New Zealanders take to streets over 'Hobbit'
Source: Agencies |
October 26, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of New Zealanders took to the country's streets yesterday to protest against possible plans to move production of Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" movies overseas.
With some dressed as hobbits or other characters from Middle Earth, they carried banners saying "New Zealand is Middle Earth" and "We Love Hobbits," aiming to reassure nervous Hollywood studio executives rattled by a short-lived union boycott.
Some 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered in the capital Wellington, while other cities such as Auckland and Christchurch hosted similar events.
The rallies were held a day before representatives from Warner Bros Pictures were due to arrive in New Zealand to decide where to shoot the US$500 million adaptation of the JRR Tolkien fantasy.
Jackson made Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in his native New Zealand, boosting the local film industry and economy.
He had planned to shoot a two-part adaptation of "The Hobbit" locally as well, but union protests about working conditions infuriated Jackson and unnerved the studio.
The Time Warner division said last week it would seek film locations outside New Zealand, a move that economists said could cost the country up to US$1.5 billion.
The unions have backed down, and industry analysts believe Warner Bros will use the Hobbit crisis to extract financial incentives when executives meet a high-powered delegation led by Prime Minister John Key today.
Key told reporters yesterday that he thought there is a 50-50 chance of the movies being filmed in New Zealand. "I'd love to tell you it's a done deal, but we're a long way away from being a done deal. There are a number of issues that we'd need to resolve," he was quoted by the New Zealand Herald as saying.
Oscar-winning technician Richard Taylor, whose Weta Workshop handled many of the special effects for "Lord of the Rings," told Wellington protesters he hoped "The Hobbit" would still be made in New Zealand.
"The alternative is just too bleak to consider," he said.
Taylor also read a letter from Jackson, thanking people for their support.
"This is where Middle Earth was born and this is where it will stay," Jackson said in the letter.
With some dressed as hobbits or other characters from Middle Earth, they carried banners saying "New Zealand is Middle Earth" and "We Love Hobbits," aiming to reassure nervous Hollywood studio executives rattled by a short-lived union boycott.
Some 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered in the capital Wellington, while other cities such as Auckland and Christchurch hosted similar events.
The rallies were held a day before representatives from Warner Bros Pictures were due to arrive in New Zealand to decide where to shoot the US$500 million adaptation of the JRR Tolkien fantasy.
Jackson made Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in his native New Zealand, boosting the local film industry and economy.
He had planned to shoot a two-part adaptation of "The Hobbit" locally as well, but union protests about working conditions infuriated Jackson and unnerved the studio.
The Time Warner division said last week it would seek film locations outside New Zealand, a move that economists said could cost the country up to US$1.5 billion.
The unions have backed down, and industry analysts believe Warner Bros will use the Hobbit crisis to extract financial incentives when executives meet a high-powered delegation led by Prime Minister John Key today.
Key told reporters yesterday that he thought there is a 50-50 chance of the movies being filmed in New Zealand. "I'd love to tell you it's a done deal, but we're a long way away from being a done deal. There are a number of issues that we'd need to resolve," he was quoted by the New Zealand Herald as saying.
Oscar-winning technician Richard Taylor, whose Weta Workshop handled many of the special effects for "Lord of the Rings," told Wellington protesters he hoped "The Hobbit" would still be made in New Zealand.
"The alternative is just too bleak to consider," he said.
Taylor also read a letter from Jackson, thanking people for their support.
"This is where Middle Earth was born and this is where it will stay," Jackson said in the letter.
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