The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The Kingproducers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Barrie M Osborne won the Darryl FZanuck Producer of the Year Award at the 15th Annual PGA Awards inLos Angeles on Saturday (17).

The New Line fantasy beat strong competition from Miramax's ColdMountain, Warner Bros' Mystic River and The Last Samurai,Fox's Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World and Universal's Seabiscuit.

The award boosts the Academy Awards prospects of PeterJackson's film following several other accolades this season and confirms itsstatus as one of the front-runners for Oscar glory in February.

Ten of the last 14 PGA winners have gone on to claim thebest picture Academy Award.