Grossing nearly $3 billion worldwide, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy certainly pleased the bean-counters at Warner Bros., even if the fantasy movies were the most expensive film production ever made at an estimated total cost of about $710 million. While it's not surprising that The Hobbit movies were so financially successful, even if they didn't reach the critical acclaim of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, what is surprising is that the Hobbit movies got made at all.

Jackson took a lot of flak for the decision to inflate J.R.R. Tolkien's source material into a bloated CG-filled trilogy and the push for high-frame rate, but a new candid interview with Jackson, Andy Serkis, and more of the trilogy's creative team reveals the beleaguered filmmaker in a new light. The Guardian digs into this video which focuses on Jackson's struggle to speed up prep for The Hobbit, putting in 21-hour days throughout the long production, and ultimately climaxing with the frantic effort to bring The Battle of the Five Armies together.