Peter Jackson already struck back at the Australian and New Zealand actors unions accusing him of unfair labor practices as production ramps up on The Hobbit. Now New Line, Warner Bros. and MGM, the studios behind Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, have stepped in to his defense as well.

In a letter posted to Deadline Hollywood, the three studios called the allegations "baseless and unfair," and clarified that the cast and crew are under "collective bargaining agreements where applicable, and we are mindful of the rights of those individualss pursuant to those agreements."

Nothing in the letter clarifies whether or not The Hobbit will have to jump ship in New Zealand and film in Eastern Europe instead, which I'm assuming is what you guys really want to know. Sorry about that. Below is the letter in its entirety. We'll keep you posted on whether or not this blows up into anything significant, and remember: there's still no money to make The Hobbit. This is all still posturing over a movie that does not yet have a greenlight.

New Line, Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures are concerned by the recent allegations of unfair treatment of actors in New Zealand and instructions from the performers’ guilds to their membership to withhold services from the producers of “The Hobbit” in New Zealand.

We are proud to have good relations with all of those performers’ guilds and value their contribution to the motion pictures produced in their respective jurisdictions throughout the world. But we believe that in this case the allegations are baseless and unfair to Peter Jackson and his team in Wellington who have been tireless supporters of the New Zealand motion picture community.

To classify the production as "non-union" is inaccurate. The cast and crew are being engaged under collective bargaining agreements where applicable and we are mindful of the rights of those individuals pursuant to those agreements. And while we have previously worked with MEAA, an Australian union now seeking to represent actors in New Zealand, the fact remains that there cannot be any collective bargaining with MEAA on this New Zealand production, for to do so would expose the production to liability and sanctions under New Zealand law. This legal prohibition has been explained to MEAA. We are disappointed that MEAA has nonetheless continued to pursue this course of action.

Motion picture production requires the certainty that a production can reasonably proceed without disruption and it is our general policy to avoid filming in locations where there is potential for work force uncertainty or other forms of instability. As such, we are exploring all alternative options in order to protect our business interests.