Jackson is getting into a good Hobbit (with video)

LOS ANGELES Sipping from a cup of green tea in a cavernous Beverly Hills hotel suite, the scruffy Peter Jackson looks like a struggling artist between gigs.

The 52-year-old is better known as the Oscar-winning filmmaker of a multi-billion dollar series of J.R.R. Tolkien movie fantasies.

His casual appearance is in sharp contrast to the astute fellow he really is. Which is a good thing since Jackson is in the middle of demanding promotional duties for the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug.

The first Hobbit movie last year scooped up over $1 billion US at the worldwide box office, continuing the momentum from The Lord of the Rings pictures, which earned multiple Oscars and more than $3 billion.

Whos counting? Lets say lots of people, including Jackson who is equal parts expert in commerce and storytelling.

Hes also not above continuing his good fortune by appearing in every one of the Tolkien pictures, including The Desolation of Smaug.

Watch for Jackson in the opening sequence.

I almost have to film something with me in it because its a good-luck charm, says the writer and director during a Canadian exclusive interview with Postmedia News. Its come to the point now where I just want to get (the cameo) over with.

As slapdash as that might sound, there is always a method to his creative madness. And he confesses that the opening from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug features the same town from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in which Jackson appeared, as well.

OK, so I can be the grandfather of the guy from Fellowship of the Ring, says Jackson chuckling. Im actually doing it because I am paying tribute to myself. Why not?

Excerpt from:
Jackson is getting into a good Hobbit (with video)