Film maker Sir Peter Jackson will invest millions of dollars into a blockbuster movie museum and convention centre in his home town of Wellington, New Zealand.

The NZ$134m (US$88.7m, €81.7m, £59.1m), three-storey development, which will cover more than 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) of prime waterfront land, will be built in the heart of Wellington’s central business district, pending city council approval.

Also backed by Weta Workshop co-founder, Sir Richard Taylor – who worked closely with Jackson on special effects for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong – the pair have formed a new company, known as The Movie Museum Ltd, and are making substantial investments in the new development.

The museum will offer both permanent and temporary exhibition space, as well as a shop, café and office space.

Project director George Hickton said: "An astonishing archive of Wellington film-making has been collected, curated and is ready to be shared." He added: "The Movie Museum will be a home for thousands of priceless designs, props, models and set pieces from numerous film productions. This will include everything from whole worlds to single weapons, from creatures to costumes and from make-up to miniatures, vehicles and more."

"This museum could only be realised in Wellington," he continued, "The company's founders all live here and it's also the place that some 2,000 talented film-makers and craftspeople call home.

"The Movie Museum will celebrate their work, bringing the film industry closer to the people and communities which support it."

In addition to memorabilia from the sets of Jackson’s movies or sets created by Weta Workshop, the museum will also include items from the pair’s personal memorabilia collections.

The project, which would be a joint venture with the council, would be developed over the course of a decade, creating more than 1,000 jobs. The internal fit-out of the museum would be paid for by Jackson and Taylor, with the council funding the convention centre.

If plans are approved the museum will be open by 2018.

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