The PJ way

By Liz Donnelly, January 10, 2007 @ 1 am

A Filmmaker’s Journey is tagged with the words ‘the authorised biography’. This should be the good oil, then—the word from the inside. I don’t need to be reminded of Jackson’s accomplishments; I’d like to discover some insights to apply to my own projects.

I want to know how he deals with the uncertainty that perils every creative endeavour, how he manages the inevitable unexpected disasters and how he hauls himself out of the troughs. I also want to know how it felt when he reached the Hollywood heights and where he and partner Fran decided to go from there.

This isn’t a book written for people in the film industry, or purely for Kiwis, but even so I found answers to most of these questions. Every story highlights his leadership talents and the support of fantastic people around him. Jackson’s mum gets due respect for showing up at shoots with scones, and I loved reading about his sparring partner at the Film Commission, Jim Booth, who later resigned to produce Braindead and became an integral part of the next few movies.

The Bad Taste tales expose the agony of a first project. Filmed on weekends over three years, scripted while holding down a fulltime job, it was an apprenticeship both in filmmaking and finding funding. Jackson roped in everyone he knew. Some of us have been down a similar track. I wanted to cheer for him recently when I spotted the Bad Taste DVD in my local video store.

Sibley writes in an engaging style, although I would rather he’d dropped the flash forwards that link to future events so I could discover them myself as I read. But if you know nothing about the business end of moviemaking, you’ll find out here. ‘No’ is not an option and setbacks swiftly become opportunities. Nothing is ever easy—just read the bit where The Lord of the Rings project almost fell over. It’ll remove your rose-tinted glasses, but if this book doesn’t inspire you to pull that discarded dream out of the bottom drawer, nothing will.

Originally published in Idealog #7, page 93

Comments

P Morgan

January 24, 2007 @ 2:38 pm

Harper Collins Publishers
31 View Rd
Glenfield
Auckland 10
Attention: Robert Gorman, CEO

Dear Mr Gorman,
I received the Peter Jackson bio for Christmas, but regretfully want to exchange it due to the many obvious errors.

A few that lept off the page:
p8 Tararua Ranges
p47 has been Auckland University of Technology since 2000
p49 The Evening Post merged with The Dominion
p51 Jason’s ship was the Argo
p143 Courtenay Place
p251 roll-call

I gave up at this point. I understand that it's difficult to eliminate every error, but wouldn't you agree this falls short of the standard expected?
I suggest Harper Collins reviews its copy editing.

The PJ way

Peter Jackson: A Filmmaker’s Journey

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P Morgan