Most well-known for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson began his career in the 1980s directing horror films like Braindead, and dark comedies like Meet the Feebles. With an emphasis on practical effects, Jackson began cultivating a following in New Zealand and around the world, a following that grew exponentially once he was given the job of directing the Fellowship of the Ring back in 2001. After the critical and commercial success of the Lord of the Rings, youd be hard pressed to find anyone in the world who didnt appreciate the New Zealander, or just downright adore him. His output after Return of the King was fairly slow, and that King Kong movie wasnt received all too positively, but Jackson had secured our admiration with three of the greatest films of all time. He was set. Unfortunately, because people cant leave well enough alone, the Hobbit trilogy happened. A film that shouldnt have been more than two hours long was stretched to accommodate three entire movies, and Jacksons emphasis on practical filmmaking and realism went out the window in place of special effects and exaggerated, cartoonish nonsense. Nowadays, its pretty hard to find anyone who unaffectedly loves Peter Jackson. Hes earned our respect, certainly; it just feels like hes done everything in his power to squash that respect into dust.
