Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh (born 10 January 1959) is a New Zealand screenwriter and film producer. The partner of filmmaker Peter Jackson, Walsh has contributed to all of their films since 1989: as co-writer since ''

Meet the Feebles ''Meet the Feebles'' (also known as ''Frogs of War'' in New Zealand as the film's English fake working title) is a 1989 New Zealand puppet musical black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson, and written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair ...

'', and as producer since ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

Trilogy''. She has won three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the final film of the trilogy, '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''.

Early life

Walsh was born into a family of Irish descent in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand. She attended

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. H ...

intent on becoming a fashion designer, but eventually became interested in music instead. Occasionally taking time off to perform in a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band named The Wallsockets, she attended

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

majoring in English literature and graduating in 1981.

Career

Walsh got her screen break writing material for New Zealand producer Grahame McLean on 1983 television film ''A Woman of Good Character (It's Lizzie to those Close)''. Later she wrote scripts for his TV show ''

Worzel Gummidge Down Under ''Worzel Gummidge Down Under'' is a New Zealand-British television series adapted from the books written by Barbara Euphan Todd and the British fantasy series television programme produced and broadcast in the United Kingdom named ''Worzel Gummid ...

''. Walsh met Peter Jackson in the mid-1980s during the final stages of production on his low-budget movie ''

Bad Taste ''Bad Taste'' is a 1987 New Zealand science-fiction comedy horror film directed, produced and filmed by Peter Jackson, who also stars in and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon. Independently produced on a low budge ...

'', in which aliens serve humans as fast food. Walsh has collaborated with Jackson on the scripts of all his subsequent films, after joining the writing quartet on his next film, the

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

'' (1989). The couple then reteamed with writer Stephen Sinclair on the horror-comedy film that they had begun writing before Feebles, the zombie movie '' Braindead'' (retitled ''Dead Alive'' in the United States, 1992). Walsh and Jackson have not married (2015). They explored new ground with the drama ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical psychological drama film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh, and starring Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in their feature film debu ...

'' (1994). The film was Walsh's idea and was based on the friendship of the Parker-Hulme teenagers, who infamously later killed one of their mothers. The film earned the duo an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Walsh gave birth to Billy in 1995 and Katie in 1996. Walsh and Jackson returned to a more familiar genre with

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

horror-comedy ''

The Frighteners ''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey an ...

'' (1996), their first film funded by an American studio. They were in talks with Universal to remake ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' until 1998's ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' and '' Mighty Joe Young'' were first announced, and Universal decided against the film. Universal feared it would be thrown aside by the two higher budget movies. Wanting to try his hand at

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, Jackson turned to Miramax to make a film based on the works of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1998,

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

provided the necessary financial backing to make a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's classic ''

''. Walsh, with Jackson and Philippa Boyens, is credited for writing the screenplays for ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) (Stephen Sinclair has a writing credit on the second film: ''The Two Towers''). They shared many awards, including an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for their

adapted screenplay A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. She also was one of the film's producers and co-composer of two songs for ''Return of the King'', namely " Into the West" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us", earning her one more Oscar that night. Walsh, Jackson, and Boyens continued their screenplay work together for the 2005 remake of ''

'', which was given the green light by Universal after the Rings trilogy's success. The couple collaborated on the adaptation of the novel ''

The Lovely Bones ''The Lovely Bones'' is a 2002 novel by American writer Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while sh ...

'' and on the three-film adaptation of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

''. Walsh prefers to remain more private than Jackson or Boyens; she did not contribute an interview to the bonus features on ''The Lord of the Rings'' movie DVDs; however, she did feature on the director/writers'

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

(where she and Jackson discussed that they felt one of them should remain a private figure for the good of their family). Her vocals were used as a significant part of the screech of the

Nazgûl The Nazgûl (from Black Speech , "ring", and , "wraith, spirit"), introduced as Black Riders and also called Ringwraiths, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or simply the Nine, are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. They wer ...

in the films.

Honours and awards

She won three

in 2004, for

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Best Adapted Screenplay and

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, all for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. She has received seven Oscar nominations. In the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

, Walsh was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to film. In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, also for services to film.

Filmography

This is her selected filmography as screenwriter, unless noted: * ''

'' (1986–89) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Braindead'' (1992, screenplay, casting director, acting cameo) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

Jack Brown Genius ''Jack Brown Genius'' is a 1996 New Zealand romantic comedy fantasy film directed by Tony Hiles, produced by Peter Jackson and written by both with Jackson's partner Fran Walsh. Actor Tim Balme, who had earlier starred in Jackson's movie ''Brai ...

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1996, screenplay, associate producer, acting cameo) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001, screenplay, producer, lyricist for "In Dreams", additional second unit director) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002, screenplay, producer, composer for "Gollum's Song") * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003, screenplay, producer, composer for " Into the West" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us") * ''

'' (2005, screenplay, producer) * ''

'' (2009, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'' (2013, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'' (2014, screenplay, producer) * ''

Mortal Engines ''Mortal Engines'' is a young-adult science fantasy novel by Philip Reeve, published by Scholastic UK in 2001. The book focuses on a futuristic, steampunk version of London, now a giant machine striving to survive on a world that is runni ...

'' (2018, screenplay, producer)

References

;General sources
"Fran Walsh: The Enigma"

TheOneRing.net Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fan (aficionado), fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', and ''The Silmarillion''. The c ...

. 23 December 2001. * LeVasseur, Andrea
"Fran Walsh: Biography"
Allmovie. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
"Fran Walsh"
NZ On Screen. 22 July 2011.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Fran 1959 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Golden Globe Award-winning producers Grammy Award winners Hugo Award-winning writers Nebula Award winners New Zealand film producers New Zealand lyricists New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand screenwriters New Zealand women film producers New Zealand women screenwriters People from Wellington City People educated at Wellington Girls' College Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Victoria University of Wellington alumni Women songwriters