Fran Walsh

Frances Walsh is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and film producer and also a musician. She is the wife of filmmaker Peter Jackson since 1987, and mother of their two children, Billy and Katie. Fran has contributed to all of Jackson's films since they married.

Biography

Walsh was born in Wellington, New Zealand and attended Wellington Girls' High School 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 Wellington majoring in English literature and graduated in 1981. Walsh wrote scripts for television shows such as Shark in the Park and Worzel Gummidge Down Under in the 1980s.

Related Topics:
Wellington, New Zealand - Fashion designer - Punk - Victoria University of Wellington - English literature - 1981 - Shark in the Park - Worzel Gummidge Down Under - 1980s

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Walsh met Peter Jackson while he was doing the post-production on his low-budget flick Bad Taste. Walsh has collaborated with Peter Jackson on the scripts of all his subsequent films, starting with the black comedy Meet the Feebles (1989). The couple then collaborated with writer Stephen Sinclair on the horror-comedy film Braindead (also known as Dead Alive, 1992).

Related Topics:
Post-production - Bad Taste - Black comedy - Meet the Feebles - 1989 - Stephen Sinclair - Horror - Braindead - 1992

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Walsh and Jackson explored new ground with the drama Heavenly Creatures (1994), which earned her an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. She gave birth to Billy in 1995 and Katie in 1996. They returned to a more familiar genre with the horror-comedy The Frighteners (1996). Wanting to try fantasy, Jackson turned to Miramax to make a film adapation of The Lord of the Rings. In 1998, New Line Cinema provided the necessary financial backing to make the trilogy.

Related Topics:
Drama - Heavenly Creatures - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - The Frighteners - Fantasy - Miramax - The Lord of the Rings - 1998 - New Line Cinema

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Walsh, with her husband and Philippa Boyens, is credited for writing the screenplays for The Lord of the Rings movies (2001–2003). They shared many awards, including an Oscar for their Adapted Screenplay for '. She also was a producer and a composer of two songs for Return of the King, earning her two other Oscars that night.

Related Topics:
Philippa Boyens - The Lord of the Rings - 2001 - 2003 - Oscar - Adapted Screenplay

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Walsh, Jackson, and Boyens continued their screenplay work together for the upcoming remake of King Kong. They recently acquired the rights to the novel The Lovely Bones.

Related Topics:
King Kong - The Lovely Bones

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Walsh prefers to remain more private than Jackson, as she did not permit an interview in The Lord of the Rings movie DVDs; however, she did provide an audio commentary. She has been described as "modest to a fault" by Forgotten Silver-filmmaker and Jackson-friend Costa Botes.

Related Topics:
Private - Interview - DVD - Audio - Commentary - Costa Botes

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