On Friday, seven unions sent a letter to their members telling them not to work for The Hobbit films in New Zealand. They claimed that producers of the two films have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements.

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That was followed on Sunday with a statement by Peter Jackson in response to the allegations, and now New Line, Warner Bros. and MGM have also released the following statement regarding the manner.

Clark Kent says: Wanna know what the studios are saying? Read the statement by clicking HERE!

The actor Sylvester McCoy (aka the seventh Doctor Who) has been rumored to be a candidate for a big role in The Hobbit, with some pegging him as a possible Bilbo Baggins.

Clark Kent asks: But is that entirely true? More after the jump…

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That always seemed a bit absurd, for while he looks the part, he’s rather too old for that role. But he’s not too old to play a wizard. Not that we know he’s up for such a thing, but recent quotes from McCoy are being taken as positive indicators, in the absence of any real confirmation.

“I am being cast in The Hobbit,” the actor told the Argyllshire Standard, a paper in Scotland. “We’re currently in negotiations – there are two of us under consideration. It’s not the Bilbo role, but could be bigger.” The paper says that McCoy is up for “one of the wizard parts.” With Ian McKellen still seemingly set for Gandalf, the other big wizard would be Radagast the Brown, speculates TheOneRing.

Clark Kent says: Slow news day already so this may not be much, but it shows that the film is still trudging forward! Share your thoughts below!

The New Zealand director has promised that he will have certainty about whether The Hobbit is going ahead “sometime soon” in an interview with New Zealand’s Dominion Post.

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Yes, he’s still optimistic that the legal knots can be combed out, saying that Warners was “making progress untangling the MGM situation“, which can only be a good thing.

But that’s not all he’s planning: it sounds like his long hinted-at ANZAC project may be the next project on his plate. A huge fan of Gallipoli, Peter Weir’s 1980s take on the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought in the Mediterranean in World War I, Jackson hopes to get his own take on the story of the disastrous Dardenelles campaign off the ground.

Jackson already directed a World War I short film in 2007 called Crossing The Line, presumably just to get a feel for trench warfare and the rest, but it appears that he’s hoping to get an ANZAC movie going in time for the centenary of the campaign in 2015. That means he’ll have to try to fit that in around a second planned Tintin movie, following the first in 2011, and The Hobbit if that comes together quickly. Annoyingly, it looks like Temeraire’s still on the back burner, which is bad news for fans of Napoleon and dragons.

Clark Kent says: I really am hoping that ‘Temeraire’ gets a bump up in schedule. One of my favorite books — fans of all ages would be impressed with Jackson’s deft handling of the subject.

It appears that MI6 and Hobbiton’s long national nightmare may soon be over. Amid the widely-reported financial difficulties of MGM Studios, which upheld the rights to beloved franchises in limbo, its most martyred victims have been the indefinitely-delayed James Bond series and of course, our potential return to Middle Earth in The Hobbit.

Clark Kent says: Look up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane… No — it’s the jump! Click on it to find out who can save these cherished franchises!

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It now seems that Spyglass Entertainment have overcome an important hurdle with the financially-hemorrhaging MGM which many other potential buyers, such as Lionsgate could not. After numerous failed attempts to free-up rights held by the fallen studio, with individual sales yielding no progress, this latest breakthrough would see MGM continue with Spyglass as a buttressing partner.

According to the report:

“The latest scuttlebutt, courtesy of WSJ.com, suggests that a deal would value MGM at $1.9 billion and give Spyglass principals a 4% stake in the joint operation.”

The New Year’s Honours list should be hitting at any moment, but just like New Zealand welcomes the next year in earlier than most of us, so their gong announcements are also advanced – and Peter Jackson is getting a knighthood.

Clark Kent says: Professor Xavier became a knight, too, so when ‘X-Men: First Class‘ drops I expect to see a sword fight (pause for those who care…). More news about Sir Pete after the jump.

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He blagged the award for “services to film,” not to mention the massive boost to the country’s tourism that Lord Of The Rings has provided in the years since the trilogy’s release. Oh, and the huge filmmaking apparatus he’s built there.

Thanks to the island nation’s status as a member of the Commonwealth, his honour will be fully recognised by the Queen. No idea when or even if he’ll be stopping by the palace to pick up his honour – will he have time between producing The Hobbit and working on the thousand other projects he has developing?

Clark Kent says: Do they still do the dubbing of knighthood with the sword?

Peter Jackson has revealed to Heat Vision that casting for The Hobbit starts this week, with wide auditions expected for each part except Gandalf, who will be played again by Ian McKellen.

Clark Kent says: So, is the movie still being pushed back as according to this rumor?

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“We’re auditioning for every role,” Jackson said. “Apart from Ian McKellen, who we obviously want to return as Gandalf, we are not really offering any roles to anybody until we’ve done a casting sweep.”

He added that they are not necessarily looking for big stars. “(These movies) have never been a star-driven vehicle. The star is (author J.R.R.) Tolkien and the world he created. We are not under any pressure. We want to find the right people. Casting someone to portray a hobbit is not as easy as you might imagine. They have to have a particular type of physical appearance and a sensibility. And the same with an elf or a dwarf. These are fantastical characters, but you’ve got to find the right people to play them, the right humans to translate these characters.”

Jackson also debunked the rumor that production was delayed, saying the they were always planning to start shooting around April or May of 2010.

Clark Kent says: There you have it, ladies and gentlemen… 2010 will be a GREAT year for movies!!! Oooowww!

Just this weekend, Peter Jackson revealed that the two “Hobbit” films will now start filming mid-summer 2010 instead of the previously-reported March start.

Clark Kent says: Could there be a possible delay in the works? Read more after the jump.

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We didn’t think this would affect the first film’s release of December 2011, but according to TheWrap’s WaxWord that might just be the case:

“While it is still possible that it could come out in December 2011, it looks more likely to be 2012,” an executive close to the film told the site.

The second film would be pushed back to 2013 then.

Clark Kent says: Jackson’s films about Tolkien’s world are grandiose and sweeping adventures so if he needs time to make it work, I’m not mad at that. What about you?

German site MovieReporter.net spoke to Peter Jackson recently and he confirmed that The Hobbit script is almost finished its second draft and headed before cameras next summer.

Clark Kent says: Fangasm…

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Helpfully translated by TheOneRing.net, the news is that the script’s due to be finished in December or January, with shooting expected to take place in the summer of 2010. Jackson also said that the budget has yet to be calcuated, based on the script, and that the greenlight has not officially been given yet. Don’t expect that to be too much of a problem at this stage, however: there’s a fairly substantial chance that this film will make buckets of cash for the studios behind it.

As far as we know, The Hobbit is still due out in December 2011 with the proposed second film due in December 2012.

Clark Kent says: 2011 looks like another great year for movies. What do you think? Speak on it below!

The Hobbit rumor-mill has cranked into overdrive this month. We’ve already heard that Aragorn might be back and that director Guillermo Del Toro will have a cameo in the LOTR prequel.

Clark Kent says: When you hear who might be joining the cast, it’ll give you hope that the next X-Men movie may be a hit!

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Now Aint It Cool is reporting that Scottish actor Brian Cox is a “major contender” to play one of the thirteen dwarves who join Bilbo on his quest. The actor is perhaps most famous for playing William Stryker in X2 and Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter.

AICN’s scooper doesn’t specify which pint-sized middle-earther Cox is being lined up for, but the most obvious role would be bumbling dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield. Studio New Line hasn’t confirmed the story.

Clark Kent says: We’ll keep you posted as more develops.

Empire had the good fortune recently to catch up with one of the Sir Ian McKellen, at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Naturally, Empire decided to pump him vigorously for the latest on his involvement with those twin towers of movie geekdom: The Hobbit and the X-Men franchise.

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First up: The Hobbit. It’s been known for some while now that Sir Ian would be reprising his role as Gandalf (the Grey variety this time) for Guillermo del Toro’s Lord of the Rings prequel. But he had a few additional tidbits to spill this time around.

“The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon,” he revealed. “Then they’ll be budgeted, and then they’ll be cast. And they’ll be going when they’ve always said they would be, which is next spring – March or April. Guillermo even told me at one point, ‘We’re going to film for 383 days.’ He’s got that artistic autism! Jackson’s the same; they’re very, very, very alike. They also very different, but they’ve so much in common. They both can’t stand Hollywood and have wonderful imaginations, and they’re both obsessed with gore and fantasy. Both of them laugh a great deal. Guillermo’s one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met. His English vocabulary is way superior to mine!”

There’s been fervent speculation about the possible return of other Rings cast members, with the likes of Legolas and Aragorn in the frame for cameos, but Sir Ian isn’t convinced.

“Unforunately, there won’t be many of the actors going back,” he said, “unless they’re going to put masks on and be disguised as dwarves! Andy Serkis is, at the moment, I think, the only other actor who’s doing this film.”

Of course, we fully expect Hugo Weaving to pop up as Elrond, but that announcement will doubtless come in due course.

In the meantime, we couldn’t let Sir Ian – who was at San Sebastian to pick up a lifetime achievement award – go without mentioning X-Men Origins: Magneto, which is still in a state of flux. Rumor has it that the script would call for a McKellen appearance to bookend the prequel action, but the actor says he’s heard nowt.

“There’s meant to be a Magneto script floating around, but I’ve not read it, so I suspect it wouldn’t involve me,” he said. “I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can’t have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!”

Empire reminded him about the sudden appearance of a mysteriously de-aged Patrick Stewart in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, prompting a hearty guffaw.

“Ooh, he was very pleased with himself that he was going in to be in Wolverine,” cackled Sir Ian. “It was only an hour’s work! We were working on ‘Waiting For Godot’ at the time!”

Clark Kent says: An origin story for Magneto would be cool. But if Bryan Singer is coming back into the fold - will he be able to tie the past into Xavier and company’s future?