‘Lord of the Rings’ at 20: Why Peter Jackson’s Trilogy Was One of Hollywood’s Riskiest Projects Ever

Variety TV critic Caroline Framke chose Netflix’s “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America” as her favorite — while Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” was hailed as one of the best rock documentaries ever.Documentaries frequently blur categories between film and TV so it should come as no surprise that there’s overlap within the non-fiction realm as well.

One doesn’t simply walk into a “Lord of the Rings” episode—at least not without a 20-year anniversary and amateur Tolkien scholar Brent Rivers on one’s side. On today’s blockbuster Be Reel, our fellowship reflects on an all-time great film trilogy, assessing LOTR’s bizarre relationship to star power, how Peter Jackson adapted almost anti-modern novels, and how the trilogy’s approach to franchise filmmaking stands alone.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentAfter concluding his sixth Middle-earth film, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Ian McKellen praised Peter Jackson, telling Variety, “He’s invented technology to match his imagination.”Jackson’s first “Lord of the Rings” film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” premiered in December, 2001, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.Jackson oversees five companies in Wellington, New Zealand, that were each started to fill the films’ needs:— Weta Workshop w

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentWhen Amazon announced in August 2021 that its billion-dollar “Lord of the Rings” TV series would shift production to England, fans were stunned. Though J.R.R.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentOn Aug. 31, 1998, Variety reported that New Zealand filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh would transform J.R.R.

Roy Trakin “Let It Be” director Michael Lindsay-Hogg couldn’t be happier with Peter Jackson’s “Get Back,” the three-part, nearly eight-hour miniseries made up of outtakes from his original Beatles documentary, which arrived on Disney Plus two weeks ago to much fanfare.Now 81, living in Hudson, NY, with his wife and three dogs, and mostly painting, Lindsay-Hogg is hoping Apple Corps will make good on its promise to re-release “in some form” his oft-misunderstood original, which had always been

NEW YORK -- Peter Jackson's Beatles documentary “Get Back” runs for nearly eight hours and the only real criticism you can make is that it doesn't last longer. For dabblers and other newcomers, it's a prime introduction.

The Beatles’ longtime roadie, manager and general acquaintance, who featured prominently in Peter Jackson’s docuseries The Beatles: Get Back – have announced the publication of an authorised biography set to cover his storied life and career.HarperCollins’ Dey Street Books imprint will publish it in 2023, with Evans’ estate working closely with author Kenneth Womack – himself an accredited Beatles scholar and, per his own website, “one of the world’s leading authorities on The Beatles and their

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.comThere were several hurdles Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” had to mount before the eight-hour documentary could premiere on Disney Plus, including persuading the surviving members of the Beatles to OK this pursuit, and sifting through 150 hours of audio and 60 hours of vintage footage and then restoring that delicate footage into crystal-clear quality.

“The Beatles: Get Back” has viewers buzzing from the level of intimate access the footage provides, and if you’re wondering what other documentaries are out there that might deliver similarly, we’ve got you covered.Peter Jackson’s three-part “The Beatles: Get Back” assembles candid footage from the band writing and rehearsing what would eventually become the album “Let It Be,” all while tensions slowly simmer underneath.

“The Beatles: Get Back” is all the rage at the moment, as Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson’s docuseries shines a new light on the most iconic band in history.

Peter Jackson is an incredibly accomplished filmmaker who just recently completed work on a new Beatles docuseries that just debuted on Disney+, titled “Get Back.” But for many people, Jackson is best known for his work as the filmmaker behind the acclaimed “Lord of the Rings” film series. But what you might not know is that his Beatles work and ‘Rings’ work has a bit of a crossover.

“Get Back,” now streaming on Disney+.The series includes several scenes featuring smoking and explicit language; however, the group refused to have them removed.The three-part show includes a disclaimer from the streamer ahead of each episode that reads: “This footage contains explicit language, mature themes and smoking.”The “Lord of the Rings” director, 60, explained in an interview with NME that Beatles members Paul McCartney, 79, and Ringo Starr, 81, refused to have the swearing eliminated

Chances are that you had a few extra guests over the Thanksgiving holiday – namely John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back,” was a three-night Thanksgiving event on Disney+, one that featured previously unseen material from the lead-up to their last-ever live public performance, is astounding and eye-opening, an intimate portrait of larger-than-life creative titans.

For the last couple of years, filmmaker Peter Jackson had assured Beatles fans who have waited over 50 years for a “Let It Be” reboot that his version was going to be more about the joy and camaraderie, and less about the in-fighting and tensions that were eating away at the Fab Four during the January 1969 recording of the group’s final studio album. But there were conflicts, and that’s what makes Jackson’s seven-hour-plus homage into a historical event worth watching. Classic conflicts that