JACKSON SAYS HE SUFFERED NIGHTMARES WHILE FILMING HOBBIT TRILOGY

The 18 months that director Peter Jackson spent filming the Hobbit trilogy were so difficult that he was plagued with nightmares, he has told the Chinese English-language website, China.org.cn. “During the filming period, I would always dream, not good dreams, but nightmares. I … was afraid of any mistakes and problems which might damage the filming.” Jackson hastened to add that when the production wrapped, “I would go back to normal and no longer have these nightmares.” He apologized for not being able to attend Wednesday’s Chinese premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Beijing — it officially opens today (Friday) — explaining that he was working on postproduction of the third Hobbit movie in New Zealand. Chinese ticket sales for Smaug are expected to push the worldwide total past $900 million. It now stands at $861 million. It is due to open in Japan next week.