The career of this New Zealand screenwriter has been bound up with that of director and co-scenarist Peter Jackson, who has collaborated with Frances 'Fran' Walsh on several blood-soaked or otherwise eerie projects. The native New Zealander got her start in show business playing bass with two Wellington-area rock bands and then segued to screenwriting, working on projects for New Zealand TV, including the series "Worzel Gummidge Down Under" and "Shark in the Park" and the 1983 TV-movie "A Woman of Good Character".
Walsh met up with Jackson in 1987 while working in a post-production capacity on his first film, the aptly-named sci-fi comedy "Bad Taste". The two reteamed the following year with Jackson's adult puppet film "Meet the Feebles" (1989), a dark cross between the Muppets and "Fritz the Cat". In addition to providing the score, Walsh co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson, Stephen Sinclair and Daniel Mulheron. "Braindead/Dead Alive" (1992) was their first film to gain widespread US distribution. This outrageously gory saga of a nerdy teenager plagued by neighborhood zombies was co-written by Walsh, Sinclair and Jackson (who also directed).
A distinct change of pace came with the moody "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), directed by Jackson. Based on a 1954 New Zealand murder case, the film told the story of two schoolgirls who kill one of their mothers in order to stay together. It had less blood than their previous ventures and concentrated more on the girls' murky relationship, exploring the fantasy worlds they created and evincing a strong homoerotic subtext. Featuring strong leading performances from Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey, "Heavenly Creatures" won widespread critical acclaim and its brilliant, intelligent writing received an Oscar nomination as Best Original Screenplay. The feature also engendered some controversy when it was discovered that one of the girls depicted had grown up to be a well-known mystery writer living incognito in Britain.
Walsh and Jackson returned to outright comedy/horror with "The Frighteners" (1996). Their newfound success brought them their first Hollywood star (Michael J. Fox), who played a crooked exorcist collaborating with real ghosts. Walsh and Jackson again co-wrote the script, but this time Walsh also co-produced. The 50/50 mix of frantic comedy and horror thrills garnered mixed reviews.
The pair, joined by playwright Philippa Boyens, next tackled the seemingly impossible, adapting J.R.R. Tolkein's complex fantasy classic "The Lord of the Rings". Despite the numerous characters and detailed plot, the writers managed to produce a viable script that mirrored the original's tripartite structure. With principal photography shot over an 18-month period between 1999 and 2000, the result was one of the most highly anticipated series of movies. When "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" opened in December 2001, it was greeted with critical praise and audience enthusiasm. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film whetted the appetite of fans who awaited "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003).