Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we are
strapping ourselves in for a truly epic career
trajectory, a path that starts in the trenches
of low budget alien splatter fests in New Zealand.
And somehow culminates in the mastery of Middle
Earth, the conquest of Hollywood, and even the
resurrection of history through groundbreaking
technology. We are diving deep into the world
of Sir Peter Jackson. It is. And I don't think
this is an exaggeration. Arguably one of the
most transformative careers in modern cinema.
I mean, born on Halloween, October 31st, 1961
in Wellington, New Zealand. Right. Jackson didn't
just become a successful director. He essentially
became an industrialist of imagination. An industrialist
of imagination. I like that. And the numbers,
well, they reflect that scale. He is currently
the fourth highest grossing film director of
all time. Of all time. With his films making.
What is it? North of six and a half billion dollars
worldwide. That is just astronomical money. But
the story of how he built that empire is the
real mission for us today. We have a mountain
of material detailing his completely self -taught
origins, how he moved from experimenting with
pinholes for gunshots to creating photorealistic
fantasy worlds. We'll look at how he and his
core collaborators, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens,
didn't just master storytelling. They pioneered
a whole technological infrastructure, WETA, which
now influences everything from film to music
preservation and even, and this is the bizarre
part, bioscience. This deep dive is absolutely
for you, the learner, who wants to understand
the methodology behind that kind of genius. We're
tracing his trial and error path, exploring the
massive turning points. Like that deliberate...
you know, successful pivot away from genre filmmaking
in the mid -90s. That was a huge moment. Exactly.
And we'll analyze those fascinating side ventures,
whether it's his obsessive passion for World
War I aviation or his investment in technology
that is literally aiming to bring back extinct
creatures. So we have to anchor this discussion
with the key works that really define him. Of
course. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which
saw Return of the King, win three personal Oscars
for him alone. The Hobbit trilogy, the intensely
dark drama Heavenly Creatures. And those truly
immersive documentaries. They shall not grow
old in the Beatles. Get back. He is a filmmaker
who really defines modern blockbuster cinema.
Okay, let's unpack this monumental journey, starting
right at the beginning. Let's do it. So let's
ground ourselves in Pickeroo Bay, Wellington.
This is where Jackson was raised by English immigrant
parents, Joan, who worked in a factory and is
a housewife, and William, or Bill, a wages clerk.
And the crucial identity marker here, the one
that I think defines his entire technical approach.
Is that he was entirely self -taught. Completely.
That lack of formal training is absolutely central
to understanding him. He wasn't trained in a
school to follow some established procedure.
He learned editing, visual effects, and makeup
through sheer necessity. Endless experimentation.
Endless experimentation and relentless trial
and error. His initial resources were so limited,
so he just had to invent solutions on the fly.
And his early influences. They reveal a lot about
his later work, too. They were incredibly eclectic.
He loved the stop -motion magic of Ray Harryhausen.
The detailed supermarination world of Thunderbirds
and the subversive, just anarchic humor of Monty
Python's Flying Circus. You can literally see
that collision of technical ambition, these detailed
worlds, and a really dark sense of humor throughout
his entire career. But if you trace it back to
a singular foundational inspiration, all the
sources... They all point to one thing. 1933
classic. King Kong. Of course. He cited it repeatedly
as his favorite film, and we have evidence of
his dedication from childhood. Around age nine,
he was already attempting to remake it using
his own, you know, crude stop -motion models.
That early drive, it just shows his immediate
connection to the technical side of filmmaking.
He didn't just love the story. he loved the mechanism
of making the impossible look real. That's it,
exactly. And that experimentation continued through
his early short films, even with next to nothing
in terms of a budget. We're talking about early
efforts, like the World War II epic, The Dwarf
Patrol. The Dwarf Patrol, yeah. Where his first
special effects simulating gun muzzle flashes
was achieved by manually poking pinholes in the
actual film strip. Incredible. And a James Bond
spoof, Coldfinger. He was just constantly tinkering,
even winning a special prize for the camera work
in his 20 -minute short, The Valley. The ability
to tinker, though, it required capital, even
if it was just for film stock and a camera. And
this brings us to a seven -year stretch of incredible
personal dedication. Jackson left Capiti College
at 16. And for seven years, he worked full time
as a photo engraver for the Evening Post newspaper
in Wellington. And the sources really emphasize
this. He lived at home during that entire period
specifically to save money. Every cent. All to
buy a proper 16 millimeter camera. Think about
that commitment, seven years of grinding, day
in, day out work, just to fund his own education
through the acquisition of tools. That financial
sacrifice was really the critical gateway to
his early filmmaking. And it's also during this
newspaper phase that he discovered J .R .R. Tolkien's
work. Specifically after watching Ralph Bakshi's
1978 animated Lord of the Rings adaptation. Right.
So the seed of Middle Earth was planted, but
before the elves came the aliens. And his career's
first true defining phase. The splatstick era.
Yes. From 1987 to 1992, we get the infamous splatstick
era. For you listeners who haven't encountered
the term, it's, what is it? It's essentially
a marriage of highly graphic gore and practical
effects, that's the splatter, combined with farce,
absurdity, and speed, the slapstick. So comedy
that relies on excessive, often just absurd,
violence. And his first feature, Bad Taste, is
the perfect example. Bad Taste is legendary.
Precisely because of its anarchic, decentralized
production. It was a chaotic splatter comedy
about aliens who come to New Zealand to turn
humans into food. And it wasn't shot in a few
weeks. It took years to complete. Jackson was
working his day job full time and shooting primarily
on weekends. And he relied entirely on his friends.
People working for free often roped into acting,
effects, production duties with absolutely no
prior experience. And Jackson was right in the
middle of the chaos. He played two acting roles
himself, Derek and Robert, which famously resulted
in that cliffside. fight where he battled himself
through clever editing. The whole project was
just running on fumes until the New Zealand Film
Commission stepped in. And that NZFC intervention
is so crucial. Jim Booth, the executive director
at the time, was somehow convinced of Jackson's
raw ability, even if the film was completely
bizarre. And he injected the necessary finance
to finish the project. Booth later left the commission
to become Jackson's producer. Which speaks volumes,
doesn't it? Yeah. About the palpable potential
Jackson displayed, even when he was covered in
fake alien vomit. Absolutely. What's also essential
in this period is the start of the collaboration
that would define the rest of his career. Fran
Walsh. His life partner. Their creative relationship
began right here. solidifying with Meet the Feebles
in 1989. She's been his co -writer ever since
and his producer since The Fellowship of the
Ring. And the sources confirm that this writing
collaboration initially included Stephen Sinclair
and Danny Mulheron as they brainstormed projects,
including, what was it, an unmade sequel to A
Nightmare on Elm Street. Yeah, that's right.
But the next project they tackled together was
Meet the Feebles. Ah, Meet the Feebles. It's
a dark black satire, a savage puppet film that
essentially deconstructs The Muppet Show. By
turning it into a hyper -violent, drug -fueled,
sexually explicit backstage comedy, Jackson himself
noted that it had a quality of humor that alienates
a lot of people. I can imagine. It sounds like
a tough, low -budget shoot that went weeks over
schedule. It was. It's the kind of film that
only a group of young, fearless filmmakers with
absolute creative freedom could produce. Absolutely.
And they follow that up with perhaps the zenith
of the splatter phase, Braindead in 1992. Known
internationally as Dead Alive, this was the ultimate
zombie comedy, renowned for its extreme gore.
It holds records, doesn't it, for being one of
the goriest films ever made? It does. It underwent
extensive rewrites with Walsh, but despite the
chaotic content, it secured him serious credibility
in New Zealand, winning the NZ Film and TV Awards
for Best Director and Best Screenplay. So the
splatter phase was messy, but it functioned as
Jackson's film school. It taught him to direct,
edit, manage effects, and create spectacle on
a shoestring budget. And the period immediately
following Braindead represents the most decisive
strategic pivot in Jackson's entire career. He
didn't just keep churning out genre horror. No,
he deliberately shifted to disciplined, critically
sensitive drama with heavenly creatures in 1994.
And this was the move that forced the mainstream
critical community to finally take him seriously.
And we have to credit Fran Walsh again for this
change in direction. The material suggests it
was her persuasion that led him to adapt. the
real -life, incredibly disturbing Parker Hall
murder case from 1950s Christchurch. Jackson
stated it pretty clearly. He said the film only
got made because of her deep enthusiasm for the
subject matter. It was a shocking true story
of adolescent delusion and violence. Two teenage
girls murdering one of their mothers to prevent
being separated. Creatively, it was a massive
risk, moving away from puppets and zombies to
this nuanced psychological horror. And it paid
off handsomely, both artistically and commercially.
It launched two major careers. Melanie Linsky
and Kate Winslet starred as Parker and Holm in
their screen debuts. The film's success wasn't
just confined to the screen either. Its high
profile led the New Zealand media to track down
the real life. Julie at home. Who had completely
reinvented herself as the highly successful,
respectable mystery author Anne Perry. Incredible.
The film's critical acclaim was immediate. It
earned Jackson and Walsh an Academy Award nomination
for Best Original Screenplay. Which is a huge
step for someone who had just directed a film
involving a lawnmower massacring zombies. And
it also appeared on numerous prominent 1994 Top
Ten lists, signaling that Hollywood could no
longer ignore him. But before Jackson fully committed
to Hollywood, he took one more fascinating detour
that played with his own relationship to cinema
and reality. The mockumentary Forgotten Silver
in 1995, co -directed with Costa Boats. This
is a remarkable piece of meta -filmmaking. It
chronicled the fictional story of a forgotten
New Zealand film pioneer named Colin McKenzie.
Who was supposedly the real inventor of color
film and talkies only to be, you know, erased
from history. And Jackson and Boats made it so
convincing that many viewers genuinely believed
they had uncovered a great lost cinematic hero.
I remember the uproar. The sources note that
many viewers were outright outraged when they
discovered the entire story was fictional. It
demonstrates not only his filmmaking skill, but
his savvy understanding of New Zealand's national
identity. This idea that the country's innovators
are often forgotten by the wider world. So, having
proven he could master drama and deceive the
masses, he took the leap into the American studio
system with The Frighteners in 1996. His first
big -budget Hollywood film. Starring Michael
J. Fox. But even though he took Hollywood money,
Jackson made a critical stand. He insisted on
shooting the entire comedy horror film in New
Zealand. Even though the story was set in North
America. Right. And that commitment to keeping
his industry local was a defining trait he carried
into the next phase. However, the film. Yeah.
It faced severe headwinds. Commercially, it was
considered a failure. And critically, it received
mixed reviews. Roger Ebert, a historically important
film critic, was notably harsh. He described
it as a film that looks more like a demo reel
than a movie, suggesting the technology overshadowed
the storytelling. Ouch. And the aftermath of
that failure was difficult. Jackson even launched
legal proceedings against the New Zealand Listener
magazine over a scathing review claiming the
film was built from the Rubble of other people's
movies. Though he later dropped the case. More
significantly, though, the film's poor performance
had immediate business repercussions. Yes, and
this is where the King Kong connection reappears,
isn't it? It is. Universal Studios, initially
planning to bankroll Jackson's long -desired
remake of King Kong, they shelved the project.
They were afraid of competition from other giant
monster movies already in production, like Mighty
Joe Young. And Godzilla. It was a bitter disappointment
for Jackson, but it proved to be a critical turning
point that necessitated, well, control. And necessity
is the mother of invention, right? This period
of commercial disappointment and shelved projects
directly fostered the rapid growth of what would
become his greatest asset. Right. Exactly. He
couldn't rely on Hollywood Studios to always
fund his vision, so he started building the ecosystem
to do it himself. Yeah. Weta Workshop originally
started with collaborators like George Port on
Heavenly Creatures. It just exploded during the
Frighteners production. Right. Led by Richard
Taylor, Weta expanded rapidly, encompassing digital
and physical effects, makeup, costumes. By keeping
this capacity in -house and in New Zealand, Jackson
gained unprecedented artistic control. And this
desire for control was clearly fueling his public
conflicts at the time, particularly with the
New Zealand Film Commission. The very organization
that helped finish Bad Taste. Right. This was
a genuine public industry conflict. The tension
dated back to budgetary issues with Meet the
Feebles. In 1997, Jackson published a significant
critique. He criticized the inconsistent decision
making by inexperienced board members. He was
arguing their lack of industry experience was
holding back New Zealand cinema. It wasn't just
a complaint. It was a demand for institutional
change, showing his willingness to fight bureaucratic
systems to protect his vision and the local industry.
This really sets the stage for the massive, audacious
gamble he was about to take. The failure of the
Frighteners and the subsequent shelving of King
Kong, those moments of rejection and frustration,
were so swiftly overcome. when Jackson achieved
the deal that would define the 21st century.
Securing the rights to film J .R .R. Tolkien's
epic in 1997. It was a monumental pivot back
to ambition. Jackson acquired the rights after
meeting with producer Saul Zantz. But what's
fascinating and often forgotten is that this
entire endeavor almost looked completely different.
The original plan with Miramax was to produce
just two films. And then Miramax applied enormous
pressure on Jackson to condense the entirety
of The Lord of the Rings, this massive, dense
epic, into a single compressed film. It must
have been an intolerable compromise for a filmmaker
who had dedicated his career to realizing complex,
detailed worlds. It was. Jackson, alongside Walsh
and Boyens, had already begun intensive work
on the two -film script. But the single -film
compromise was creatively impossible. And this
pressure led to a high -stakes, last -minute
deal where he managed to move the project to
New Line Cinema. And crucially, New Line insisted
not on one film but a full trilogy, providing
the scale and scope that that Tolkien's work
truly demanded. New Line's faith was historic.
The scale of the resulting production was just
unprecedented. Principal photography. ran continuously
for 14 months. From October 1999 to December
2000, a massive undertaking that required extensive
location filming all across New Zealand, effectively
transforming the country into Middle Earth. And
we should pause for a personal detail that really
highlights the intensity of this period. The
sources note that Jackson's mother, Joan, passed
away just three days before the release of the
first film, The Fellowship of the Ring. A special
showing of the film was held after her funeral.
It just reminds you of the profound personal
sacrifice involved in such a massive creative
endeavor. The success, once they started rolling
out, was staggering. The trilogy became a global
cultural event, culminating in the historic Oscar
domination for The Return of the King in 2003.
Domination is the right word. It achieved a historic
tie for the most Academy Awards won by a single
film, sweeping all 11 categories it was nominated
for. Including Best Picture, Best Director, and
Best Adapted Screenplay, which he shared with
Walsh and Boyens. And this wasn't just a win
for Jackson. It was a revolutionary moment for
Hollywood, wasn't it? Oh, completely. It was
the first time a fantasy film genre piece had
ever won Best Picture. It also marked only the
second time a sequel had won the top award following
The Godfather Part. So Jackson's films were collectively
the most awarded films at three separate Academy
Award ceremonies in the early 2000s. It just
cemented his status as a modern master of the
blockbuster. And with Fantasy Conquered, Jackson
finally returned to his first love. Universal
Studios, having burned him previously, signed
Jackson a second time to remake the 1933 classic
King Kong in 2005. This was Jackson realizing
his childhood obsession on a massive state -of
-the -art scale. The film was released to critical
claim and generated strong commercial returns.
Grossing about U .S. $562 million worldwide.
It wasn't just a film either. He fully embraced
the medium, collaborating with Ubisoft on a critically
and commercially successful video game adaptation
using the same motion capture technology developed
for Gollum. Following these gargantuan epics,
Jackson shifted gears again in 2009 with The
Lovely Bones. An adaptation of Alice Siebold's
best -selling novel, Jackson described this project
as a welcome relief from the high -pressure demands
of blockbuster production. But it still carried
the dark DNA of his earlier non -genre work like
Heavenly Creed. dealing with murder, the afterlife,
and fantasy elements. But the results were mixed.
Reviews were lukewarm, the box office returns
were middling, though it did secure a Stanley
Tucci and Academy Award nomination for supporting
actor. Failures or mixed results like this, they're
often insightful, right? They show the limits
of applying a blockbuster aesthetic to an intimate
emotional story. Following The Lovely Bones,
Jackson entered a significant collaboration with
Steven Spielberg on The Adventures of Tintin,
The Secret of the Unicorn in 2011. And Jackson
co -wrote and produced while Spielberg directed.
This partnership was founded entirely on the
technological prowess of Weta. Jackson didn't
just produce, he helped Spielberg direct the
film using performance capture technology, similar
to what was refined for Gollum. Spielberg wanted
Jackson involved specifically because of Weta
Digital's expertise in translating human actors
into photorealistic animated characters. And
the intention was for Jackson to direct the sequel,
with Spielberg producing a reversal of roles.
But that sequel has been perpetually delayed
since 2011, while Spielberg has confirmed they
know which two of Hergé's books they plan to
combine. Jackson has cited focusing on smaller
New Zealand projects and, of course, the complexity
of The Hobbit as reasons for the postponement.
It's a high -profile, pending project that seems
forever stuck in development hell. Speaking of
complexity, we have to address the troubled production
of The Hobbit trilogy, which ran from 2012 to
2014. If LOTR was a triumph of collaboration,
The Hobbit was a story of corporate friction
and artistic commitment under pressure. It had
an extremely checkered history. Rooted in old
grudges. Initially, Jackson was completely barred
from involvement due to his previous legal dispute
with New Line Cinema. Right, concerning the Fellowship
of the Ring Profits. This is where Robert Shea,
the New Line head, made that famous statement
that Jackson will never make any movie with New
Line Cinema again while I'm still working at
the company. Which prompted an industry boycott
call. That deep -seated corporate friction eventually
subsided and Jackson returned. initially just
as producer for two prequels, with Guillermo
del Toro set to direct. But del Toro eventually
dropped out due to years of production delays,
leaving the project rudderless just before shooting.
And Jackson, despite publicly stating he was
reluctant to step back into the director's chair
for such a demanding project, he felt compelled
to take over. And this is the moment where critics
often raise their eyebrows. Jackson took a single,
relatively short children's book and expanded
the planned two films into a three -part trilogy.
That decision generated huge commercial success,
but also significant artistic critique. To justify
the length, Jackson and his co -writers incorporated
extensive material from the Lord of the Rings
appendices. And the central critique focused
on pacing. The question was, was stretching the
story purely a commercial decision? It's a complex
analysis. Commercially, yes, it maximized profit
and kept the Middle Earth industrial complex
running. Artistically, though, Jackson and Walsh
argued that incorporating the appendices allowed
them to bridge the gap between The Hobbit and
the seriousness of L .O .T .R. But ultimately,
critics and many fans felt the narrative suffered
from bloat. Regardless, his willingness to return
confirmed his absolute control over the entire
cinematic universe, securing his position at
the center of the franchise. Having mastered
fiction, Jackson executed arguably the most surprising
pivot of his career, applying WIDA's sophisticated
technology not to fantasy, but to historical
reality through documentaries. This begins with
his World War I restoration project. They shall
not grow old in 2018. This was Jackson leveraging
WIDA's technology for history. He took original,
damaged, often unseen footage from the Imperial
War Museums. And his personal passion for WWI
aviation fed directly into the historical accuracy
and respect for the material. The techniques
they applied were revolutionary. They didn't
just splice the footage together. Jackson's team
employed complex, modern techniques to colorize
the black and white film, convert the frame rate,
sharpen the image, and even convert it to stereoscopic
3D. But the most moving piece of restoration
was the audio. Absolutely. The original footage
was silent or contained only ambient noise. Jackson
hired forensic lip readers to determine exactly
what the soldiers were saying in the footage.
And then they dubbed in realistic regional accents
synchronized to the lip movements. This act brought
the soldiers back to life in an almost hyper
real way. The critical response reflected that
immersive experience. Critics called the effect
electrifying, noting that the soldiers, who were
previously just ghosts in grainy, sped -up footage,
were returned to an eerie, hyper -real kind of
life. And while the film was technically ineligible
for the Academy Awards due to its unique release
and funding structure, it earned a BAFTA nomination
for Best Documentary. This technological framework
restoring and enhancing old, difficult source
material was instantly recognizable when he tackled
his next massive project, The Beatles. Get back
in 2021. This documentary focused on the making
of Let It Be. an album famously associated with
the band's painful breakup. And Jackson was granted
access to an incredible 55 hours of never -before
-seen footage and 140 hours of audio. He used
the same restoration techniques developed for
WWI to transform the visual quality. His goal
was specific, wasn't it? To challenge the prevailing
narrative that this period was one of unrelenting
conflict. Exactly. By restoring the footage,
he aimed to show a new side, the camaraderie,
the silliness, and the creative collaboration
that was often overshadowed by the breakup narrative.
The scope of the project demanded a three -part
series release on Disney Plus MoMA. It featured
the full 42 -minute final rooftop concert, and
the critical consensus was immense. It won five
Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding
Documentary or Nonfiction Series, and personally
for Jackson, Outstanding Directing. But here's
where Jackson's technological ingenuity moves
beyond cinema and physically alters music history.
The audio demixing technology, developed specifically
by the Weta team for Get Back, it allowed them
to take a single combined audio track vocals,
drums, guitars, and isolate each instrument or
vocal performance. So explain that demixing process
for us. Why was this such a groundbreaking technical
feat, especially in audio restoration? Well,
think of it this way. Historically, once instruments
and vocals were mixed down onto a single tape
track, they were permanently glued together.
Trying to separate John Lennon's voice from the
piano bleed on an old demo was nearly impossible
without severe degradation. So we as machine
learning and AI algorithms learn to recognize
specific sonic signatures. Right. Lennon's voice,
a specific drum kit, and they could essentially
unglue the elements, allowing them to isolate
vocals or drums from the background noise and
each other with unprecedented clarity. That is
truly revolutionary. And that technology immediately
found commercial application. It was used to
improve the audio quality of the revolver. Special
edition reissue in 2022. And most famously, that
demixing technology was the crucial key to salvaging
and completing Now and Then, dubbed The Last
Beatles Song, released in 2023. They took a raw,
noisy 1977 demo tape by John Lennon, isolated
his vocal track using the demixing process, combined
it with recordings made in 1995, and then added
new input from McCartney and Starr. Without Jackson's
technology, that song would have remained unusable
due to the poor quality of the vocal isolation.
It's that simple. Jackson also directed the accompanying
music video for Now and Then, which mixed new
footage of McCartney and Starr with carefully
restored old footage to visually include all
four Beatles. This integration received a mixed
response. While emotionally powerful, some critics
and viewers found the visual integration of the
deceased members into recent footage slightly
uncanny or jarring. Right. Jackson himself noted
he was initially very reluctant to direct the
video but was persuaded by the infectious enthusiasm
of the surviving members. And this period of
intense technological development also coincided
with a massive shift in his financial status.
Jackson became a certified billionaire in 2021.
That massive valuation was achieved when he sold
Weta. Specifically, the digital division WIDA
Digital to Unity Technologies, a leading interactive
3D gaming business. This sale highlighted that
Jackson hadn't just built a film studio asset.
He had built a globally significant technology
company. The result placed him and Fran Walsh,
his partner and co -owner, very high on the NBR
rich list in 2025 with an estimated net worth
of around $2 .6 billion. It confirms Jackson's
status as a technological entrepreneur as much
as a filmmaker. And outside of cinema, his diverse
business and personal interests are just as compelling.
Starting with that lifelong obsession that fed
into They Shall Not Grow Old, World War I Aviation.
He is an absolute fanatic. His interest is so
deep that he actually owns an aircraft restoration
and manufacturing company, the Vintage Aviator.
Which is dedicated to the painstaking restoration
and recreation of WWI and WWI fighter planes.
He personally owns a collection of over 40 airworthy
WWI era warbirds. A collection of historical
artifacts you can actually fly. He also chairs
the 1418 Aviation Heritage Trust and has been
generous with his collection, notably donating
replica aircraft for the over -the -front multimedia
display at the Australian War Memorial. He also
previously owned Waynut Wings, a scale modeling
company specializing in WWI subjects. Which,
while it closed in 2020, just underscores the
depth of his detailed passion for this era. His
interests stretch much further than history and
aviation, though. He purchased and saved Bats
Theatre in Wellington. from demolition in 2011,
showing a commitment to local arts infrastructure.
And then there's the science aspect, where his
capital supports genuinely ambitious, disruptive
goals. You're talking about his investment in
colossal biosciences. Exactly. Jackson invested
in this bioscience company, which has the specific,
ambitious aim of de -extinction. Bringing back
extinct creatures, most famously the woolly mammoth.
It showcases his willingness to put serious capital
behind technology that pushes boundaries, whether
it's visual effects, audio restoration, or genetic
science. He's always funding the next disruptive
innovation. It's clear that his influence is
not limited to the silver screen. We should also
touch on the more idiosyncratic details of his
collection, like owning the main driving chitty
-chitty bang -bang car built for the film. And
he's not afraid to use his clout locally. The
sources point to his involvement in Wellington
local politics in 2019, where he supported a
mayoral candidate with $30 ,000 in funding. And
this support reportedly influenced the election
result by a tiny margin of just 62 votes, stemming
primarily from a long running property development
dispute at Shelly Bay. It's a remarkable demonstration
of his desire to shape the physical as well as
the creative environment around him. To understand
Jackson's massive output, we have to look closely
at the man directing his methodology, his collaborators
and his reputation for being an intense perfectionist.
That label is well -earned. Jackson is known
for his almost compulsive attention to detail,
which is often paired with a macabre sense of
humor and a general playfulness. The bad taste
sensibilities are still lingering. Oh, absolutely.
But that perfectionism translated directly into
long, demanding hours on set, particularly during
the LOTR era. We have those incredible anecdotes
from legendary actors like Christopher Lee and
Ina McKellen, who spoke about his habit of demanding
new Often asking for one more for luck. And this
is directly tied to a signature Jackson trademark,
his insistence on coverage. For you listeners
who might not be familiar with the term, coverage
means shooting a scene from virtually every angle
imaginable. Ride shots, medium shots, closest
from the left, closest from the right. High angles,
low angles. He does this to maximize his editing
options in post -production, sometimes spending
days capturing a single short scene, but ensuring
he has every possible permutation available in
the editing room. And visually, this manifests
in specific, recognizable trademarks. that wide
array of multiple camera angles, and his unique
use of wide -angle lenses for close -ups on actors'
faces. Right. A wide -angle lens typically distorts
perspective slightly, often making the face look
more imposing or intense, drawing the viewer
deeper into the emotional space of the character.
He was also, throughout his career, a significant
early adopter of computer enhancement technology,
even before LOTR. He began utilizing and providing
digital special effects to Hollywood films. Establishing
Waita's reputation long before The Ring came
into play. His self -taught trial and error mentality
made him uniquely receptive to new disruptive
technologies. He has also definitely adopted
the Alfred Hitchcock tradition. He is a true
cameo king. He appears in most of the films he
directs, and even in some he only produces. And
these cameos are more than just quick background
shots. They are specific, fun details. Beyond
his two lead roles in Bad Taste, he was the mortician's
assistant in Braindead. In Heavenly Creatures,
he was the tramp kissed by Juliet Holm, a jarring
bit of levity in an otherwise intense film. The
Lord of the Rings cameos are perhaps the most
famous. He is the carrot -chomping citizen of
Bree in Fellowship of the Ring. And in The Two
Towers, he's one of the spear -throwing defenders
of Helm's Deep. In Return of the King, he ramps
up the detail. He played the bosun of a corsair
ship who was accidentally killed by Legolas in
the extended version. A character so memorable
in his brief appearance that an action figure
was actually made of him. And then there's the
bizarre practical detail that his own hand stood
in for Sean Astin's hands when Sam was being
wrapped in cobweb by Shelob due to Astin's temporary
absence from the set. He even inserted a clever
meta reference into his most beloved project.
In his 2005 King Kong remake, he appeared as
a biplane gunner attacking Kong. Which was a
direct, respectful reprise. of the cameo made
by the original 1933 film's director, Marion
C. Cooper. And it really is a family business.
His partner, Fran Walsh, and both their children,
Billy and Katie, have made consistent cameos
throughout his major filmography since the mid
-90s. From The Frighteners right through The
Hobbit trilogy. Even the portraits of Bilbo's
parents, Bungo Baggins and Bella Donna Took,
seen at the end of the Battle of the Five Armies,
were painted in the likeness of Jackson and Walsh.
Which brings us back to Fran Walsh. We've mentioned
her numerous times, but we have to reinforce
her importance. She is far more than a partner.
She is the creative co -pilot and the thematic
anchor of his entire career. Absolutely. She
has been his partner since 1987 and is an essential
collaborator. A co -writer, producer, and lyricist
on every film since Meet the Feebles, their work
is inseparable. Her contributions were formally
recognized when she shared the three Academy
Awards Jackson won for The Return of the King.
Best picture, best adapted screenplay, and even
best original song for Into the West. In total,
she has received seven Oscar nominations, making
her one of the most essential and sometimes undercredited
figures in modern blockbuster cinema. She often
brings the necessary emotional gravity and grounded
sensibility to Jackson's otherwise technologically
maximalist ambitions, pushing him toward projects
like Heavenly Creatures and grounding the emotional
intensity of LOTR. So, looking back... Sir Peter
Jackson's career trajectory is truly monumental.
He navigated the difficult transition from self
-taught splatter king to mainstream respectability
with heavenly creatures. He used that success
to establish Weta, not just a studio, but an
unparalleled visual effects powerhouse. He conquered
Hollywood with LOTR, winning 11 Oscars and redefining
the fantasy genre. And in his later career, he
achieved a new level of versatility, pivoting
to historically accurate documentaries and musical
preservation, demonstrating that Weta's restoration
technology is now a globally important asset.
Capable of giving new life to history, music,
and even potentially extinct creatures, his national
honors reflect this standing. Indeed. His official
standing is secured both nationally and internationally.
He was knighted as a Knight Companion of the
New Zealand Order of Merit in 2010. And received
New Zealand's highest civilian honor in 2012
as an additional member of the Order of New Zealand.
And his involvement with Middle Earth is far
from over. Warner Bros. Discovery recently confirmed
that Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens
will produce a new Lord of the Rings film, The
Lord of the Rings, The Hunt for Gollum, set for
release in 2027. With Andy Serkis directing.
And Wellington is confirmed as the production
hub, confirming that Jackson remains the central
creative and industrial force of that franchise.
So we've tracked Jackson's journey from a young
boy obsessed with stop -motion King Kong to a
technology billionaire who can literally restore
the Beatles' final music. We know his lifelong
passion. for King Kong and WWI aviation, and
we know he is deeply invested in colossal biosciences,
aiming to bring back the woolly mammoth. This
raises the final fascinating question for you,
the listener. We've seen Jackson transition from
low -budget horror to high -fantasy epics and
then to intense forensic historical restoration.
Knowing his unique blend of technological mastery,
cinematic ambition, and obsessive detail, and
given that he's already investing heavily in
life sciences and aviation history, what new
field of reality or fiction will his particular
brand of visionary expertise choose to conquer
next? What unexplored corner of the world is
waiting for the Peter Jackson treatment?