Thousands of New Zealanders have taken part in protests against possible plans to make the adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit outside of the country. Stephanie West investigates. Organisers of the protests said they coincided with the visit of Warner Brothers movie executives, who are due to meet New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday to discuss moving the two-part adaptation from the country where the Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot. Rallies were held in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Queenstown and Matamata, where the Hobbiton sets have been built.
Month: October 2010
Ataahua sends this along: Kiwi cartoonist Tom Scott comments on the ‘Save the Hobbit’ rallies
Hollywood studio bosses go into talks tomorrow in Wellington with a loud and clear message that The Hobbit should be filmed in New Zealand.
TVNZ‘s Paul Holmes interviews President of the Combined Trade Unions Helen Kelly and managing director of South Pacific Picture John Barnett about the saga surrounding filming of The Hobbit. The Q&A gets extremely heated between the two, read on! More..
Thanks to Hunter Abbey for sending in this video of the Wellington Rally of Hope!
It’s a serious topic for the hundreds of film and tourism workers among the 2000-strong crowd, but Wellington’s Save the Hobbit rally had a terrific positive energy. The party atmosphere was helped by the music – Wellington bands like Fly My Pretties (I think!), Poi E! from the movie Boy, and when the time came to concentrate our attention on the subject at hand, a beautiful rendition of Pokarekareana.
The crowd fell silent and after an introduction from our newly-elected mayor (Celia Wade-Brown, who’s something of a tech geek), we heard Richard Taylor address the crowd, which he did with his usual blend of sincerity, passion and gentle humour. Continue reading “Party Atmosphere at Wellington Hobbit Rally”