Peter Jackson

Never before has film-maker Peter Jackson revealed so much about himself and his work.In this authorised biography, the boy from Wellington's Pukerua Bay reveals how he beat Hollywood at its own game. It is a story of passion, single-minded determination, and, above all, an artistic vision and a sense of dramatic scale.

Written over several years with participation from the famously hands-on director himself, the book is brimming with never-before-seen pictures from Peter Jackson's personal collection. And never before has the film-maker revealed so much about himself and his work.

Through Jackson's eyes and own words, as well as re-tellings and memories of friends, family and associates, we are shown how the director's early life - with its obsessively pursued hobbies and first childhood attempts at film-making - were effectively one big audition for The Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

The book explores the Academy Award-winning success of Heavenly Creatures, the first abandoned King Kong re-make, then the triumphant filming of The Lord of the Rings - a project that was abandoned two years into pre-production, rejected by most studios and then picked up by New Line Cinema in the biggest gamble in film history. It takes us through the filming of Jackson's boyhood dream, King Kong, and on to his new project, The Lovely Bones.

The story of Peter Jackson will inspire everyone who admires creativity and courage, who loves movies or is proud that a clever film-maker from a small country can show the giants of the movie world that vision and passion can succeed.

BRIAN SIBLEY, the man Peter Jackson chose to work with on this biography, is a writer and broadcaster with a lifelong interest in fantasy books and cinema. His fascination with J.R.R. Tolkien led to his critically acclaimed BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings. He is the author of The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide and The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy.

Harper Collins
Author: Brian Sibley
ISBN: 0732279623
RRP: $39.95