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When one thinks of Peter Jackson, they normally think of the trilogy of movies involving orcs, hobbies, and "that blasted ring." What many don't realize is that Jackson, like everyone else, has a beginning. He also has his own series of quirks that make him more down to earth than some of his peers. Not to mention that he is a family man to boot.

Jackson's hobby of playing with directing began at a very early age in his home country of New Zealand. At the young age of 8, his parents bought him an 8mm movie camera. They realized that their son had a lust for this hobby that went beyond a simple boy-hood fad. Throughout his childhood, Jackson would make a series of shot films using his friends as actors, while he not only did a tidbit role but also took care of special effects, writing, and set creation.

Most likely this hobby and lack of funding (after all, what type of child has the allowance to make a movie?) led in part to his ability to make stellar movies on a tight budget. The first film that Jackson became well known for, Bad Taste, was done the same way as any other film that he had made growing up. At the age of 22, he and his friends began this low-budget gig. Everything was filmed on a second hand camera, and while it took four years for this joke between friends to be complete, it became a cult hit.

As Jackson became more popular, he continued to prefer to do the lower-budget films, normally horror movies with plenty of gore to spare. It wasn't until the 1996 movie of The Frighteners, starring Michael J. Fox, that Jackson began to see bigger budgets and fulfill his bigger dreams. No matter what the movie was however, he still made sure to get some signatures in there. Starting with his 1992 movie, Braindead, Jackson followed in many directors footsteps with making cameo appearances as minor characters, but the signatures don't stop there. In all of his movies, including Bad Taste, you can spot an axe somewhere, not to mention that there seems to always be a mockumentary to either be tacked into each movie or on the end of it.

While being a brilliant director, Jackson has also been able to remain loyal to his family. His wife, Fran Walsh, has been his partner for all of his script writing endeavors. While she has remained behind the scenes, her work does not go unrewarded; she went on stage with her life partner for the acceptance of an Oscar in 2004 and has been seen at other events with Jackson. He has also incorporated his two children in his work. Both children spend hours with their parents on set. In fact, cameo roles are becoming a big hit with the family as each child has now been in at least four movies, in very minor parts of course.

While Jackson has written, directed, and shared many movies with millions of fans, it seems that there are never enough ways to explain what a brilliant man he is. His filmography is a very lengthy one, but that alone does not do his justice. Neither do the thousands or articles written on the man, nor the trophy of awards that he has been collecting thus far. Peter Jackson is someone that is hard to put into words, but like the movies that he creates.

Learn more about this author, Tasha Raymond.
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