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Story by: Jack Foley
PETER Jackson has won the Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) award
for the final film in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, The
Return of the King.
The award, widely regarded as a pointer to success at the Oscars,
marks the first time Jackson has won the accolade, despite having
been nominated for each of the films.
It does, however, make the New Zealander the firm favourite for
Oscar glory, given that the winner of the DGA award has gone on
to triumph in all but six occasions.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return og the King has raked in $925m
(£504m) at the box office, worldwide, since its release
in December.
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And although it took Jackson and his team seven years to complete,
he remains tremendously grateful for having being given the opportunity
to properly realise Tolkien's vision onscreen.
He commented: "We live in an age where people write books
about nightmarish experiences on film sets - and I didn't have
one of those - I had the most amazing time."
In winning the DGA award, Jackson beat Sofia Coppola, for Lost
in Translation, Clint Eastwood, for Mystic
River, Peter Weir, for Master
and Commander and Gary Ross, for Seabiscuit
- most of whom will battle against him for Oscar glory at the
end of February.
The DGA awards also honoured television work, and director, Mike
Nichols, took the accolade for his work on TV mini-series, Angels
in America.
The two-part drama, about Aids in the 1980s, stars Al Pacino,
Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson, and won a string of awards at
the recent Golden Globes.
It was broadcast on Channel 4 over the weekend.
Nichols was also presented with a lifetime achievement award
for his movie career, which includes directing Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf and Working Girl.
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