Peter Jackson’s THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD Acquired By WB
Peter Jackson has a giant blockbuster movie coming out this December, Mortal Engines - but he’s only on that project as a producer and co-writer (with Lord of the Rings partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens). Though he considered directing the film, he passed off directing duties to Rings pre-viz wiz Christian Rivers (who had previously been attached to a remake of The Dambusters), and went off to direct a passion project.
That project was They Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary about World War I that premiered this month at the London Film Festival, garnering a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and an average rating of 8.9. After its premiere, journos and film fans worldwide clamoured for an opportunity to see the movie, mostly clutching at thin air, as the doc only had limited distribution in the UK and scheduled airtime on the BBC. Now, however, Deadline reports that Warner Brothers has purchased the movie for international distribution, meaning the rest of us get a chance to see Jackson’s documentary debut (unless you count the brilliant mock-doc Forgotten Silver).
They Shall Not Grow Old is made up entirely of restored film footage and archival audio interviews from the Imperial War Museums archive, bringing the faces and voices of the era into the contemporary world. Engaging in the opposite of Forgotten Silver’s process, where newly-shot footage was made to look like turn-of-the-century celluloid, Jackson and his team cleaned up, restored, and colourised a hundred hours of film reels, retiming the 13fps footage to 24fps and converting the finished product to stereoscopic 3D. A mammoth task, and by literally all accounts, one that resulted in a remarkably immersive and moving cinema experience.
All of this was a labour of love for Jackson, whose grandfather fought in the war, and who when he’s not making blockbusters is an avid collector of World War I memorabilia. His personal collection is so significant that it formed the basis for an enormous exhibition at New Zealand’s national museum recently. The war holds an emotional place in New Zealand history, as an estimated 80,000 troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps lost their lives in the conflict. For many, it’s often forgotten in the wake of the Second World War, with its more-cinematic military campaigns and clearer heroes and villains. In pop culture, it's probably best-known through a season (the best one) of Blackadder. But this year - November 11th, in fact - marks a century since the war's conclusion, making the film a virtual historical imperative.
They Shall Not Grow Old won’t be eligible for an Academy Award, as it missed the registration date, but Deadline’s report states WB will be attempting to launch the film theatrically “most likely before year’s end.”
Honestly, most other films on the calendar pale next to my desire to see this on a big screen. If nothing else, seeing a film Peter Jackson truly cared about again will be a wonderful thing.
