OLD HOBBITS DIE HARD - FILM MAKER PETER JACKSON TELLS HIS FANS...

First published at Qassia:

Old hobbits die hard - film maker Peter Jackson tells his fans...

Peter Jackson said Bilbo films would like to revive the locations that made New Zealand such a perfect 'middle earth'.

The celebrated New Zealand film - maker who is currently involved in a remake of British World War Two classic, "The Dam Busters", wants to use those same New Zealand Lord of the Rings locations, and the same actors as well for his project, a two film The Hobbit and sequel that will be shot back to back in 2010.

There will be rebuildng of the elaorate Hobbiton village on a farm in Matamata in the Waikato which is now a tourist attraction.

Peter Jackson also revealed further plans for the US$150 millon project in a one hour "live chat" on the internet a few days ago with the films' director,Guillermo de Toro, in London.

About 5,500 people registered to participate - breaking the previous record of 5,000 for a live internet chat by the Spice Girls some years ago.

They asked about 7,000 questions, which were whittled down to about 20 questions, including whether New Zealand's beautiful scenery, one of the most praised features in the LOR triology, would be used again.

Peter Jackson said permission would be sought from the farm's owner to rebuild the Hobbit village in the same place. He also said that he doubted whether locations outside of New Zealand would be necessary. Casting has not yet been decided.

12 MILLION BEES ON THE RUN...

Ugly scenes as 12 million bees escape after California crash

It must have been a driver's worst nightmare - cruising down the highway and suddenly running smack into millions of angry swarming bees.

The bees were on the loose in California after a truck in which they were being transported flipped on its side on the highway.

The California Highway Patrol said eight to 12 million of the honey bees escaped from the crates in which they were stored.

The truck was carrying over 400 beehives with 30,000 bees in each.

The bees stung police officers, fire crews, and tow truck drivers trying to corral them after the accident.

"People were being stung left and right. It was an ugly, ugly scene," one police officer said.

The great escape happened near Sacramento and the insects swarmed over an area of Highway 99.

For seven hours authorities brought in handlers who used smoke in a bid to calm the bees and coax them back into the hives.

Several beekeepers driving past the accident stopped to help the emergency services deal with the bees.

The highway had to be closed for a period.

Police did not know what caused the tractor trailer carrying the bees to flip over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Washington. But they said they believe the driver may have been driving too fast.

The bees had been used to pollinate crops in the San Joaquin Valley.

The honeybee is the world's premier pollinator and is invaluable to farmers for pollination.

But there has been a shortage of them in recent times because of "Colony Collapse Disorder". US beekeepers have been losing thousands of their bees, puzzling scientists. This has led to a rise in honey prices and has also threatened fruit and vegetable production.

After a seven-hour clean-up operation at Sacramento, police were unable to say how many bees remained unaccounted for. But they were not getting any calls from panicked drivers. "No news is good news," one officer said.

Thats Weird