Peter Jackson’s Five New Zealand Companies: Weta and Beyond
Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentAfter concluding his sixth Middle-earth film, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Ian McKellen praised Peter Jackson, telling Variety, “He’s invented technology to match his imagination.”Jackson’s first “Lord of the Rings” film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” premiered in December, 2001, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.Jackson oversees five companies in Wellington, New Zealand, that were each started to fill the films’ needs:— Weta Workshop was born for the 1989 “Meet the Feebles.” Jackson and Fran Walsh collaborated with husband-and-wife team Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger and their 5-year-old RT Effects, who worked on models and puppets.