`Lord of the Rings` director Peter Jackson is knighted

London: `Lord of the Rings` film maker Peter Jackson was knighted in New Zealand for his services to the country`s arts. The director has risen from small budget horror films to the heights of Hollywood, reported Daily Mail online.

At an investiture ceremony New Zealand`s head of state, Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand, did the honours in lieu of Queen Elizabeth II. "I feel incredibly humbled. The truth is, making movies is not a solo effort, it involves hundreds of people, thousands of people, so I feel as though I`m accepting it on behalf of the industry," said Jackson after the ceremony. The filmmaker`s crowning achievement remains the three-movie adaptation of `Lord of the Rings,` which transformed the rugged landscape of New Zealand into the Middle Earth of JRR Tolkien`s fantasy epic. The final movie in the trilogy won 11 Academy Awards and Jackson has gone on to remake `King Kong,` and his latest film is `The Lovely Bones`. PTI