Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014). His earlier films include Heavenly Creatures (1994), The Frighteners (1996) and King Kong (2005). He also directed the First World War documentary They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) and The Beatles: Get Back (2021).

In 2017, Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh became directors of PBT New Zealand, a company established with James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron. The company was jointly owned through Cameron and Jackson business entities, as listed in Companies Office reporting covered by the New Zealand Herald. The venture was described publicly as focused on developing plant-based food products and plant protein technology in New Zealand.

Public discussion around the venture linked it to climate and agricultural transition, with plant-based manufacturing presented as a way to create jobs and support regional communities while reducing reliance on livestock farming. In one widely circulated line from reporting on the project, Cameron described Jackson as “very keen” to establish “plant meat” factories in New Zealand.

In May 2025, NBR reported that PBT New Zealand had ceased trading, citing a shareholders’ resolution stating that the company had “ceased carrying on business”.