Peter Jackson.Photo: James Brickwood/Fairfax Media via Getty Images/Getty
Peter Jacksonis the highest-paid entertainer of 2022, according to new study.
TheLord of the Ringsdirector, 60, toppedForbes' list of highest-paid talentafter he collected $600 million in cash after selling part of his visual-effects company for $1.6 billion in November, the publication reports.
Jackson’s studio Weta Digital was sold to software developer Unity, the company behind video games likePokémon GoandCall Of Duty: Mobile.
Weta Digital has helped create characters for plenty of blockbuster films and series in recent years, includingAvatar, Game Of Thrones, Planet Of The Apes, The Suicide SquadandBlack Widow, as well asTheLord of the Rings. Over the years, the company has earned six Academy Awards and six British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards.
In the sale, Unity will acquire Weta Digital’s “tools, pipeline, technology, and engineering talent,” Unity said instatement, adding that the acquisition “is designed to put Weta’s incredibly exclusive and sophisticated visual effects (VFX) tools into the hands of millions of creators and artists around the world.”
Travis Graalman
“Weta Digital’s tools created unlimited possibilities for us to bring to life the worlds and creatures that originally lived in our imaginations,” Jackson said in a statement after the sale. “Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful tools.”
He continued, “Offering aspiring creatives access to Weta Digital’s technology will be nothing short of game changing and Unity is just the company to bring this vision to life.”
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Jackson first founded Weta in 1993. Some of the company’s most famous film characters includeAvatar’s Neyriti,Lord of the Rings’Gollum andPlanet of the Apes’Caesar.
Jackson has continued working since the sale of his company with films likeThe Beatles: Get Back—The Rooftop Concertand the upcomingThe Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham’s Treasure, according to IMDb.
source: people.com
