NEWS | Jackson Goes To War!

Peter Jackson has signed on to produce the WWII action flick Dambusters for Universal with his longtime associate Christian Riversa making his directorial debut. Rivers, who was worked with Jackson in various fashions over 17 years, recently served as animation director on King Kong. The film is based on the WWII air raid attack on three Nazi dams that were essential to running German steel factories. The story of the dam busters was previously made into a movie in 1955.

Jackson said of the film, "When Michael Anderson made his thrilling version of this story in 1955, many details of the dams raid were still a closely guarded secret. It has since been declassified by the British government, making the dynamics of the story and the people involved even more intriguing."

Universal is looking to get into production on the US$30-$40 million Dambusters next summer with a 2008 release planned. Jackson, who is also producing HALO for Universal and Fox, is expected to next direct The Lovely Bones based on Alice Sebold's novel.

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