Anything You Can Imagine
Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-earth
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Anything You Can Imagine
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Narrated by:
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Tristram Wymark
About this listen
The definitive history of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga, Anything You Can Imagine takes us on a cinematic journey across all six films, featuring brand-new interviews with Peter, his cast & crew. From the early days of daring to dream it could be done, through the highs and lows of making the films, to fan adoration and, finally, Oscar glory.
Lights
A nine-year-old boy in New Zealand’s Pukerua Bay stays up late and is spellbound by a sixty-year-old vision of a giant ape on an island full of dinosaurs. This is true magic. And the boy knows that he wants to be a magician.
Camera
Fast-forward twenty years and the boy has begun to cast a spell over the film-going audience, conjuring gore-splattered romps with bravura skill that will lead to Academy recognition with an Oscar nomination for Heavenly Creatures. The boy from Pukerua Bay with monsters reflected in his eyes has arrived, and Hollywood comes calling. What would he like to do next? ‘How about a fantasy film, something like The Lord of the Rings…?’
Action
The greatest work of fantasy in modern literature, and the biggest, with rights ownership so complex it will baffle a wizard. Vast. Complex. Unfilmable. One does not simply walk into Mordor – unless you are Peter Jackson.
Anything You Can Imagine tells the full, dramatic story of how Jackson and his trusty fellowship of Kiwi filmmakers dared take on a quest every bit as daunting as Frodo’s, and transformed JRR Tolkien’s epic tale of adventure into cinematic magic, and then did it again with The Hobbit. Enriched with brand-new interviews with Jackson, his fellow filmmakers and many of the films’ stars, Ian Nathan’s mesmerising narrative whisks us to Middle-earth, to gaze over the shoulder of the director as he creates the impossible, the unforgettable, and proves that film-making really is ‘anything you can imagine’.
©2018 Ian Nathan, 2018 Andy Serkis - foreword (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersCritic Reviews
‘This book truly is the definitive history of the Lord of the Rings films. Nearly every single element of the productions is coverd here, from writing, to shooting, to Oscar-night jitters. Nathan’s prose does exactly what you want from a book like this: it makes you feel as if you’re really there.’
SlashFilm
‘In breezy and often cheeky prose, Nathan tells a grand story worthy of the annals of great filmmaking… there is much to learn, to chuckle over and to admire as Jackson and his band of indefatigable Kiwis face down the naysayers.’
Daily Mail
What listeners say about Anything You Can Imagine
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Etni
- 21-11-2022
Enjoyed it
A fascinating look into the making of these movies, just as I had hoped! It also discussed some things that I felt are only tangentially related, or padding even, so the skip forward button was useful a few times. Not too many though.
The narrator was great and brought some extra entertainment value to the text. Other comments say he got the NZ names wrong - I don’t know about that so it didn’t bother me, but if you’re a NZ native you might want to adjust expectations accordingly.
The parts about Peter Jackson felt like they were written by a huge fan, and all the admiration and praise felt a bit repetitive and one-sided at times. But the book focuses mainly on the movies, so it’s not too much of a problem.
Happy to recommend this book to any fan of the movies.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 24-04-2022
Great behind the scenes look into the making of
Would recommend for any film or LOTR buff.
wonderfully story about Peter Jackson's journey to Middle Earth.
One downfall is the incorrect pronunciation of the towns in New Zealand.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wanne
- 15-11-2021
Good story. Narrator butchered Māori placenames.
Really enjoying the book, The narrator has a pleasant voice and was good to listen to, but his pronunciation of some of the Māori place names was grating. I wasn’t expecting perfection but maybe next time a bit of research may help so they are at least recognisable.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kay L.
- 20-04-2024
Instinct for what fans of LOTR would want to know, and the ability to deliver it
Covers everything a reader/listener could wish to know about the genesis and making of the Lord of the Rings movies. Thorough and gripping. Will listen again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-08-2021
For Nerds Like Me
Loved it. Probably only listen/read if you’re fairly into film, Rings, and Jackson (which I am). Although I didn’t feel like I learnt much new information, it is nice to have all of this laid out clearly as it is here.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-07-2020
What is a Hobbit's, precious?
I can see why a lot of readers had a gripe about Ian glamorising Peter's work but i can't help but smile at the pure admiration for the film maker. In almost all cases the praise of Peter's genius and vision is completely warranted. I loved the backstory on Peter's life and earlier films. As a lot of other reviews mention, I just wish the same depth would have been given to The Hobbit films. The prequel trilogy is basically summed up in a single chapter (a bit of a brush over for a project that spanned nearly 9 years). It is a shame that not much was said about that trilogy, perhaps in time we'll get more detail on that experience. Overall a great read, the readers impressions of the actors and film makers was pretty solid at times so it didn't bother me too much but was a bit jarring at first. It's definitely a must read for any fan of the LOTR films or Peter's work. All I wanted to do was go back and watch all of his films as the book narrated his story. I very much look forward to Peter's future work and perhaps a tell all biography from the man himself. Until then, this is the next best thing and I'd certainly recommend it to any fan or aspiring film maker/enthusiast.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-11-2022
Loved everything...except the pronunciation
A really good read for anyone interested in how the Lord of the Rings movies came to be, and the intriguing insights into the film industry the story provides. Wymark has a nice voice for the work and brightens the dialogue with impressions of people's accents when quoting interviews (his McKellen is particularly good). 2 stars off however because all the Kiwis sound like Australians and the pronunciation of several New Zealand place names (especially Māori ones) is...appalling. I'd have thought more of an effort would have been made to get pronunciation of place-specific words right. Still, it's definitely worth the listen. Kiwis, just be ready to grit your teeth on occasion (especially through the chapter on "call sheets").
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