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