Peter Jackson helmed two of the iconic trilogies of our times. He's given us The Lord of the Rings, he's given us The Hobbit. He brought J.R.R. Tolkien on screen and it is my profound feeling no one could have done it better - well, yes, I'm a total fan, so you can take that as a slant.
Now that The Battle of the Five Armies has been released, the obvious question is: what will Peter Jackson do next? Will he embark on yet another filmmaking adventure of the same proportions? What are his plans? See the answers straight from Peter Jackson himself!
Peter Jackson says it's time to "step back"
6 years: that's all it took Jackson to produce The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit combined. As time consuming as the undertaking was, I guess the efforts were fully rewarded (let's not forget Peter Jackson remains, so far, the only producer to score an Academy Award for a fantasy movie, that is, The Return of the King). "So now it's time for us to step back", says the producer, in reference to himself and to Fran Walsh, colleague and life partner, in an interview with Moviefone.
"I’m absolutely happy to make smaller films. It’s what I want to do. Fran and I, and obviously with Philippa, we made Heavenly Creatures as a chronicle of New Zealand. We’re New Zealanders. Heavenly Creatures was the last time we made a movie about our own culture. So we want to go back and make some New Zealand stories". Though, in a way, LOTR and The Hobbit have New Zeeland written all over them - they were both shot in New Zeeland - I guess Jackson's choice needs no further explanation.
Plus, as the producer says, "I don’t really like the Hollywood blockbuster bandwagon that exists right now. The industry and the advent of all the technology, has kind of lost its way. It’s become very franchise driven and superhero driven". Indeed, he says that, despite the fact Peter Jackson remains one of the best exponents of this industry.
In regard to producing a comic book movie, Jackson confesses: "I’ve never read a comic book in my life so I’m immediately at a disadvantage and I have no interest in that. ["¦] So, yes, I’m not going to head off and do a Marvel film".
I fully support Peter Jackson's decision of returning to smaller films. It's a well-deserved change and I guess his brilliance will shine through whatever projects he'll undertake. But not doing a comic book movie? As resolute as his statement might sound, it's better to wait and see. Who knows what future holds for the superhero movie industry if Peter Jackson decides to jump in the bandwagon again? Don't you agree? Chime in and share your thoughts with us!
