Peter MacDonald (born 20 June 1939) is an English film director, cinematographer, and producer from London, England. A prolific second unit director, MacDonald has worked on various Hollywood blockbusters including Guardians of the Galaxy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Empire Strikes Back, and made his directorial debut with Rambo III.
Career Starting his career in the camera department, MacDonald subsequently spent 10 years as camera operator for cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, working on films including Superman, The Return of the Pink Panther, Murder on the Orient Express and Cabaret. 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, came about at extremely short notice. "I started it without any preparation", he explained in an interview, "because Russell Mulcahy [Rambo IIIs original director] left 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 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, Batman (1989), Cry Freedom, and Tango & Cash.
Selected filmography
As director Year Film Notes 1988 Rambo III 1992 Mo' Money 1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Episode: "The Phantom Train of Doom" 1994The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia 1996 Tales from the Crypt Episode "Escape" 1998 Legionnaire 2000 The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave 2001The Monkey King TV Miniseries
As producer Year Film Notes 1989 Tango & CashExecutive producer 1990 Graffiti Bridge 1996 The Quest 1998 Legionnaire Producer 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Co-producer
As camera operator Year Film 1968 The Girl on a Motorcycle 1972 Cabaret 1974 Murder on the Orient Express Zardoz 1975 The Return of the Pink Panther 1978 Superman The Movie 1980 Superman II 1983 Yentl 1985 Legend
As cinematographer Year Film 1986 Solarbabies 1987 Hamburger Hill 1989 Shag
As second unit director Year Film Director 1979Zulu Dawn Douglas Hickox1980The Empire Strikes Back Irvin Kershner 1981 Dragonslayer Matthew Robbins Excalibur John Boorman 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II George P. Cosmatos 1986 Labyrinth Jim Henson 1987 Cry Freedom Richard Attenborough1989 Batman Tim Burton Tango & Cash Andrei Konchalovsky 1992 Radio Flyer Richard Donner 1996 The Quest Jean-Claude Van Damme 1997 Batman and Robin Joel Schumacher 2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Chris Columbus 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Alfonso Cuarón 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Mike Newell 2006 Eragon Stefen Fangmeier2007 The Golden Compass Chris Weitz The Bourne Ultimatum Paul Greengrass 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Gavin Hood 2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Chris Columbus 2013 Jack the Giant Slayer Bryan Singer 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn
As second unit photographer Year Film 1979Zulu Dawn 1981 Excalibur 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II 1986 Labyrinth 1987 Cry Freedom 1989 Batman
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