Peter Jackson Threatens to Shut Down ‘Hobbit’

Threats being made by acting unions regarding production of ‘The Hobbit’ could lead to production shut-down. Peter Jackson, the executive producer behind the ‘Lord of the Rings’ prequel, is now suggesting that shooting be re-assigned to Eastern Europe — or even shut down.

The problem is that various acting unions in New Zealand are encouraging its members not to work on a film that employs nonunion actors, but Jackson insisted that he “has always attempted to treat my actors and crew with fairness and respect,” adding that any nonunion actors involved with the movie would be part of a profit-sharing pool.

“It feels as if we have a large Aussie cousin kicking sand in our eyes,” Jackson said in a statement. “Seriously, if The Hobbit goes east, look forward to a long, dry big-budget movie drought in this country.”

As if Jackson doesn’t has enough problems surrounding the film already, there’s also the not-so-tiny matter of which studio will pay for the production and who will actually direct it. Possible option? Jackson himself.