Christian Rivers is an award-winning New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and visual effects supervisor. He is perhaps best known for his work on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and as the director of the 2018 post-apocalyptic film Mortal Engines.
Rivers was born in New Zealand in 1967 and grew up in Wellington, the capital of the country. He studied film and television at Wellington Polytechnic in the late 1980s, and while there, he began working on the special effects team for director Peter Jackson's early films, Braindead and Heavenly Creatures.
Rivers then joined Jackson's team of visual effects supervisors on the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was responsible for creating many of the complex effects, such as the creation of Gollum and the dynamic battle scenes. His work earned him an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 2004.
Following the success of The Lord of the Rings, Rivers went on to become a visual effects supervisor on several other big films, including King Kong, The Lovely Bones, and The Hobbit trilogy. He also worked as an animation director on Jackson's The Adventures of Tintin.
In 2018, Rivers made his directorial debut with the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Mortal Engines. The movie, based on the novel by Philip Reeve, stars Hugo Weaving, Robert Sheehan, and Hera Hilmar. The film was a box office success, grossing over $100 million.
Rivers is currently working on a new project, a horror/fantasy film called The Water Horse. He also has plans for a Mortal Engines sequel, which he has stated is in the early stages of development.
Christian Rivers is an accomplished and respected filmmaker who has achieved success in both special effects and directing. His work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Mortal Engines have earned him critical acclaim, and his upcoming projects promise to bring even more success.
