'Rings' director shares tales from Middle-earth

Peter Jackson, director of the award-winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, picked up the Modern Master Award — along with a stuffed kiwi — at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Saturday.

Jackson's most recent film, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," won Golden Globes for best picture and director and is nominated for 11 Oscars this year.

Jackson, 42, told stories about making the trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's epic Middle-earth adventure.

He specifically recalled contending with the formidable Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf. At one point, McKellen wanted to know why, in "Return of the King," he was doing hand-to-hand combat with orcs.

"He said, 'Why am I hitting these people and not just blasting them with my staff?' " Jackson said. "I told him, 'The batteries have run out.' He just looked at me and said, 'Right, then.'"