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The article presents information about several women executives in the U.S. As Stacey Snider, Universal Pictures chairman reaches the end of a decidedly mixed year, she has staked her future clout at the studio on director Peter Jackson's "King Kong," a three-hour movie that has cost an estimated $207 million, though at least a chunk of that near-record-breaking amount was covered by Jackson himself. Nancy Tellem, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group president, is fascinated by the second coming of convergence that has hit the TV industry this year.

This article reports on the visual effects used in Peter Jackson's upcoming Universal film "King Kong." Andy Serkis, the basis of the digitally animated character Gollum in Jackson's 2001-03 "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, delivers this year's biggest cinematic performance by giving voice and life to a 25-foot-tall gorilla, though the actor's face does not appear in a single frame of film. His big-screen contribution, completed by effects house Weta Digital, represents an increasing industry-wide reliance on visual-effects and sound departments not only to create environments but also to help shape performances. After principal photography wrapped, Serkis acted out Kong's scenes on a motion-capture stage. INSET: Darth becomes him.

This article focuses on the efforts of innovative music composers in advancing their art since the trend of talkies got started in Hollywood. Peter Jackson's remake of the 1933 cinema classic "King Kong," in December 2005 is expected to continue to raise the bar in the "yes, a visual-effects-intensive film can have a story, too" department. With his James Bond scores, director John Barry combined symphonic scoring with a pop aesthetic, a skill also mastered by Henry Mancini on his "Pink Panther" and "Peter Gunn" themes. INSET: RIGHTS STUFF.

This article reports on the motion picture industry in Asia. For 2005, ticket sales are down 5%-15% year-over-year across all key Asian markets, and industry participants says it's the December 2005 release of Universal's "King Kong," from director Peter Jackson, that is the kind of potentially monstrous hit film needed to break the drought. Mike Selwyn, United International Pictures' supervisor for Australia/New Zealand, said that "King Kong" is the key. The reality is that 2005 is becoming a difficult year at the Asian boxoffice, with distributors saying many major releases are not meeting expectations, echoing the lament of their European counterparts.

The article reports that directors Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg have decided to direct a film series "Tintin," based on the series of Belgian comic books called "The Adventures of Tintin," Herge. The motion-capture technology will be used in the making of the movies. In the comics, Tintin is a young Belgian reporter and world traveler who is aided in his adventures by his faithful dog Snowy.

The article reports that Peter Jackson has announced that he is no longer planning to direct "The Hobbit," a prequel to his mega-successful "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, because of an ongoing accounting and legal dispute with New Line Cinema Corp. The lawsuit that resulted in the current impasse originally was filed by Jackson's production company, Wingnut Films, in early 2005.

This article reports that making inroads to Hollywood, French publisher Ubisoft will develop a video game based on the Universal Pictures remake of the motion picture "King Kong," directed by Peter Jackson. The game is scheduled to ship on December 14, 2005, the day the movie is set to open. Jackson is expected to have a role in the creation of the "King Kong" game, similar to how the Wachowski brothers oversaw development of "Enter the Matrix" and "The Matrix Online." Ubisoft producers have been spending time in New Zealand, where the film is being shot.

Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is a royal favorite of the Online Film Critics Society, which gave the trilogy ending New Line Cinema epic a leading 10 nominations for its 2003 OFCS Awards."King" picked up nominations for best picture, best director, best supporting actor for Sean Astin, best adapted screenplay for Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh and best cinematography for Andrew Lesnie. In the lead actress category, Scarlett Johannson of "Lost in Translation" is up against Charlize Theron for "Monster," Uma Thurman for "Kill Bill," Naomi Watts for "21 Grams" and Angela Bettis for "May."

When news leaked that Peter Jackson would receive $20 million to direct Universal's remake of 1933's "King Kong," it drew gasps within the film industry. It was the first time in history that a director had been paid as much as an A-list star. The truth of the matter is that Jackson's salary was indicative of something else, an increased polarization between the very top directors and the rest of the directing community, a community composed of filmmakers who are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain full control over their projects in a bottom-line-minded corporate world. Michael Bay, one of the highest-paid actors in the business, only received final cut on 200 Ps "Pearl Harbor" in exchange for promising the Walt Disney Co. that the budget of the film would not exceed $145 million. Other such directors include Woody Allen, James L. Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Michael Mann, Anthony Minghella, Pollack, Robert Redford, Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone and Robert Zemeckis.

The article features Saoirse Ronan, who has gained reputation as on the young actresses to come out from Ireland. It reveals that Ronan played the role of Briony Tallis in the movie "Atonement," by the Focus Features. Accordingly, the role was played then by Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave. In addition, Saoirse took a break in Paramount's planned 2008 release, "The Lovely Bones," by Peter Jackson.

The article presents information about the film "Dambusters," based on World War II. The film will be produced by Peter Jackson, Jan Blenkin and Carolynne Cunningham. Christian Rivers will direct the film. The film is being co-financed by the companies Universal Pictures and StudioCanal. The screenwriter for the film has not been decided yet.

This article reports that the U.S. National Board of Review awarded the William K. Everson Award for Film History to George Feltenstein, senior VP theatrical catalog marketing at Warner Home Video. He is responsible for a great number of the best of the DVD releases of classic films in the market, including the recently restored and re-mastered 1933 "King Kong," which is so breathtaking that it might be one reason director Peter Jackson's version hasn't impressed moviegoers as much as everyone expected and hoped.

This article presents news briefs related to the motion picture industry in several countries. Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons said that India offers better immediate growth prospects for his firm than China because India has a more predictable regulatory environment and less piracy. Korean conglomerate the Daesung Group is investing in New Zealand director Jonathan King's forthcoming horror comedy "Black Sheep," signaling the first time a Korean company has committed equity to a New Zealand film. Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore, who scored Peter Jackson's hit "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, has left the director's "King Kong" and is being replaced by James Newton Howard.

The article reports that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the creative duo behind the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy of films and the upcoming "King Kong," have hoarded Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox's big-screen version of the video game "Halo" as executive producers. At the same time, outgoing Universal production heads Mary Parent and Scott Stuber have joined Peter Schlessel on the project as producers. Jackson and Walsh will give creative input on all aspects of the film via their WingNut Films banner.

This article informs that Peter Jackson's production company Wingnut Films is suing New Line Cinema for allegedly withholding profits, including home video revenue, from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the first film in the trilogy. The suit, which makes no mention of the other two films in the trilogy, was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and seeks unspecified damages, restitution and an order barring New Line from striking any more deals without seeking the most competitive and beneficial terms from unaffiliated third parties.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was the one movie that ruled them all at the 76th Annual Academy Awards, winning the best-picture Oscar and the director accolade for Peter Jackson, as of March 2, 2004. It swept all 11 categories in which it was nominated, immediately finding a place in the record books alongside "Titanic" and "Ben-Hur," the only other films to earn 11 Oscars. New Line Cinema Corp.'s "King," which has already tallied in excess of $1 billion boxoffice worldwide, virtually had the show to itself.

J.R.R. Tolkien continues to be a boon to New Zealand's film industry in ways he never could have imagined. With the construction of Park Road Post, a new postproduction house co-financed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, the trickle-down effect of the success of his film "The Lord of the Rings" franchise appears strong. "One of the benefits of making 'The Lord of the Rings' in New Zealand has been the construction of this new state-of-the-art facility, which is now here for the use of all Kiwi filmmakers," says Jackson, who will serve as Park Road Post's chairman. Park Road Post will succeed the Film Unit, previously a government owned lab that Jackson bought four years ago, and is in the same Miramar neighborhood as his Camperdown Studios, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop.

Peter Jackson won for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film at the 56th annual DGA Awards held Saturday night at the Century Plaza Hotel. In accepting the award Jackson said that, he is proud to accept the award for such a film that promotes the values of courage, of friendship and faith. The directorial team that shared in the DGA's 'King' accolade includes unit production managers Nikolas Korda and Zane Weiner, first assistant director Carolynne Cunningham and second assistant directors Guy Campbell and Marc Ahton.

This article presents quotations made by people related to motion pictures and broadcasting. Best director Oscar award nominee Peter Jackson, on the shortened awards season, says, "Doing this until the end of March is almost unthinkable. It's not allowing political momentum to build over a particular film, and it is enabling the whole event to be more pure, with people just voting for the things that they like."

The DGA's nominees for directorial achievement in feature films in 2003 range from Hollywood veteran director Clint Eastwood to relative newcomer Sofia Coppola and include Peter Jackson, Gary Ross and Peter Weir along the way. When the feature nominations for the 56th annual DGA Awards were announced in January 2004, Coppola became only the fifth woman to be nominated for a DGA Award. She also is the first child of a DGA winner to be nominated — her father, Francis Ford Coppola, won DGA Awards for the first two "Godfather" films.

Reports that Peter Jackson, director of motion picture 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, has confirmed that he is building a postproduction facility near his studio complex in Wellington, New Zealand. Laboratory that will shift into the facility; Year by which all departments and equipment will be in the facility.