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Andrew Lesnie, born in Sydney, died in 2015, aged 59, of heart failure.
He shot all of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, the two Babes, and King Kong.
Fantasy Man (John Meagher, 1984) wr. John Meagher; prod. Basil Appleby, Darrell Lass for Centaur Enterprises, dp Andrew Lesnie, design Darrell Lass, ed. Rod Hibberd; Jeanie Drynan, Harold Hopkins, Terry Mack; midlife crisis comedy; Eastman colour, 35mm from 16 mm, 82 min.
Emoh Ruo (Denny Lawrence, 1985) aka Our Home; wr. Paul Leadon & David Poltorak, prod. David Elfick, dp Andrew Lesnie; Joy Smithers, Martin Sacks, Philip Quast, Genevieve Mooy, Louise Le Nay, Max Phipps (Sam Tregado); 93 min.
Unfinished Business (Bob Ellis, 1986) wr. Bob Ellis, prod. Rebel Penfold-Russell, for Unfinished Business Productions, Lipsync Productions, dp Andrew Lesnie, design Jane Jonson, music Norman Kaye, ed. Amanda Robson; Michele Fawdon, John Clayton, Norman Kaye, Jack Ellis, Tom and Jennie Ellis, Katie Hughes, Andrew Lesnie, Call Ricketson, Bob Ellis; comedy; colour, 16 mm, 75 min.
Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986) aka She Was Fair Game; dp Andrew Lesnie; three kangaroo hunters terrorise isolate woman; shot around Burra, SA
Dark Age (Arch Nicholson, 1987) wr. Sonia Borg, novel Grahame Webb, dp Andrew Lesnie; John Jarratt, Nikki Coghill, Max Phipps, Burnum Burnum, David Gulpilil, Ray Meagher; crocodile hunter after big croc, cf. Jaws; NT
Australian Dream (Jackie McKimmie, 1987) dp Andrew Lesnie; Noni Hazlehurst, Graeme Blundell, John Jarratt; comedy; 86 min. love affair comedy-drama; Hazlehurst and Jarratt met here and later married
Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy, The (Chris Thomson, 1989) telemovie, wr. David Phillips, dp Andrew Lesnie; Jack Thompson, Brad Davis, Mary Regan, Germain Houde, Louise Laparé, Peter Carroll, Bruno Lawrence; dramatisation
Delinquents, The (Chris Thomson, 1989) prod. Alex Cutler, Mike Wilcox; wr. Clayton Rohman, Mac Gudgeon, novel Criena Rohan, dp Andrew Lesnie; Kylie Minogue (Lola Lovell), Charlie Schlatter (Brownie Hansen) Angela Punch-McGregor, Bruno Lawrence; 102 min.
Saint: Fear in Fun Park, The (Donald Crombie, 1989) telemovie; wr. Leslie Charteris, dp Andrew Lesnie; Simon Dutton (Leslie Charteris), Rebecca Gilling, Ed Devereaux, Nikki Coghill, Richard Roxburgh, Moya O'Sullivan, Emily Lumbers, Johann Huang, Anthony Brandon Wong, Pauline Chan, Rebecca Lean, Khym Lam, Stephen Hae, Ernie Dingo, Michael Kozuki; mystery
Boys in the Island (Geoff Bennett, 1987) novel by Christopher Koch, dp Andrew Lesnie; Yves Stening, James Fox, Jane Stephens, Lexa Murphy, Joseph Clements; 106 min.
Daydream Believer (Kathy Mueller, 1992) aka The Girl Who Came Late; wr. Saturday Rosenberg, dp Andrew Lesnie; Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp, Gia Carides, Kerry Walker, Brian Blain; review by Karl Quinn in Murray 1995: 335
Fatal Past (Clive Fleury, Richard Ryan, 1992) wr. Richard Ryan, prod. Phillip Emanuel, dp Andrew Lesnie, Julian Penney; Katarzyna Figura, Costas Mandylor, Terence Cooper, Steven Grives, Gennie Nevinson, Boris Brkic, Saori Mitsuta, Tokujun Ishi; erotic thriller; video
Spider and Rose (Bill Bennett, 1994) dp Andrew Lesnie; Ruth Cracknell, Simon Bossell; review by Jim Schembri in Murray 1995: 394; comedy based on age difference
Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995) aka Babe the Gallant Sheep Pig; dp Andrew Lesnie; 92 min.
Doing Time For Patsy Cline (Chris Kennedy, 1997) prod. Chris Kennedy, John Winter, wr. Chris Kennedy, dp Andrew Lesnie (AFI award); Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh, Matt Day, Tony Barry, Roy Billing, Annie Byron, Gus Mercurio, Kiri Paramore, Wayne Goodwin; Ralph's (Matt Day) ambition is to play the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville: in fantasy, he does; 96 min.
Sugar Factory, The (Robert Carter, 1998) wr. Robert Carter dp Andrew Lesnie; Rhondda Findleton, Michaela Noonan, John Waters, Tony Hayes; Best Film Hollywood Film Festival 1998; Matt Day as a mentally disturbed teenager, Harris, tormented by guilt over the death of a child; his half-sister, Christine, was taken away by her mother: he "fretted" and went crazy; also, he shut Rhondda Findleton's daughter in the fridge, playing hide-and-seek, and she died; but he ends up with RF; he tries to make things better, sitting under the house, making bags of "sugar" out of crushed stone
Babe: Pig in the City (Dr George Miller, 1998) aka Babe II; dp Andrew Lesnie
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001) dp Andrew Lesnie, adaptation of Tolkein's book; Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto; NZ
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) dp Andrew Lesnie; Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto; NZ
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003) dp Andrew Lesnie; Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto; NZ
Love's Brother (Jan Sardi, 2004) wr. Jan Sardi, dp Andrew Lesnie; Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Garcia, Amelia Warner; Brian McFarlane, 'Brotherly love and Love's Brother', Metro, 140, 2004: 22-25; brief review of DVD release: MA, Empire, 42, September 2004: 104
King Kong (Peter Jackson, 2005) dp Andrew Lesnie; NZ/USA/Germany copro
Bran Nue Dae (Rachel Perkins, 2009) wr. Reg Cribb, dp Andrew Lesnie; Phillip Rocky McKenzie, Geoffrey Rush, Ernie Dingo, Deborah Mailman, Ningali Lawford, Missy Higgins, Tom Budge; musical; Australian release 14 January 2010
Lovely Bones, The (Peter Jackson, 2009) dp Andrew Lesnie; US/UK/NZ copro; drama; partly shot in NZ
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The (Peter Jackson, 2012) dp Andrew Lesnie; NZ
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The (Peter Jackson, 2012) dp Andrew Lesnie; NZ
Healing (Craig Monahan, 2014) wr. Alison Nisselle, Craig Monahan, prod. Tait Brady, Pointblank Pictures, dp Andrew Lesnie, music David Hirschfelder; Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel, Anthony Hayes; warden tries to rehabilitate an Iranian-born prisoner, inspired by a real-life alliance between the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and Prisons Victoria; opening Australia 8 May 2014, distr. Pinnacle Films
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The (Peter Jackson, 2012) dp Andrew Lesnie; NZ
Water Diviner, The (Russell Crowe, 2014) wr. Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, prod. Andrew Mason, Troy Lum, Keith Rodger, Hopscotch Features, dp Andrew Lesnie, design Chris Kennedy, casting Nikki Barrett, costume Tess Schofield; Olga Kurylenko, Russell Crowe, Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Robert Mammone, Michael Dorman, Steve Bastoni; man travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons; Aust general release Boxing Day
Garry Gillard | New: 26 January, 2017 | Now: 14 February, 2023