Peter Jackson, the director behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy has been knighted in New Zealand.

The Queen's representative Governor-General Anand Satyanand honoured Jackson for services to the arts. Jackson said he was humbled by the honour and was accepting it on behalf of his many hundreds of collaborators.

He is currently working on films based on Tolkien's The Hobbit and Herge's Tintin.

New Zealand stopped handing out Lordships and other honours in 2000, but started again last year.

The award was announced on New Year's Eve. ®

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