Jackson to begin filming of The Hobbit at last

Director Peter Jackson has confirmed that filming of The Hobbit will finally start next month after a long series of setbacks and delays. The adaptation of the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings has been plagued by difficulties ever since Jackson announced his ambition to film the first of JRR Tolkien's fantasy novels, but in a statement the Oscar-winning Kiwi director said: "Despite some delays we are fully back on track and very excited to get started."

Filming will begin in New Zealand on March 21 and it is expected that production costs will exceed £300m as Jackson aims to repeat the success he enjoyed with The Lord of Rings trilogy a decade ago. The third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King, won 11 Academy awards at the 2004 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

The 49-year-old director was discharged from hospital only last week after undergoing an operation on a perforated ulcer, the latest in a string of misfortunes to befall The Hobbit in the last four years.

Back in 2007, Jackson was not planning to direct The Hobbit because he didn't want his efforts to be compared to The Lord of the Rings. Instead, he was slated to be the film's executive producer, which would be co-financed by MGM and New Line Cinema. But for the next two years there was a bitter legal battle over contract rights between New Line and the Tolkien estate which was finally settled in September 2009.

Then, in 2010, director Guillermo del Toro quit in frustration after MGM ran into financial difficulties and filming was again put on hold. Jackson agreed to take over as director once Warner Bros offered the necessary financial backing, but then came the next obstacle - a union dispute organised by the International Federation of Actors which claimed the producers  had "refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements".

With Warner Bros threatening to take filming to Europe, the New Zealand government stepped in to act as peace broker and the dispute was resolved.

Jackson's illness further delayed the project but now he, and everyone involved in The Hobbit, is praying the run of bad luck is over. Martin Freeman from The Office will appear as Bilbo Baggins and several actors from The Lord of the Rings trilogy will be reappearing, including Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett. ·