Five years ago, while Peter Jackson was immersed in directing his large-scale remake of “King Kong” for Universal, executive Mary Parent mentioned a project the studio was developing based on the wildly popular video game “Halo.”

Jackson was intrigued. He loved to play “Halo” with his two teenage children; his special effects company, New Zealand-based WETA, seemed perfect to handle the FX; and a 15% tax rebate made a Kiwi shoot ideal for Universal and co-financier Fox. So Jackson agreed to produce, alongside his lifetime partner Fran Walsh and their colleague Carolynne Cunningham. Jackson would not direct, but he would find a promising young helmer to work under his supervision. When Parent suggested Neill Blomkamp, based on a short film of his she’d seen, the South Africa-born filmmaker left his home in Vancouver and flew to meet the Jackson team. More..

From english.people.com.cn: U.S. producer-director Peter Jackson is expected to be in China in late November to promote his latest project – “District 9,” which will be released across the country on Nov. 27, the Oriental Morning Post reports. The director of the “Lord of Rings” series will visit Beijing and Shanghai to interact with moviegoers. Exhibitions of his films will also be presented in the two cities, the report said.

“District 9,” made on a tight budget of 30 million U.S. dollars, has proved to be a box office dark horse in the U.S. market with total earnings of over 115 million dollars since it rolled out on Aug. 14.

Kiwi movie mogul Peter Jackson has co-directed the latest Tintin movie via the internet from his Wellington base. Actor Nick Frost, who plays one of the bumbling Thompson twin detectives, said Jackson gave his cast instructions via the world wide web which were then played on a PA system. Co-director Steven Spielberg was on set in California to coordinate the filming.

“Steve would come on and give a note and then through the PA system you would hear Peter say, ‘Hi guys, could you try this’, and then they would turn the camera around so that we could see him. It was strange,” Frost said. More..

From screencrave.com: A poster has been released for Peter Jackson’s upcoming drama, The Lovely Bones. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as parents grieving over the death of their young teenage daughter. The cast also includes several Oscar winners and nominees such as Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan. More..

From Wired: We take a behind-the-scenes look at Peter Jackson’s new film “The Lovely Bones.” The story revolves around Susie, a 14-year-old girl who is brutally murdered. Stuck in the “in-between,” Susie helps her grieving family find her killer.

From screencrave.com: It’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard anything regarding the Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg collaboration, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Over at the Spanish movie site Estrenosdecine, they’ve posted a new set photo featuring the two directors hard at work. From the looks of it, the pair are seriously submerging themselves in the computer generated world that they’ve created for the film. More..

Oscar-winning Kiwi screenwriter Philippa Boyens has revealed that she introduced The Lovely Bones to Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, but she did not believe the novel could be turned into a film. It was only after Walsh and Jackson had read the book and both believed it could be a film that Boyens, who co-wrote The Lord of the Rings and King Kong with the couple, changed her mind. Boyens discussed details about The Lovely Bones and The Hobbit, the script for which she is also co-writing, at a writers talk at Te Papa yesterday just hours before she was to watch a final cut of the film, to be released in December. More..

With MGM involved in financing “The Hobbit,” and Tom Cruise heading its United Artists division, its been a TORn staff hobby to joke about Tom Cruise playing Bilbo. Far fetched? Perhaps, but, he just flew to Wellington to meet with Peter Jackson. No joke.

The pair could be talking about anything. Jackson could be giving Cruise advice on New Zealand real estate, they could be talking about “Dam Busters,” or the speculated-on “District 10,” that would serve as a sequel for the Jackson-produced hit “District 9.” Maybe he wants the juicy role of The Necromancer. Nobody really knows the reason behind the meeting but we do know everybody will be talking about it. You can read the article right here or you can read on for some more story. Read the rest of this entry »

Wellington may play host to Hollywood stars as director Peter Jackson’s new film The Lovely Bones premieres in December. The red carpet has not been rolled out on Courtenay Place since King Kong launched in 2005. The Lovely Bones tells the story of a young murder victim who watches over her family and killer from heaven. Cast members include Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon. More..

In town to promote this weekend’s debut of “District 9,” filmmaker Peter Jackson shared some details about another project he’s serving as producer for—and the sequel that he’ll be getting behind the camera to direct. “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn” is based on the beloved comic strip with a global (and loyal) fanbase, and chronicles boy journalist Tintin’s globe-trotting adventures. Jackson is serving as producer on the first film, with Steven Spielberg in the director’s chair. The pair will reverse the roles for the sequel, and Jackson shared some details about where they’re at with the current film and what fans can expect to see in the follow-up.