WingNut Films : History, Films, <i>Braindead</i> lawsuit Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WingNut Films

New Zealand production company

14 February 1987; 37 years ago (14 February 1987) (as an independent film company)
17 March 2003; 21 years ago (17 March 2003) (as an incorporated company)^[1]

Founders

Peter Jackson
Michael Stephens

Headquarters

Wellington

New Zealand

Key people

Michael Stephens
Peter Jackson
Fran Walsh

Products

The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings

Subsidiaries

Wingnut Interactive (2006–2013)
Wingnut AR (2017–present)

WingNut Films Productions Ltd is a New Zealand production company based in Wellington, with other offices in Hollywood, United States, London, United Kingdom, and Melbourne, Australia; notably for producing and collaborating predominantly with filmmaker Peter Jackson, especially on The Lord of the Rings. WingNut Films also has produced at Pinewood Studios in England. Its US subsidiary is WingNut Films, Inc.

History

WingNut Films has been involved in nearly all of Peter Jackson's work. The company is known for being involved in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series, based on the classic fantasy novel of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The third film in the series received eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. The company also became involved in The Hobbit after director Guillermo del Toro left the project.

Films

Bad Taste (1987)^[2]
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Braindead (1992)
Valley of the Stereos (1992)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Forgotten Silver (1995)
Jack Brown Genius (1996)
The Frighteners (1996)
The Lord of the Rings (2001—2003)
King Kong (2005)
District 9 (2009)
The Lovely Bones (2009)
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
West of Memphis (2012)
The Hobbit (2012—2014)
Mortal Engines (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)^[3]
The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

Braindead lawsuit

Jackson's 1992 comedy horror film Braindead was subject to a lawsuit: In Bradley v WingNut Films Ltd [1993] 1 NZLR 415, it was alleged that Braindead had infringed the privacy of the plaintiffs by containing pictures of the plaintiff's family tombstone. After reviewing the New Zealand judicial authorities on privacy, Gallen J stated: "the present situation in New Zealand ... is that there are three strong statements in the High Court in favour of the existence of such a tort in this country and an acceptance by the Court of Appeal that the concept is at least arguable." This case became one of a series of cases which contributed to the introduction of tort invasions of privacy in New Zealand.^[4]

References

^ "WINGNUT FILMS PRODUCTIONS LIMITED :: OpenCorporates". Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
^ "WingNut Films - IMDbPro". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
^ "Sir Peter Jackson's next film will be Mortal Engines". 24 October 2016.
^ McBride, Tim; Tobin, Rosemary (1994). "Privacy in New Zealand case law - [1994] PLPR 32; (1994) 1 PLPR 48". Privacy Law and Policy Reporter. Austlii.edu.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2013.