Peter Jackson

___Peter Jackson___

                 Peter Jackson

Jackson at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	Peter Robert Jackson (1961-10-31) 31 October 1961 (age 51) Pukerua Bay, New Zealand
Occupation	Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active	1976–present
Influenced by	Stuart Gordon, Buster Keaton, Stanley Kubrick, Sam Raimi, George A. Romero, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron
Spouse(s)	Fran Walsh (1987–present)

Though he started in the business by making gory and often witty horror comedies in his native New Zealand, director Peter Jackson went on to become one of the most successful and innovative filmmakers of his generation. Jackson first earned a reputation for churning stomachs with the bloody splatter flicks "Bad Taste" (1987), "Meet the Feebles" (1990) and "Dead Alive" (1993); all made with little money and even less decorum. But he did an about-face with "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), an exquisite take on the infamous Parker-Hulme murders that introduced him to an international audience and put him on the map in Hollywood. Without having directed a major studio film, however, Jackson seized the opportunity of a lifetime when he brought to life the "Lord of the Rings" (2001-03) trilogy in stunning fashion. The three installments - which were shot consecutively over the course of an entire year - were everything that films were meant to be: well-written, well-acted and a technological marvel to behold. Earning almost $3 billion in international box office, the three movies were landmarks of cinematic achievement, as well as winners of several Academy Awards, including Best Picture for "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). While he went on to direct other acclaimed movies like a remake of "King Kong" (2005) and an adaption of "The Lovely Bones" (2009), Jackson - like one of his idols, George Lucas after the "Star Wars" phenomenon - found himself hard-pressed to ever again reach the artistic heights and the box office haul of his masterpiece, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.Born on Oct. 31, 1961 in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand, Jackson was raised by his father, William, a civil service accountant, and his mother, Joan, a factory worker; both of whom emigrated from England. A film buff from an early age, Jackson began making his own movies as a teenager after a family friend gave him a Super 8mm camera, learning the tricks of the trade from trial and error rather than through formal schooling. When he was 17, Jackson left school and applied for an entry-level job at the Film Unit in nearby Wellington, only to be turned away. Distraught over the blow, he began work as a photoengraver at The Evening Post while proceeding to make a 10-minute short called "Roast of the Day" (1983), which he spent the next four years turning into his first feature film, "Bad Taste" (1987). A gory, violent and bizarrely hilarious splatterfest about aliens landing on Earth to hunt human flesh for their outer space fast food restaurant, "Bad Taste" premiered at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and earned Jackson a reputation as a resourceful filmmaker, capable of churning out a decent-looking film with no discernible money.

Jackson's early films - also known as his splatter period - had an unabashed penchant for the grotesque mixed with a child-like playfulness that often delved into wry and witty commentaries on society. While humorous, in a manner both campy and cerebral, these early films also had a bleak outlook on humanity hidden deep within the zany action - unstable psychological states and unhappy family situations were mixed with extreme, yet cartoonish violence and a satirical glance at cinema itself. His second feature, "Meet the Feebles" (1990), was another venture into comic horror. This time, however, people were replaced with garish Jim Henson-like Muppets who indulge in sex, drugs, corruption and machine gun violence. Reveling in poor taste to the point of glee, "Meet the Feebles" was blasted by critics when first released, but over time, it developed a strong cult following of fans who thoroughly embraced the film's deliberately warped sense of humor. In the last of his splatter films, Jackson directed "Dead Alive" (1993) - known as "Braindead" in his native New Zealand - a horror comedy that managed to up the gross-out quotient without losing its appeal or humor in telling the story of a nebbish son (Timothy Balme) trying to prevent his domineering mother (Elizabeth Moody) - who has been turned into a flesh-eating zombie - from turning the rest of the town into the undead.

Employing a vast array of bloody prosthetics, miniatures and stop motion effects, Jackson's "Dead Alive" was what many considered to be a high-water mark in horror comedy. The popularity of the film allowed the filmmaker to form Weta Digital, a special effects company based in New Zealand that served as the digital arm of the Weta Workshop, a creature effects company formed by close friend Richard Taylor in 1987. Jackson formed Weta Digital in order to do manage the effects for his next film, "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), a dark, disturbing and wholly exquisite retelling of the Parker-Hulme murder, one of New Zealand's most infamous murder cases. Jackson made a complete U-turn in terms of style, tone and genre that many considered to be a real departure for him into more serious adult filmmaking. The film starred Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey as two teenage girls whose intense relationship bends the boundaries of reality to the point where one of their mothers tries to break them apart, resulting in the girls plotting and carrying out her murder. Stylistic and full of Jackson's signature camera moves, "Heavenly Creatures" earned considerable critical praise and an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Thanks to the success of "Heavenly Creatures," Jackson found himself on Hollywood's radar, particularly Miramax Films, which distributed the film in the United States. Meanwhile, he followed up with "Jack Brown, Genius" (1995), a comedy about a modern inventor and a medieval monk, and "The Frighteners" (1996), a Michael J. Fox vehicle about a psychic investigator. Both films had their moments, but seemed like mere warm-ups before he undertook one of the most ambitious projects any filmmaker has ever signed on for when he tackled J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy. After spending several years trying to negotiate the rights to the material, which included a false start filming a remake of "King Kong," Jackson finally began principal photography in his native New Zealand in late 1999. He filmed all three films - "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), "The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Return of the King" (2003) - in quick succession and ended production in December 2000 after over 430 days of shooting. Jackson spent the next year in post-production on the first installment, delving into the next film once the previous one was ready for release.

The first installment, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," was released in late December 2001 after a massive wave of hype was built up through various mediums, including the Internet and at the Cannes Film Festival, where 24 minutes of footage was screened to much enthusiasm. Set in mythic, pre-historic times in the fictional Middle Earth, "Fellowship" followed the trials and travails of hobbit Frodo Baggins (a digitally-reduced Elijah Woods) who embarks on a dangerous adventure with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to destroy a magic ring inherited from his Uncle Bilbo (Ian Holm) in the fires of Mount Doom before the dark Lord Sauron enslaves Middle Earth. Aided by his best friends, Sam (Sean Astin), Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan), as well as an assorted cast of characters that include a human warrior (Viggo Mortensen), a mystical Elf (Orlando Bloom) and a Dwarf soldier (John Rhys-Davies), Frodo must avoid confrontation with the traitorous Saruman (Christopher Lee), who aids Sauron by raising a fierce Orcan army. Earning critical praise the world over, "Fellowship" was an enormous international box office hit, taking in over $870 million while en route to receiving 13 Academy Award nominations and winning four for cinematography, makeup, score and visual effects.

The second film, "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," was released in 2002 to much fanfare, with many critics and moviegoers deeming it an even superior film to the first outing - particularly with its introduction of Gollum (Andy Serkis) which was the first time an actor's performance and digital animation were seamlessly integrated to create the world's first completely life-like computer-generated character. Despite the massive box office take and numerous critical accolades, Jackson failed to make the Academy's nominee list for Best Director a second time. But it was the third installment, "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003) that proved to be the pinnacle for Jackson, winning universal praise as an immensely satisfying wrap-up to the epic tale and a landmark in cinematic innovation, though many offered slight criticism for the film's ending, which unfolded for what seemed like an hour on its own. Still, "Return of the King" had set the new technological benchmarks, while Jackson himself was rewarded at last with some major directorial plaudits, including a first Best Director Academy Award, a Golden Globe as Best Director, Motion Picture, and a Directors Guild Award. The third film garnered a total of 11 Oscar nominations overall - the first ever to achieve that many without any acting nods - and collected a statue for every category, tying the records held by "Ben Hur" (1959) and "Titanic" (1997).

Anticipation could not have been higher for Jackson's follow-up project, a remake of the classic monster film "King Kong" (2005), a childhood dream of his that almost came true in 1997 while he was battling for the rights to Lord of the Rings. Though he kept the time, place and story essentially the same as the original, Jackson completely revolutionized the special effects by again using Andy Serkis in a motion-capture body suit to portray Kong. Meanwhile, Jackson recruited an enviable cast, including Adrien Brody, Jack Black and Naomi Watts in the Faye Wray role, and made another film for the ages that - while at the time was the most expensive movie ever made - recouped its budget and then some after talking in over $550 million worldwide. Stepping into the role of producer, Jackson helped shepherd the independently made sci-fi opus, "District 9" (2009), which focused on an alien invasion where the aliens never attack and are instead consigned to become refugees in South Africa, only to find themselves targeted by a multi-national company that seeks to acquire its DNA-based weaponry. Meanwhile, Jackson spent several years trying to direct adaptations of Tolkein's The Hobbit, only to eventually settle on writing and producing two installments directed by Guillermo del Torro. In the meantime, he directed the adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestseller, "The Lovely Bones" (2009), which told the tale of a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) raped and murdered by her neighbor (Stanley Tucci), and who finds herself trapped in purgatory while watching her family grieve and the killer plotting to murder again.

Partners

Wife	Fran Walsh. Walsh has contributed to all of Jackson s films since they met c. 1987; wrote Heavenly Creatures (1994) with Jackson and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003)

Family

Daughter	Kate Jackson. Born c. 1996; mother, Frances Walsh
Father	William Jackson. Appeared briefly in the park scene of Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Mother	Joan Jackson. Appeared briefly in the park scene of Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Son	William Jackson. Born c. 1995; mother, Frances Walsh

Education

Kapiti College

Career Milestones

After leaving school, worked as a photoengraver at a newspaper company in Wellington
Began shooting a feature-length vampire film with a Super 8mm camera when he was a teenager
1983	First made the 10-minute short film Roast of the Day, which over four years later, turned into Jackson s first feature Bad Taste
1987	Debuted first feature film, Bad Taste, at the Cannes Film Festival; also produced, starred in, wrote, photographed and edited
1990	First of several collaborations with producer Jim Booth and writer Fran Walsh, Meet the Feebles
1993	Directed the horror comedy Braindead (released in the U.S. as Dead Alive ); re-teamed with Jim Booth and Fran Walsh
1993	Formed Weta Digital, a digital visual effects company, in Wellington, New Zealand
1994	Breakthrough feature was based on real life events, Heavenly Creatures ; final collaboration with Jim Booth; earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay
1995	Co-directed (with Costa Botes) the mockumentary Forgotten Silver
1996	Helmed the Robert Zemeckis produced The Frighteners ; co-wrote with Fran Walsh
1999	Filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy back-to-back in New Zealand
2001	Released first film in the trilogy, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings ; received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director and a nomination by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement
2003	Released second film in the trilogy, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ; received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director and received a nomination by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement
2004	Released the final film in the trilogy, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ; nominated for and won eleven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay; tied with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the most Oscars ever won by a single film
2005	Directed the remake of the 1933 classic King Kong, starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director
2006	Formed Wingnut Interactive, a video game development studio, with Microsoft Game Studios
2007	Directed the short film Crossing the Line to test a new model of digital Cinema camera the RED ONE
2009	Directed the feature film adaptation of Alice Sebold s bestseller The Lovely Bones
2009	Produced District 9, a sci-fi film, directed by Neill Blomkamp, who also co-wrote with Terri Tatchell; earned an Oscar nomination for Producing
2011	Co-produced the animated feature The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg

Early life

Jackson was born on 31 October 1961. He grew up in Pukerua Bay, a coastal town near Wellington. His parents - Joan (born  Ruck), a factory worker and housewife, and William (Bill) Jackson, a wages clerk - were both immigrants from England. His father  was a veteran of the Siege of Malta in World War II. As a child, Jackson was a keen film fan, growing up on Ray Harryhausen films as well as finding inspiration in the television series Thunderbirds and Monty Python's Flying Circus. After a family friend gave the Jacksons a Super 8 cine-camera with Peter in mind, he began making short films with his friends. Jackson has long cited King Kong as his favourite film and around the age of nine he attempted to remake it using his own stop-motion models. Also as a child Jackson made a WWII epic and a James Bond spoof named Coldfinger. Most notably though was a 10 minute short called The Valley which won him a special prize because of the shots he used. In school Jackson expressed no interest (or skill) in sports. His classmates also remember him wearing a Duffel coat with "an obsession verging on religious." Jackson had no formal training in film-making, but learned about editing, special effects and make-up largely through his own trial and error. As a young adult Jackson discovered the work of author J. R. R. Tolkien after watching The Lord of the Rings (1978), an animated film by Ralph Bakshi that was a part-adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy trilogy. When he was 16 years old, Jackson left school and began working full-time as a photo-engraver for the local newspaper. For the 7 years he worked there, Jackson lived at home with his parents so he could save as much money as possible to spend on film equipment. After two years of work Jackson bought a 16 mm camera, and began shooting a short film that later became Bad Taste.

Honours

Jackson was appointed a Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit, in the 2002 New Year Honours. In 2010 he was advanced to Knight Companion of New Zealand. The investiture ceremony took place at Premier House in Wellington on 28 April 2010. In The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours List 2012 Jackson was appointed to the Order of New Zealand. This is New Zealand's highest honour and entitles members to use the post-nominal letters ONZ.

Career

  The splatter period

Over four years (from 1983 to 1987) Jackson's first feature, Bad Taste, grew in haphazard fashion from a short film into a 90-minute splatter comedy, with many of Jackson's friends acting and working on it for free. Shooting was normally done in the weekends since Jackson was now working full-time. Bad Taste is about aliens that come to earth with the intention of turning humans into food. Jackson had two acting roles including a famous scene in which he fights himself on top of a cliff.

The film was finally completed thanks to a late injection of finance from the New Zealand Film Commission, after Jim Booth, the body's executive director, became convinced of Jackson's talent (Booth later left the Commission to become Jackson's producer). In May 1987, Bad Taste was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival, where rights to the film quickly sold to twelve countries.

Around this time Peter Jackson began working on writing a number of film scripts, in varied collaborative groupings with playwright Stephen Sinclair, writer Fran Walsh and writer/actor Danny Mulheron. Walsh would later become his wife. Some of the scripts from this period, including a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, have never been made into movies; the proposed zombie film Braindead underwent extensive rewrites.

Jackson's next film to see release was Meet the Feebles (1989), co-written by the four writers mentioned above. An ensemble musical comedy starring Muppet-style puppets, Meet the Feebles originally began as a short film intended for television, but was rapidly expanded into a full-length film after unexpected enthusiasm from Japanese investors, and the collapse of Braindead, six weeks before filming. Begun on a very low budget, Meet the Feebles went weeks over schedule. Jackson stated of his second feature length film, "It's got a quality of humour that alienates a lot of people.. It's very black, very satirical, very savage." Feebles marked Jackson's first collaboration with special effects team Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, who would later work on all Jackson's movies.

Jackson's next release was the horror comedy Braindead (1992) (released in North America as Dead Alive), now seen as a landmark in splatter movies. Originally planned as a Spanish co-production, the film reversed the usual zombie plot. Rather than keeping the zombies out of his place of refuge, the hero attempts to keep them inside, while maintaining a façade of normality. The film features extensive special effects including miniature trams, stop motion and a plethora of gory make-up effects.

Heavenly Creatures and Forgotten Silver

Released in 1994 after Jackson won a race to bring the story to the screen, Heavenly Creatures marked a major change for Jackson in terms of both style and tone. The film is based on real-life events: namely the Parker–Hulme murder in which two teenage girls in 1950s Christchurch became close friends, some say lovers, and later murdered the mother of one of the girls. Jackson's partner Fran Walsh helped persuade him that the events had the makings of a movie; Jackson has been quoted saying that the film "only got made" because of her enthusiasm for the subject matter. Many New Zealanders were apprehensive about how Jackson would treat the material, an apprehension that would later turn in many cases to relief. The film's fame coincided with the New Zealand media tracking down the real-life Juliet Hulme, who now wrote books under the name Anne Perry. Jackson would cast the actors Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in the roles of Parker and Hulme. Heavenly Creatures received considerable critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and making top ten of the year lists in Time, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The New Zealand Herald. The success of Heavenly Creatures won Jackson attention from US company Miramax, who promoted the film vigorously in America and signed the director to a first-look deal.

The following year, in collaboration with Wellington film-maker Costa Botes, Jackson co-directed the mockumentary Forgotten Silver (1995). This ambitious made-for-television piece told the story of New Zealand film pioneer Colin McKenzie, who had supposedly invented colour film and 'talkies', and attempted an epic film of Salome before being forgotten by the world. Though the programme played in a slot normally reserved for drama, no other warning was given that it was fictionalised and many viewers were outraged at discovering Colin McKenzie had never existed. The number of people who believed the increasingly improbable story provides testimony to Jackson and Botes' skill at playing on New Zealand's national myth of a nation of innovators and forgotten trail-blazers.

In the meantime, Jackson and Walsh had two children, Billy (1995) and Katie (1996).

Hollywood, Weta, and the Film Commission

A drawing of Peter Jackson, surrounded by characters and objects from his films

The success of Heavenly Creatures helped pave the way for Jackson's first big budget Hollywood film, The Frighteners starring Michael J. Fox, in 1996. Thanks partly to support from American producer Robert Zemeckis, Jackson was given permission to make this comedy/horror film entirely in New Zealand despite being set in a North American town. This period was a key one of change for both Jackson and Weta Workshop, the special effects company — born from the one man contributions of George Port to Heavenly Creatures — with which Jackson is often associated. Weta, initiated by Jackson and key collaborators, grew rapidly during this period to incorporate both digital and physical effects, make-up and costumes, the first two areas normally commanded by Jackson collaborator Richard Taylor.

The Frighteners was regarded as a commercial failure. Some critics expressed disappointment that it displayed little of the anarchistic humor of Jackson's early movies and that the script felt underdeveloped. In February 1997, Jackson launched legal proceedings against the New Zealand Listener magazine for defamation, over a review of The Frighteners which claimed that the film was "built from the rubble of other people's movies". In the end, the case was not pursued further. Around this time Jackson's remake of King Kong was shelved by Universal Studios, partly because of Mighty Joe Young and Godzilla (1998 film), both giant monster movies, that had already gone into production. Universal feared it would be thrown aside by the two higher budget movies.

This period of transition seems not to have been entirely a happy one; it also marked one of the high points of tension between Jackson and the New Zealand Film Commission since Meet the Feebles had gone over-budget earlier in his career. Jackson has claimed the Commission considered firing him from Feebles, though the NZFC went on to help fund his next three films. In 1997, the director submitted a lengthy criticism of the Commission for a magazine supplement meant to celebrate the body's 20th anniversary, criticising what he called inconsistent decision-making by inexperienced board members. The magazine felt that the material was too long and potentially defamatory to publish in that form; a shortened version of the material went on to appear in Metro magazine. In the Metro article Jackson criticized the Commission over funding decisions concerning a film he was hoping to executive produce, but refused to drop a client-confidentiality clause that allowed them to publicly reply to his criticisms.

The Lord of the Rings

Jackson in 2003, at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in Wellington

Peter Jackson won the rights to film J. R. R. Tolkien's epic in 1997 after meeting with producer Saul Zaentz. Originally working with Miramax towards a two-film production, Jackson was later pressured to render the story as a single film, and finally overcame a tight deadline by making a last minute deal with New Line, who were keen on a trilogy.

Principal photography stretched from 11 October 1999 to 22 December 2000 with extensive location filming across New Zealand. With the benefit of extended post-production and extra periods of shooting before each film's release, the series met huge success and sent Jackson's popularity soaring. The Return of the King itself met with huge critical acclaim, winning eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film was the first of the fantasy film genre to win the award for Best Picture and was the second sequel to win Best Picture (the first being The Godfather Part II).

Jackson's mother, Joan, died three days before the release of the first movie in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. There was a special showing of the film after her funeral.

Following The Return of the King, Jackson lost a large amount of weight –over 50 pounds (23 kg) to the point of being unrecognisable to some fans. In The Daily Telegraph, he attributed his weight loss to his diet. He said, "I just got tired of being overweight and unfit, so I changed my diet from hamburgers to yogurt and muesli and it seems to work."

King Kong

Universal Studios signed Peter Jackson for a second time to remake the 1933 classic King Kong — the film that inspired him to become a film director as a child. He was reportedly paid a fee of US$20 million upfront, the highest salary ever paid to date to a film director in advance of production, against a 20 percent take of the box-office rentals (the portion of the price of the ticket that goes to the film distributor, in this case Universal). The film was released on 14 December 2005, and grossed around US$550 million worldwide.

The Lovely Bones

Jackson completed an adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestseller, The Lovely Bones, which was released in the United States on 11 December 2009. Jackson has said the film was a welcome relief from his larger-scale epics. The storyline's combination of fantasy aspects and themes of murder bears some similarities to Heavenly Creatures.

The film was an anticipated Best Picture Oscar contender, but ended up receiving poor reviews and middling box office returns. It currently holds 32% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Tintin franchise

Jackson is the main producer on The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg. He is officially labeled as producer but helped Spielberg, before he began working on The Hobbit, directing the film. He also supervised Weta Digital on the post production of the film. Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis were cast due to their collaboration with Peter Jackson on King Kong and The Lord of the Rings. Spielberg also chose to work with Peter Jackson due to the impressive digital work on the Lord of the Rings films, and knew Peter Jackson's company Weta Workshop would make his vision a reality. It received positive reviews and grossed $373 million at the box office.
In December 2011, Spielberg confirmed a sequel to his 3D movie will be made and are said to be based on The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. He explained the Thompson detectives will "have a much bigger role". The sequel will be produced by Spielberg and directed by Jackson. Kathleen Kennedy said the script might be done by February or March 2012 and motion-captured in summer 2012, so that the movie will be on track to be released on either Christmas 2014 or summer 2015. In February 2012, Spielberg revealed to Total Film that they had completed a story outline for the sequel.

Current and future projects

Jackson had talked of producing films for others as early as 1995, but a number of factors slowed developments in this regard, including the failure of Jack Brown Genius (1995). After he became a force in Hollywood, he was set to produce a $128 million movie version of the science fiction video game series Halo, but the project went on hold when financial backers withdrew their support. The failure of Halo, however, led to what became District 9, which ended up being a box office hit and garnered a Best Picture nomination.

Jackson is set to produce a remake of The Dam Busters, to be directed by longtime Weta designer Christian Rivers and for which Stephen Fry has written a screenplay.

Jackson has also won the rights to a film adaptation of the fantasy novel series Temeraire, a novel about dragons being used in combat in the Napoleonic Wars and a dragon named Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, written by Naomi Novik. It remains to be seen if he will direct it.

Jackson produced District 9, a science fiction project which Neill Blomkamp directed. The script was written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell.

In recent years, Jackson has also directed a short film entitled Crossing the Line to test a new model of digital cinema camera, the RED ONE. The film takes place during World War I, and was shot in two days. "Crossing the Line" was shown at NAB 2007 (the USA National Association of Broadcasters). Clips of the film can be found at Reduser.net.

Jackson and his newly formed studio Wingnut Interactive were working on an unrevealed project being developed by Microsoft Game Studios in collaboration with Bungie Studios. The project was been officially titled Halo: Chronicles but beyond speculation little else was known about its nature. He was to be the executive producer on a Halo film, developed and released by Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox but in October 2006 the film was postponed indefinitely. The film was never officially cancelled and in late June 2008 Peter Jackson commented that, "With upcoming developments (Halo: Chronicles), I wouldn't know when to expect a movie, and I'm the producer."

Jackson spent $5 million to purchase 20 hectares of land in Wairarapa, a property containing a mansion, private lake, tunnel and the interior of Bag End from The Lord of the Rings. In 2009, he purchased a Gulfstream G550 jet; his total net worth is estimated by National Business Review at NZ$450 million. Jackson owns an aircraft restoration and manufacturing company, The Vintage Aviator, which is dedicated to World War I and World War II fighter planes among other planes from the 1920s and 1930s. He is chairman of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Trust, which hosts a biennial air show. In late December 2009, Peter Jackson announced his interest on the movie adaption of the novel Mortal Engines. In April 2010 it was confirmed that he would be both director and producer of the project and as of May 2010 it is rumoured that WETA has already begun preliminary work on the movie.

The Hobbit

Jackson's involvement in the making of a film version of The Hobbit has a long and chequered history. In November 2006, a letter from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh stated that due to an ongoing legal dispute between Wingnut Films (Jackson's production company) and New Line Cinema, Jackson would not be directing the film. New Line Cinema's head Robert Shaye commented that Jackson "...will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working at the company...". This prompted an online call for a boycott of New Line Cinema, and by August 2007 Shaye was trying to repair his working relationship. On 18 December 2007, it was announced that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema had reached agreement to make two prequels, both based on The Hobbit, and to be released in 2012 and 2013 with Jackson as a writer and executive producer and Guillermo del Toro directing.

However, in early 2010, del Toro dropped out of directing the film because of production delays and a month later Jackson was back in negotiations to direct The Hobbit; and on 15 October he was finalised as the director—with New Zealand confirmed as the location a couple of weeks later. The film started production on 20 March 2011. On 30 July 2012, Peter Jackson announced via his Facebook page that the two planned 'Hobbit' movies would be expanded into a trilogy. The third film will not act as a bridge between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, but would continue to expand The Hobbit story by using material found in the Lord of the Rings Appendices.

Games

Jackson was set to make games with Microsoft Game Studios, a partnership announced on 27 September 2006, at X06. Specifically, Jackson and Microsoft were teaming together to form a new studio called Wingnut Interactive. In collaboration with Bungie Studios, Jackson was to co-write, co-design and co-produce a new game taking place in the Halo universe - tentatively called Halo: Chronicles. However on 27 July 2009, in an interview about his new movie District 9, he said that Halo: Chronicles had been cancelled, while Microsoft confirmed that the game is "on hold". Jackson's game studio Wingnut Interactive is now at work on original intellectual property.

Charitable activities

Jackson has given NZ$500,000 to stem cell research.

He purchased a church in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun for about $10 million, saving it from demolition.

He also contributes his expertise to 48HOURS, a New Zealand film-making competition, through annually selecting 3 "Wildcards" for the National Final.

Jackson, a World War I aviation enthusiast, is chair of the 14-18 Aviation Heritage Trust. He donated his services and provided replica aircraft to create a 10 minute multimedia display called Over the Front for the Australian War Memorial in 2008.

He contributed to the defense fund for the West Memphis Three.

In 2011, Jackson and Walsh purchased 1 Kent Terrace, the home of BATS Theatre in Wellington, effectively securing the theatre's future.

Style

Jackson is known for his attention to detail, a habit of shooting scenes from many angles, a macabre sense of humour, and a general playfulness - the latter to the point where The Lord of the Rings conceptual designer Alan Lee jokingly remarked "the film is almost incidental really".

Jackson was a noted perfectionist on the Lord of the Rings shoot, where he demanded numerous takes of scenes, requesting additional takes by repeatedly saying, "one more for luck". Jackson is also renowned within the New Zealand film industry for his insistence on "coverage" — shooting a scene from as many angles as possible, giving him more options during editing. Jackson has been known to spend days shooting a single scene. This is evident in his work where even scenes featuring simple conversations often feature a wide array of multiple camera angles and shot-sizes as well as zooming closeups on characters' faces. One of his most common visual trademarks is shooting close-ups of actors with wide-angle lenses.

Unlike some other film directors, Jackson has remained in his native country to make films. This has been the genesis of several production and support companies. Most of Jackson's assets are found on the Miramar Peninsula in his home town of Wellington where much of his filming occurs; and he was instrumental in having the world premiere of The Return of the King in the city's iconic Embassy Theatre which he helped restore.

He was an early user of computer enhancement technology and provided digital special effects to a number of Hollywood films by use of telecommunications and satellite links to transmit raw images and the final results across the Pacific Ocean.

During filming of The Lord of the Rings, Jackson was famous for wearing shorts and going barefoot under most circumstances, especially during film shoots.

Cameo roles

Peter Jackson in The Fellowship of the Ring (top), The Two Towers (middle) and The Return of the King (bottom).

Jackson usually makes cameo appearances in his own films:

• In The Lovely Bones, he appears as a customer in a camera store playing with a camera.
• Jackson appears as a biplane gunner attacking Kong in New York, reprising the cameo which original King Kong filmmaker Merian C. Cooper made in his 1933 film.
• The Lord of the Rings film trilogy includes multiple cameos. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson plays a drunken, carrot-chomping citizen of Bree. In The Two Towers, he plays a spear-throwing defender of Helm's Deep. In his significant cameo in The Return of the King he is seen as the boatswain of a murderous corsair ship. This character is seen very briefly in the theatrical version. In the extended version he is onscreen for a longer period of time and is accidentally killed by Legolas's "warning shot". A detailed action figure of Jackson was made of this character in the same line as the rest of the Lord of the Rings toys.
• Jackson's second cameo in Return of the King is during the scene of Shelob's Lair, where Sam's arm (Jackson's) is seen entering the shot as Shelob is wrapping Frodo in webbing. This was due to Sean Astin's temporary absence, and Peter wanted to progress the production of the scene as much as possible, even without the actor.
• In The Frighteners, Jackson is a biker bumped into by Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox).
• In Heavenly Creatures, he is the bum who gets kissed by Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet).
• In Braindead, he is the mortician's assistant.
• In the puppet movie Meet the Feebles, Jackson appears as an audience member disguised as one of the aliens from Bad Taste.

He has also made cameos in several films not directed by him. In the opening sequence of Hot Fuzz (2007), he played a demented man dressed as Father Christmas, who stabs Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg) in the hand. Pegg, in the commentary, joked that when Jackson saw that his cameo was extremely short, he walked out of the theater and walked in circles in the hallway for the rest of the duration of the film.

Jackson's eldest son, Billy (born 1995), has made cameo appearances in every one of his father's films since his birth, namely The Frighteners (1996), The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and King Kong. His daughter, Katie (born 1996), appears in all the above films except The Frighteners.

Jackson had a cameo on the HBO show Entourage in 5 August 2007 episode, "Gary's Desk", in which he offers a business proposal to Eric Murphy, manager to the lead character, Vincent Chase.

Jackson appeared briefly in an airline passenger safety video for Air New Zealand, made in the style of a Hobbit movie, called "An Unexpected Briefing". 

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Filmography

Year	Title	Functioned as
		Director	Writer	Producer	Role
1976	The Valley (short)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Prospector #4
1987	Bad Taste	Yes	Yes	Yes	Derek / Robert (dual role)
1989	Meet the Feebles	Yes	Yes	No
1992	Valley of the Stereos (short)	No	No	Yes
	Braindead	Yes	Yes	No	Undertaker's assistant (cameo)
1994	Heavenly Creatures	Yes	Yes	Yes	Bum outside theater (uncredited cameo)
1995	Forgotten Silver	Yes	Yes	No	Himself
1996	Jack Brown Genius	No	Yes	Yes
	The Frighteners	Yes	Yes	Yes	Man with piercings (uncredited cameo)
2001	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Yes	Yes	Yes	Man eating carrot in Bree (uncredited cameo)
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Rohirrim warrior (uncredited cameo)
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mercenary on boat (uncredited cameo)
	The Long and Short of It (short)	No	No	Yes (executive)	Bus driver
2005	Lord of the Brush	No	No	No
	King Kong	Yes	Yes	Yes	Biplane gunner (cameo)
2007	Hot Fuzz	No	No	No	Thief dressed as Father Christmas (uncredited cameo)
	Entourage (TV series) (episode: "Gary's Desk")	No	No	No	Himself
2008	Crossing the Line (short)	Yes	Yes	No
2009	District 9	No	No	Yes
	The Lovely Bones	Yes	Yes	Yes	Man at pharmacy (uncredited cameo)
2011	The Adventures of Tintin	No	No	Yes
2012	West of Memphis	No	No	Yes
	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Yes	Yes	Yes	Cameo
2013	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Yes	Yes	Yes	Cameo
2014	The Hobbit: There and Back Again	Yes	Yes	Yes	Cameo

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1995	Academy Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Heavenly Creatures	Nominated
2002	Academy Awards	Best Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2002	Best Director	Academy Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2002	Best Adapted Screenplay	Academy Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	Academy Awards	Best Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	Academy Awards	Best Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2004	Best Director	Academy Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2004	Best Adapted Screenplay	Academy Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2010	Academy Awards	Best Picture	District 9	Nominated
2002	Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Foreign Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Won
2003	Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Foreign Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Won
2004	Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Foreign Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2002	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Won
2002	British Academy Film Awards	David Lean Award for Direction	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Won
2002	British Academy Film Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2003	David Lean Award for Direction	British Academy Film Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2004	David Lean Award for Direction	British Academy Film Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Nominated
2004	Best Adapted Screenplay	British Academy Film Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2002	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2004	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2006	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Director	King Kong	Nominated
2002	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directing - Motion Pictures	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directing - Motion Pictures	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directing - Motion Pictures	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2002	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2006	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	King Kong	Nominated
1993	New Zealand Film and TV Awards	Best Director - Film	Braindead	Won
1993	New Zealand Film and TV Awards	Best Screenplay - Film	Braindead	Won
1995	New Zealand Film and TV Awards	Best Director - Film	Heavenly Creatures	Won
2002	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Picture	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2010	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Picture	District 9	Nominated
2011	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture	The Adventures of Tintin	Won
1997	Saturn Awards	Best Director	The Frighteners	Nominated
1997	Saturn Awards	Best Writing	The Frighteners	Nominated
2002	Saturn Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Won
2002	Best Writing	Saturn Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2003	Saturn Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2003	Best Writing	Saturn Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Nominated
2004	Saturn Awards	Best Director	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2004	Best Writing	Saturn Awards	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Won
2006	Saturn Awards	Best Director	King Kong	Won
2006	Best Writing	Saturn Awards	King Kong	Nominated
1995	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Heavenly Creatures	Nominated
2002	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Nominated
2004	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Nominated

Mini Biography

Peter Jackson was born as an only child in a small coast-side town in New Zealand in 1961. When a friend of his parents bought him a super 8mm movie camera (because she saw how much he enjoyed taking photos), the then eight-year-old Peter instantly grabbed the thing to start recording his own movies, which he made with his friends. They were usually short, but they already had the spectacular trademark that would make Jackson famous: impressive special effects, made at a very low cost. For example, for his film "World War Two" which he made as a teenager, he used to simulate a firing gun by punching little holes into the celluloid, so that, once projected, the gun gave the impression of displaying a small fire. Jackson's first step towards the more serious filmmaking came with an entry in a local contest to stimulate amateur and children's film. For this film, he used stop-motion animation to create a monster that ruins a city in the style of Ray Harryhausen. Unfortunately, he didn't win. When Jackson was 22, he embarked on an movie making-adventure that would change his life. This film, Bad Taste (1987), was begun as any other Jackson film, in an amateuristic style, at a low budget and using friends and local people to star in his film. Jackson himself did nearly everything in the movie, he directed, produced, filmed and starred in it, in a number of roles, amongst them that of the hero, "Derek". And everything was filmed on a second-hand, $250 camera. It took Jackson and his friends four years to complete the movie. What had started out as an joke in a group of friends, then became a cult-classic. A friend of Jackson who was working in the movie industry convinced him the film had commercial prospects and arranged for it to be shown at the Cannes film festival, where it won a lot of acclaim, as well as a number of prizes. The movie soon became a hit because of its bizarre humor and overdose of special-effects, some realistic, some hilarious because of their amateuristic look. After the success of Bad Taste (1987), Jackson became recognized as a director and the door to fame and fortune was opened. He gave up his job at a local photographer's shop and became a well-known director of horror-movies, after the success of his first professionally made movie, Dead Alive (1992).

IMDb Mini Biography By: T. van der Sluijs

Filmography

ACTOR

Fay Wray: A Life (2008)In Production / Awaiting Release	Himself
Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)	Actor
King Kong (2005)	Gunner
Forgotten Silver (1997)	Actor
Dead Alive (1993)	Cameo Appearance
Bad Taste (1988)	Derek/Robert

Below The Line

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Second Unit Director

Directors

The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2014)In Production / Awaiting Release	Director
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)In Production / Awaiting Release	Director
The Lovely Bones (2009)	Director
King Kong (2005)	Director
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)	Director
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	Director
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	Director
Forgotten Silver (1997)	Director
The Frighteners (1996)	Director
Meet the Feebles (1995)	Director

Editors

Bad Taste (1988)

Editor

Physical Effects

Grampire (1992)

Stunt Man

Producers

The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2014)In Production / Awaiting Release	Producer
West of Memphis (2012)In Production / Awaiting Release	Producer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)In Production / Awaiting Release	Producer
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)	Producer
The Lovely Bones (2009)	Producer
District 9 (2009)	Producer
King Kong (2005)	Producer
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)	Producer
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	Producer
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	Producer

Writers

The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2014)In Production / Awaiting Release	Screenplay (adaptation )
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)In Production / Awaiting Release	Screenplay (adaptation )
The Lovely Bones (2009)	Screenplay (adaptation )
King Kong (2005)	Screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)	Screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	Screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	Screenplay
Forgotten Silver (1997)	Screenplay
The Frighteners (1996)	Screenplay
Meet the Feebles (1995)	Screenplay

Spouse

Fran Walsh

(1987 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

His films frequently conclude with a bloodbath, e.g.: the lawnmower with the zombies in Dead Alive (1992), and the murder of Honora Parker in Heavenly Creatures (1994).

Frequently set his movies in Wellington, New Zealand

Likes to make cameo appearances in his movies: the morgue assistant in Dead Alive (1992), the homeless man in _Heavenly Creatures(1994)_, the dude in The Frighteners (1996), the drunk in _The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)_, the guy throwing a spear in Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and the Corsair Leader in _The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King (2003)_.

Always writes his scripts with his real-life partner Fran Walsh

In his movies, there's frequently a fake documentary: the Christchurch footage in Heavenly Creatures (1994), The Murders & Psychos documentary in The Frighteners (1996), the Colin McKenzie biopic in _Forgotten Silver (1995)_, and _Lord of The Piercing (2002)_ (on _The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)_ Region 1 extended edition DVD).

In his movies, frequently there are axes: the Whitey Alien's axe in _BadTaste (1987)_, the explorers' axe in Dead Alive (1992), the Diello's axe in Heavenly Creatures (1994), the executioner's axe in _Forgotten Silver (1995)_, the Reaper's axe in The Frighteners (1996), and Gimli's axe in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Has an interest in matricide (Derek is "born-again" in the ending of_Bad Taste (1987)_, Sidney kills his wife and mother of his son in_Meet the Feebles (1990)_, Lionel Cosgrove kills his mother in_Braindead (1992)_, Pauline Rieper kills her mother in_Heavenly Creatures (1994)_, and Patricia Ann Bradley kills her mother in The Frighteners (1996).

Frequently wears shorts, even in freezing cold weather

Frequently casts Andy Serkis and Jed Brophy

Well known on-set for insisting on lots of coverage (filming the scene from many different angles), his attention to detail, and being a bit of a perfectionist, especially on the "Lord of the Rings" films, where he would spend days shooting a single scene.

Often films close-ups using wide angles

Beard

Darkly humorous scenes of violence

Enormous visual scope with emphasis on landscape

Trivia

Owns two houses in Wellington, New Zealand.

Made the latex models for Bad Taste (1987) in his mom's kitchen oven, often forcing the family to have sausages for dinner because they couldn't use the oven.

Owner of production companies WingNut Films, Weta Limited and Three Foot Six.

Father of Billy Jackson and Katie Jackson.

Collects models of airplanes from World War One.

During filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), he used the same pair of shoes and only two T-shirts.

He likes 1960s music his favorites are The Beatles (he paid homage to them in Bad Taste (1987)).

After his parents, Bill and Joan, died, Jackson inherited the modest Pukerua Bay house where he grew up.

The stuff in the bowl, in his first movie Bad Taste (1987), was yoghurt, muesli and green food colouring.

In 1998, he bought the New Zealand based film company National Film Unit.

Credits his favorite movie King Kong (1933) as his biggest inspiration in filmmaking. He said that he cried when King Kong fell off the Empire State Building.

The movie that gave him the love for splatter is George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978). After seeing it, he felt a bit sick but amazed too.

Together with his partner Fran Walsh, he received the honorary graduation from Massey University [26 November 2001]

He and Fran Walsh, were both awarded Companion of the Order of New Zealand Merit on March 5, 2002 for their services to the film industry.

He left school at the age of 17 and started working on a Wellington newspaper.

For his first movie, Bad Taste (1987), he did all the special effects, the make-up effects and built exact replicas of the weapons.

He allegedly offered $150,000 to Aint-it-cool webmaster Harry Jay Knowles for his King Kong (1933) original poster.

Started writing a re-make of King Kong (1933) in 1996, which went through several drafts, until in 2003 he made one that was greenlighted by Universal.

Ranked #20 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #41 in 2002.

Voted 'Man of the Year 2002' in the Australian Empire Magazine March 2003.

Both of his parents died during production of The Lord of the Rings.

Met Fran Walsh in 1987, during post-production for the gross-out cult classic Bad Taste (1987).

Son of Bill Jackson and Joan Jackson.

Nominated for a Best Director Academy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (which he won), but not for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

The London Daily Mail reported (December 5, 2003) that Jackson was so fond of King Kong (1933) that he once cut up his mother's old fur coat and used it to make a model of the great ape; also that he consulted with Andy Serkis on the script of his version of the movie.

Has worked with three generations of Astins: John Astin (The Frighteners (1996)); John's son, Sean Astin (The Lord of The Rings Trilogy); and Sean's daughter, Alexandra Astin (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)).

Ranked #6 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #20 in 2003. He is the second-highest rated director on the list, behind only Steven Spielberg.

The copies of the "Lord of the Rings" books that he referred to during filming are the ones that he bought after seeing The Lord of the Rings (1978). The books have cover art by Ralph Bakshi.

Has been referred to by Fran Walsh as being a hobbit himself, due to his physical stature, his tendency to go barefoot, and the fact that he is swarthy (in Walsh's words, "furry").

Estimated earnings from the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy come close to $125 million.

Along with his wife Fran Walsh, he was one of two husband/wife teams to be nominated for an Oscar for the 2003 season, the other team was Michael McKean and his wife, Annette O'Toole.

Three of his collaborators have had connections to the material being filmed, outside the context of the film being made. Ian Holm, whom he cast as "Bilbo" in "The Lord of the Rings", was cast because he had played "Frodo" in the BBC radio adaptation. That adaptation was written by Brian Sibley, who is a cousin of his wife, Fran Walsh. In Heavenly Creatures (1994), Kate Winslet plays "Juliet Hulme", who would later be known as real-life mystery novelist Anne Perry. Winslet has a sister, Anna Winslet, who appears as "Dora" in The Cater Street Hangman (1998) (TV), which was based on one of Perry's novels.

Is among an elite group of 7 directors who have won Best Picture, Best Director & Best Screenplay (Orig/Adapted) for the same film. In 2004 he won all three for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). The other directors are Billy Wilder, Leo McCarey, Francis Ford Coppola, James L. Brooks and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (the brothers co-produced, co-directed and co-wrote No Country for Old Men (2007) with each other).

Crowned the most powerful man in Hollywood by ranking #1 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. It is his first #1 ranking. Had ranked #6 in 2004.

Ranked #7 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" [2005]

Lost 70 lbs. during the production of King Kong (2005).

No longer needs glasses after undergoing eye surgery during the making of King Kong (2005).

Described the production of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as "laying the tracks down in front of the train" as it was moving forward.

Ranked #11 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #1 in 2005.

Is a fan of "Doctor Who" (1963), and has used the screen name Xoanon, taken from the Doctor Who story "The Face of Evil.".

One of few directors to be offered the chance of writing and directing sequels to many famous horror franchises. He was offered Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) and Child's Play 3 (1991).

2007 - Ranked #16 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.

To acquaint actors who had not read the books with the story, he used the BBC Radio version of The Lord of the Rings, which starred Ian Holm. He ended up using Holm as Bilbo in the films.

He was awarded Knight Companion of the Order of New Zealand for his services to the film industry in the 2010 Queen's New Years Honours List.

His five favorite films, according to Rotten Tomatoes, are King Kong (1933), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Jaws (1975), Goodfellas (1990) and The General (1926).

Recovering in a Wellington, New Zealand hospital after undergoing emergency surgery to repair a perforated ulcer [January 27, 2011].

Has directed 2 actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Ian McKellen, and Stanley Tucci.

Personal Quotes

New Zealand is not a small country but a large village.

What I don't like are pompous, pretentious movies.

On Meet the Feebles (1989): "I have a moronic sense of humour."

On horror: "I don't take stuff seriously. I saw 'Hellraiser 3' the other day at Cannes; it's OK, it's a good film, I didn't hate it or anything. I thought it was quite good, but it was all just so serious. Some guy walking round with pins sticking out of his face. I just can't sit there and think ,'this is really scary.' If I made a 'Hellraiser' film, I'd like Pinhead to be whacked against a wall and have all the pins flattened into his face. I immediately start thinking of funny things and gags - that's just the way I am. I doubt I could ever control myself sufficiently to make a serious horror film."

[on The Lord of the Rings:] "This is a giant undertaking, but I consider this a personal film. It's my film of a lifetime. I read the book when I was 18 years old and thought then, 'I can't wait till the movie comes out.' Twenty years later, no one had done it - so I got impatient."

'Return of the King' is the most enjoyable because in the structure of the movies, it is nothing other than pay-off, there is no more setting up to do, no more exposition, no more introducing characters. The pay-off is very character-based. It is action-orientated as well, but all of our characters have been pushed to a point where their life and death depends on what happens in the third movie. It is very emotional, and from an actors point of view it is very enjoyable to work on, because they were able to play some pretty intense drama. From my point of view it was always great, because we were heading toward an ending, a climax which we never had in the other two.

On making "The Lord of the Rings": "Looking back, I think we were a bit naive. At the beginning I don't think anybody had any idea how difficult or complicated it would be. We somehow went into it thinking we could do it. And then we've stumbled along just taking each day at a time."

I think that George Lucas's 'Star Wars' films are fantastic. What he's done, which I admire, is he has taken all the money and profit from those films and poured it into developing digital sound and surround sound, which we are using today. He got ILM started and they developed all the computer technology we use. George Lucas is incredible. He has made a huge difference to the way films are made now. And he has used his money on things that benefit every filmmaker who gets films produced. I respect that a lot.

To get an Oscar would be an incredible moment in my career, there is no doubt about that. But the 'Lord of the Rings' films are not made for Oscars, they are made for the audience.

I always trusted him. If there was a way that I had seen something and he had seen it differently, I would ... trust his vision. We were in brilliant hands. -- Elijah Wood on filming "Lord of the Rings," December 14, 2003.

We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. What we were trying to do was to analyze what was important to Tolkien and to try to honor that. In a way, we were trying to make these films for him, not for ourselves.

The most honest form of filmmaking is to make a film for yourself. The worst type is dictated by demographics or what is hip or what kids are into. Kong isn't driven by that. No way would a studio think this is the year that people want to see a big gorilla movie. I've come to realize that, as much as anything, I am making this for the 9-year-old Peter.

Don't worry. Gollum isn't going to be another Jar Jar Binks.

(on the 1976 remake of King Kong): "I was 15 when that film came out. I took the day off school, went into Wellington and was first in line to see it. It was a disappointment because I wanted it to have stop-motion animation, dinosaurs and the Empire State Building. I didn't like the updating of it, and it has dated very badly. I watched it again a year or so ago. I thought Jeff Bridges was excellent, John Barry's score was very good, and Rick Baker did a sterling job in that very heavy monkey suit he was wearing. But it was kind of kitsch and it wasn't the Kong that I saw when I was nine."

I don't quite know what an auteur is. I've never quite understood that term, because filmmaking is such a huge team effort, you - I mean, I regard myself as being sort of the final filter, so everything that ends up in the movie is there, because it's something that I'd think was cool if I saw the film that somebody else had made. I'm very much trying to make the film that I've enjoyed, but I'm open to ideas, I need a huge team of people to help me, everybody contributes and I try to encourage people to contribute as much as possible. I think that's the job of a director really, is to sort of funnel all the creative into one centralized point of view. And the marketing is sort of something that really happens with other people, it's not something that I'm at all an expert in, and I regard my job at the end of the day as to make the best possible film I can, and that's really where my job stops and marketing people take over after that.

No film has captivated my imagination more than King Kong. I'm making movies today because I saw this film when I was 9 years old. It has been my sustained dream to reinterpret this classic story for a new age.

Regarding his spat with New Line: "We have a great many friends at New Line and utmost respect for the risk they took with us and it hurts to be hit with the level of venom directed at us from individuals in that company. It's been a lot more nasty behind the scenes than what's been made public. It's just an accounting dispute at the end of the day, but it makes you wonder what they have to hide."

[on the aborted Halo movie] Well, Microsoft has a whole strategy with the Halo property, and when the rights expired with the two studios, that sort of ended my involvement with the project. That fell apart because of internal politics at Fox and Universal. It had nothing to do with the budget or anything else. In fact, we hadn't even been greenlit at all at that point.

I think that's one of the most depressing things about the film industry generally today. The writers and directors should be blamed just as much as the studios because really everything seems to be a remake or adapting a 1970s TV show that was never particularly good. Why anyone thinks that it would be a good feature film now, you know, goodness knows why. I guess it's easy to say it's security that you know a studio is only prepared to put $150 million or $200 million into something if it's a known quantity, but at the same time I'm also aware that audiences are getting fed up with the lack of original ideas and original stories. Everything in the film business tends to be cyclic and hopefully this all drains itself out in a couple years and we'll be back into original stories again.

There's one area of directing that I'd love to improve upon. I tend to get involved in big movies that take two or three years of your life and I see what Clint Eastwood does and what Ridley Scott does, and they're able to do those films and also mix it up with these in-n-out, seven- or eight-month films. I think that's a real skill and talent. I'd love to learn how to do that. So not everything took three years for one project. I'd love to reinvent the way I work, to some degree.

[on his earlier and more controversial movies] - I call them splat-stick. To me, they were a joke. We enjoyed being crazy and anarchic and upsetting the people we wanted to upset in those days. But, big puppets having sex? It's harmless, surely. The Saw movies, well... I don't want to be casting moral judgments, but I don't like those films.

[on The Lovely Bones (2009)] - It's not a murder film and I wanted kids to be able to go and see it. Film is such a powerful medium. It's like a weapon and I think you have a duty to self-censor. There are some people who might enjoy watching a 14-year-old girl getting killed, a small minority maybe, but how could you live with yourself in providing that titillation? I wouldn't want the movie defined by that.

[on The Lovely Bones (2009)] - It's a film about how love never really dies and how time heals.

Salary

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	$10,000,000 + gross points (this salary is for all 3 films)
King Kong (2005)	$20,000,000 + 20% of the gross (to be shared with co-writer/producer Fran Walsh & co-writer Philippa Boyens)

Where Are They Now

(January 2004) In New Zealand filming King Kong (2005).

(November 2007) In Pennsylvania filming The Lovely Bones (2009).

(March 2011) In Wellington, New Zealand filming "The Hobbit" films.

Awards

AFI Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	AFI Film Award	AFI Movie of the Year for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Barrie M. Osborne
2002	Won	AFI Film Award	AFI Movie of the Year for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh Tim Sanders
Academy Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2010	Nominated	Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year for: District 9 (2009). Shared with: Carolynne Cunningham
2004	Won	Oscar	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
			Best Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
			Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2003	Nominated	Oscar	Best Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
2002	Nominated	Oscar	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
			Best Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
			Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
1995	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Heavenly Creatures (1994). Shared with: Fran Walsh
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Won	Saturn Award	Best Director for: King Kong (2005).
	Nominated	Saturn Award	Best Writing for: King Kong (2005). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2004	Won	Saturn Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
			Best Writing for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2003	Nominated	Saturn Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
			Best Writing for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
2002	Won	Saturn Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
	Nominated	Saturn Award	Best Writing for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
1997	Nominated	Saturn Award	Best Director for: The Frighteners (1996).
			Best Writer for: The Frighteners (1996). Shared with: Fran Walsh
Amanda Awards, Norway
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Amanda	Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske kinofilm) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	Amanda	Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske spillefilm) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Nominated	Amanda	Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske spillefilm) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Lifetime Achievement Award
1993	Won	Silver Scream Award	for: Dead Alive (1992).
Australian Film Institute
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	AFI Award	Best Foreign Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
2003	Won	Best Foreign Film Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
2002	Won	Best Foreign Film Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh Tim Sanders
Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1993	Won	Grand Prize	for: Dead Alive (1992).
BAFTA Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	BAFTA Film Award	Best Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
			Best Screenplay - Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
	Nominated	BAFTA Children's Award	Best Feature Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Barrie M. Osborne
		David Lean Award for Direction	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	BAFTA Children's Award	Best Feature Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
		BAFTA Film Award	Best Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
		David Lean Award for Direction	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Won	BAFTA Film Award	Best Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Tim Sanders
		David Lean Award for Direction	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
	Nominated	BAFTA Children's Award	Best Feature Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh Tim Sanders
		BAFTA Film Award	Best Screenplay - Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Bodil Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Nominated	Bodil	Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2002	Won	Bodil	Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	2nd place	BSFC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2001	2nd place	BSFC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Bram Stoker Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2002	Nominated	Bram Stoker Award	Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Fran Walsh
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	Critics Choice Award	Best Director for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Won	Critics Choice Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2002	Nominated	Critics Choice Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Central Ohio Film Critics Association
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	COFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
	2nd place	COFCA Award	Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Fran Walsh
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	CFCA Award	Best Director for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Won	CFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
	Nominated	CFCA Award	Best Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2003	Nominated	CFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Nominated	CFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Chicago International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1996	Nominated	Gold Hugo	Best Documentary for: Forgotten Silver (1995) (TV) (documentary) .
1994	Nominated	Gold Hugo	Best Feature for: Heavenly Creatures (1994) (feature film) .
Chlotrudis Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	Audience Award	Best Screenplay - Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
2002	Won	Chlotrudis Award	Best Adapted Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Czech Lions
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Nominated	Czech Lion	Best Foreign Language Film (Nejlepsí zahranicní film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). New Zealand/USA.
DVD Exclusive Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2005	Won	DVDX Award	Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens (Special Extended Edition).
	Nominated	DVDX Award	Best Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and Bloopers for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). (Special Extended Edition).
			Best New Movie Scenes (Finished, Edited Into Movie or Stand-Alone) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). (Special Extended Edition).
2003	Won	DVD Premiere Award	Best Audio Commentary, New Release for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens For the Extended Edition.
			Best New, Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). For the Extended Edition's overall new and extended scenes included in extended film.
		DVDX Award	Best New Movie Scenes (Finished-Edited Into Movie or Stand-Alone) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). (Special Extended Edition).
		Director Award
	Nominated	DVDX Award	Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens (Special Extended Edition).
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	DFWFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Won	DFWFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	3rd place	DFWFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Directors Guild of America, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	DGA Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Nikolas Korda (unit production manager) (plaque) Zane Weiner (unit production manager) (plaque) Carolynne Cunningham (first assistant director) (plaque) Guy Campbell (key second assistant director) (plaque) Marc Ashton (key second assistant director) (plaque)
2003	Nominated	DGA Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Nominated	DGA Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Directors Guild of Great Britain
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	DGGB Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in International Film for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Empire Awards, UK
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	Empire Award	Best Director for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Nominated	Empire Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	Empire Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Nominated	Empire Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Fantafestival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1991	Won	Best Direction	for: Meet the Feebles (1989).
1989	Won	Audience Award	for: Bad Taste (1987).
Fantasporto
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1997	Won	Audience Jury Award	for: Forgotten Silver (1995) (TV).
1993	Won	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film for: Dead Alive (1992).
1991	Nominated	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film for: Meet the Feebles (1989).
1990	Nominated	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film for: Bad Taste (1987).
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	FFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2002	Won	FFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Golden Globes, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	Golden Globe	Best Director - Motion Picture for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Won	Golden Globe	Best Director - Motion Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	Golden Globe	Best Director - Motion Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Nominated	Golden Globe	Best Director - Motion Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Gérardmer Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1995	Won	Grand Prize	for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
Hugo Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Hugo	Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: J.R.R. Tolkien (based on the book) Fran Walsh (screenplay) Philippa Boyens (screenplay)
			Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form for: 2003 MTV Movie Awards (2003) (TV). Shared with: Philippa Boyens (written by/director) Fran Walsh (written by/director) For Gollum's acceptance speech
2003	Won	Hugo	Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Stephen Sinclair (screenplay) Philippa Boyens (screenplay) J.R.R. Tolkien (book) Fran Walsh (screenplay)
2002	Won	Hugo	Best Dramatic Presentation for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: J.R.R. Tolkien (book) Fran Walsh (screenplay) Bob Weinstein (executive producer) Tim Sanders (producer) Philippa Boyens (screenplay) Barrie M. Osborne (producer) Harvey Weinstein (executive producer)
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	KCFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Peter Jackson becomes the first director to win this award three consecutive years.
2003	Won	KCFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Won	KCFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Sierra Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Won	Sierra Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Won	Sierra Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
	Nominated	Sierra Award	Best Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
London Critics Circle Film Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	ALFS Award	Director of the Year for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Nominated	ALFS Award	Director of the Year for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	ALFS Award	Director of the Year for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
1996	Won	ALFS Award	Director of the Year for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	LAFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
National Board of Review, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2001	Won	Special Achievement Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	2nd place	NSFC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
New Zealand Film and TV Awards (I)
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1996	Won	TV Award	Best Director - Drama/Comedy for: Forgotten Silver (1995) (TV). Shared with: Costa Botes
1995	Won	Film Award	Best Director for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
1993	Won	Film Award	Best Director for: Dead Alive (1992).
			Best Screenplay for: Dead Alive (1992). Shared with: Stephen Sinclair Fran Walsh
Online Film Critics Society Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	OFCS Award	Best Director for: King Kong (2005).
2004	Won	OFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Fran Walsh
2003	Won	OFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
	Nominated	OFCS Award	Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
2002	Nominated	OFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
PGA Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2012	Won	Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award	Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for: The Adventures of Tintin (2011). Shared with: Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy
2010	Nominated	Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award	Theatrical Motion Pictures for: District 9 (2009). Shared with: Carolynne Cunningham
2004	Won	Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
2003	Nominated	Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	PFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2003	Won	PFCS Award	Best Screenplay - Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
	Nominated	PFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Won	PFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
			Best Screenplay - Adaptation for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Robert Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Nominated	Robert	Best American Film (Årets amerikanske film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Nominated	Robert	Best American Film (Årets amerikanske film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
2002	Won	Robert	Best American Film (Årets amerikanske film) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
SFX Awards, UK
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	SFX Award	Best Film Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2003	Won	SFX Award	Best SF or Fantasy Film Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	SDFCS Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
San Francisco Film Critics Circle
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	SFFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Modern Master Award
Satellite Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Nominated	Golden Satellite Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
2002	Nominated	Golden Satellite Award	Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2005	Won	Nebula Award	Best Script for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Fran Walsh
2004	Won	Nebula Award	Best Script for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair
2003	Won	Nebula Award	Best Script for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Seattle Film Critics Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2002	2nd place	Seattle Film Critics Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair Fran Walsh
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1996	Nominated	Best Film	for: The Frighteners (1996).
1992	Nominated	Best Film	for: Dead Alive (1992).
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	SEFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
	2nd place	SEFCA Award	Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Philippa Boyens Fran Walsh
2001	Won	SEFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
			Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	Special Citation	For his work for his work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as a whole.
		TFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2001	Nominated	TFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Toronto International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1994	Won	Metro Media Award	for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
USC Scripter Award
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Nominated	USC Scripter Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh (screenwriter) Philippa Boyens (screenwriter) J.R.R. Tolkien (author)
2003	Nominated	USC Scripter Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Fran Walsh (screenwriter) Philippa Boyens (screenwriter) Stephen Sinclair (screenwriter) J.R.R. Tolkien (author)
2002	Nominated	USC Scripter Award	for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh (screenwriter) Philippa Boyens (screenwriter) J.R.R. Tolkien (author)
Vancouver Film Critics Circle
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	VFCC Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Venice Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1994	Won	Silver Lion	for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
	Nominated	Golden Lion	for: Heavenly Creatures (1994).
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2003	Won	WAFCA Award	Best Director for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
	Nominated	WAFCA Award	Best Screenplay, Adapted for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens
Writers Guild of America, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Nominated	WGA Award (Screen)	Best Adapted Screenplay for: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
2002	Nominated	WGA Award (Screen)	Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens
1995	Nominated	WGA Award (Screen)	Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Heavenly Creatures (1994). Shared with: Fran Walsh
Young Artist Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Jackie Coogan Award	For the Lord of the Rings.

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