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Peter Jackson said that preparations were under way to move the production of a two-film adaptation of “The Hobbit” from New Zealand to another country because of a labor dispute with actors’ unions in New Zealand and Australia, The Press of New Zealand reported.

In a statement reported by The Press, Mr. Jackson, the producer and likely director of the “Hobbit” films, and Fran Walsh, his wife and production partner, said that even a lifting of a ban sought by the actors’ unions would do “nothing to help the film stay in New Zealand.” Mr. Jackson and Ms. Walsh added that “the damage inflicted on our film industry” is “long since done.”

New Zealand Actors Equity, which is part of the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, has called for actors to boycott the “Hobbit” movies, saying that Mr. Jackson would not let the guild negotiate on behalf of its members. Last week New Zealand’s minister for economic development called a meeting of several guilds and associations involved in the dispute but no decision emerged.

Mr. Jackson and Ms. Walsh’s statement said that representatives from Warner Brothers, one of the studios involved in “The Hobbit,” “are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore.” It continued: “It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available.”