Hobbit Movie, No Time Soon

Peter Jackson is talking like a Hobbit movie is possible, but not any time soon:

Hobbit picture 'four years away' Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has said that it will be up to four years before he starts work on a film version of The Hobbit. The Oscar winner said on a visit to Sydney there was a "desire" to make it, but not before lengthy negotiations.

"I think it's gonna be a lot of lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever happen," said the New Zealander.

The rights to JRR Tolkien's book are split between two major film studios.

Jackson, who is currently filming a remake of Hollywood classic King Kong, said he thought that the sale of MGM studios to the Sony Corporation would cast further uncertainty on the project.

The 43-year-old was in the Australian city to visit a Lord of the Rings exhibition, which has attracted 140,000 visitors since it opened in December.