You might remember the stunning visual effects in films such as Lord Of the Rings and Avatar. While some of you might not know the company behind them. It was Weta Digital, which went on to win Academy Awards for its stunning work on the films. The company is now going to make original animated content for Cinemas and Streaming. This is the first time in its history of 25 years.
But guess who is set to collaborate with them ? None other than the great Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of The Rings series. Jackson along with his wife Fran Walsh is going to write, direct and produce the projects for Weta Digital. Both are also majority stakeholders of the company.
Further, Weta Digital announced Prem Akkaraju as its CEO on Thursday. Talking about the content he is set to make with Weta, Jackson in a written statement said :
“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,” “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.”
Founded in 1993 for making visual effects on Jackson’s film ‘Heavenly Creatures’, Weta Digital has grown from strength to strength over the years. They have won 6 Academy Awards for their work on films such as The Lord Of the Rings series(2001,2002,2003), King Kong(2005), Avatar(2009) and The Jungle Book(2016).
The company has also been able to work safely during the times of pandemic. Their upcoming projects include Avatar series, Jungle Cruise and Matt Reeves’s The Batman.
Both Peter and Weta will hope to replicate their earlier successful work together.