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New Zealanders are leaving nothing to chance when Warner Bros executives arrive early this week. Prime Minister John Key and other politicians are trying to salvage The Hobbit situation so the shoot stays in New Zealand. But the studio is eyeing other locations after the production was temporarily blacklisted by local and U.S. acting guilds. In a country whose population is about half the size of Los Angeles, the threat of losing its signature shoot — and its $500 million budget — has people rallying around director/producer Peter Jackson who brought them all that Lord Of The Rings trilogy fame and fortune and tourism and just plain work. Check out this video that is spreading across New Zealand, designed to bring people to the streets in a show of support:
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Sure hope WB see sense and make the films in NZ. All that stunning scenery going to waste gives me chills.
go get’em, NZ!
This is nothing but blackmail by Jackson with everyone giving into a man who today has alot of financial leverage and is abusing it and a few years back couldn’t get hired to even provide craft services on a film.Needs a dose of gratitude for the opportunity he was originally given instead of suing everyone he works with .How much money does this angry,insecure man need?
Projection or just plain ol’ jealousy?
The people Jackson sued to get paid what he was contractually owed no longer work in this industry (not with any sort of respect, anyway) BECAUSE he exposed their questionable accounting practices (he and the other 20 or so people who sued them for the exact same reason). Incidentally, those were the SAME people who gave him the opportunity in the first place.
Oh, did I expose you for not having a clue what you’re talking about?
100% correct. Jackson may be a lot of things but he’s not a coward and he won’t back away when bullied. He has my respect both as a filmmaker and a businessman. In the end, NZ will make it worth WB’s while to stay.
In the end, all he needs is 100% of what he legitimately earns through his creative efforts.
Kind of like you or anyone else deserves 100% of what they legitimately earn.
He did the work, it was a huge hit, so, he gets paid in line with that.
Patrici Breen, are you aware that you sound like an ignorant ranting idiot? Peter Jackson has worked his way up from nothing, and now he’s at the top you want to pull him down? Shame on you. You and your uninformed provocative slander only help a confused public ignore a situation that is very real, and has huge consequences.
Pretending for a moment that you have some idea of what you’re talking about, what film couldn’t Jackson get ‘craft work’ on, ‘a few years ago’? Last time I checked, he was a director. He has been employing and working with other people to do his ‘craft services’ since he was in high school.
For the record, Peter Jackson has reinvested the money he personally worked his arse off to earn into keeping film crew employed in the off-times between big film jobs. He has used his own funds and has gone a long way to keep skilled and top-quality film crew in New Zealand. To suggest he is selfish is ridiculous, and reflects only on your own lack of interest in the actual facts.
Do yourself a favour and start reading about what’s actually going on. Do the rest of us a favour and don’t have verbal diarrhoea on any more news reports.
~Samantha Mott, Wellington Film Tech.
Oh, Patrici…PLEASE try to learn a bit more about the situation at hand before spouting off with more uninformed and wildly inaccurate logorrhea. Thanks!
Patrici, what are you talking about? Peter Jackson isnt sueing anyone in this case. He is trying to keep The Hobbit in NZ. Yes, he is probably getting paid a ridiculous salary (as are WB execs) but in this case, he would be bringing in millions of dollars and jobs to NZ, and reestablishing a confidence in the NZ film industry that has obviously been lost.
Pretty sure Patrici doesn’t understand what’s actually going on here. Hopefully WB decides to keep the films in New Zealand, but I would completely understand if they decide to move it…if I were investing half a billion dollars in a country, I wouldn’t want to have any concerns about its stability.
Err, I guess that would be “investing half a billion dollars in a film, I wouldn’t want to have any concerns about the host country’s stability”. My bad.
Wouldn’t it just be wonderful if these two lame hobbit films were, in fact, canceled? Then there would be $500,000,000 for the budgets of movies that starred REAL people playing, well, REAL people!! Not the old rehashing of the same old silly fantasy mirth of the littlest hobbit who is good for nothing but ends up saving (middle) earth… yawn… gotta cut this short to go pinch-and-pool a hobbit… hoping for the–
FLUSH!
Maybe your living in the past, studios make movies entertain and people want to see, CG movies sell and sell big. WB would be foolish, not to mention letting down their stockholders if they DIDN’T make The Hobbit movies. Weather you like it or not 3D and CG are here to stay. You may not like it but people vote with their pocket books and studios follow the money.
Well, Duh, “lsb!” I mean– DUH!! Of course the studios (ie WB) will “follow the money.” And big tentpole turds are there easiest cash-n-carry ventures… If you know any of these execs, and I know PLENTY of them, they really prefer the easiest route to getting the numbers that keep their jobs. That’s it. Wouldn’t you? I mean, you’re making $500,000 a year and want to extend that 2 year contract and double it yearly, what do you do? As hard as it is to just garner talent on all levels and get a movie made, you have to chase it big to have something to justify your existence at the end of that period…
But here’s the catch, McDonalds-movie-making is just that– Spend $200,000,000 to make $300,000,000 profit = Yeah!
But what about PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 and others? I mean $ 3,000,000 garnering what will be $80,000,000 is pretty brilliant too, right? My point is that if you just devoted 1/1o th money that way, towards calculated smaller films, you’d get great returns too… and we, the non-hot-tub-salesman of the world, would actually have something to watch too.
Will it happen? Not with the lazy dolts that run the studios these dayze it won’t–
You looking forward to Hobbit, Transformers, another Star Wars ass-biscuit, Star Dreck 2, etc. I’m not.
Just Think About It.
The studios are definately in the catbird seat. What with all the U.S. States and now Countries, vying to see who can provide the biggest tax incentives/bribes.
However, the begging and kow-towing to WB by NZ workers and politicians is unseemly.
Peter Jackson is never going to allow the Hobbit to shoot outside of NZ. He hates to be away from home. This is just another one of his ploys to scare NZ into thinking its a possibility so that he can ask them to increase the tax incentive so he can get more money for the movie thus putting more money in his own pocket. So he will make it look like he is saving the day by keeping it in NZ when that was his intention all along. What an asshole.
Mr. Conspiracy Theory, nice to meet you.
Actually, Warner Brothers was already halfway out the door by the time PJ went public with his concerns. Now the friggin’ Prime Minister of the entire country is involved.
But that’s a very jaunty tin foil hat you’ve got there.
as if we’ll just forget the arson that took place a few weeks ago on the Hobbit set…
Patrici,
Do you think Peter Jackson is pocketing money that would be paid out to the union? Also, he’s a bit more than someone who couldn’t find a craft services job a few years ago. He is an Oscar-winning director who made amazing films before and since “The Lord of the Rings.” He is angry at a situation where an Australian union is targeting his film simply because it’s a large target. He’s bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to New Zealand, yet is being blackballed because of that very reason. It would be one thing if he was mistreating workers rather than providing them with work. It would be a great shame if he is forced to go elsewhere. Middle Earth IS New Zealand.
Personally, i’ve always thought that Middle Earth was England, the British Isles. I was initially surprised to hear that they might film where the Potter movies were shot, but then again, that’s where Tolkien lived. I think filming in the UK would be brilliant.
Also have to say that talk about money grab? Splitting the HP movies made sense as the books were huge (should have been done before). But what the heck can they do with the smallest book? NOt looking forward to the second movie – won’t be seeing that one at all.
The movies haven’t even been made yet and you’ve already decided you wont see the second one? (Just the second one?) No offense, but that sounds rather idiotic.
Small-minded people with short sighted goals have put $500 million of business revenue in jeopardy for New Zealand. They’ve also jeopardized the reputation of New Zealand as a safe territory for major film production.
The leverage that big bad WB and big bad Peter Jackson may or may not exert is irrelevant. WB can go wherever it wants with its film. Any territory in the world would be glad to have the half billion dollars of business. And if I were running the project, I would absolutely expect special consideration from our host country.
Anybody who doesn’t understand this is clueless. And by the way, the labor union that started this problem is not helping its Kiwi brethren. It’s actually doing the exact opposite. They are driving film production away from the country. Which means that unionizing is pointless if there are no films to work on.
An actor living in Auckland would be karmically and geographically lucky to land a speaking role on a movie like The Hobbit. It would be a career defining moment for anyone without a substantial career. So my question is…in what way does unionizing that actor help him/her? Moreover, in what way does driving this opportunity off NZ’s islands help that actor? Clearly these are rhetorical questions. Because this blazing issue has become the worst possible thing that could happen for professional actors in NZ.
I hope for the creative sake of the film this project stays in NZ. And I’m looking forward to watching it.
Just because he can get larger tax incentive which in turn increases his budget does not mean that the money goes into his pocket. On the contrary its more money he has at his exposal to hire more VFX people, set dressers, extras, PAs, Model, make up and art departments. It would go into the movie not his pocket. Your being naive, generic and ignorant so learn the facts before posting your BS. He wants his country to thrive in the prestige of the first three films not use it for leverage. This guy just wants to make movies. He didn’t have to direct this but realized how much would be at stake if he didn’t once Del Toro dropped out. He’s doing the right thing so leave the man be. Just because he’s the producer/director doesn’t mean he’s dishonest and cruel. You don’t even know the man so stop pretending you know what your talking about!
Who the hell are you people? Nothing that any of you say makes any sense. Peter has no say in this situation that was fucked by the Aussie guild that convinced the Kiwi guild to join them before the project was official. They fucked this situation – no blame should be on Peter. Be greatful that he’s back on board and a Zach Snyder or McG doesn’t destroy the two films.
sadly as much as i hope the rally going on convinces the execs to forgive and let the hobbit be filmed in new zealand as it should be given that its proven to be a perfect duplicate of what middle earth should look like on screen. the damage is done by the unions black list. Warners is going to do what they feel best with their investment given all the delays and that may wind up sadly taking the hobbit some where else. new zealand should have relized the price for the unions behavior would be paid soon.
The villain of this story is Simon Whipp of the MEAA, who created this fracas, and has gone to ground in a kangeroo pouch somewhere. Moronic Helen Kelly of the CTU in New Zealand shows her ignorance about the movie business every time she opens her mouth and makes matters worse. And simpering (and doomed not to be eternally jobless) local “actress” (and I use that word advisedly) Robyn Malcolm acts as the deranged court joker…or malleable puppet, whichever way you look at it.
Whipp is the one who deserves tracking down, though. His (illegal) gerrymandering needs stomped on by new Government legislature. He stopped George Miller’s “Justice League Of America”, making Warner Bros pull the plug (sound familiar?) It’s time the mad dog that is Simon Whipp was put down, once and for all, for War Crimes against the Cinema.
“The villain of this story is Simon Whipp of the MEAA, who created this fracas, and has gone to ground in a kangeroo pouch somewhere.”
Good one! Thanks for the laugh this morning!
Silly unions undermining the hard earned gains of the NZ film workers which interests they were to protect….silly bitching about the director’s succsess when he’s done it and you’ve not…envy is a sad thing to witnes, be it from the unions or those lusting for Mr Jackson’s well deserved pay check…
Maybe you Kiwis should convince your Union jackboots to stop burning down his studios when they go into a tantrum…not exactly a good way to make friends and convince a person to stick around.