Peter Jackson and Phillipa Boyens on An Unexpected Journey

  • Breaking
  • 27/11/2012

By 3 News online staff

Tonight the world gets its first look at The Hobbit, and it’s a screening that went right down to the wire.

Hobbit hype has taken over the capital in recent weeks, as anticipation builds for the premiere. Sir Peter says he can’t wait for the film to be released so attention can move towards the film and away from the hype.

“At the moment it’s about the hype and it’s not about the actual film itself. So I’ll be relieved when December 12 rolls around and it can just be about the movie, because that’s ultimately what we’ve made is a film – we haven’t made all this hype.”

Director Sir Peter Jackson was still putting finishing touches on the film yesterday morning, and admits it’s been hard to let the film go.

“You don’t really let it go, someone comes and drags it out of your hands and you actually try to clutch onto it as long as you can,” he says. “I think that there’s nothing that’s ever perfect, and the longer you spend on the film the better you can make it, so we fiddle and we like to think we’re improving it right up until the very last minute.”

He says the Hobbit films have a stellar cast, though his favourite actor seems clear. Sir Peter says Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo, was a “dream” to work with and a complete rarity as an actor.

“Martin is a dream for a director because what Martin does – which I was totally fascinated with – is that, we would shoot eight-to-nine takes and every one of them would be completely different – which for me is a joy.”

“He’s always experimenting, going in different directions but they’re all authentic, they all feel very real and truthful, but it gives me such a wide range of choices.

“He’s rare, a lot of actors just try to achieve something they have in their mind and they’re heading towards the centre of the goal – Martin just goes out in all directions, experimenting all the time and it’s just a fascinating process to watch and a joy.”

Sir Peter’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy made him a global superstar – a phenomenon he says he’s still not used to.

While he can still visit the local diary to pick up some milk, he says shopping in downtown Wellington is a different story.

“If I go into Wellington, into the city, to go shopping or go to the movies, it’s fine but I know I’ll be posing for photos – with cell phones that never kind of work the first time.”

Sir Peter has spent more than a decade working on the Tolkien films but says he’s not worried about life after the Hobbit.

“I’ve only ever wanted to make movies that I like making and that I’m interested in. So every film I’ve made has been a movie that I’ve wanted to see – so it’s really selfish to some degree.

“I have no idea what films we’re going to be making in the future – they’ll just be what they’ll be and hopefully they’ll be enjoyable.”

Watch the video for Samantha Hayes’ full interview with Sir Peter Jackson and his co-producer Phillipa Boyens.

3 News

source: newshub archive