Peter Jackson to direct ‘Lovely Bones’ movie

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.

“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.”

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