The Peter Jackson "Hobbit" to be filmed in NZ

The Peter Jackson "Hobbit" to be filmed in New Zealand...

Seems Hollywood can’t get enough of our Kiwi beauty. This film will be one of two prequels to the Lord of the Rings triology. In otherwords what went before!

Peter Jackson will be involved as producer or director in the production of what will be two Hobbit films, which explore the time preceding the LOR period.

Location scouts for the movie 'The Hobbit' have been sighted around Queenstown as it could be the main filming location for the production.

Crews could be arriving as early as March this year, according to media reports.

A film crew freelancer told media that location scouting was "happening around the Wakatipu area, but is also happening in Canterbury, Wanaka and the Nelson area".

"The Hobbit will almost definitely be coming to the South Island," he said.

"I'm pretty sure they want to come back to the area that worked really well for them in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and local crews are excited about the chance to work on it."

No crew members have been offered contracts at this stage.

It's been reported actor Tobey Maguire will star in feature film as the lead role of Bilbo Baggins after quitting the Spiderman franchise.

New Zealand is no stranger to Hollywood film crews — James Cameron/’s Avatar, Jane Campion’s The Piano, Peter Jackson’s King Kong and The Lovely Bones, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe are just some of the movies that have been shot here.

Acknowledgements: MSN News