Peter Jackson hasn't yet been officially confirmed as director of The Hobbit(s), filling the shoes vacated by his old mucker Guillermo del Toro. But The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog is saying that the Kiwi director is travelling around the world regardless, gearing up to cast the eagerly-awaited **Lord Of The Rings **prequels.
Heat Vision says that Jackson was in London, New York and LA this week, 'quietly meeting' with actors. We think that means he was meeting with actors on the sly, not speaking so softly that they had problems hearing him.
Frankly, given that it's still nowhere near a greenlight, it would seem to be an encouraging sign that Jackson is doing this. Is the ownership of MGM - the situation that is currently blocking The Hobbit from dipping its hairy little feet into the waters of production - close to being resolved? Could be, could be.
We're not going to speculate, either, on the identities of the actors Jackson was meeting with; all will emerge in time on that score. Although if Danny Dyer isn't in the running for Bilbo, we're going to smash sumfink up.
In the meantime, Jackson is continuing to inch ever closer to putting his name on a piece of paper that says, roughly speaking, 'I will direct The Hobbit'. Fingers crossed that happens, and right soon. Then we can get onto some casting confirmations and get Bilbo Baggins where he belongs - in front of a camera.