Oscar winning director Peter Jackson becomes a knight

Wellington: Movie director Peter Jackson, whose final film `The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King`, won 11 Oscars in 2004, was named a knight in New Zealand`s New Year honours list, released Thursday.

Jackson, who becomes Sir Peter as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, said it was an "incredible moment in my life. I didn`t think anything would surpass the 2004 Academy Awards, but I was wrong". Former prime minister Helen Clark received the country`s highest honour, becoming a member of the Order of New Zealand, which is limited to 20 living New Zealanders. Clark, who was prime minister from 1999-2008, now heads the UN Development Programme in New York. American billionaire Julian Robertson, who now lives in New Zealand, was made an honorary knight for services to business and philanthropy, but as a foreign citizen cannot use the title "sir". PTI