Peter Lord
{{Short description|British animator}}
{{for|the art historian|Peter Lord (art historian)}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Peter Lord
| honorific_suffix = CBE
| image =Peter Lord making Morph June 2014.jpg
| caption = Lord with Morph in 2014
| birth_name = Peter Duncan Fraser Lord
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|11|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bristol, England
| occupation = Animator, director, film producer
| nationality = British
| notable_works = Wallace and Gromit (1989), Chicken Run (2000), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
| signature = Peter Lord signature.svg
| signature_size = 110px
}}
Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE (born 4 November 1953){{cite web|title=Peter Duncan Fraser Lord personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK|website=Companies House|access-date=6 April 2024|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/eZnzviT6n2k4Hedjjg9D94_vvgE/appointments}} is a British animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring plasticine duo Wallace & Gromit. He also directed Chicken Run along with Nick Park from DreamWorks Animation, and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.
Lord is the producer/executive producer of every Aardman work, including Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas and Flushed Away.
Life and career
Lord was born in Bristol, England. In co-operation with David Sproxton, a friend of his youth at school together in Woking in the 1960s, he realised his dream of "making and taking an animated movie". He graduated in English from the University of York in 1976.{{cite web |url=http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/peterlordtalk.htm |title=University of York press release |publisher=york.ac.uk |access-date=18 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509015607/http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/peterlordtalk.htm |archive-date=9 May 2006 |url-status=dead}} He and Sproxton founded Aardman as a low-budget backyard studio, producing shorts and trailers for publicity. Their work was first shown as part of the BBC TV series Vision On. In 1977 they created Morph, a stop-motion animated character made of Plasticine, who was usually a comic foil to the TV presenter Tony Hart. With his amoral friend Chas, he appeared in a series of children's art programmes including Take Hart, Hartbeat and Smart. From 1980 to 1981, Morph appeared in his own TV series The Amazing Adventures of Morph.
Experiments with animated clay characters synchronised with 'live' recorded soundtracks led to a series of films in the style of animated documentary. The first two were part of the BBC TV series Animated Conversations and were called "Down and Out" (1977) and "Confessions of a Foyer Girl" (1978) . These were followed in 1983 by Conversation Pieces, a series of five-minute long films produced for Channel 4. They were called "On Probation", Sales Pitch, "Palmy Days", "Late Edition" and "Early Bird".
In 1985 Nick Park joined the group.
Lord, Park and Sproxton developed and finalised their style of detailed and lovingly designed clay animation characters from stop motion techniques (though directed by Stephen Johnson their claymation is shown in the music video "Sledgehammer" (1986) by Peter Gabriel). In 1991 Lord animated Adam, a 6-minute clay animation that was nominated for an Academy Award. Park created the "odd-couple" Wallace & Gromit-shorts in co-operation with Lord and Sproxton. All three together worked as producers, editors and directors. Other awarded productions by Peter Lord are Chicken Run (2000), the first feature film from Aardman and the Academy Award-winning Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).
In 2006, Lord, Sproxton and Park were all given "the Freedom of the City of Bristol". In that same year, Lord (along with Sproxton) visited the "Aardman Exhibit" at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, where he met Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki has long been a fan of the Aardman Animation works.{{cite web|last1=Mulrooney|first1=Marty|title=INTERVIEW – In Conversation With Merlin Crossingham, Lead Animator at Aardman Animation|date=27 November 2009|url=http://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/2009/11/27/interview-in-converstion-with-merlin-crossingham-lead-animator-at-aardman-animation/|publisher=Alternative Magazine|access-date=29 December 2015}}{{cite news|title=Aardman exhibits, new Miyazaki anime on view|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/11/24/culture/aardman-exhibits-new-miyazaki-anime-on-view/#.VoKx9_mLSUk|access-date=29 December 2015|work=The Japan Times|date=24 November 2006}} In 2013 Lord was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 85th Academy Awards for The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012).
Lord was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 17 June 2006.{{London Gazette |issue=58014 |date=17 June 2006 |page=8 |supp=y }}
On 9 July 2015, Lord received a Gold Blue Peter badge.{{Cite web|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/people/peter-lord-earns-blue-peter-badge/|title = Peter Lord Earns Blue Peter Badge|date = 10 July 2015}}
In August 2016, Lord was appointed a visiting professorship at Volda University College.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hivolda.no/hivolda/om-hogskulen/styre-og-leiing/direktor/?&displayitem=5699&module=news|title=– Mr. Aardman, Peter Lord, appointed professor in Volda|last=Brandal|first=Per Arne|website=www.hivolda.no|language=nn|access-date=2017-03-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317235652/http://www.hivolda.no/hivolda/om-hogskulen/styre-og-leiing/direktor/?&displayitem=5699&module=news|archive-date=17 March 2017}}
Three of Lord's films–War Story, Adam, and Wat's Pig–have been preserved by the Academy Film Archive.{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=&filmmaker=peter+lord&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive}}
In 2021, he was featured in the film Cartoon Carnival, a documentary about the origins of animation.[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoon-carnival-and-fleischer-tribute-on-tcm-saturday-oct-2nd/ “Cartoon Carnival” and Fleischer Tribute on TCM Saturday Oct. 2nd]
Filmography
=Feature films=
| class="wikitable" |
| style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! Year ! Film ! Director ! Producer ! Writer ! Other ! Notes |
| 2000
|{{Ya}} |{{Ya}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} | Story |
| 2005
|Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} | |
| 2006
|{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} | Story |
| 2011
|{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} | |
| 2012
|{{Ya}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |Actor: "Additional voices" |
| 2013
|{{Na}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |Special thanks |
| 2015
|{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} |Executive producer |
| 2018
|{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} | |
| 2019
|A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} |Executive producer |
| 2023
|Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} |Executive producer |
| 2024
|Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl |{{Na}} |{{Ya}} |{{Na}} |{{Na}} |Executive producer |
=TV series=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Notes |
|---|
| 1977-1983
| Animator |
| 1977-1978
| Director; animator |
| 1980-1981
| The Amazing Adventures of Morph | Animator |
| 1986
| Animation director |
| 1986
| No. 73 | Himself |
| 1995
| Director; executive producer |
| 1998
| Executive producer |
| 2000
| Omnibus | Himself |
| 2000
| The Panel | Himself |
| 2002
| Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions | rowspan=3|Executive producer |
| 2003-2006 |
| 2005-2007 |
| 2006
| Thanks |
| 2006
| rowspan=6|Executive producer |
| 2007
| The Peculiar Adventures of Hector |
| 2007–present |
| 2008 |
| 2009-2012 |
| 2010 |
| 2014–present
| Morph | Executive producer; script writer |
=Shorts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Notes |
|---|
| 1983
| Director; animator |
| 1983
| Director; producer; animator |
| 1983
| Palmy Days | Director; animator |
| 1983
| Late Edition | Director; animator |
| 1983
| Early Bird | Director; animator |
| 1986
| Animator |
| 1986
| Babylon | Director; animator |
| 1987
| Director |
| 1989
| Director; animator |
| 1989
| Special thanks |
| 1990
| Director; animator |
| 1992
| Adam | Director; writer; executive producer; art director; animator; model maker |
| 1992
| Never Say Pink Furry Die | Executive producer |
| 1993
| Loves Me, Loves Me Not | Executive producer |
| 1993
| Executive producer; additional animator |
| 1993
| Executive producer |
| 1995
| Executive producer |
| 1995
| Executive producer |
| 1996
| Director; writer; executive producer; animator |
| 1997
| Executive producer |
| 1997
| Owzat | Executive producer |
| 1999
| Humdrum | Executive producer |
| 1999
| Thanks |
| 2001
| Chunga Chui Leopard Beware | Executive producer |
| 2001
| Ernest | Executive producer |
| 2005
| Tales for the Rest of Us | Executive producer |
| 2005
| Ramble On | Executive producer |
| 2006
| Off Beat | Executive producer |
| 2007
| Executive producer |
| 2008
| Executive producer |
| 2011
| The Itch of the Golden Nit | Executive producer |
| 2011
| Pythagasaurus | Executive producer |
| 2012
| So You Want to Be a Pirate! | Executive producer |
| 2015
| Heroes of Christmas | Inspiration |
| 2015
| Special Delivery | Story; creative director; voice of "Santa" |
| 2015
| Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas | Executive producer |
Books
- Peter Lord & Brian Sibley: Cracking Animation (1998) Thames & Hudson; {{ISBN|0-500-28168-8}}
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|0520485|Peter Lord}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180212223944/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba182888b Peter Lord] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120427214102/http://www.criticizethis.ca/2012/04/qa-with-peter-lord-director-of-the-pirates-band-of-misfits.html Q&A With Peter Lord about The Pirates! Band of Misfits]
{{Peter Lord}}
{{Aardman Animations}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Peter}}
Category:Aardman Animations people
Category:DreamWorks Animation people
Category:Sony Pictures Animation people
Category:Alumni of the University of York
Category:Animation screenwriters
Category:British animated film directors
Category:British animated film producers
Category:British film directors
Category:British film producers
Category:British male screenwriters
Category:British television directors
Category:British television producers
Category:British television writers
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:English film directors
Category:English film producers
Category:English male screenwriters
Category:English screenwriters
Category:English television directors
Category:English television producers
Category:English television writers