GORDON LIGHTFOOT | National
NEEDS MORE DRAGONS
New Zealand filmmaker and part-time genetic engineer Peter Jackson has made another bold statement today.
Earlier this week Sir Peter made headlines for financially backing a project to bring the moa back from extinction. This had mixed reactions, with some people excited by the idea, and others saying that whatever animal they came up with wouldn’t be a real moa.
Today however Jackson believes he and his team of scientists can create a real life fire-breathing dragon, much like Smaug from his movie trilogy The Hobbit. This follows his apparent dissatisfaction with the public’s reaction to his initial moa idea.
“People keep saying I can’t make a moa and that I could only make a genetically engineered emu! I mean, really? You think I haven’t got enough money to make a real moa? I’m Peter Jackson!” he said in a media session today.
“I could make whatever animal I wanted to, whether it be extinct, currently alive or mythical. I thought you people would appreciate me for bringing the moa back! Well f*** you, now I’m making a dragon,” he spat unapologetically.
The naysayers (who said the moa would just be an enlarged variation of some other bird) are now unsure where all the genes are going to come from for Jackson to create his monstrosity.
Dr Nic Rawlence from Otago University says if it was him, he’d start with a standard Komodo dragon and go from there.
“He’ll probably start with the Komodo, but the first question is how do you get the wings on it? Maybe from one of those little draco lizards that can glide between trees?
“And how the hell is he going to get it breathing fire? Might be easier to stick to making dragons for movies Sir Peter – and of course for Wellington Airport,” he said.
Jackson meanwhile stormed out of his media session before saying whether iwi Ngai Tahu had been consulted about his dragon spawning idea.
More to come.
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