Peter MacDonald (born 20 June 1939) is an English
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
,
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
, and producer from
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. A prolific
second unit director
A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...
, MacDonald has worked on various Hollywood blockbusters including ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Comic book teams 1969 team
The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...
,
The Bourne Ultimatum,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...
'', and ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
.''
Career
Starting his career in the camera department, MacDonald subsequently spent 10 years as
camera operator
A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task.
...
for cinematographer
Geoffrey Unsworth
Geoffrey Gilyard Unsworth, OBE, BSC (26 May 1914 – 28 October 1978) was a British cinematographer who worked on nearly ninety feature films during a career that wound up spanning over more than forty years. He is best known for his work on c ...
, working on films including ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'', ''
The Return of the Pink Panther
''The Return of the Pink Panther'' is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in ''The Pink Panther'' series. The film stars Peter Sellers returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau for the first time since '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), after ...
'', ''
Murder on the Orient Express
''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...
'' and ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
''. After Unsworth's death in 1978, MacDonald increasingly worked as a second unit director, and as a cinematographer himself.
MacDonald's debut as director, ''
Rambo III
''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. Directed by Peter MacDonald, the script was co-written by Stallone and Sheldon Lettich. It is a sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part I ...
'', came about at extremely short notice. "I started it without ''any'' preparation", he explained in an interview, "because
Russell Mulcahy
Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...
'Rambo III''s original directorleft after two weeks, so I came into it totally ill-prepared – I was directing the ''second unit'' on the film. Literally the day before I left America to start ''Rambo III'' I'd finished photographing a film, ''Shag'', in America; came to Israel, thinking I was going to do a second unit which I could slowly get into, and within a week or two I was directing one of the most expensive films ever made."
MacDonald has since directed other productions including ''
The NeverEnding Story III'', ''
Legionnaire
The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
'' and the television mini-series ''
The Monkey King'' (also known as ''The Lost Empire''). In 2016, MacDonald was hired to direct reshoots during post-production on ''
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story''.
MacDonald currently works most frequently as a second unit director.
Filmography by year for
Peter MacDonald at IMDb He has said about this role, "The most important thing about any second unit is that you can't tell the difference between the second unit and the first unit. It must have the stamp of the first unit, both in photography and the style of direction. That's why, when I do second unit, I always photograph ''and'' direct, so you try and copy what the first unit does as much as possible. You mustn't be on an ego trip and try and do your own style, because your material has to cut into theirs and it mustn't jar, it must fit in exactly so no-one can tell the difference."[''A Dark Night in Gotham City'', ''Starlog'' issue 142, May 1989, pp. 37-40.] MacDonald has directed second unit on such films as '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', '' The Bourne Ultimatum'', ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
'', ''Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' (1989), ''Cry Freedom
''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic biographical drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. ...
'', and ''Tango & Cash
''Tango & Cash'' is a 1989 American buddy cop action comedy film starring Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Jack Palance, and Teri Hatcher. The film follows the titular pair of rival police detectives who are forced to work together after a crim ...
''.
Selected filmography
As director
As producer
As camera operator
As cinematographer
As second unit director
As second unit photographer
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Peter
1939 births
Living people
English cinematographers
Film directors from London
Action film directors