It seems as though those Brett Ratner-related intimidation tactics may have worked: Deadline is reporting that Peter Jackson is negotiating a deal to direct two installments of The Hobbit, which is great news for everyone except Neill Blomkamp. Jackson had been frustratingly coy about reclaiming the Lord Of The Rings franchise ever since Guillermo del Toro dropped out, although lately he’s been making some suspiciously overt moves, like scheduling a casting session for next week. Now he’s reportedly working on extricating himself from any other projects he had lined up, as well as working on the financially beleaguered MGM to “loosen the purse strings” and come up with a way to make the damn things already.