Fran Walsh

Screenwriter-producer Fran Walsh enjoyed a hugely successful career with her partner, New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson. A former musician-turned-writer, Walsh met Jackson early in his career and quickly became his collaborator on low-budget cult classics like "Meet the Feebles" (1989) and "Braindead" (1992). As a writing partner, she helped Jackson defy expectations with the lyrical tale of obsession and murder "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), a critically hailed effort that brought them to Hollywood for the Robert Zemeckis-produced horror-comedy "The Frighteners" (1996). Then, in a monumental undertaking, Walsh worked alongside Jackson as a co-writer, producer and even unofficial 2nd unit director on the first of a trilogy of films adapting the works of fantasy novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001). Nearly a decade after the project had begun, Walsh and Jackson capped it off with the third installment, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003), which in addition to winning a Best Picture Oscar, earned Walsh an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Other endeavors included the impressive remake of the monster classic "King Kong" (2005), followed by an underwhelming adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones" (2009). Walsh and Jackson returned Middle-earth once more, however, for another trilogy of eagerly anticipated films, beginning with "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure" (2012). While Jackson received director's credit on each production, Walsh's creative DNA was undeniable and deeply imbedded in every film.