Oscar-winning sound editor Michael Hopkins, who worked on films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 2005 King Kong remake, died in a rafting accident in New Zealand.
Michael Hopkins, 53, from Greytown, New Zealand, died after being thrown from his raft on Sunday, police said.
He won Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2003 and King Kong in 2006.
Michael Hopkins also worked on Blade Runner, Superman, Octopussy and Transformers.
He first worked with director Peter Jackson on his 1992 movie Braindead, and was also part of Jackson’s team for Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners as well as the three Lord of the Rings epics.
Oscar-winning sound editor Michael Hopkins, who worked on films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 2005 King Kong remake, died in a rafting accident in New Zealand
Michael Hopkins shared his two Oscar wins and one further nomination with US collaborator Ethan Van der Ryn.
The accident happened in the Waiohine River on New Zealand’s North Island. His two rafting companions both survived.
Police Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson said: “Police would like to thank all those who assisted in the recovery of Mr. Hopkins and the rescue of his companions, particularly the jet boat operator who came to our aid and, at considerable risk to himself, was able to rescue the female.
“All three were wearing life jackets, wetsuits and helmets at the time and it appears that Mr. Hopkins got into trouble after they were ejected from the raft in a fast flowing eddie.”
Hobbits and elves are squashed in next to Orcs and wizards on board of Air New Zealand flight – suggesting the latest movie adaptation of a J.R.R Tolkien classic has been given a modern twist.
The scene is taken from Air New Zealand’s new in-flight safety video, which even features a cameo from director Sir Peter Jackson along with one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous characters – Gollum.
The safety video was inspired by the upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a trilogy of movies from director Sir Peter Jackson, who was also behind the smash hit hugely successful The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
The Oscar-winning director even agreed to appear in the safety video along with cast members, and Mike and Royd Tolkien, the great-great grandsons of the author of timeless masterpiece The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien.
The airline’s general manager of marketing and communications Mike Tod said the video – called An Unexpected Briefing – was representative of the hotbed of creative talent in New Zealand.
“To have Gollum step off the movie screen for the first time and into an Air New Zealand aircraft is incredibly special, and Sir Peter Jackson delivers a superb cameo,” Mike Tod said.
“He should come out from behind the camera more often,” he added.
Air New Zealand’s new in-flight safety video features Hobbits, wizards and elves
Royd Tolkien, who features in the video with prosthetic hairy Hobbit feet, said of Air New Zealand’s video: “They’ve done a great job of capturing the essence of The Hobbit films and it was a privilege to be invited to participate.”
New Zealander Dean O’Gorman, who plays the Dwarf Fili in the movie, can also be spotted among the passengers in the safety video, along with two super-Hobbit fans from TheOneRing.net – the largest online Tolkien fan site.
Mike Tod said the release of An Unexpected Briefing marks the official start of Air New Zealand’s two-year global marketing programme dedicated to The Hobbit trilogy.
A forthcoming feature of Air New Zealand’s support of The Hobbit trilogy will be a themed aircraft which will be unveiled prior to the movie’s global première in Wellington on November 28.
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The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is planned to take place in New Zealand on November 28.
The screening at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre will take place two weeks ahead of the film’s release on 14 December.
Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said it was fitting to hold the premiere “where the journey began.”
Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is set 60 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films.
The world premiere of The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey is planned to take place in New Zealand on November 28
In An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo Baggins attempts to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from Smaug, the dragon.
The film’s cast includes Sherlock’s Martin Freeman, who takes on the lead role of Baggins.
Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Sir Ian McKellen, who all starred in Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy, also appear in the movie.
British actor Andy Serkis has reprised his motion-capture animated role of Gollum.
The film is split into two parts, with the second installment – The Hobbit: There And Back Again – due for release in December 2013.
The 3D movies were shot at a rate of 48 frames per second, compared with the industry standard of 24 frames.
Following a preview of unfinished footage at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas in April, some critics claimed it “looked like a made-for-TV movie”.
Peter Jackson admitted: “It does take you a while to get used to.”
He added: “Ten minutes is sort of marginal, it probably needed a little bit more.”
He wrote the screenplay with partner Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.
