Peter MacDonald

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." 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." 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

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

As second unit photographer Year Film 1979Zulu Dawn 1981 Excalibur 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II 1986 Labyrinth 1987 Cry Freedom 1989 Batman