WELLINGTON – Tuesday, 12 October 2010 – In response to comments made by Helen Kelly of the CTU, co-writer and co-producer on The Hobbit Philippa Boyens stated “I want to reassure Helen Kelly that the filmmakers involved in this production are working as hard as they can to save the jobs of the New Zealanders put at risk by the actions of NZ Equity and are doing everything they can to keep the production from being moved off-shore. Three Foot Seven is working with actors’ representatives, namely their agents, to ensure that the terms and conditions for all actors working on “The Hobbit” are fair and equitable and that the actors engaged to work on the films are happy with their contracts. The agents involved are doing an extremely good job of protecting their clients’ interests.“
Boyens went on to add: “I do not understand why NZ Equity would single out a New Zealand filmmaker who has always treated actors fairly and with respect; nor do I understand why NZ Equity would want to risk the international reputation of New Zealand as an excellent place to make films, thereby putting at risk thousands of film industry jobs, over demands that are, in their own words, “miniscule.”
After attending a meeting of Wellington Actors last night, it is becoming increasingly clear that NZ Equity do not have a mandate to speak for the majority of New Zealand actors and performers nor did they consult with other Guilds involved in the industry before instituting this boycott against “The Hobbit”. I would like to thank Yvette Reid and the other organizers of the Wellington Actors meeting for letting me attend. The room was packed, there were representations from Dave Gibson and Penelope Borland from SPADA, Helen Kelly from the CTU, myself, as one of the filmmakers involved with “The Hobbit”; Sue Rogers, a prominent New Zealand producer as well as several actors and filmmakers. Debate was lively, uncensored and at all times civil. It is a pity NZ Equity declined the opportunity to participate in such an important discussion when they are in fact responsible for initiating an industrial action which has inflicted enormous damage on the NZ film industry.”
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By now, many of us are aware that Martin Freeman was the first choice to play the role of Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit films, and as many of us are also aware that he turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts (though that wasn’t the end of the matter!) But there wasn’t really any official word from the man himself… until now! Empire Online managed to snag an interview with Freeman on The Hobbit, and for fans in the “Freeman for Bilbo” camp, there seems to be hope yet.
Here follow a couple of snippets from the interview:
“I did have to say no to it [an offer to play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit films] for the second series of Sherlock. But if something could be worked out, that would be great. I did it [turn down the role] with a heavy heart, definitely.
If there is any outside possibility [of finding a way to fit The Hobbit into his schedule], then that would be great. But I’ve learned not to think too much or hope too much about stuff. It will happen if it happens.”
Of interest is Freeman’s thoughts on an older actor portraying Bilbo Baggins:
“Bilbo isn’t 20 at this stage of the story, and I reckon I could do a young Ian Holm. I think I could give that a go.”
Head over to Empire Online to read more of the interview.
Thanks to message board member Silmaril for the heads-up.
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johobbit from the SL journal team writes: Thank you to everyone for the encouraging and supportive responses to Silver Leaves Issue 3: Tolkien/Fantasy Art and Artists! Please join us on Facebook and give us your feedback and thoughts on this collectible issue. Let us know what your ideal Smaug would be like for The Hobbit movies or click on the ‘Discussions’ tab and tell us about your favourite dragon (or dragons, the more the merrier!), in or outside of Middle-earth. We’ll be printing your responses in Issue 4! Continue reading “Silver Leaves Issue 4 Call for Entries”
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A story out of New Zealand declares that ‘The Hobbit’ will be the most expensive movie in history. It cites as a source The London Daily Telegraph which got its figure by saying “it was reported”. We tried to follow the trail and to the best of my knowledge the giant sum was first reported as a needed cash infusion for MGM as “production costs” but never was it said (as far as I can tell) to apply only to “The Hobbit.”
The article then confuses readers with references to Christopher Tolkien and the Tolkien estate threatening to pull the plug on the production. The difficulties with the Tolkien estate happened a few years ago in a lawsuit over profits from “The Lord of the Rings.”
New Line Cinema, the studio behind the LOTR film trilogy, is now owned by Warners and MGM owns 50% of the rights of the planned pair of films.
Official pre-production hasn’t started yet but much of the work has been done in “development,” which has been reported to have cost as much as $50M. These figures have not been verified.
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If you have glanced at TORn or even the internet this week you will have noticed the “Hobbit” news stories coming fast and furious from every corner. Peter Jackson has spoken about the collective of rumors and the current status of the two-part films. He spoke with EmpireOnline and made it clear that people are working hard, but nothing has officially happened yet. Jackson said:
We’ve seen these reports before, reports saying there was going to be a greenlight in a couple of days — well, a week’s gone by and there isn’t one. You can’t believe everything you read. There is only one thing you want to believe and that’s when the studio announces a greenlight. As far as I’m aware that’s not going to be today. I keep hearing positive things. Everyone’s working very hard. There’s a lot of people at Warner Bros. who are working around the clock trying to manoeuvre through the MGM complexities.
The rest of the article is really interesting with heavy Jackson quotes. You can read the rehash lots of places but why not go to the source?
It is clear from Jackson’s comments that the MGM situation remains sticky but that the will to get this picture in production is strong both on a studio level and from the Jackson camp. Not spoken of was the unsettled labor situation in New Zealand but it seems likely that dispute would also delay a greenlight but all parties seem to taking care of that issue behind the scenes and not in the press, likely so as not to give the NZ film industry a bad name internationally. The saga of the two-part film continues!
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A source has told the New Zealand Herald that attempts by the Council of Trade Unions to settle disputes between producers of “The Hobbit” and actor’s unions have failed.
The story also details the progress that MGM is making with leadership and finances to reach a point to greenlight the two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. The story, with newer and better information than is being regurgitated by countless websites, can be found here. And as always, stay tuned for the best and latest info!
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