Crossing the Line

Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, including 17 Academy Awards®, 12 British Academy of Film and Television Awards and four Golden Globes.

It was for The Return of the King that Jackson received his most impressive collection of awards. This included three Academy Awards® (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture), two Golden Globes (Best Director and Best Motion Picture-Drama), three BAFTAs (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film and Audience Award), a Directors Guild Award, a Producers Guild Award and a New York Film Critics Circle Award.

As a follow-up to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in 2005 Jackson directed, wrote and produced King Kong for Universal Pictures. The film grossed over $500 million and won three Oscars®.

Jackson previously received widespread acclaim for his 1994 feature Heavenly Creatures, which received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Other film credits include The Frighteners, starring Michael J. Fox; the adult puppet feature Meet the Feebles; and Braindead, which won 16 international science fiction awards, including the Saturn. Jackson also co-directed the television documentary Forgotten Silver, which also hit the film festival circuit.

This past summer, Jackson produced the worldwide sci-fi hit District 9. He is currently serving as producer on Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, the first of a planned trilogy, one of which he plans to direct. He has co-written the screenplays and will serve as executive producer on Guillermo del Toro’s two-film adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He is also producer of the remake of the WWII film Dambusters.

Born in New Zealand on Halloween in 1961, Jackson began at an early age making movies with his parents’ Super 8 camera. At 17, he left school and, after purchasing a 16mm camera, began shooting a science fiction comedy short which, three years later, had grown into a 75-minute feature called Bad Taste.

Jackson works closely with partner Fran Walsh, with whom he shares his writing and producing credits, as well as a family. Jackson has a special interest in WWI memorabilia and is the proud owner of a number of aircraft from that era.—Paramount Pictures