Zig, I think it's his film rather than the book he's talking about- but I would also agree it's a pretty revealing statement. But then the whole interview has a certain frankness missing from earlier ones- e.g. Tauriel's inclusion is now described as "a very cold-blooded decision" [to appeal to pre-teen girls] rather than being mandated by the Spirit of Tolkien, and the action was apparently driven largely by "ways to kill orcs" and "the next cool thing [Legolas] is going do", which is pretty much what most of us thought all along.