Peter Jackson to direct ‘Lovely Bones’ movie

‘Lord of the Rings’ director and wife helped adapt script

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updated 10:25 p.m. ET May 6, 2007

LOS ANGELES - Peter Jackson is teaming up with DreamWorks SKG to film his adaptation of the best-selling novel “The Lovely Bones.”

DreamWorks beat out three other bidders — Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. — to finance Jackson’s version of Alice Sebold’s 2002 best-seller about the murder of a 14-year-old girl who narrates her tale from heaven.

Jackson, best known for the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, will direct from a script he wrote with his wife, Fran Walsh, and collaborator Philippa Boyens. The film begins shooting in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand.

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“In the hands of Peter Jackson, we have a master of cinematic storytelling to bring it to the screen,” DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider said in a statement announcing the deal Friday.

Financial terms were not released.

Jackson won three Academy Awards in 2004 for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” His other credits include “King Kong” and “Heavenly Creatures.”