Jackson, Peter (1961-…), a New Zealand motion-picture director and screenwriter, gained international fame for directing the epic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The three films are adaptations of a three-volume fantasy novel by the British author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien published in 1954 and 1955. The film trilogy consists of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Jackson also co-wrote the screenplays for all three films. Critics praised the trilogy’s powerful storytelling and spectacular special effects. Jackson won the Academy Award for best director for The Return of the King. The film won 11 Oscars, including best picture. Jackson also directed “The Hobbit” trilogy of films released in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The series is based on Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit (1937). It is set before the events of “The Lord of the Rings” films.
Jackson first gained attention for three low-budget, bizarre comedy and horror films made in New Zealand, which have become cult favorites. The first of these films was Bad Taste (1987), followed by Meet the Feebles (1989) and Dead Alive (also called Braindead, 1992). The success of Bad Taste at the Cannes Festival launched Jackson’s career as a director. Jackson also directed the true crime story Heavenly Creatures (1994), with newcomer Kate Winslet in the leading role, and a fictional documentary about filmmaking called Forgotten Silver (1996). Most of his New Zealand movies were filmed in Wellington. Jackson’s first American film was the horror movie The Frighteners (1996). He also directed a 2005 remake of the famous 1933 monster film King Kong. The original version inspired him to become a film director. Jackson also directed the movie The Lovely Bones (2009) and the TV miniseries The Beatles: Get Back (2021).
Peter Robert Jackson was born on Oct. 31, 1961, in Pukerua Bay, near Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand. From childhood, he was fascinated with films, and he began making his own home movies at the age of 8. In 1987, Jackson met fellow New Zealander Fran Walsh. She became a co-writer of almost all of his screenplays. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom knighted Jackson in 2009.
See also Tolkien, J. R. R.
