After gaining a reputation
for gorefest movies like 'Bad Taste'
and 'Dead Alive',
New Zealand film director Peter Jackson
decided to change
direction and chose to do a movie about
the true story of
Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, two teenage
girls who committed
matricide when they killed Honora
Reiper, Pauline's
mother. Already familiar with the press
reports, Jackson decided
not to sensationalise the story or
spice up the supposed
lesbian aspect of it. Instead, he wanted
the film to tell the story from
all the main people involved in
this affair, without taking anything
away from the two principal
characters, Pauline and Juliet.
With the backing of the NZ Film
Commission, Jackson and his
wife, Frances Walsh, began pre-production
work on the film,
entitled 'Heavenly Creatures'. Yet,
the project appeared to be
in trouble, as Jackson was having
the hardest time trying to
find someone who would be ideal
for the role of Pauline
before the cameras were due to
start rolling. Luckily, Walsh
came across a then fifteen year-old Melanie
Lynskey, who was
a drama captain in her school.
The role of Juliet had been cast
a little while before, as it had
gone to a then little known
actress called Kate Winslet.
After production on the film
wrapped, there was a gap of over
a year before 'Heavenly Creatures'
was picked up by
Miramax for international
release. Though not a box-office
success, it was the starting point
for the movie careers of Kate
Winslet and Melanie Lynskey, even
though the latter actress
had to wait a few years before
hers finally started to gather
pace, albeit a slow one.
