Peter Jackson: Director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies
Peter Jackson stands in front of a troll model from his LOTR films The effects company Weta Workshop created this and 48,000 other items for the series 5
ADVENTURE AND ANIMATION CHAPTER 2 Peter Robert Jackson was born on October 31 1961 in Wellington New Zealand He was raised in nearby Pukerua Bay The small coastal town was full of beauty Its ocean forests and hills would later inspire Peter’s interpretation of Middle Earth Peter was the only child of Bill and Joan Jackson Bill was a payroll clerk and Joan stayed at home Joan was an excellent storyteller and made up stories just for Peter Peter also spent much time reading on his own He imagined the books fantasies taking place in his hometown When Peter was five the Jacksons bought their first television Peter liked watching the science-fiction show Thunderbirds It featured special effects puppets and stop-motion Peter re-created scenes from the show with his toy cars 6
Jackson later described Wellington New Zealand as an adventure playground Its scenery greatly influenced his film career Peter enjoyed watching movies too At age nine he watched the 1933 film King Kong The movie used special effects to bring a model of a giant gorilla to life Peter loved it He wanted to make his own films The next morning he began doing just that 7
