Director Peter Jackson and producers of "The Hobbit" are denying reports that as many as 27 animals died during the filming of Warner Bros. and MGM's “Hobbit” trilogy in New Zealand.

“The producers completely reject the accusations,” Jackson and the filmmakers said Monday in a statement.

AP spoke to four animal wranglers who worked on “The Hobbit” films near Wellington, where they claimed conditions were unsuitable for horses, goats and sheep because the land "was peppered with bluffs, sinkholes and broken-down fencing."

“The producers of The Hobbit take the welfare of all animals very seriously and have always pursued the highest standard of care for animals in their charge,” the filmmakers said Monday in response to the allegations.

The organization overseeing animal welfare on the "Hobbit" films, The American Humane Association, also backed the producers' assessment before acknowledging that conditions could be improved in the animals’ housing facility, which the org doesn’t normally oversee.

“We made safety recommendations to the animals' living areas. The production company followed our recommendations and upgraded fence and farm housing, among other things,”  said an American Humane Association spokesman.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is the first of three planned “Hobbit” pics and will world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand on Nov. 28 before opening Dec. 14 in the U.S.

Read the producers full statement below:

The producers of The Hobbit take the welfare of all animals very seriously and have always pursued the highest standard of care for animals in their charge.  Any incidents that occurred that were brought to their attention as regards to this care were immediately investigated and appropriate action taken.  This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars that were spent on upgrading housing and stable facilities in early 2011.

The producers completely reject the accusations that twenty seven animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films.  Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved.  Over fifty five per cent of all shots using animals in The Hobbit are in fact computer generated; this includes horses, ponies, rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, deer, elk, mice, wild boars, and wolves.

The American Humane Association (AHA) was on hand to monitor all use of animals by the production. No animals died or were harmed on set during filming.

We regret that some of these accusations by wranglers who were dismissed from the film over a year ago are only now being brought to our attention.  We are currently investigating these new allegations and are attempting to speak with all parties involved to establish the truth.

 

007's next mission: the AFI Fest.

Sources tell Variety tonight's "secret screening" at the AFI Film Festival is the latest James Bond film, "Skyfall."

Directed by Sam Mendes, the Sony-MGM thriller opens nationwide Friday after grossing a colossal $289 million overseas. "Skyfall," which expanded to 53 markets this past weekend (including Germany, India, Italy and Spain), also became the highest-grossing debut ever in the U.K. ($59.9 million, beating the final "Harry Potter").

Screening tonight at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, "Skyfall" follows last year's AFI "secret" screening of Steven Soderbergh's low-budget pic "Haywire." Best picture nominee "The Fighter," helmed by David O. Russell, was the fest's 2010 selection.

Sony and MGM, which co-financed the 23rd Bond film, have no plans of stopping the bigscreen icon. The duo recently hired "Skyfall" co-writer John Logan to pen the next two 007 installments.

Starring Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem, "Skyfall" marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise.

Today, the Walt Disney Co. announced the acquisition of George Lucas' Lucasfilm, as well as a new Star Wars feature in a whopping $4.05 billion deal.

Disney chief Bob Iger says Lucas' company 'fits perfectly with Disney's strategic priorities' in an internal memo to Disney employees.

Read the full email below:

Dear Fellow Employee,

I am very pleased to announce The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. and its world-class portfolio of creative content — including the legendary Star Wars franchise — along with all of its operating businesses, including Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound.  

 

Star Wars is clearly one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with hundreds of millions of fans around the globe. Its universe of more than 17,000 characters inhabiting several thousand planets spanning 20,000 years offers infinite inspiration and opportunities to continue the epic Star Wars saga.

 

A new feature film, Star Wars Episode 7, is expected to open in theaters worldwide in 2015. Kathleen Kennedy, the filmmaker George Lucas handpicked as his successor, will be the executive producer with George serving as creative consultant. Kathy will also join Disney as President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and leading us forward on all things Star Wars.

 George Lucas is a visionary, an innovator and an epic storyteller, and we are deeply honored that he has entrusted the future of his extraordinary creative legacy to Disney. We have a great relationship with George and his Lucasfilm team that goes back a long way — with Star Wars- and Indiana Jones-themed attractions in our parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo. We see great potential for these franchises across our entire company — from consumer products, television, games, theme parks and beyond.

 

Lucasfilm fits perfectly with Disney’s strategic priorities. It’s a great source of branded, high-quality content with true global appeal that is well suited for new business models, especially digital platforms, and will benefit a number of our businesses. Adding Lucasfilm to our powerful portfolio of content brands — along with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC — gives us even more ways to serve consumers with incredible entertainment experiences and to create long-term value for our shareholders.

 

We’re obviously very excited about this acquisition. We believe we can do great things with these amazing assets, and we can’t wait to get started. Please join me in welcoming Lucasfilm to the Disney family.

 

 Bob

 

After helping “The Avengers” save the world this past summer, Tony Stark is falling back to earth (literally) in the first trailer for “Iron Man 3.”

Set for release May 3, 2013, Disney and Marvel’s upcoming tentpole reunites Robert Downey Jr. with “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” director/writer Shane Black.

Downey Jr. will face popular comicbook nemesis The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) in the film, which, from the looks of the trailer, appears to have a darker narrative than its Iron Man predecessors.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle reprise their roles in IM3, as will director/actor Jon Favreau, who helmed the past two Iron Man features but left the franchise to develop Disney’s "Magic Kingdom." Newcomers Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall also star.

“Iron Man 3,” shot in 3D, is exec produced by Dan Mintz and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige.

Watch trailer:

Less than two years after Osama Bin Laden's death, director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") and producer Mark Boal are on the hunt for the former Al Qaeda mastermind.

"Zero Dark Thirty," set for release Dec. 19, follows the Navy SEAL squadron that found and killed Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. 

Featuring an ensemble cast of Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, James Gandolfini, Kyle Chandler and Mark Strong, Sony Pictures' "Zero Dark Thirty" has long-been embroiled in political controversey, after documents uncovered that  Bigelow and Boal were given extensive access to the top secret mission by the White House, Pentagon and CIA.

Pentagon press secretary George Little recently disputed some of the allegations, saying that the Defense Dept. engages with the entertainment industry on movie projects, and the goal is to "make them as realistic as possible. We believe this is an important service that we provide."

Formerly titled "Kill Bin laden," "Zero" is one of two Bin Laden features due this year. The Weinstein Company doc "SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden" will premiere on the National Geographic Channel on Dec. 4.

Fox Searchlight today released the first look at “Hitchcock,” the upcoming Alfred Hitchcock drama about the making of "Psycho."

Starring Anthony Hopkins as the legendary auteur and Scarlett Johansson as "Psycho" actress Janet Leigh, "Hitchcock" is based on Stephen Rebello's novel about the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the director's classic horror film. Sacha Gervasi, who directed the acclaimed doc "Anvil: The Story of Anvhil," is at the helm.

Searchlight recently bumped up the release date of "Hitchcock" to Nov. 23, a prime slot for a 2012-13 awards season run with bizzers comparing the drama to The Weinstein Company's "My Week With Marilyn." Pic is said to be centered on the love story between the director and his wife Alma Reville.

Scripted by John McLaughlin ("Black Swan"), "Hitchcock" is produced by the Montecito Picture Company's Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and Tom Pollack along with Tom Thayer.

Disney has issued a new teaser-trailer for Gore Verbinski’s re-imagining of “The Lone Ranger.” Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, “The Lone Ranger” is based on the popular TV series from the 1950s about a Texas Ranger and his crime-fighting sidekick, Tonto. Disney will release the big-budget Western on July 3, 2013.