Tribute.ca presents The Hobbit

Peter Jackson identifies with hobbits


When Peter Jackson called Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein 17 years ago about the possibility of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit into a feature film, he never expected it to eventually lead him to where he is today. “I remember in 1995 I made the first call to Harvey Weinstein,” Jackson recalls to The Dominion Post, “and […]

When Peter Jackson called Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein 17 years ago about the possibility of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit into a feature film, he never expected it to eventually lead him to where he is today. “I remember in 1995 I made the first call to Harvey Weinstein,” Jackson recalls to The Dominion Post, “and said we were interested in doing The Hobbit. The idea was, if it was successful, we would do Lord of the Rings. But Harvey said the rights were in a very complicated state – however, LOTR was potentially available. It’s strange how that call 17 years ago was the beginning of this whole process.” That process would lead to one of the most successful trilogies of all time, followed up by an eagerly anticipated second trilogy based on The Hobbit. Even after all of this time, however, Jackson has always gravitated towards Tolkien’s initial novel, feeling the irresistible pull of his favorite group of characters in the mythology: hobbits. “I always liked the hobbits,” says Jackson, “because you can identify with them – and I particularly can. I’m a homebody, I like to put my feet up and I like the comforts of home. I’m not much of an adventurer, so I’ve always related to the hobbits and the story of Bilbo Baggins is the ultimate hobbit story.” Jackson will kick off his Hobbit trilogy on December 14th with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey before returning to production to polish off the final two films next year.~Devin Garabedian

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