1. Jackson believes Guillermo del Toro is the right man for the job.

Peter Jackson: “He has respect for fantasy. He understands it, he's not frightened by it. Guillermo also understands character, and how the power of any movie is almost always linked to how closely we empathize with characters within the story.

His work shows great care and love for the main characters he creates. He also has supreme confidence with design, and visual effects. So many film makers are scared of visual effects - which is no crime, but tough if you're doing one of these movies!”

2. The locations won’t be CGI - and it will be filmed in New Zealand.

Peter Jackson: “Middle-earth is location, with very few structures really. It's a natural countryside and that's where a lot of shooting will take place.”

Guillermo del Toro: “Location will be favoured and real set construction. I love REAL set construction and think that sets are very important part of the storytelling and scope of a film...”

Peter Jackson: “It is unlikely we will need any locations outside of NZ which has always been the perfect Middle Earth. there is nothing yet that Tolkien has described that we haven't managed to find in this amazing little country and I expect the Hobbit to be no different.”