2. Biography
• Peter Jackson is a New Zealand filmmaker and
screenwriter. He was born on 31 October 1961 in
Wellington. His parents — Joan a factory worker and
William "Bill" Jackson, a wages clerk — were both
immigrants from England.
• As a child, Jackson was a keen film fan. After a
family friend gave the Jacksons a Super 8 cine-
camera, he began making short films with his
friends.
• Most notable was a 20-minute short called “The
Valley”, which won him a special prize because of
the shots he used.
• He had no formal training in film-making, but
learned about editing, special effects and make-up
largely through his own trial and error.
3. Career
• He is best known as the director,
writer and producer of The Lord of
the Rings trilogy (2001–03) and
The Hobbit trilogy (2012–14).
• Jackson began his career with the
"splatstick" horror comedy Bad
Taste (1987) and the black comedy
Meet the Feebles (1989) before
filming the zombie comedy
Braindead (1992).
4. Career
• Other notable films include the critically lauded drama Heavenly Creatures (1994),
the mockumentary Forgotten Silver (1995), the horror comedy The Frighteners
(1996), the epic monster remake film King Kong (2005) and the supernatural drama
film The Lovely Bones (2009).
• He also produced District 9 (2009), The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the
Unicorn (2011) and the documentary West of Memphis (2012).
5. Awards
• He shared a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with his
partner Fran Walsh for “Heavenly Creatures”, which brought him to mainstream
prominence in the film industry.
• Jackson has been awarded three Academy Awards, or "Oscars“, in his career,
including the award for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay in
2004. He has also received a Golden Globe, four Saturn Awards and three BAFTAs
amongst others.
6. Honours
• In the 2002 New Year Honours
Jackson was appointed a
Companion of the New Zealand
Order of Merit for services to
film.
• In the 2010 New Year Honours
he was promoted to Knight
Companion of the New Zealand
Order of Merit, also for services
to film.
• In the 2012 Queen's Birthday
and Diamond Jubilee Honours
Jackson was appointed a
Member of the Order of New
Zealand, New Zealand's highest
civilian honour.
