Hobbling 'Hobbit': Director Peter Jackson Rushed to the Hospital; Production Delayed

Turns out handling an epic elvin mega-masterwork can cause a bit of stress.

Production on the latest film “The Hobbit” was postponed today when Director Peter Jackson was hospitalized with extreme stomach pain due to a perforated ulcer. Jackson was admitted Wednesday evening to a Hospital in Wellington, New Zealand, where the film is being shot.

"Sir Peter is currently resting comfortably and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery," Jackson’s spokeswoman Melissa Booth said in a statement.

"The surgery is not expected to impact on his directing commitment to the Hobbit beyond a slight delay to the start of filming."

It’s little wonder that filming on the two movies surrounding the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel “The Hobbit” has proven stressful.

First the movie was on and to be helmed by Guilermo Del Toro – a perfect fit for the film’s fantastic, surreal vision. Then MGM’s financial woes put the production into question, and Del Toro begrudgingly jumped ship.

Then movie nearly left New Zealand due to squabbles between Warner Bros. and Time Warner with unions in the country.

At the time, Jackson released a frustrated statement, saying:

“My personal opinion is that this is a grab for power. It does not represent a problem that needs a solution. There will always be differing opinions when it comes down to work and conditions, but I have always attempted to treat my actors and crew with fairness and respect. We have created a very favourable profit sharing pool for the non-Union actors on The Hobbit -- and now the Union is targeting us, despite the fact that we have always respected SAG conditions and residuals,” said Jackson.

“I can't see beyond the ugly spectre of an Australian bully-boy, using what he perceives as his weak Kiwi cousins to gain a foothold in this country's film industry. They want greater membership, since they get to increase their bank balance.”

Getting the project back on track took making legislative changes to the country’s tax laws, a process that would give anyone an ulcer.

Do you think “The Hobbit” is a doomed production? Should Peter Jackson give up his quest to film J.R.R. Tolkien’s most recognizable novel?

We’ll be pulling for a quick recovery for the unbelievably talented Jackson.