Fran Walsh
Encyclopedia
Frances "Fran" Walsh, Lady Jackson, MNZM
(born January 10, 1959) is a screenwriter
, film producer
and occasional musician
. She is the spouse of filmmaker
Peter Jackson
. They have two children: Billy and Katie.
Fran Walsh has contributed to all of Jackson's films apart from his first feature Bad Taste
. She won three Academy Awards in 2003, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture
, and Best Original Song
, all for the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
. She has received a total of eight Oscar nominations.
majoring in English literature
and graduated in 1981. Walsh got her screen break writing material for Kiwi producer Grahame McLean on 1983 television film A Woman of Good Character/It's Lizzie to those Close. Later she wrote scripts for his TV show Worzel Gummidge Down Under
.
Walsh met Peter Jackson in the mid 80s during the final stages of production on his low-budget movie Bad Taste
. Walsh has collaborated with Jackson on the scripts of all his subsequent films, after joining the writing quartet on his next film, black comedy
Meet the Feebles
(1989). The couple then reteamed with writer Stephen Sinclair
on the horror
-comedy film that they had begun writing before Feebles, zombie movie Braindead (retitled Dead Alive in the United States, 1992).
Walsh and Jackson explored new ground with the drama
Heavenly Creatures
(1994), based on the friendship of the Parker-Hulme teenagers, who famously later killed one of their mothers. The film earned the duo an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Walsh gave birth to Billy in 1995 and Katie in 1996. They returned to a more familiar genre with Universal Studios
horror-comedy The Frighteners
(1996), their first film funded by an American studio. They were in talks with Universal to remake King Kong
until 1998's Godzilla
and Mighty Joe Young
were first announced, and Universal decided against the film. Wanting to try his hand at fantasy
, Jackson turned to Miramax to make a film based on the works of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1998, New Line Cinema
provided the necessary financial backing to make a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings
.
Walsh, with Jackson and Philippa Boyens
, is credited for writing the screenplays for the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
(2001–2003) (Stephen Sinclair has a writing credit on second film The Two Towers). They shared many awards, including an Oscar
for their adapted screenplay
for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
. She also was one of the film's producers and co-composer of two songs for Return of the King, namely "Into the West
" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us", earning her one more Oscar that night.
Walsh, Jackson, and Boyens continued their screenplay work together for the 2005 remake of King Kong, which was given the greenlight
by Universal after the Rings trilogy's success. The couple recently collaborated on a critically unsuccessful adaptation of the novel The Lovely Bones
, and the two film adaptation of The Hobbit
.
Walsh prefers to remain more private than Jackson or Boyens; she did not contribute an interview to The Lord of the Rings movie DVD
s; however, she does feature on the director/writers' commentary. As well, her largely unaltered vocals were used as the screech of the Nazgûl
in the films.
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
(born January 10, 1959) is a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and occasional musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. She is the spouse of filmmaker
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
. They have two children: Billy and Katie.
Fran Walsh has contributed to all of Jackson's films apart from his first feature Bad Taste
Bad Taste
Bad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film. Produced on a low budget, it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen...
. She won three Academy Awards in 2003, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, and Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
, all for the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
. She has received a total of eight Oscar nominations.
Life and career
Walsh was born in Wellington, New Zealand and attended Wellington Girls' College intent on becoming a fashion designer, but eventually became interested in music instead. Occasionally taking time off to perform in a punk band named The Wallsockets, she attended Victoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
majoring in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and graduated in 1981. Walsh got her screen break writing material for Kiwi producer Grahame McLean on 1983 television film A Woman of Good Character/It's Lizzie to those Close. Later she wrote scripts for his TV show Worzel Gummidge Down Under
Worzel Gummidge Down Under
Worzel Gummidge Down Under, adapted from the books written by Barbara Euphan Todd and the children's television programme produced and broadcasted in the United Kingdom named Worzel Gummidge, starring Jon Pertwee...
.
Walsh met Peter Jackson in the mid 80s during the final stages of production on his low-budget movie Bad Taste
Bad Taste
Bad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film. Produced on a low budget, it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen...
. Walsh has collaborated with Jackson on the scripts of all his subsequent films, after joining the writing quartet on his next film, black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
(1989). The couple then reteamed with writer Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Sinclair is a New Zealand film and television writer and emerging director.As a screenwriter, Sinclair has worked with director Peter Jackson on Meet the Feebles, Braindead and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. He has directed several short films, including Home Video and Ride, which...
on the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-comedy film that they had begun writing before Feebles, zombie movie Braindead (retitled Dead Alive in the United States, 1992).
Walsh and Jackson explored new ground with the drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
(1994), based on the friendship of the Parker-Hulme teenagers, who famously later killed one of their mothers. The film earned the duo an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Walsh gave birth to Billy in 1995 and Katie in 1996. They returned to a more familiar genre with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
horror-comedy The Frighteners
The Frighteners
The Frighteners is a 1996 comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with his wife, Fran Walsh. The film's cast includes Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace, Jake Busey and Chi McBride...
(1996), their first film funded by an American studio. They were in talks with Universal to remake King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
until 1998's Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
and Mighty Joe Young
Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)
The Music was composed and conduced by James Horner. The Soundtrack was released on December of the year 1998.- Tracklist :...
were first announced, and Universal decided against the film. Wanting to try his hand at fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
, Jackson turned to Miramax to make a film based on the works of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1998, New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
provided the necessary financial backing to make a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
.
Walsh, with Jackson and Philippa Boyens
Philippa Boyens
Philippa Boyens, MNZM, is a New Zealand screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for Peter Jackson's film series The Lord of the Rings with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, for which the trio won an Oscar at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. Boyens worked with the same collaborators on the screenplay...
, is credited for writing the screenplays for the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
(2001–2003) (Stephen Sinclair has a writing credit on second film The Two Towers). They shared many awards, including an Oscar
76th Academy Awards
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
for their adapted screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
. She also was one of the film's producers and co-composer of two songs for Return of the King, namely "Into the West
Into the West (song)
"Into the West" is an Oscar winning song, written by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, and Annie Lennox, and performed by Lennox. The song plays during the closing credits of the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King...
" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us", earning her one more Oscar that night.
Walsh, Jackson, and Boyens continued their screenplay work together for the 2005 remake of King Kong, which was given the greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
by Universal after the Rings trilogy's success. The couple recently collaborated on a critically unsuccessful adaptation of the novel The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones is a 2002 novel by Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she comes to terms with her own death. The novel received much critical...
, and the two film adaptation of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
.
Walsh prefers to remain more private than Jackson or Boyens; she did not contribute an interview to The Lord of the Rings movie DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s; however, she does feature on the director/writers' commentary. As well, her largely unaltered vocals were used as the screech of the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
in the films.
Filmography
This is her selected filmography as screenwriter, unless noted:- Worzel Gummidge Down UnderWorzel Gummidge Down UnderWorzel Gummidge Down Under, adapted from the books written by Barbara Euphan Todd and the children's television programme produced and broadcasted in the United Kingdom named Worzel Gummidge, starring Jon Pertwee...
(1986 - 89) - Meet the FeeblesMeet the FeeblesMeet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
(1989) - Braindead (1992, screenplay, casting director, acting cameo)
- Heavenly CreaturesHeavenly CreaturesHeavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
(1994) - Jack Brown GeniusJack Brown GeniusJack Brown Genius is a New Zealand romantic fantasy film directed by Tony Hiles and written by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.-Synopsis:Modern genius-inventor Jack Brown is pitted against a medieval monk who forces him to rebuild his ancient wing system....
(1994) - The FrightenersThe FrightenersThe Frighteners is a 1996 comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with his wife, Fran Walsh. The film's cast includes Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace, Jake Busey and Chi McBride...
(1996, screenplay and associate producer) - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, screenplay, producer, lyricist for "In Dreams", additional second unit director)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002, screenplay, producer, composer for "Gollum's Song")
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2003, screenplay, producer, composer for "Into the WestInto the West (song)"Into the West" is an Oscar winning song, written by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, and Annie Lennox, and performed by Lennox. The song plays during the closing credits of the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King...
" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us") - King KongKing Kong (2005 film)King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
(2005, screenplay, producer) - The Lovely BonesThe Lovely Bones (film)The Lovely Bones is a 2009 American drama film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's parents Jack and...
(2009, screenplay, producer) - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012, screenplay, executive producer)
- The Hobbit: There And Back Again (2013, screenplay,executive Producer)