Director Sir Peter Jackson and Creative Director of Weta Workshop, Sir Richard Taylor, are to work with New Zealand’s Te Papa Museum to recreate a ‘trench experience’ to mark the Centenary of the First World War.
The recreation of a section of the trenches from the Gallipoli Campaign will be part of Te Papa’s Anzac exhibition to mark the Centenary.
Speaking about the involvement of two of New Zealand’s most prominent members of the film industry, the Chief Executive of Te Papa Museum, Michael Houlihan, said:
“With the creative input of these extraordinarily clever guys, we will be able to deepen people’s understanding of the terror our soldiers experienced fighting a battle at such close quarters”.
“We will be recreating the Quinn’s Post trench, the most famous position in the ANZAC line on Gallipoli. Our aim is to make the experience as realistic as possible, bringing home the detail of the unimaginable horror and squalid day-to-day existence”.
Sir Peter Jackson stated that “it was in the trenches that the ANZAC spirit was born” and that he was “looking forward to working with Te Papa”, whilst Sir Richard Taylor said that it was a “privilege to be involved in such a significant project”.
Sir Peter Jackson received global acclaim for his direction of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The trilogy won an overall total of seventeen Oscars, seven of which were for art direction, cinematography, makeup, costume design and visual effects.
Sir Richard Taylor, who also worked on the trilogy, brings considerable experience of prop and special effects experience as the Creative Director of Weta Workshop.
The Chief Executive of Te Papa Museum expressed his “delight” at the input of Jackson and Taylor, but emphasised that “above all, the exhibition will remember the bravery and sacrifice of all the men who fought and those who died in the War. This will be a uniquely powerful experience of our history”.
Source: Te Papa Museum press release
Date of press release publication: 27/05/2013
Images courtesy of the Te Papa Museum
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News