'Utter Failure Is Making A Film Where People Pay Money To Go To See And Don’t Like'

As the concluding “chapter” of The Hobbit saga, The Battle Of The Five Armies, looms, it provides one last chance for fans of the Tolkien world to immerse themselves in Middle-earth, brought to life by Peter Jackson. Picking up where The Desolation Of Smaug left off, there is a sense of impending despair that the journey is coming to an end. There has been a strong sense of responsibility that the stories and characters are delivered without disappointing generations of fans twice over. No one has felt this more than Jackson.

"The way the cast managed to find the truth of these characters... it has all been an overwhelming and deeply satisfying achievement for all involved."

“But I don’t have those responsibilities anymore,” Jackson chuckles. “Any film is a responsibility because you are spending money that’s not yours… and you are trying to entertain people. For me utter failure is making a film where people pay money to go to see and don’t like. Once we knew we were creating a Tolkien movie we knew we had to create battle scenes and characters and creatures that didn’t exist. The technology has been driven by the story being told. That combined with the way the cast managed to find the truth of these characters... it has all been an overwhelming and deeply satisfying achievement for all involved.”

Taking on the hobbit feet of Bilbo Baggins, Martin Freeman embodies the lighter, grounded heart of the trilogy. “It gives you an opportunity to grow and expand inside what you are doing, so I have loved getting to expand inside Bilbo over the course of three years,” says Freeman. “I was always having the conversation with Peter of when I would get to be angry and show that different side, and he would always be saying, ‘It’s coming, it’s coming.’ You learn patience; the parts that you believe in and want to show in a character, those moments will come.”

Sir Ian McKellen’s iconic characterisation of Gandalf has become a classic character. “I said goodbye to Gandalf in 2000 when I left New Zealand; here we are in 2014 and it goes on and on,” McKellen smirks. “It has been the blessing of my professional life. I was impressed by the age of the kids who had slept out to see the premiere. Our work is part of their lives, and what are we doing it for other than to have an effect that can be crucial to them?”