Peter Jackson

From LoveToKnow Movies

Best-known for his remarkable adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, there's a lot more to filmmaker Peter Jackson than hobbits, orcs, dwarves, and wizards. There are epic battles, "splatstick" horror, bleeding-edge technological effects, and creative innovation.

A Director Is Born

31 October 1961. Pukerua Bay, New Zealand. No one could have known that Bill and Joan Jackson's newborn son would one day be hailed as the new Spielberg. But it wasn't long before young Peter's filmmaking proclivities showed themselves: at the age of eight, little Peter was given a super-8 movie camera by a friend who wanted to encourage his photographic exploits. He immediately began casting himself and his friends in short movies with astonishing special-effects -- usually produced for next-to-nothing.

Early Films

Peter, the director, was still a virtual unknown when, in 1987, he started filming Bad Taste. Four years later, the film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where critical acclaim made it possible for Jackson to sell the rights to the movie in twelve countries. It became a cult classic, and his professional directing career had begun. He produced six films and a television series over the next fourteen years. However, despite this active filming schedule, he was relatively unknown until 2001, when his first blockbuster was released.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

2001, 2002, and 2003 would be the making of Peter Jackson's directorial career. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring was followed by Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and finally by Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The trilogy is the highest grossing trilogy of all time, having earned nearly $3 billion in box office receipts -- more than Harry Potter or Star Wars. Furthermore, these three films garnered an amazing number of awards and nominations.

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring: Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Music, Original Score (Academy Awards); AFI Digital Effects Artist of the Year, AFI Movie of the Year, AFI Production Designer of the Year (AFI Film Awards); Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, Best Film, Best Make Up/Hair (BAFTA Film Awards), and many, many others.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects (Academy Awards); Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, Best Costume Design (BAFTA Film Awards), among others.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Makeup, Best Music -- Original Score, Best Music, Original Song (For the song Into the West, Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Writing -- Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (Academy Awards -- this film won every Oscar for which it was nominated in 2004); Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Film, Best Screenplay - Adapted (BAFTA Film Awards); and many others.

In addition to the awards rained upon the motion pictures when they were released, the DVD releases earned Peter Jackson still more awards and honors.

After Tolkien

Follwing the spectacular success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson went on to make one of the most celebrated and most eagerly anticipated remakes in history. The 2005 release of King Kong was another blockbuster, earning some $550 million just for the theatrical release.

He is now working on The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold's bestselling novel and scheduled for release in 2007, and Halo, a game-to-film project scheduled for a 2008 release.

Peter Jackson's Private Life

Jackson is married to Frances Walsh, and they have two children, Billy and Katie. Frances (generally known as Fran) prefers to remain private, though she is deeply involved with Peter's work. Often characterized during the Lord of the Rings years as "pudgy" or "dumpy," Jackson decided to make dietary changes between 2003 and 2005, resulting in a loss of more than 50 pounds. When King Kong was released in 2005, many fans did not recognize him.

Trivia

Jackson usually makes cameo appearances in his movies: he appears in each of the Lord of the Rings movies, as well as in King Kong, Heavenly Creatures, Braindead and The Frighteners.
Jackson is a perfectionist, requiring many takes of each scene, and insisting on scrupulous detail in all set and model design. Even the bits of set and models that do not face the camera must be completely prepared.
Jackson owns Weta Digital, a competitor of George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. These two special effects studios have pioneered the special effects field, creating or developing much of the technology used in filmography the world over.