Peter Jackson: Inside His Personal Memorabilia Vault

Peter Jackson portrait

by Ben Travis |
Published on

Like many directors, Peter Jackson isn’t just a movie-maker. The man behind The Lord Of The Rings, King Kong, and a whole bunch of splatty Kiwi horrors is a movie mega-fan, someone who grew up in thrall to the big screen and the adventures, terrors, and brand new worlds it conjured. And like the dragon Smaug, Jackson has his own stash of gold – a collection of some of Hollywood’s most prized items and artefacts, a personal vault filled with models, monsters, memorabilia, and more spanning decades of cinema.

When Empire went to Wellington, New Zealand to celebrate the filmmaker for Empire 30, we were granted access to his collection, getting up close and personal with the props, models, manuscripts and more that the director counts among his prized possessions. In the summer 2019 issue of Empire – on shelves from Thursday 16 May and available to order online here – you’ll find a guided tour by Jackson of his personal favourites. Take a look below for a taste of the treasures that can be found in the vault.

Peter Jackson photographed by Dean Mackenzie

Peter Jackson portrait
©Dean Mackenzie

Prop images: Chris Moss

You Only Live Twice original manuscripts

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss
Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

2001: A Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss
Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Terminator: Salvation T-600 endoskeleton

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Terminator 2 Arnie model

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Mighty Joe Young animatronic gorilla

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

The Nightmare Before Christmas sketches

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

The Corpse Bride models

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Alien head models

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Aliens Alien Queen model

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Alien 3 puppet

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Planet Of The Apes prosthetics

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss
Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Bad Taste props

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss
Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Jason And The Argonauts skeleton warrior models

Peter Jackson – memorabilia collection
©Chris Moss

Read Empire’s full Peter Jackson celebration in the Spider-Man: Far From Home issue, where the filmmaker gives an exclusive new career-spanning interview, answers reader questions in The People Vs. Peter Jackson, and reveals more about his personal memorabilia collection.

Empire - Summer 2019 spider-man far from home newsstand cover

On sale Thursday 16 May, or purchase a copy online here{ =nofollow}.

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