The Real Reason Peter Jackson Tried To Use Hypnosis To Forget 'The Lord Of The Rings' Movies

"The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" director Peter Jackson almost resorted to hypnotherapy to watch the movies afresh. The popular fantasy franchise grossed almost $3 billion worldwide.

"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy also earned 10 Academy Awards and widespread critical acclaim. The new series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," is headed by a different director and was reportedly culled from the appendices and footnotes from J.R.R Tolkien's novels.

In an interview, the award-winning director revealed that he felt unlucky after the movie was released because he was one of the few who already knew the plot. As a result, Jackson contemplated erasing his memory of the period via hypnotherapy and watching the movies as a fan.

Jackson almost went through extreme measures to be able to thoroughly enjoy one of his popular works, "The Lord of the Rings." The director recently revealed that after the movies were released, he contemplated undergoing hypnosis to forget the entire movie-making process and enjoy the work like a true fan.

Jackson was in charge of directing, adapting, and writing the famous trilogy. He was also a part of the prequel, "The Hobbit," which was set decades before "The Lord of the Rings." The movies were based on the similarly titled novels by Tolkien.

The director appeared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter." There, Jackson revealed that despite the several awards the movies won as well as the critical acclaim they received, he regretted not being able to watch them without spoilers.

During the interview, Jackson explained that he felt unlucky because he was one of the few people who could not see the movie in a new light. He revealed that by the time screening began, he had already worked with the film for over half a decade.

The 60-year-old said, "When we did 'The Lord of the Rings movies I always felt I was the unlucky person who never got to see as a coming-out-of-the-blue film. By the time there were screenings, I was immersed in it for five or six years. It was such a loss for me not to be able to see them like everyone else."

The award-winning director added that at the time, he almost went to "some hypnotherapy guy" for his memory of the period to be wiped. "I actually did seriously consider going to some hypnotherapy guy to hypnotize me to make me forget about the films and the work I had done over the last six or seven years so I could sit and enjoy them," Jackson said.

Jackson ended up not following through with his wild plan of locking up his memories. However, he spoke to Derren Brown, a British mentalist who claimed he could perform the feat for him.

The 60-year-old still has the opportunity to watch a similar series as a fan, without his prior knowledge being a hindrance. Amazon is set to release "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" on September 7, and Jackson revealed he was ready to watch it as a "perfectly natural viewer."

The series is set around a thousand years before "The Lord of the Rings" took place. During the interview, Jackson revealed that before filming, Amazon asked him to read the scripts for the show, but they never arrived.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" was reportedly inspired by the footnotes and appendices in Tolkien's novels. The original film's producer, Jackson, revealed that although the producers initially contacted him, he was not involved in the series.

He recalled, "They asked me if I wanted to be involved — [writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I — and I said, 'That's an impossible question to answer without seeing a script.' So they said, 'As soon as we get the first couple scripts, we'll send them to you.' And the scripts never showed up. That's the last thing I heard, which is fine. No complaints at all."

In response to Jackson's comments, Amazon revealed that the reason they refrained from pursuing the director further was due to an "obligation" to differentiate the movies. Warner Bros still owned the trilogy, and the producers wanted it to remain a separate IP.