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Director Peter Jackson, once known for low-budget cult comedies and horror films made in his native New Zealand, became an internationally recognized auteur with the release of the Lord of the Rings film series from 2001-2003. He has since directed a reimagining of the 1933 classic King Kong.
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Fast Facts
- Born: October 31, 1961 in Pukerua Bay, North Island, New Zealand
- Academy Awards: 3
- Spouse: Co-writer and producer Fran Walsh
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Early Career
A fan of filmmaking since childhood, Jackson made his first feature, Bad Taste, about aliens who come to Earth to harvest humans for food, over the course of four years with the help of friends. He had no formal training.Jackson followed Bad Taste with the The Muppet Show parody Meet the Feebles in 1989, then the zombie comedy Braindead (sometimes called Dead Alive) in 1992. These were his first collaborations with screenwriter Fran Walsh, who would become his creative and romantic partner. The couple now has two children together.
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Heavenly Creatures and Hollywood
In 1994, Jackson directed Heavenly Creatures, based on a true story of a murder carried out by two teenaged girls that shocked New Zealand in the 1950s. The film was an international success and netted Walsh and Jackson an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.Jackson was then invited, partly because of support from director Robert Zemeckis, to direct the big-budget Hollywood comedy The Frighteners in 1996, starring Michael J. Fox. The complex post-production work required for Frighteners allowed Jackson to greatly expand his WETA special effects house in New Zealand.
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Lord of the Rings and Beyond
Jackson won the rights to film the Lord of the Rings, based on a series of novels by J.R.R. Tolkein, in 1997. Originally conceived as one or two films, he eventually cut a deal with New Line Cinemas to film the books as a trilogy. Jackson shot all three films at the same time, from from October 11, 1999 to December 22, 2000. The final film in the series, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, won 3 Oscars in 2004 - Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director for Jackson and Best Picture of the Year.In 2005, Jackson followed up this success with his epic-scale, 3-hour remake of King Kong. He will produce a prequel to Lord of the Rings, based on Tolkein's book The Hobbit, to be directed by Guillermo del Toro.
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Related Mahalo Pages
J.R.R. Tolkien | Steven Spielberg | The Lord of the Rings Film Series | Robert Zemeckis | King Kong | The Hobbit (Film) | Elijah Wood | Viggo Mortensen | Ian McKellen | Andy Serkis | Orlando Bloom | Liv Tyler | Naomi Watts | Jack Black | Adrien Brody | The Lovely Bones Movie | Alice Sebold | Rachel Weisz | Ryan Gosling | Peter Jackson Hobbit
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IMDb: Peter Jackson Filmography
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Wikipedia: Peter Jackson
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Article:*AFP: ""Peter Jackson to Make 'the Hobbit' As Feud Settled (2007)
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Fan Site: The Bastards Have Landed
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Lord of the Rings.net: Peter Jackson Biography
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WireImage.com: Peter Jackson
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Google News Search: Peter Jackson
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IMDb: Peter Jackson Filmography
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Peter Jackson on Amazon | View All
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King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson - $22.95
He is one of the most amazing, popular, and iconic characters in the history of motion pictures. His 1933 debut was a legendary piece of pure cinema - simultaneously a terrifying monster movie, epic fairy tale, tragic love story, and deeply...
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Meet the Feebles - $24.95
MEET THE FEEBLES, a puppet tragedy of gross proportions, relates the fateful events that lead to the infamous Feebles Variety Massacre - a day that rocked the puppet world! Bletch, a cigar chomping walrus has his hands full with his cast of...
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Peter Jackson: A Film-Maker's Journey - $37.95
Once, Peter Jackson was a name unknown to all but a small band of loyal fans and fellow filmmakers. Now, he is the newest member of Hollywood's elite fellowship, with his name on the most successful movie trilogy of all time. Written w...
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King Kong - Peter Jackson's Production Diaries - $39.98
Peter Jackson invites his fans on an unprecedented entertaining journey with this ground-breaking 2-Disc DVD release in which fans are transported onto the set of King Kong to experience the entire 6-month production process with the...
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Peter Jackson on Twitter Powered by Twitter
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new district 9 trailer:"It's like McG & Michael Bay were having their knife fight & Peter Jackson comes out of the basement with a chainsaw"
@aminatou | July 10, 2009 05:11 AM -
El peor de los castigos fue no verse más...Criaturas Celestiales, definitivamente una joyita, un imperdible..un triunfo de Peter Jackson
@Zuresh | July 10, 2009 04:48 AM -
Uh-oh. Have I lost my edge? My mind? I may actually agree w/ Republican Rep Peter King who came to bury Michael Jackson, not to praise him.
@thewarrenreport | July 10, 2009 04:41 AM -
http://bit.ly/SDZqT Trailer District 9 - Peter Jackson/ Neill Blomkamp. Filmada tipo documental
@Ciudadano_K | July 10, 2009 04:41 AM -
new district 9 trailer looks lame. So does that movie the Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson has lost it.
@cryforburke | July 10, 2009 04:26 AM
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Questions and Answers About Peter Jackson | View All | Ask a Question
View All Peter Jackson Questions (350) | Ask a QuestionWhat did you think of Peter Jacksons adaptation of the Lord of the Rings? (4 Answers)I loved them so much I sat in the theaters for the special "Return of the King" showing where they ran the special edition versions of all the movies back-to-back ... read morewhere can i write letter for Peter Falk ? (1 Answer)PETER FALK P.O. Box 7837 Van Nuys CA 91409 read moreAt what address can I write to Peter R de Vries? (French translation below) (1 Answer)official email address (not personal): peter.r.de.vries@endemol.nl Postal address: Peter Rudolf de Vries Postbus 30400 NL-1202 NH Hilversum NETHERLANDS The above address is a P.O.Box. The physical location of the office ... read more
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Peter Jackson News and Articles | Add a Link
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The Hollywood Reporter: Jackson back in ''Hobbit'' (Dec 19, 2007)
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Article: Peter Jackson to Adapt ''Lovely Bones'' (2007)
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EW.com: Peter Jackson Articles
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E! Online: Peter Jackson News
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Entertainment Weekly: "Hell on Middle-Earth" (2006)
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Peter Jackson Timeline
- Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
- October 31, 1961: Born
- 1987: Bad Taste
- 1995: Academy Award Screenplay Nomination for Heavenly Creatures
- 2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- 2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- 2004: Wins three Academy Awards for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- 2005: King Kong
- 2006 - 2007: The Hobbit Dispute


