Two Hobbit posts in a row? *sunglasses* Deal with it.

The beef between The Hobbit and the actors’ unions SAG and AFTRA seems to be mostly settled, the damage has been done, according to Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh, who released a statement that they’ll be moving the $500 million two-picture production out of New Zealand. “It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available,” they said.  Sh-t just got real.

As for where they may be moving, Walsh told Radio NZ that Warner Brothers has suggested Leavesden, their 538,000 square ft (50,000 square meter) studio with an 80 acre (320,000 square meter) backlot.  The studio is 18 miles (29 km) from London and is available now that the Harry Potter crew has left.

For Warner Bros., this could be a very savvy move. They acquired the studio earlier this year and have plans to make it into somewhat of a tourist spot, offering appointments to see the sets of films such as ‘Harry Potter.’ You can bet WB are counting the dollars they could bring in once “The Hobbit” has wrapped production in charging people to walk through the Middle Earth they experienced on the big screen. It would be an easy, long-term marketing angle for all the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ films. [ThePlaylist]

Ooo, I hope the Middle Earth tour has an animatronic shark attack near the end of the ride. That’s always timely. But does this news mean we won’t get to see Hobbit Holes in full glory? Slash fic websites, don’t fail me now.