Below is the statement just released by Sir Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger over at wetanz.com:

On behalf of all our friends and colleagues at Weta Workshop, we send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of the people from around New Zealand and the world who have sent us their messages of support.

Everyone here has tried to stay optimistic for a positive outcome but in the darkest days of the past week it has been the amazing support from the fans of LOTR and our family and friends which has given us the resolve to stay cheerful and positive about the outcome for these films.

It is a fantastic result reported tonight by our Prime Minister, the Honourable John Key, and we are grateful for the support of our Government in recognising the challenges our film industry was facing.

We are also very pleased that Warner Bros are happy to continue to see these films made in New Zealand – and thank them for their efforts.

Most importantly our thanks go out to Peter, Fran and Philippa, for their unrelenting efforts to see these films made in our country.  We are very lucky to work with such passionate film makers.

All our best and cheers to you all.

Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger

I might add we’re lucky to have such passionate people as our friends at WETA working on these beloved stories too. Our very best wishes are with you as you embark on your journey into Middle-earth once again!