Fran Walsh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fran Walsh
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Walsh in 2019
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Frances Rosemary Walsh
10 January 1959 Wellington, New Zealand
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| Occupation | Screenwriter, film producer, lyricist |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Partner(s) | Peter Jackson (1987–present) |
| Children | 2 |
Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh is a talented New Zealand screenwriter and film producer. She is well-known for her work on many popular movies, especially the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Fran Walsh has worked closely with filmmaker Peter Jackson on all their films since 1989. She started as a co-writer and later became a producer. She has won three Academy Awards, also known as Oscars, for her work on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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Early Life and Interests
Fran Walsh was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on January 10, 1959. Her family has Irish roots. When she was younger, she went to Wellington Girls' College. At first, she wanted to be a fashion designer, but then she became very interested in music.
She even took breaks from her studies to play in a punk band called The Wallsockets. Fran went to Victoria University of Wellington and studied English literature. She finished her degree in 1981.
Starting Her Film Career
Fran Walsh began her career in film by writing for a New Zealand TV movie in 1983 called A Woman of Good Character. After that, she wrote scripts for a TV show called Worzel Gummidge Down Under.
She met Peter Jackson in the mid-1980s. They started working together on his films, beginning with Meet the Feebles in 1989. They also worked with writer Stephen Sinclair on a horror-comedy film called Braindead (also known as Dead Alive).
Creating Heavenly Creatures
Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson explored a new type of film with the drama Heavenly Creatures in 1994. This movie was Fran's idea. It was based on a true story about two friends who faced a very serious situation.
The film was a big success and earned Fran and Peter an Oscar nomination for their screenplay. Fran also became a mother, giving birth to her son Billy in 1995 and her daughter Katie in 1996.
Big Hollywood Projects
After Heavenly Creatures, Fran and Peter returned to a genre they knew well with The Frighteners in 1996. This was their first movie funded by an American studio. They had plans to remake King Kong, but it didn't happen right away.
Wanting to try fantasy movies, Peter Jackson looked for support to make a film based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1998, New Line Cinema provided the money needed to create a three-part movie series based on Tolkien's famous book, The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings and Beyond
Fran Walsh, along with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens, wrote the screenplays for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. These movies came out between 2001 and 2003. They won many awards for their writing, including an Oscar for the adapted screenplay of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Fran was also a producer for the films. She even helped write two songs for Return of the King: "Into the West" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us." "Into the West" won her another Oscar that night!
After the huge success of The Lord of the Rings, Fran, Peter, and Philippa continued to work together. They wrote the screenplay for the 2005 remake of King Kong. They also adapted the novel The Lovely Bones into a film. Later, they worked on the three-film adaptation of The Hobbit.
Fran Walsh prefers to keep her private life out of the spotlight. She didn't give interviews for the bonus features on The Lord of the Rings DVDs, but she did join Peter Jackson for the director's commentary. She also lent her voice to create the screeching sound of the Nazgûl in the films.
Awards and Recognition
Fran Walsh has received many honors for her work in film. In 2004, she won three Academy Awards for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:
Overall, she has been nominated for seven Oscars!
In 2002, she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contributions to film. In 2019, she was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, which is a very high honor, also for her services to film.
Filmography
Here are some of the films and TV shows Fran Walsh has worked on as a screenwriter or producer:
- Worzel Gummidge Down Under (1986–89)
- Meet the Feebles (1989)
- Braindead (1992)
- Heavenly Creatures (1994)
- Jack Brown Genius (1996)
- The Frighteners (1996)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- King Kong (2005)
- The Lovely Bones (2009)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
- Mortal Engines (2018)
- Beatles '64 (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Fran Walsh para niños
