Heavenly movie tests Jackson to the limit

After the mammoth undertaking of The Lord of the Rings and King Kong, Peter Jackson had hoped smaller-scale film The Lovely Bones would be a welcome change of pace.

Instead, the Oscar-winning director says it tested him to the limit.

"It's been the hardest thing I've ever done," he told The Dominion Post in his only New Zealand interview before the film's world premiere in front of the Queen in London's Leicester Square on Wednesday.

"This was a much more difficult film to make than Lord of the Rings."

Jackson said that when he first read the novel by Alice Sebold he enjoyed it, but did not think it could be made into a film and neither did his partner, Fran Walsh, or screenwriter Philippa Boyens.

But they later changed their minds and wrote the script together when told by British film company Film Four that the film rights were available.

The film tells the story of 14-year-old Susie Salmon, who is raped and murdered in rural Pennsylvania in the early 70s.

"[It was] trying to present something that isn't cliched, that doesn't disappoint you, that emotionally does what it needs to do for Susie. It's tricky. It's not where my best instincts naturally are," Jackson said.

The premiere is also the choice for the annual royal film performance, the only time each year when the Queen officially attends the cinema. This has meant that it cannot be shown to anyone, including reviewers, before the Queen sees it.

Only Jackson, his closest associates and senior studio executives have seen the final cut.

Jackson will attend the premiere, along with stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan.

The New Zealand premiere will be held at The Embassy in Wellington on December 14.

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