Anna Wilding’s comments and my response drew a big response on both sides of the argument; it seems I may have been, as Quickbeam would say, a little hasty. My apologies to Anna. (more)
Month: October 2000
The debate about the treatment of extras and horses in “The Lord of the Rings” has continued since NZ’s “The Press” quoted Hollywood-based NZ actor and producer Anna Wilding. I rather lambasted her for her comments on how New Line were treating extras unfairly. I should have paused to reflect that the news media injects as much contention into a topic as possible. What came across in the Press article as arrogance on Ms. Wilding’s part were not necessarily a truthful reflection of her tone and intentions. Certainly her friends and family have sprung to her defence and I’m apologetic about my attack on her. They say she’s been very supportive of the LOTR project live on air.
It was rather hard to know how to take her comments that reported that extras were being underpaid and treated like slaves etc. Her comments came hard on the heels of a comment by a stuntman/techie in the Xena/Hercules scene that the Hollywood types call the NZers “Mexicans with cellphones,” which seems to insult both groups. Is it the recklessness they’re talking about? The lack of sophistication? Or are they alluding to the fact that they can employ people here at sweatshop prices? Certainly the recent “Listener” article on the finanical basis for filming LOTR in NZ addresses some of those concerns, and suggests what we might have to do about it. We’ll be posting the whole article next week.
A number of emails have come in to me about the whole topic. Some were from people in the film industry elsewhere in the States: “We get that so much with crews that come to North Carolina that I’ve taken to wearing a button on set that says, “We don’t care how they do it in Los Angeles.” Fortunately, by the time the crews leave, they (usually) see that us hicks know a little more than they thought we did :-)”
Being involved in Tolkien fandom I’m aware of how much people want to be involved in these films; here’s another comment from the same correspondent that sums up the common theme:
“If I could afford it, I would be on a plane and haunting the film sites, begging to be an extra for free. (And I work in the film business, so I have no starry eyed notions about their being any glamour in being an extra. I know it’s hard, thankless work. But just to say I was part of LOTR would make it worth it.)”
And certainly, the extras here are being paid less than standard rates. But few if any of them expect to make their living from extra work and their finances hardly depend on a healthy job scene for film extas. Horsemaster Steve Old’s comment that people would pay to have that experience rings true; NZ is full of people who actually spend money getting cold, tired, bruised and exhausted doing their favourite sports and activities. I’m one of them, so I know how little discomfort count when a person is doing something they really enjoy. For most of the LOTR extras, that’s the experience they’ll have.
However Anna Wilding’s supporters point out two issues which are harder to deal with. Firstly, (and this is a persistent rumour I’ve had from sources close to the film industry) there are cases where Kiwis are being paid $100 when the person from overseas doing the same job is paid $2000, and these are people whose livelihoods are in the industry. Well, I can see that with our dollar being worth 39c in the US at the moment, it would be difficult to persuade anyone to come here and work unless that was the case; an NZ wagepacket is close to useless to somebody whose life is based elsewhere, so I can see where the argument comes in for both sides. But it must seem incredibly unfair at times for the local workers.
The other issue is the horses. Much though we humans may enjoy a week of adventure and risk on a film set, the horses don’t get to choose, nor do they understand the big picture. It’s not that horses don’t take risks, but they base their choices about what constitutes a worthwhile adventure (like bolting or escaping or fighting other horses) on completely different criteria. People have reported injuries and horses getting frightened. It’s almost inevitable with so many horses in one place. I’ve known horses to freak out uncontrollably at their first Pony Club meet with all the excitement, so it’s dishonest to pretend that a cavalry charge for horses wearing unfamiliar medieval gear can be made perfectly safe. How could it be? The riders might have accepted that injuries were a possible or probable risk, but the horses couldn’t be consulted! I’m not sure it’s crueller or riskier than polo or racing or steeplechasing or hunting.
My apologies to people whose feelings were hurt by my remarks. I doubt that this debate is going to reach much agreement between the extras who are having the time of their lives and the less lucky ones who aren’t. Eventually even they’ll probably dine out on their “I was an extra at Edoras” stories for the rest of their lives. But for the horses, who know how much horses remember about anything?
Hear more from the spies with a sense of fun! This time it’s Madame Butterfly and the Toff reporting. Their reports are here and here
Mysterious Spy John Doe is back with some more insider news, read on…no I.D. Required. [More]
My phone rings it is Madame Butterfly “go and see what is happening at Wingate Toff and send the afternoon update to Tehanu”.
I don my tweed suit and the customary top hat and proceed to Peterkin Street in the Jaguar to observe the Wingate set. I observe the developments through my special observation device. They seem to be constructing steps and adding them to the set. The set looks to be developing into a quarter scale of Minas Tirith? A truck arrives, the compound gates are closed. The driver gets out and opens the gates and drives around by the front fence of the compound. He opens the back door of the truck……….. By joves! More steps in the back of the truck! And there by the front of the fence, more steps! How absolutely spiffing, they are cutting out shapes of doors and arches out of the addition that Madame and Robbie saw this morning. I scan the compound for the big burly guards that are known to frequent the Wingate sets. I finger my sword-cane in readiness and my waxed moustache twitches in anticipation. What’s that! Oh I say! A crane is lifting a huge tower off the back of a large truck. Yes, there are builders everywhere, one must be able to hear their hammers a mile away!
Well I must dash before I am discovered!
Tally Ho ! The Toff
Mysterious Spy John Doe is back with some more insider news, read on…no I.D. Required:
Principle Photography Is intended to finish the friday before X-mas. The filming on Deer Mountain (Facing Queenstown) is being based around an old Disney Movie Set from 1985-86 Called “The Rescue” about a group of kids who rescue their Navy Seal dads from a Korean Prison.
I believe Unit 1 will go back to Wellington in a week, and the rest are staying on for between 3-5 more weeks.
I have also seen a set (Will not disclose where) of a Man made mountain pass, the mountain was very rocky and approx 15-20 Metres high, with a cave that had some sort of temple inside in. Spears and Spikes were at the entrance to the cave & it involved approx 20 Orcs.