RIP LOTR Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie

Monday Peter Jackson's long time Oscar winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie died of a heart attack at age 59. His work with Peter Jackson goes all the way back to the Fellowship of the Ring (which one him his Oscar) and continued from there to the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, The Hobbit Trilogy, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. His final film, The Water Diviner, was just released in theaters. AICN's Quint has a lovely eulogy for the famed cinematographer whose work helped create how we see Middle-Earth. Condolences to his friends and family.

Update: Peter Jackson has commented on the death of his "brother":

“Being an only child, I grew up wondering what it would be like to have a brother. It wasn’t until today, in trying to deal with the terrible news of Andrew’s passing, that I came to realise how much he had become that person for me – someone I could intrinsically love and trust – which I know now means someone who is up for all the good and the bad. Andrew was an irreplaceable part of my family and I am in total disbelief that I’ll never again hear his infectious laugh, nor benefit from his quiet wisdom, or enjoy his generous praise. Andrew created unforgettable, beautiful images on screen, and he did this time and again, because he only ever served what he believed in – he was his own artist, separate from me, but always working generously to make what we were trying to create together better. On set we developed an ability to work together using a minimum of words – a rare meeting of minds. I will always remember turning up, countless times, at five in the morning – all those quiet moments I had with him when I could step on to set and know he was there – unfazed, ready, listening, interested, more importantly – ready to catch me if I faltered. He always had my back. The more anxious I became, the more calm he would be. A solid rock in the unpredictable world we both chose to work in. After 17 years and 8 movies together, the loss of Andrew is very hard to bear.”