The road to deliver "The Hobbit" to screens continues to be a long and bumpy one.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Guillermo del Toro has dropped out of directing due to the financial woes of backers MGM, now the latest round of the fight has seen producer Peter Jackson enter a fracas with the NZ/Aussie unions.

After the Screen Actors' Guild sent out an alert warning their members off accepting roles in the flick, which is classed as "non-union," Jackson has penned a statement suggesting that the Australian workers union MEAA is trying to control the increasingly-profitable New Zealand film industry.

The unions want minimum guarantees on wages and working conditions, but Jackson claims their demands are unlawful and unnecessary, and that their argument will force a move for the production from New Zealand to Europe, thus depriving Kiwi actors of roles. This includes those not part of New Zealand's Actors' Equity, which Jackson guesses is about 80-percent of the working actors in the country.

"My personal opinion is that this is a grab for power," Jackson says in his statement. "It does not represent a problem that needs a solution. There will always be differing opinions when it comes down to work and conditions, but I have always attempted to treat my actors and crew with fairness and respect."

He went on to say if the dispute carries on, Warner Bros. will be forced to relocate the film.

"There is a twisted logic to seeing NZ humiliated on the world stage, by losing 'The Hobbit' to Eastern Europe. If 'The Hobbit' goes east, look forward to a long, dry big budget movie drought in this country."

All this fuss over a small guy with hairy feet -- what would Gandalf do?

Read Jackson's full statement at Deadline.com.