After the success of his "Lord of the Rings" movies, director Peter Jackson could do no wrong. He was beloved by the Hollywood establishment, beloved by the Academy, and beloved by fantasy nerds the world over. His "Rings" movies were phenomenal productions, telling an epic story that took a trio of three-hour movies to cover, and Jackson was rewarded with geek world canonization and permission to make whatever dream movie he wanted. So, he followed "Lord of the Rings" with a slick, expensive, and utterly self-indulgent remake of "King Kong," a $207 million, 187-minute spectacular featuring cinema's favorite giant ape.

With "King Kong" out of his system, it was time for Jackson to knuckle under and decide what he wanted to do next. What would his new identity as a filmmaker look like, a

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