Geeks rejoice: Peter Jackson's coming to Comic-Con

The line outside the San Diego Convention Center starts, oh, about now: Peter Jackson is coming to Comic-Con 2009.

The "Lord of the Rings" and "King Kong" director never made it to "nerd prom" to meet his fans in advance of those movies; he was still editing "King Kong" in New Zealand during the 2005 convention. He'll be there this year to help promote "District 9," a sci-fi film he produced that hits theaters in August.

"I'm thrilled that I finally have the opportunity," Jackson tells The New York Times. "[Director Neill Blomkamp] is a tremendously talented young director, and he's made an extraordinary film, so it was important to me to come to San Diego to spread the word."

The movie is about a race of aliens who are forced to live in abject conditions on Earth and a government agent who comes to their aid.

Comic-Con organizers are understandably excited to have Jackson on the guest list as well.

"We are overjoyed that the stars have aligned for this," Comic-Con marketing director David Glanzer tells the paper. "[Jackson] has a huge fan base here and is notorious for listening to his fans, which should make for a really interesting panel."

Comic-Con 2009 runs from July 23-26.

Related:

'Lord of the Rings' team will write 'Hobbit' scripts
Comic-Con official site