Filmmaker Peter Jackson will produce and his Oscar-winning vfx shop, Weta, will create visuals for Dambusters, an inspirational true story from WWII that Universal Pictures, StudioCanal and Jackson’s Wingnut Films will soon put into production. The film will be directed by first timer Christian Rivers, who earned an Oscar for his work as animation director on Jackson’s King Kong remake.
Inspired by actual events, Dambusters is based on the book The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill and the 1955 movie from Associated British Picture Corp. The pic will chronicle the story of Operation Chastise, a top-secret Royal Air Force bombing mission designed to strike a decisive blow against the seemingly invincible Nazi war machine at the height of its aggression. This largely hand-picked group, known as 617 Squadron, included pilots from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. They only had seven weeks to train for the deadly mission, which involved flying dangerously low over enemy lines to destroy three dams that were essential to the Nazi steel industry.
“This is one of the most remarkable true stories to come out of World War II,” says Jackson. “When Michael Anderson made his thrilling version of this story in 1955, many details of the dams raid were still a closely guarded secret. It has since been declassified by the British Government, making the dynamics of the story and the people involved even more intriguing. That, combined with our ability to harness state-of-the-art computer generated visual effects, will enable us to bring the events of these desperate days of 1943 to life in a very visceral way.’
Joining Jackson as producers on the WingNut Films production are Jan Blenkin and Carolynne Cunningham, with Sir David Frost and Ken Kamins serving as exec producers.
Director Rivers has worked with Jackson for more than 17 years, first as a storyboard artist while still in school and working his way up as an animator, a pre-vis supervisor and second unit director. He shared his 2005 Best Visual Effects Oscar with fellow Weta principals Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul and Richard Taylor. Both Weta Digital and Weta Workshop will be employed on Dambusters, which will require both CG animation and miniature work.
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