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    Peter Jackson to make original animated content for Weta

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1235 Views
    In this Feb. 10, 2019 file photo, Peter Jackson poses for photographers at the BAFTA awards in London. Jackson's company, Weta Digital, one of the world’s premier visual effects companies, will begin producing original content. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

    By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

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    Weta Digital, the Academy Award-winning visual effects company that made "The Lord of the Rings" and "Avatar" possible, is making original animated content for cinemas and streaming for the first time in its 25-year history. The company also said Thursday that Prem Akkaraju had joined the New Zealand-based shop as CEO. 

    Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the married filmmaking team behind "The Lord of the Rings" and majority stakeholders in the company, plan to write, produce and direct several of the projects for Weta Animated. 

    "We are huge fans of animated storytelling in all of its forms, but it can be a long, protracted, and often costly way to make movies," Jackson said in a written statement. "That's, in part, why we have created this company — to change the model and open the doors to filmmakers and storytellers who might not otherwise be given the chance to show what they can do."

    Weta Digital was founded in 1993 to produce the special effects for Jackson's film "Heavenly Creatures" and has grown exponentially as the movie industry has become more reliant on digital visual effects. It's also been one of the rare filmmaking companies that has been able to continue functioning safely throughout the pandemic. In addition to the "Avatar" sequels, Weta Digital is also working on "Jungle Cruise" and "The Batman."

    Akkaraju co-founded SR Labs with Sean Parker, who recently invested in the company and joined the board as vice chairman. 

    "I'm thrilled to be joining Peter, Fran and the extraordinary team at Weta as we enter into a hypergrowth stage with the launch of original content," Akkaraju said. 

    Tags:Peter JacksonWeta Digital



    What will happen to CNBC and MSNBC when they no longer have a corporate connection to NBC News?

    Thursday, November 21, 2024
    MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

    Comcast's corporate reorganization means that there will soon be two television networks with "NBC" in their name — CNBC and MSNBC — that will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News. How that affects viewers of those networks, along with the people who work there, still needs to shake out. Their new corporate leader, Mark Lazarus, visited the set of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as the plan was being announced on Wednesday and spoke to network staff members during a morning conference call to address concerns. Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line. In the space of a lifetime, the networks went from upstarts aside a legacy operation like NBC to profitable superstars to castoffs. Questions range from the simple to complex Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, is becoming CEO of the newly-formed company of cable networks, temporarily dubbed "SpinCo." Cesar Conde, who as NBC Universal News Group chairman had oversight of CNBC and MSNBC, will lose those networks from his portfolio, yet remain in charge of NBC News, NBC News Now streaming, Telemundo and the news operations of the NBC-owned local stations. The presence of Lazarus and Anand Kini, who will be chief operating officer and chief financial officer of SpinCo, is a good sign for the new company, said Jessica Reif Ehrlich, research analyst for the Bank of America. "You can't dismiss it as getting rid of the crappy assets, because these are talented executives," she said. At MSNBC, questions about the future range from the simple — will it even keep its... Read More

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