Not really news this but with our American cousins are too busy polishing off the Thanksgiving leftovers to report on some headline–making stuff so we‘re left with this ‘interesting‘ report from German site MovieReporter.net. These German movie hounds managed to get some time in with Peter Jackson during his publicity tour for "The Lovely Bones" and the "Lord of The Rings" director was only too happy to oblige when asked about the current state of filming for "The Hobbit".

"We‘re currently working on the second script which we hope to have completed by the end of this year or beginning of next. When the scripts are completed, we can begin with the exact calculation of the necessary budget. We hope to start filming in the middle of next year. However, we‘ve received no green light from the studio yet" Jackson told MovieReporter.net.

That last nugget of information could prove quite telling. One of the major backers behind the proposed prequel double–bill, MGM, have some pretty major financial problems (allegedly) and so Warner Bros. / New Line could be waiting to see what happens with them before moving forward. The first "Hobbit" film has a targeted release of December 2011 with the second instalment coming a year later.