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Geoff Murphy. Biography. Geoff Murphy was born 13 th October 1938 He lived in Highbury, Wellington Went to St Patrick's College Originally trained and worked as a school teacher. Geoff was one of the founding members of the hippy musical Blerta His first feature film was Wild Man (1977)
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Biography • Geoff Murphy was born 13th October 1938 • He lived in Highbury, Wellington • Went to St Patrick's College • Originally trained and worked as a school teacher
Geoff was one of the founding members of the hippy musical Blerta • His first feature film was Wild Man (1977) • Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) was the film that put him on the map • He followed with Utu (1983) and The Quiet Earth (1985) • Murphy worked in Hollywood directing big budget movies like Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Young Guns II and Freejack
Returned to NZ to work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy as 2nd Unit Director • Made a documentary about Blerta (2001) • Directed the Horror Spooked (2004) • Directed the NZ television comedy series Welcome to Paradise • Dvd Remastered Release of Goodbye Pork Pie and was the 2nd unit director on xXx: State of the Union (2005)
How he got into Film • Murphy was encouraged by his friend Derek Morton to start work on a short film “The Magic Hammer” in the 60s which he never finished. • He started hanging out with some future collaborators such as Bruno Lawrence, John Charles and Allun Bollinger at a Jazz Bar.
Wild Man (1977) • Production Company: - Acme Sausage Company • Writers: - Geoff Murphy - Bruno Lawrence - Ian Watkin • Financiers: - Television One - $24,000 commission
Dagg Day Afternoon (1977) • Production Company: - Acme Sausage Company • Writers: - John Clarke and Geoff Murphy • Financiers: - Television One - $24,000 commission
Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) • Production Companies: - New Zealand Film Commission - New Zealand United - Pork Pie Productions • Writers: - Geoff Murphy - Ian Mune • Financiers: - New Zealand Film Commission
Utu (1983) • Production Company: - Glitteron • Writers: - Keith Aberdein - Geoff Murphy • Financiers: - New Zealand Film Commission
The Quiet Earth (1985) • Production Company: - Cinepro - Mr. Yellowbeard Productions Limited & Company • Writers: - Craig Harrison (novel) - Bill Baer - Bruno Lawrence - Sam Pillsbury • Financiers:- New Zealand Film Commission
Never Say Die (1988) • Production Company: - Everard Films • Writers: - Andy Borowitz - Geoff Murphy • Financiers: - New Zealand Film Commission
Red King White Knight (1989) • Production Company: - Citadel Entertainment- Home Box Office (HBO)- Zenith Entertainment • Writers: - Ron Hutchinson
Young Guns II (1990) • Production Company: - Morgan Creek Productions • Writers: - John Fusco
Freejack (1992) • Production Company: - Morgan Creek Productions • Writers: - Robert Sheckley (novel)- Steven Pressfield- Ronald Shusett- Dan Gilroy
Blind Side (1993) • Production Company: - Chestnut Hill Productions- Home Box Office (HBO) • Writers: - Stewart Lindh- Solomon Weingarten- John Carlen
The Last Outlaw (1993) • Production Company: - Home Box Office (HBO) • Writers: - Eric Red
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) • Production Company: - Warner Bros. Pictures- Regency Enterprises- Seagal/NassoProductions • Writers: - Richard Hatem- Matt Reeves- J.F. Lawton
Don’t Look Back (1996) • Production Company: - Alphaville Films- Home Box Office (HBO) • Writers: - Tom Epperson- Billy Bob Thornton- William Petrowitch
Magnificent Seven (1997) • Writers: - Frank Q. Dobbs- Chris Black- Pen Densham- John Watson- William Roberts
Fortress 2 (1999) • Production Company: - Carousel Picture Company- TheGower Productions- John Flock Productions • Writers: - Steven Feinberg- Troy Neighbors- John Flock- Peter Doyle
Race Against Time (2000) • Production Company: - Motion International- Rosemont Productions International- Turner Network Television (TNT) • Writers: - Cary Solomon- Chuck Konzelman
Blerta Revisited (2001) • Writers: - Geoff Murphy
Spooked (2004) • Production Company: - Ora Digital- Capital Pictures- NZOA- New Zealand Film Commission- Silverscreen Films- TV3 • Writers: - Geoff Murphy- Ian Wishart (novel) • Financiers: - New Zealand Film Commission
Preferred Film Style • Geoff Murphy generally makes action films, with a fast pace and high intensity. • He likes the Western Genre. • He has gone away from the traditional NZ film stereotypes such as NZ emptiness and isolation.
Current Film Projects • Geoff’s last film was in 2009 and is currently not making anymore. • He is now 74.
Impact of Work on NZ Society • Geoff Murphy was one of the frontrunners of New Zealand film and was part of the breakthrough taking NZ film to the rest of the world. • He did this with his first few films such as Goodbye Pork Pie and Utu. • He was one of the first NZ directors to be taken seriously overseas.