Andrew Lesnie, one of the most popular cinematographers of the last two decades, has passed away in Australia of a heart attack. He was only 59. He was an Oscar winner, BAFTA winner and an entrant in the Australian Cinematographers Society.
Lesnie is most known for being the cinematographer on all of the film adaptions in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises including The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tours (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
In the 80s, Lesnie started his career by working on various films including horror and scifi features like Patrick (1978), Mad Max II: The Road Warrior (1981), Dead End Drive-In (1986), Incident at Raven’s Gate (1988), The 13th Floor (1988) and Dark City (1998).
His other credits as a cinematographer include Dark Age (1987), the King Kong remake in 2005, the I Am Legend remake in 2007, The Last Airbender (2010) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).
Peter Jackson, Andrew’s longtime collaborator, released a statement earlier this morning:
“Being an only child, I grew up wondering what it would be like to have a brother. It wasn’t until today, in trying to deal with the terrible news of Andrew’s passing, that I came to realise how much he had become that person for me – someone I could intrinsically love and trust – which I know now means someone who is up for all the good and the bad.”
All of us here at HorrorSociety.com send our condolences to his family, friends and fans.
R.I.P. Andrew Lesnie
1956 – 2015
