Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson told Zap2it.com that he wants to direct a live action version of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  Jackson, who has spent seven years working on LOTR and is currently preparing a remake of King Kong, admits that he needs a break, but it is also clear that Jackson and his team would relish a chance to make The Hobbit.  With the multi-billion dollar worldwide theatrical and video grosses of the LOTR trilogy it is likely that Jackson, whose work on the Tolkien films has been embraced by critics and fans alike, will eventually get his chance to film a version of The Hobbit.  But first New Line Cinema, which produced the LOTR films, will have to clear some of the rights to The Hobbit, which currently belong to United Artists.  With the success of the LOTR films the stakes are very high and negotiating with UA certainly won't be easy, but given Jackson's singular ability to create a series of highly lucrative, but also very 'personal' films instead of soulless blockbusters, it would be a shame to see The Hobbit fall into other directorial hands. 

Certainly a lot of pop culture retailers would echo Jackson's comment about New Line: 'Seeing the box office of these films, I would think they'd be pretty motivated to want to try and get The Hobbit done because it's like it can continue this thing on a bit longer.'  Amen.