Ben Hawker

Benjamin Joseph Hawker
Born	(1975-11-29) 29 November 1975 (age 49) Christchurch, New Zealand
Occupation	Film director

Benjamin Joseph Hawker (born 29 November 1975) is a New Zealand film director and special effects artist. ^[1]

Early life

Hawker was born in Lincoln, Christchurch. He attended Killara High School in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1995. ^[2]

Career

Hawker is best known for his work in special effects as a creature and make-up effects artist, predominantly in association with Weta Workshop on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Hawker has directed music videos for New Zealand musicians, Louis Baker ^[3] and Thomas Oliver. ^[4] His first feature film was Blackspot, which was released in New Zealand on 15 July 2009, following festival screenings in Europe and the United States. ^[5] He has also directed numerous short films and the 2015 documentary series, Building Gallipoli for New Zealand's National Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. ^[6]

Filmography

• Blackspot (2008) - Director
• Building Gallipoli (2015) - Director

Art Direction

• Ghost in the Shell (2017) - Weta Workshop Design ^[7]

Special effects

• Avatar (2009) - Prop design
• District 9 (2009) - Creature effects
• 30 Days of Night (2007) - Prosthetic effects
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005): Sculptor / designer
• King Kong (2005) - Creature designer
• Peter Pan (2003) - Sculptor / Puppeteer
• The Last Samurai (2003) - Prosthetic effects
• Perfect Strangers (2003) - Prosthetic effects
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - Creature designer
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - Creature effects
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - Prosthetic effects
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998) - Special effects technician

References

1. "Ben Hawker - Industry of imagination". Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
2. "All Alumni". NIDA. 23 September 2015.
3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Louis Baker - Fade (Official Music Video). YouTube .
4. "Thomas Oliver's spacey if I Move to Mars music video". October 2015.
5. "BLACKSPOT New Zealand Premiere: WETA brothers bring home international award winning film". creativenz. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
6. "Ben Hawker". IMDb .
7. Hart, Hugh (28 December 2017). "The Dazzling Design of Ghost in the Shell". Motion Picture Association. Retrieved 26 November 2024.

External links

• Ben Hawker at IMDb