'Hobbit' Director Peter Jackson Gets Grilled by Stephen Colbert (Video)

It's well known that Stephen Colbert has a thing for J.R.R. Tolkien.

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The Comedy Central host is somewhat of an expert on all things Tolkien and Lord of the Rings, speaks Elvish and even traveled to New Zealand to film a cameo in Peter Jackson's upcoming Hobbit trilogy. 

Colbert's super-geeky fanboy-dom was on full display when Jackson dropped by the The Colbert Report on Thursday to promote The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, due out Dec. 14. (As THR previously reported, Colbert's appearance does not come in that first installment.)

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"You've shot three films. Why wait another year for the next one? Why not just show me the next one now," said Colbert, his face dead-serious and his voice affecting more than a hint of a threat.

Jackson replied that he's cut "most of the second film," titled Desolation of Smaug, and that some of it was on his iPad. To which Colbert responded: "I won't tell anyone except the 4.5 million people on my Twitter feed."

Colbert called the movie "dazzling," and then launched into an insidery, impressive, almost academic monologue about Tolkien and The Hobbit and we'll just let Colbert take it from here ...

Watch the footage below.