If the name Andrew Lesnie doesn’t ring a bell, his work will. He’s the Academy Award-winning cinematographer behind all six Lord of the Rings films, as well as Peter Jackson‘s The Lovely Bones and King Kong remake. He also served as the D.P. on I Am Legend and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and unfortunately he passed away Monday following a serious heart attack. He was 59.
As announced by Australian Cinematographers Society, Lesnie’s death comes after the cinematographer suffered from a heart condition for over the last six months. In addition to their announced plans to celebrate Lesnie’s work during their 2015 ACS National Awards for Cinematography in Hobart this weekend, they had the following to say:
Words cannot express the absolute feeling of loss, particularly for his immediate family. Andrew gave us many personal cinema moments, moments that will live with us forever, and yet he has been taken from us way too early, and we are now left with those memories.
Lesnie is celebrated for his advancements in balancing technology with artistic merits, as seen by his contributions to the fantasy genre over the past two decades. In addition to his work with Jackson, he is remembered for his contributions with George Miller. He shot both Babe movies, served as the director of photography in the live action unit for Happy Feet, and was a documentary cameraman on Mad Max: The Road Warrior. It was his Oscar-winning work behind The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings in 2001 which propelled him into public praise, however, even though the first Babe was cited by Jackson to be what drove him to get Lesnie onto his first Lord of the Rings film.
His last feature was Russell Crowe‘s The Water Diviner. While Brad wasn’t much of a fan, he noted how Lesnie’s “lightning and camera movements give the film brief moments of majesty.”
Crowe addressed the death on Twitter, as he noted: Devastating news from home. The master of the light, genius Andrew Lesnie has passed on.” [The Hollywood Reporter]
