娱乐英语新闻:Peter Jackson to set up film museum in Wellington

WELLINGTON, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- World-famous film director Peter Jackson is planning to set up a film museum in Wellington, New Zealand media reported on Friday.

    It is understood the development, with a working name of New Zealand Movie World, is planned for opposite his Park Road Post Production facility in Miramar.

    Props from Jackson's movies -- including his Lord of the Rings trilogy and as far back as Bad Taste in 1987 -- would be on public display. A film school could also be included in the development, The Dominion Post daily reported.

    A spokesman for Jackson said on Thursday that there had been "nothing new and nothing active" in planning for a Wellington-based movie museum and film school since a similar proposal for Shelly Bay fell over about a year ago.

    However, reports said the movie museum proposal has been discussed for up to six months.

    Camperdown Studio -- of which Jackson, Jamie Selkirk and Richard Taylor are directors -- owns the site proposed for the museum.

    Some of the warehouse-type buildings are used by Jackson, but a number of organizations also have short leases, including the Wellington Circus Trust.

    Discussions have also included the possibility of a film school opening as part of the development.

    The popularity of the museum concept has been proven with the Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy -- The Exhibition.

    It proved so popular when first held at Te Papa in 2002 that it returned in 2006. In total, it attracted 325,000 visitors.

    Wellington has about 550,000 international visitors and 3.5 million domestic visits a year.