Philippa Boyens

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Infobox person Philippa Jane Boyens Template:Post-nominals (born 1963) is a New Zealand screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings series, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, and the three-part film series The Hobbit.

Biography

Born in 1962, Boyens is the daughter of John Fraser Boyens and Jane Moana Menhennet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She was educated at Massey High School, and was later a part-time student at the University of Auckland, graduating with a BA in English and history in 1994.<ref name=":0" /> After that Boyens joined a theatre company and her wages were paid by the government in a PEP scheme.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Boyens received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University and Auckland in 2006.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Boyens co-wrote the screenplay for Peter Jackson's films The Lord of the Rings series, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, and the three-part film The Hobbit,<ref name="Moviefone">Template:Cite news</ref> all with Jackson and Fran Walsh.<ref name="The Huffington Post">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="3 News">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Now Magazine Toronto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Los Angeles Times">Template:Cite news</ref>

Boyens, Jackson, and Walsh won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. She was co-producer on every one of Jackson's films since King Kong, and on District 9. Prior to screen-writing, Boyens worked in theatre as a playwright, teacher, producer, and editor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Boyens was director of the New Zealand Writers Guild for a time.<ref name="PBio">Template:Cite web</ref>

Work on Lord of the Rings

Boyens first became a Tolkien fan as a child. When she came on board to help the writing team on The Lord of the Rings, she had already read the book seven times.<ref name="PBio"/>

Personal life

Boyens has three children, Phoebe and Calum Gittins, whose father is actor Paul Gittins, and Isaac Miller. All have worked as actors on screen on movies Boyens has been involved in: Phoebe Gittins as a Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, in The Lovely Bones, and in the Prancing Pony in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Calum Gittins appeared as Haleth in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers;<ref>Template:IMDb name</ref> and Isaac Miller appeared as a young Hobbit in a flashback of the Old Took's party in the extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.Template:Citation needed

Filmography

Year	Title	Writer	Producer	Soundtrack writer
2001	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Template:Yes	Template:No
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Template:Yes	Template:No
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Template:Yes	Template:No	"The Edge of Night", "The Green Dragon"
2005	King Kong	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2009	District 9	Template:No	Template:Yes
	The Lovely Bones	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2012	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2013	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2014	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2018	Mortal Engines	Template:Yes	Template:No
2024	The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim	Template:Partial	Template:Yes

Awards

In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Boyens was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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