“I first read 'The Lord of the Rings' as an adolescent. It's a dense novel, a sprawling, complex monster of a book populated with a prolific number of characters caught up in a narrative structure that, frankly, does not lend itself to conventional storytelling.”

New Zealand filmmaker, entrepreneur and visual effects pioneer

Sir Peter Robert Jackson is a New Zealand filmmaker, entrepreneur, and visual effects pioneer. He is known for directing, writing, and producing the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit trilogy, both adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. His work also includes Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, King Kong, They Shall Not Grow Old, and The Beatles: Get Back. His films have grossed more than $6.5 billion worldwide, and he is the fifth-highest-grossing film director of all time.