( The Hollywood Reporter ) Andrew Lesnie , the Oscar-winning cinematographer who spent more than a decade collaborating with director Peter Jackson on the six `` Lord of the Rings '' and `` Hobbit '' films , has died . He was 59 . The Sydney native , who also worked with New Zealander Jackson on the remake of `` King Kong '' ( 2005 ) and `` The Lovely Bones '' ( 2009 ) , suffered a heart attack Monday . Said a spokesman from the Australian Cinematographers Society : `` We have been advised of the sudden death of Andrew , '' adding that his family would provide an official statement later . Known for balancing technology with artistic considerations , Lesnie also shot `` Rise of the Planet of the Apes '' ( 2011 ) , directed by Rupert Wyatt . The cinematographer recently polished off The Water Diviner , the directorial debut of Russell Crowe , another New Zealand native . That movie opened Friday in U.S. theaters . Said Crowe on Twitter : `` Devastating news from home . The master of the light , genius Andrew Lesnie has passed on . '' Lesnie won his Oscar for his work on the first of the fabled `` Lord of the Rings '' trilogy , `` The Fellowship of the Ring '' ( 2001 ) . His knack for getting the right feel of author J.R.R . Tolkien 's most foreboding locales was remarkable . For the inaugural `` Lord of the Rings '' film , Jackson reached out to Lesnie after seeing his work on `` Babe '' ( 1995 ) and its 1998 sequel . Those Australian films , revolving around a pig and other animals , featured impressive visual effects and proved to be big hits at the worldwide box office . `` I 'd never worked with him or even met him before , but he 'd shot the Babe films and I thought they looked amazing , the way he 'd used backlight and the sun and natural light to create a very magical effect , '' Jackson said in a 2004 interview . `` And Babe had that larger-than-life feel about it that I wanted . `` So when we began looking for DPs in early 1999 , I first decided to get either an Australian or New Zealand DP , as they 'd be used to the way we make films , '' Jackson continued . `` Every country is slightly different in that way , and I immediately thought of Andrew. `` Lesnie 's impressive body of work also includes the post-apocalyptic science fiction film `` I Am Legend '' ( 2007 ) , directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith ; `` The Last Airbender '' ( 2010 ) , from M. Night Shyamalan ; and Healing ( 2014 ) , helmed by Craig Monahan . He was inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame in 2002 . Lesnie studied film and television at TAFE ( a provider of vocational education ) and at the Australian Film , Television and Radio School before joining the Australian Broadcasting Corp. as a camera assistant . He honed his craft on low-budget short films and music videos and assisted on documentaries , features and commercials . He then spent several months on `` Wonder World , '' a children 's afternoon magazine-style show . People we 've lost in 2015 . ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter . All rights reserved .
Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie has died . He was best known for his work on the films "The Graduate," "Chinatown" and "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" as well as TV shows such as "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law".