After working away for years on the massive Tolkien trilogies, with just a quick break in between to craft King Kong and The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson is understandably ready to tackle something a little less huge in future. Right after The Hobbit films are finished, he tells the New Zealand Herald that he has plans.
"We have got a few bits and pieces that we are working on, Fran and I.” Jackson tells the paper. “The things that we are most excited about are some New Zealand stories. We just want to step off the Hollywood blockbuster thing for a while and we've had a few New Zealand stories in line for a while that we think would make great films. The Heavenly Creature****s mode really.
"But one thing has led to another and we have never had time. We've made a conscious decision that in the limited years we have left to make movies to tell some New Zealand stories."
Of course, there are other possible commitments, not the least of which is the second Tintin film, which Jackson has said he’ll direct, though progress on the follow-up to Steven Spielberg’s first entry seems to be going slowly. Then, there are the other, bigger projects (a relative term when compared to the LOTR / Hobbit films) he’s talked about in the past, including adapting the **Temeraire **books and a Dambusters remake. From the sounds of it, those will have to wait in the drawer for now, as Jackson looks to find something intimate to work on. And, if we’re honest, hasn’t he earned a holiday?
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug will be out on December 13. For more from the director on a variety of topics, head to the Herald’s site.