Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Sunday 26th October
- Dylan McDermott - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actor
- Seth MacFarlane - Born 1973, turns 41 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer
- Cary Elwes - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actor
- Jaclyn Smith - Born 1945, turns 69 - Actress
- John Cleese - Born 1939, turns 75 - Writer | Actor | Producer
- Ivan Reitman - Born 1946, turns 68 - Director | Producer
- Roberto Benigni - Born 1952, turns 62 - Actor | Director | Writer
- Simon Le Bon - Born 1958, turns 56 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
- Julia Roberts - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actress | Producer
- Joaquin Phoenix - Born 1974, turns 40 - Actor | Producer
- Dennis Franz - Born 1944, turns 70 - Actor
- Joan Plowright - Born 1929, turns 85 - Actress
- Winona Ryder - Born 1971, turns 43 - Actress
- Ben Foster - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor
- Rufus Sewell - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actor
- Richard Dreyfuss - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
- Kate Jackson - Born 1948, turns 66 - Actress
- Robert Hardy - Born 1925, turns 89 - Actor
- Henry Winkler - Born 1945, turns 69 - Actor | Producer | Director
- Kevin Pollak - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Writer
- Peter Jackson - Born 1961, turns 53 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
- Dermot Mulroney - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actor
- Rob Schneider - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
- Stephen Rea - Born 1946, turns 68 - Actor
- Larry Mullen Jnr. - Born 1961, turns 53 - Songwriter | Composer | Actor
- Toni Collette - Born 1972, turns 42 - Actress | Producer
- Robert Luketic - Born 1973, turns 41 - Director
- Larry Flynt - Born 1942, turns 72 - Producer | Media Personality
- Lyle Lovett - Born 1957, turns 57 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor
Peter Robert Jackson was born near Wellington, New Zealand in the small coastal town Pukerua Bay. His parents - Joan and Bill were English immigrants and a factory worker/wages clerk respectively. As a child he had a very keen interest in photography and films, and when the family were given a Super 8 camera as a gift, he knew almost immediately that films were to be his calling, and he began making short films with his friends.
Often citing the original 1933 'King Kong' film as his favourite, at age nine he attempted to make a remake of it using his own stop-motion models finding inspiration from Ray Harryhausen and cult TV series 'The Thunderbirds'. In his childhood years he also made a WWII movie - 'The Dwarf Patrol', a spy spoof 'Coldfinger' and a short, titled 'The Valley'. At 16, he quit school to join the local newspaper as a full-time photo-engraver - he remained there for seven years, still living at home whilst saving his hard earned money to buy film-making equipment. Within two years he graduated to a 16mm camera, and began work on a film that would eventually lead to the release of his debut feature film in 1987 - 'Bad Taste'.
'Bad Taste' has become a cult classic over the years following its release and is a low budget Sci-Fi horror comedy about aliens descending on the fictional town of Kaihoro to harvest humans for food. Naturally the marauding aliens don't count on a gung-ho four man gang to bring them down with much carnage, death, destruction, splatter and viscera along the way. Completely over the top, but containing all the touchstones of Jackson's early influences, he managed to secure late funding from the New Zealand Film Commission, and the film aired at the Cannes Film Festival and was on-sold to 12 countries. Jackson was Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, Editor and Make-Up and SFX Supervisor on this film. Before releasing 'Braindead' in 1992, he made 'Meet the Feebles' in 1989 - a puppet based musical black comedy using 'Muppet' like characters but whose personality, profile and purpose are the polar opposite of the Jim Henson creations we all know & love. 'Braindead' is a splatter zombie gore fest that cost US$3M and has been described as one of the goriest films ever made - it flopped at the Box Office, but again, has since gained 'cult' status thanks to Jackson's rise to prominence.
1994 saw a change of direction with the highly acclaimed 'Heavenly Creatures' which he made reluctantly and under some pressure from his wife Fran Walsh who believed this true story would make a good film. It is about the 1950's Parker-Hulme murder case in New Zealand, and which saw the acting debut of Kate Winslett. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and made many Top 10 lists that year. The success of this film opened the doors in Hollywood which gave rise to the 1996 film 'The Frighteners' which was again Written, Produced and Directed by Jackson with the backing of Robert Zemeckis and Universal Studio's with a US$26M budget. It was shot in New Zealand and utilised the growing resources of Jackson's fledgling 'Weta Digital' production business. The film barely recovered its budget, but has since gained more critical acclaim with the passing of time - it starred too Michael J. Fox in his last live action feature length film.
In 1997 Jackson secured the rights to film the J.R.R.Tolkien classic books in the 'The Lord of the Rings' series. Initially working with Miramax Studios on a two film deal he was pressured into making a single instalment, which was overcome when Jackson jumped ship to New Line Studios for a three picture deal. The rest as the say, is history! Filmed and produced over an eight year period on a budget of about US$300M for all three films, these films garnered massive worldwide critical acclaim with a Box Office return of US$2.92B. With 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 Academy Award wins the final film in the franchise won all eleven categories in which it was nominated for the golden statue. All up, the series across the world received 455 award nominations and won 249 of those!
To follow-up this, Jackson could write his own ticket, and so made 'King Kong' in 2005 - the film that inspired him to get into the movie business in the first place. To do so he was paid an upfront fee of US$20M (never before seen!) and a 20% stake of the Box Office receipts. Costing US$207M to make it grossed over US$550M globally with a further US$100M from DVD sales upon release - it picked up three Academy Award wins too.
2009 saw the more low-brow 'The Lovely Bones' which provided a welcome break from his big budget epic fare of the last decade. Before turning attention to 'The Hobbit' series, Jackson had been Producing films for a number of years, including the praised 'District 9' and 'The Adventures of Tin Tin' for Neill Blomkamp and Steven Spielberg respectively. A follow-up to Tin Tin is in the works for a 2015/2016 release with Jackson Directing - 'The Adventures of Tin Tin : Red Rackham's Treasure'.
'The Hobbit' meanwhile has been on-again off-again for a number of years with New Line Cinema going back to 2006. After much argument, gnashing of teeth, fist clenching, chest beating and table banging agreements were reached in 2010 for a two picture deal with Jackson Directing after Guillermo del Toro dropped out. Subsequently, in mid-2012 Jackson announced that 'The Hobbit' would be released over three films in December 2012, 2013 and 2014 with a combined budget of US$775M (dwarfing the Ring's trilogy production cost). So far the first two instalments have grossed close to US$2B in Box Office receipts and garnered six Academy Award nominations, but not yet a win, although it has a worldwide award haul of 134 nominations and 31 wins. The final instalment - 'The Battle of Five Armies' is released in December this year.
Jackson has been married to Fran Walsh since 1987 with whom he collaborates on all films. They have two children together - Billy and Kate. He was Knighted in the 2010 New Years Honours List and is now officially Sir Peter Robert Jackson. He has donated NZ$500K to stem-cell research; purchased a Church for NZ$10M and the 'BATS Theatre' to save both for future generations; he contributes his time and many skills to '48 Hours' - a New Zealand film making competition; and has financially supported the 'West Memphis Three' - three teenagers convicted (some believe wrongfully, including Jackson) for the satanic ritual killing of three boys in 1993.
Jackson has accumulated so far in his career 123 awards wins and 87 further nominations. These include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Return of the King' at the Academy Awards plus six other nominations; the Golden Globes have given him Best Director for 'Return of the King' plus three other nominations; and the BAFTA's have awarded Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Return of the King', Best Film for 'Fellowship of the Ring' and the David Lean Award for Best Direction on 'The Fellowship of the Ring' plus seven other nominations.
Peter Jackson - multi-talented film-maker, hugely successful, influential, respected, fiercely loyal to his native New Zealand and a man who can turn his many skills to almost any aspect of the film making process - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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