Jackson's The Lovely Bones has 'too little violence'

Peter Jackson said that audiences in early screenings of <i>The Lovely Bones</i> 'wanted far more violence.' Photo / Mark Mitchell

Peter Jackson said he has had to re-edit his latest movie The Lovely Bones to "add more violence and suffering".

Instead of cutting scenes to qualify for a youth-friendly PG13 rating for US audiences, Jackson found test audiences wanted him to go the other way.

Based on the 2002 bestselling book by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones will open in New Zealand cinemas on Boxing Day.

It tells the story of a raped and murdered 14-year-old named Susie who watches from heaven while her family mourns her loss and tries to find her killer.

Jackson said he was taken aback to find in early screenings audiences "were simply not satisfied" by one character's death.

"They wanted far more violence," he said.

Filmed here and in the United States, The Lovely Bones is among this year's most anticipated films and already generating Oscar buzz. And fortunately for Jackson, the movie qualified for PG13.

- NZPA