Peter Jackson Says He's Making 'The Hobbit' That He Would Enjoy

(The Daily Telegraph) - Speaking a day after the release of the new "Hobbit" trailer, director Peter Jackson has humbly played down the first look at his big return to "The Lord of the Rings" territory.

The trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has already racked up millions of views online and some favorable reaction but Jackson said Thursday that it was only a small taste of the potential blockbuster.

"We're only half way through shooting, so it was just a case of selecting bits from the stuff we'd shot, even though there's still a lot of big scenes we haven't shot yet," he said.

"We just wanted to give people a bit of old, a bit of new and a sense of the tone of the film."

The film, due for release on Boxing Day next year, will be followed one year later by the concluding chapter, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again."

Jackson will spend his Christmas "break" cutting the first film into shape.

"I'm taking the chance to sit and actually edit some of the stuff we've been shooting, which I'm enjoying. Editing is one of the fun parts of the process because you get to see the film beginning to come to life," he said.

"You're shooting it in fragments, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and that's how it exists for a lot of a shoot. When you sit in the cutting room and you edit the movie the fragments begin to take form again into what you have in your imagination."

He is already pleased with how it is taking shape.

"I haven't seen enough of it to really form an opinion yet. And besides, my opinion isn't the one that ultimately matters, it's other people's," he said, laughing.

"No, I'm pleased. I'm enjoying myself. I'm very very happy with what the actors are doing in bringing the characters to life ... It's going good.

"I'm making the version of 'The Hobbit' I'd enjoy seeing, that's what I'm doing."

A prequel to Jackson's Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Hobbit" tells the story of Bilbo Baggins -- played by Martin Freeman -- as he and a group of dwarfs head to the Lonely Mountain reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom.

Read more: The Daily Telegraph

Watch the "The Hobbit" trailer.