Jackson says The Hobbit at least three years away

Oscar winning director Peter Jackson says it will be at least three years before he shoots The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit.

Jackson this weekend took a break from his busy schedule filming King Kong to visit Sydney's Powerhouse Museum to check out the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) exhibition.

Last night the very private director gave a talk to fans about his films at the State Theatre.

A slimmed-down Jackson, who arrived in Sydney on Saturday, was asked how long it would be before he started production on The Hobbit.

"Three or four years would be accurate, I would say," Jackson said.

The rights to J R R Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, are split between two major Hollywood studios, MGM and New Line Cinema.

Jackson said he was keen to return to Middle Earth for The Hobbit but that MGM's sale to Sony Corporation made the project's future unclear.

"I think there is probably a will and a desire to try and get it made," he said.

"But I think it's gonna be a lot of lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever happen."

More than 140,000 people have seen the Sydney LOTR exhibition since it opened on Boxing Day.

The exhibition, which closes on March 31, includes memorabilia, sets, costumes and props from the hit film which took almost US$3 billion at the box office and garnered 17 Oscars.

"It is great that the film has got such an after life," Jackson said.

"Normally a film comes and goes and ends up on TV and the bargain bin in the video store but for this film to actually generate a museum exhibition and give people a chance to come look at the things we made, is fantastic."

Jackson's current project, a remake of the 1933 film King Kong, began production late last year.

It stars Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow. Andy Serkis, Adrien Brody and Jack Black also star in the film.

"I am glad Kong is one film and not three," Jackson said, noting that the film had been a bigger project than expected.

"The hardest thing is that you are trying to create such an artificial environment, an artificial world because your central title character doesn't exist and he has to have an emotional story which really touches your heart and has a connection with your leading actress."

- AAP