Rest in Peace, Andrew Lesnie

As a Lord of the Rings superfan, I was deeply saddened to hear Andrew Lesnie, Academy Award-winning cinematographer for both the original trilogy and The Hobbit films, passed away on Monday evening. If you've spent as many hours as I have binge-watching The Lord of the Rings extended editions for their behind the scenes content, Mr. Lesnie's was a familiar face.

To say he deserved his award would be an understatement; he brought so much to these films, and to the rich, believable portrayal of a beloved fantasy world. He paid equal attention to both the homey details in a hobbit hole and the beauty of a sweeping vista, and he will be missed, not just be the folks who knew and loved him personally, but by the countless others he made believe that Middle Earth was real.

We'll leave on this note, shared by Peter Jackson early this morning on his Facebook:

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. Andrew was an irreplaceable part of my family and I am in total disbelief that I’ll never again hear his infectious laugh, nor benefit from his quiet wisdom, or enjoy his generous praise.  Andrew created unforgettable, beautiful images on screen, and he did this time and again, because he only ever served what he believed in - he was his own artist, separate from me, but always working generously to make what we were trying to create together better. On set we developed an ability to work together using  a minimum of words - a rare meeting of minds. I will always remember turning up, countless times, at five in the morning -  all those quiet moments I had with him when I could step on to set and know he was there - unfazed, ready, listening, interested, more importantly - ready to catch me if I faltered. He always had my back. The more anxious I became, the more calm he would be. A solid rock in the unpredictable world we both chose to work in. After 17 years and 8 movies together, the loss of Andrew is very hard to bear.

My heart goes out to Jack and Sam, of whom he was enormously proud and to Marce, who gave him so much happiness.

Dearest Andrew, you never sought nor wanted praise - you never needed to hear how good you were, you only ever cared about doing great work and respecting the work of others. But on behalf of all those who were lucky enough to collaborate with you, love you and in turn, respect your mastery of story, of light and of cinema magic - you are one of the great cinematographers of our time.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

Arohanui,

Pete