Director Peter Jackson reminded audiences at the Cannes Film Festival that he, not Leonardo DiCaprio, was Kate Winslet's first onscreen kiss. The 64-year-old New Zealander made the revelation during a career retrospective on Wednesday, after a montage of his work from Bad Taste to The Lord of the Rings was shown.
The clip included his cameo as a tramp in the 1994 crime drama Heavenly Creatures, where his character is kissed by Winslet's Juliet Hulme outside a cinema. Jackson noted that this was Winslet's first screen kiss. 'I realised I gave Kate Winslet her first screen kiss,' he told the audience, adding that he 'must have set the bar pretty high' for the actress, who later shared iconic kisses with DiCaprio in Titanic, as well as with Patrick Wilson and Josh Brolin.
Winslet was 17 when she made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures, which became a sapphic cult classic. Jackson also recalled casting Melanie Lynskey, then 15, and described the search for the right actress as 'real sweaty palm-time.' Lynskey later said losing touch with Winslet was 'more heartbreaking than some breakups.'
Jackson also discussed boosting careers of Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis through Lord of the Rings. He explained why Serkis is directing the upcoming Hunt for Gollum, calling it 'an internal story about Gollum's psychology and his addiction,' and adding that no one knows the character better than Serkis. Lee Pace returns as Thranduil, with Winslet and Leo Woodall joining as new characters, and Jamie Dornan replacing Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn.
On AI, Jackson said he 'didn't dislike it at all' and called it 'a tool like any other,' but stressed it is 'absolutely critical' not to replicate someone without approval, likening it to stealing. His comments followed Cate Blanchett's launch of RSL Media to protect artists' work from unauthorized AI use.
Meanwhile, Demi Moore urged Hollywood to 'find ways' to work with AI, saying fighting it is a 'battle we will lose.' Her remarks come as Hell Grind, the first fully AI-generated film, premieres at Cannes.
