Posted on 10/20/2010 12:48:08 PM PDT by Kaosinla
This is a surprising turn of events for The Hobbit. When a small coalition of actors’ unions in New Zealand and Australia pushed actors’ guilds across the world to boycott work on the films, citing an unfair residuals arrangement, Peter Jackson responded by threatening to move the production to Eastern Europe.
But that would never happen, right? The organizations wouldn’t push away a huge chunk of work like the two Hobbit films by holding firm to a set of demands for which the production and backers at Warner Bros. have sought appropriate solutions — that would be crazy.
And yet Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are now saying that Warner Bros. will move the films out of New Zealand to a yet to be disclosed new shooting location. So is this a done deal, or just an escalated threat by the studio?
The Press of New Zealand has a collective quote from Jackson and Walsh, who say “The damage inflicted on our film industry by [the actors unions] is long since done,” and resolution of the union issue now “does nothing to help the film stay in New Zealand.”
The pair says that Warner Bros.’ faith in the New Zealand industry has been undermined, and that the studio is concerned about spending $500m there. “Next week Warners are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore. It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available.”
The sad thing is that the instigating group, the New Zealand Actors’ Equity, is controlled by an Australian organization, and this is being seen by many as a play by the Australian group to take a controlling interest in the NZ film industry. And the NZAE represents only a small percentage of...
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/10/20/warner-bros-moving-the-hobbit-zealand-labor-disputes/
(Excerpt) Read more at slashfilm.com ...
Oh noes!
Eastern Europe is great as long as the films get made.
Can’t wait!!
D&D freaks everywhere are putting down their bags of Cheetos and taking up their official Lord of the Rings commemorative swords! And after posting about this outrage til three in the morning, they’ll pick up their bags of Cheetos again and drift off to sleep, in mom’s cellar, beneath their posters of comic book heroines, and dreaming that they’ll meet a real woman someday...
“Oh noes!”
For some reason that made me laugh out loud.
If the politicans and the unions had half a brain, they’d immediately offer WB and Jackson all kinds of waivers, subsidies and tax breaks to bring the movies back to California, and employ some of their laid-off Hollywood membership.
But that would make too much sense.
The idiot Aussies in the West Island of New Zealand
Thank you. But for the record, I’m not sure if D&D obsessives living in a cellar have the strength to lift a sword like Anduril, even a commemorative one.
Maybe a plastic sword with blinking lights they bought down at the mall.
Don’t care where, just make the movie...and not animated with Leonard Nimoy singing.
A former D&D freak here, and I couldn’t care much less about where it is filmed, or even IF it is filmed. I did thoroughly enjoy LOTR though.
I am sure all those unionists in New Zealand are happy to be unemployed now.
I’m a proud D&D geek and can easily lift and wield a sword like Anduril although I’m a bit out of practice with a 40” blade. I have a great job, a house, a son an ex-wife and a girlfriend. Not all of us are basement dwelling Cheeto lovers. Not even most of us, to be honest. You’d probably be surprised.
It’s a good thing I’m not one of the perpetually aggrieved class or I’d probably be outside your place of employment picketing with placards written in Elvish ;-)
Yes, but they can alway cast a Magic Missile
In Quenya or Sinardin? In all seriousness though, I said “obsessive” not “geek” or OP’s phrase “freak” for that matter. And I prefer AD&D myself. But I’m glad you’re in shape, much better than much of this country.
LOL - Sinadrin!
And there is no seriousness from any of this stuff. It’s fun to be able to chat about things other than how absolutely ridiculous politics is once in a while!
Agreed.
Perhaps Peter Jackson/WB is just buying time to get the Arnies and their political connections on board after Whitman is hopefully sworn in?
Love that video.
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