Unions urge 'Hobbit' boycott, angering Jackson

The U.S. actors guilds are known to issue member alerts of this sort from time to time, but it is extremely rare for a major studio film to be targeted.

For SAG and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) members, the advisory essentially constitutes a Do Not Work order.

For instance, a SAG member working on the production would be in violation of the guild's Global Rule 1. That rule generally requires members not to work on productions not signed to a SAG agreement. SAG and AFTRA have posted the order on their websites, and the Association of Talent Agents forwarded the order on Saturday morning to its members.

Jackson said in his statement that New Line parent Warner Bros. planned to go beyond what was required and create a separate pot of profits to pay Kiwi actors who are not SAG members.

"Whatever damage MEAA is attempting to do -- and it will do damage, since that's their principal objective in targeting 'The Hobbit' -- we will continue to treat our actors and crew with respect, as we always have," Jackson said.