Peter Jackson on Mortal Engines’ director: He’s done an amazing job
Oscar-winning film-maker Peter Jackson is returning to the big screen with adventure fantasy Mortal Engines.
The post-apocalyptic tale of survival is his first feature film project since his award-winning adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels.
Jackson, known for his The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, co-wrote the script and produced the film, which opens here tomorrow and is based on the young adult book series by Philip Reeve.
Oscar-winning visual effects artist Christian Rivers, who worked with Jackson on the Tolkien adaptations as well as 2005's King Kong makes his directorial debut in Mortal Engines, set hundreds of years after a catastrophic event wipes out civilisation.
The cast is led by Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar and co-stars The Matrix and The Hobbit actor Hugo Weaving.
Jackson said at the film's premiere in London: "I didn't want (Rivers) to make his first feature with somebody else. I wanted to be part of helping him get his feature film career off the ground. He's done an amazing job."
In Mortal Engines, humans live in moving cities that devour smaller towns. A group made up of an outlaw, an outcast and a mysterious woman leads a rebellion against one such predator city, London.
Rivers said: "It was the fear of saying yes because I knew how much work it would be. And it was also the fear of saying no, if I said no and someone else made it and it wasn't any good, I'd be kicking myself.
"It was a freight train. It was a big film that came in and I had to jump on and take the ride." - REUTERS
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