The Lovely Bones May Shoot in New Zealand

By James Wray Feb 11, 2005, 18:45 GMT

The Dominion Post reports that Jackson's writing partner on "The Lord of the Rings" series, Phillipa Boyens, says some of the filming would probably be in Wellington.

Speaking to the paper she said: "Peter loves filming here and he has incredible facilities so I assume some of it will be here (but) it is quite an American story."

Jackson and partner Fran Walsh struck a deal with UK Channel Four's film wing last month to adapt the novel by Alice Sebold, funding the option with their own cash.

Rather unusually the two intend to finish the script before getting any studios involved, saying it likely to be well into 2007 before any film is finished.

The story is seen from the eyes of a recently murdered teenager called Susie. She watches from heaven as her grieving family tries to come to terms with her death, as well as following the progress of the detective trying to solve her case.

It is really a coming of age story, just differs in that Susie is dead. She struggles to come to terms with death and still clings to world of the living. Over the years her family disintegrates as her father becomes obsessed with finding her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of it all and her younger sister goes through adolescence with Susie on her shoulder to guide her.

Jackson says on adapting the novel that heaven "is cleverly not described that well in the book, because Alice wanted your imagination to do the work and decide what Susie's heaven looks and feels like," Jackson said. "We will have to show something on film. It has to be somehow ethereal and emotional, but it can't be hokey."

You can read more about the book in our database.