Peter Jackson

Interview: Director Tommy Wirkola on mixing humour and gore for Violent Night and casting David Harbour as a killer Santa Claus

Santa Claus: Action hero? The jolly man in red is getting a violent, twisted makeover in Violent Night, and whilst it may seem like an odd premise, when you realise it comes from the brains behind Nobody, Bullet Train, and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters it makes perfect sense! As the trailer for the film…

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Interview: Mortal Engines Producer Phillipa Boyens on bringing the book to the big screen

There’s a lot of hullaballoo surrounding the new film Mortal Engines, most of which can be attributed to those behind the camera rather than in front of it. The film directed by Christian Rivers is his debut, however the production team behind it also consists of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens – the…

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Interview: Mortal Engines actress Leila George talks working with Hugo Weaving and the incredible practical sets

The latest film from the creative genius talent of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and directed by Christian Rivers sees the team adapt the Phillip Reeve book series Mortal Engines. Set in the future, and moving slowly out of dystopia, roving cities on wheels must avoid being devoured by much larger “predator cities”. In…

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Film Review: Mortal Engines (NZ/USA, 2018) suffers from an ensemble cast who fail to elevate the stereotypical material above expectation

As much as Peter Jackson‘s name is plastered all over this, Mortal Engines is in fact NOT a Jackson joint. Yes, the Lord of the Rings helmer is the most likely reason this film was greenlit (he serves as both co-producer and co-writer) but long-time Jackson collaborator Christian Rivers, who served predominantly as a visual…

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Huge Australian and New Zealand cast revealed for Peter Jackson’s Mortal Engines big screen adaptation

A talented ensemble of Australian actors have been cast in Mortal Engines, a film based on the award winning book series of the same name from British author Philip Reeve. Australian actors Sophie Cox, Menik Gooneratne, Andrew Lees and Terry Norris join the cast, as well as Kiwi actors Mark Hadlow, Nathaniel Lees, Caren Pistorius,…

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John Noble talks Lord Of The Rings, Elementary and Fringe: “I loved Walter Bishop”

Aussie John Noble has some pretty prolific pop culture roles under his belt. Since his time as an All Saint, John has found himself the covetable intelligent, slightly wicked choice for Hollywood producers looking to cast someone with that versatility (it’s not by his choice he swears). The result has been a flourish of eloquent…

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The Iris Interview: Dean O’Gorman of The Hobbit trilogy ahead of Melbourne’s Oz Comic-Con!

  I don’t feel like I’m speaking with a member of a multi-million blockbuster film franchise when I’m speaking with New Zealand’s Dean O’Gorman. His role as Fili in Peter Jackson’s recent film adaptation of the Tolkien-created mythology that is The Hobbit is now golden fodder for fanfic writers around the world and with the…

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Peter Jackson announces new title for third Hobbit film

The production of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit has not been without its fair share of changes, the most prominent being the expansion of the two-film series into a full-blown trilogy. Initially met with confusion and scepticism by fans and critics alike, the restructuring of the films has allowed Jackson to flesh…

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The Iris Interview: Jeffrey Combs from The Re-Animator, The Frighteners, The 4400 and Star Trek.

While at Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne, we met Jeffrey Combs, whose impressive career has included well regarded performances in The Re-Animator, The Frighteners, The 4400 and Star Trek, among many others. We spoke to Jeffrey about all these roles, working with the great Peter Jackson and much more… Filmed in Melbourne in July 2013 during Melbourne Oz…

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