turned around and saw Barrie (Osbourne) standing there with a huge contraption with a great, long aerial, saying that Michael Lynee (New Line exec) wanted to talk to me. I said in a voice loud enough for Michael (or his assistant) to hear, ‘If Michael Lynne wants to sue me, tell him to call my lawyer! Tell him I’m trying to shoot his f****** film!” give you and idea of the candid nature of this bio. And while there is a great deal of honesty about the stresses and strains, the wonder and the pleasure of creating these films is ever present. Nothing in this book taints the magnitude of what this group of people created. Instead it enhances one’s appreciation for their dedication and for the work that goes in to making a film in the first place.

I love the Lord of the Rings films. Nothing can or could ever change the way I see these or what they mean to me. At least twice a year since their release I find myself overtaken with a passion for Lord of the Rings. At that time the films come out, the books come out, and I lose myself in Tolkien for awhile. Through the documentaries and books about the creation of these films I feel like I, and all fans, have had the opportunity to get to know actors and actresses and Weta crew members and all sorts of other people in an up close and personal way that we have never been able to before. All that has created a special bond with Peter Jackson and the seeds he has sown in to my life through his work. Early on in the process he went on the Ain’t it Cool News site and answered 20 questions. I love this answer of his:

” I want to take movie-goers into Middle-earth, in a way that is believable and powerful.
Imagine this: 7000 years has gone by. We take a filmcrew to Helm’s Deep … it’s now looking a little older, but still impresses as a mighty fortress. The Art Dept set to work, patching up holes and removing tourist signs. The current owner strikes a hard bargain, but New Line money finally gets us permission to film there for 6 weeks. Rohan heraldry is studied and faithfully reproduced. Theoden’s original saddle is in a museum – far too valuable to use in the movie, but an exact copy is made. Archeological expeditions have unearthed an incredibly preserved mummified Uruk-hai carcass. We make exact prothestic copies of these viscous killers … use CG to give us a 10,000 strong army. We have cast actors who look like Aragorn and Theoden. In an amazing casting coup, Legolas has agreed to return from Valinor with Gimli to recreate their part in this cinematic retelling of the events at the end of the Third Age. They stand on the battlements of the Deeping Wall, wind blowing in their hair, leading a group of extras proudly portraying the brave garrison of Rohan soldiers … Uruk drums roll up the valley … huge lighting rigs flash simulated lightening … rain towers send gallons of water into the air … on an assistant director’s signal, twenty 35mm cameras start rolling simultaneously … the battle of Helm’s Deep is about to be captured on film.
Sure, it’s not really THE LORD OF THE RINGS … but it could still be a pretty damn cool movie.”

Though admittedly corny, it is the kind of heart that he brought to this project that I admire in a way that is hard to describe. It is that passion that has wrought such dedication to him and to his films in myself and in hundreds of thousands of other fans. It is that passion and loyalty and devotion that causes others to want to give their all in working with him…and the end result of those creative processes are quite amazing.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I cannot imagine ever wanting to read another Peter Jackson biography since this one is as much an autobiography as it is a biography. I am so thankful that Peter Jackson allowed Brian Sibley to have such access. I’ll leave this long and gushing review with this quote, given by Peter Jackson in response to the idea that critics were hailing his work after Heavenly Creatures when they had derided his earlier horror films:

“…I think if you love cinema then you love all kinds of films and you see that there is no “right kind of film”, there are just good films and bad films…”

Amen!