The Hollywood Reporter: “The Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson is keen to shoot the trilogy’s prequel, “The Hobbit,” if the rights become available. Jackson spoke Monday at a news conference in Wellington, New Zealand, just before the premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which opens Dec. 17 in the United States. Jackson said that while he would like to shoot “The Hobbit,” which was published 17 years before the “Rings” trilogy, he will be tied up for the next two years with his next project, “King Kong,” and then would like to make a New Zealand-originated film. Jackson also hinted that the DVD for “Return of the King” could run for more than four hours.