WELLINGTON, New Zealand - "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson said in an interview with The New Zealand Edge Thursday that he is tired of fielding questions about his more public family members, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. "No, I don't know if he really did it. No, I don't know if it was planned. Ok? Can we get on with the interview about me?" Jackson testily replied, when asked about Michael.

Estranged from the family since their refusal to add him to the family label as "The Jackson Five Plus One", he for years lived on the fringes of the media industry. His move to New Zealand at eighteen years of age was fortuitous, as it put him in a less competition-rich environment where his cinematic talents could grow. As Jackson himself said, "I wouldn't have made it in Hollywood. There's just too many people trying too hard. I like cinema and all that, but I can't see me really, you know, trying at it."

His biggest challenge these days? He sat for a moment, then answered, "I don't really like challenges. I'm more of a 'problem' person. 'Challenge' has an air of choice around it, like you could choose to turn down the challenge and pop off to the pub. I'll take the pub route every time on that number, so I don't face many challenges. But this new problem, of people on my back about my siblings, that's my big one today. Not the Rings. Not the schedule. It's the constant barrage of questions about my idiotic family."

Does he support Michael? On this, an answer was immediate, "He's just a guy, like you. Or me. I don't support you, but I don't accuse you. Ok, he's my brother. But that means so little for me, you just don't understand. Let's leave it at this: He's on trial. A jury will decide. I'll support that decision."

And how does he feel about Janet? "Janet's a lost soul. I offered her a part in the Rings just to keep her out of trouble. She turned it down. Too bad, I say, but that's her call."

And finally, when I asked 'Tell me, does Frodo finally destroy the One Ring?' he replied quizzically , "You realize, do you, that all three films have been released? Have you seen them? There were books as well, you may know."
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