PETER Jackson has shared an emotional tribute to Oscar-winning Australian cinematographer Andrew Lesnie on his Facebook page.

Lesnie, a Sydney filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking work on Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, passed away on Monday after suffering from a heart attack. He was 59.

Jackson posted the following message, titled For Andrew Lesnie, to Facebook late last night:

“Being an only child, I grew up wondering what it would be like to have a brother. It wasn’t until today, in trying to deal with the terrible news of Andrew’s passing, that I came to realise how much he had become that person for me — someone I could intrinsically love and trust — which I know now means someone who is up for all the good and the bad.

“Andrew was an irreplaceable part of my family and I am in total disbelief that I’ll never again hear his infectious laugh, nor benefit from his quiet wisdom, or enjoy his generous praise. Andrew created unforgettable, beautiful images on screen, and he did this time and again, because he only ever served what he believed in — he was his own artist, separate from me, but always working generously to make what we were trying to create together better,” Jackson wrote.

The tribute continues: “On set we developed an ability to work together using a minimum of words — a rare meeting of minds. I will always remember turning up, countless times, at five in the morning — all those quiet moments I had with him when I could step on to set and know he was there — unfazed, ready, listening, interested, more importantly — ready to catch me if I faltered. He always had my back. The more anxious I became, the more calm he would be. A solid rock in the unpredictable world we both chose to work in. After 17 years and 8 movies together, the loss of Andrew is very hard to bear.

“My heart goes out to Jack and Sam, of whom he was enormously proud and to Marce, who gave him so much happiness.

“Dearest Andrew, you never sought nor wanted praise — you never needed to hear how good you were, you only ever cared about doing great work and respecting the work of others. But on behalf of all those who were lucky enough to collaborate with you, love you and in turn, respect your mastery of story, of light and of cinema magic — you are one of the great cinematographers of our time.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

Arohanui,

Pete



Throughout his nearly 40-year career Lesnie was renowned for his innovative camera work that saw him collaborate with some of the world’s greatest filmmakers including Peter Jackson, George Miller and most recently Russell Crowe on The Water Diviner.

He won an Academy Award For Best Cinematography in 2002 for The Fellowship Of The Ring.

The Australian and New Zealand film industries have been shocked by the news, which broke on Tuesday afternoon.

Sometimes -a death just takes the breath right out of ya. Andrew Lesnie was the Chesire Cat behind the Camera with Peter Jackson. This sucks — Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) April 28, 2015

Lesnie’s close friend and co-collaborator Crowe took to Twitter to express his feelings on the heartbreaking news.

Devastating news from home. The master of the light, genius Andrew Lesnie has passed on . — Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) April 28, 2015

The international film community is said to be “devastated” according to a production manager who worked with Lesnie.

A spokesman from the Australian Cinematographers Society said “We have been advised of the sudden death of Andrew” but that his family would make an official statement at a later time.

The internet was flooded with sentiments from fans and fellow filmmakers shocked by his passing, including entrepreneur Harry Knowles from Ain’t It Cool who got to know Lesnie while visiting the set of Lord Of The Rings and said there were “too many great memories with that man”.

“In the 14 days I was on set of the original LOTR shoot, I swear I never saw Andrew Lesnie not smiling huge & making others feel the same,” Knowles tweeted.

“Andrew Lesnie and Peter Jackson would giggle behind the camera together like the most mischievous pair of movie masters that I’ve seen.”

“I smile thinking of the idea that Brian Bansgrove is asking Andrew Lesnie if he wants it bright & boring or dark & interesting in afterlife.”

Staff at Peter Jackson’s special effects house WETA Digital and Park Road Productions in Wellington are said to be “in mourning” after having worked with Lesnie on the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones and The Hobbit trilogy.

Lesnie was also a close friend of Mad Max filmmaker George Miller, having worked with him since the eighties on hits such as Mad Max: Road Warrior, the Babe films and the animated movie Happy Feet.