It seems The Hollywood Reporter story about the ‘Save The Hobbit’ page being removed was incorrect. The URL provided with the story is indeed dead, but the group is still going strong with 12,500+ ‘likes’. Take a look! More..
Category: Fans
Paul Chai writes: The normally dry business of union politics turned to spectacle in New Zealand on Monday as Warner Bros. execs flew to Wellington under the threat of a canceled “Hobbit” production in hopes of gaining concessions from the industry and the Kiwi government.
A decision could come as soon as today on whether to keep production of two-picture “The Hobbit” from being moved to nearby Australia, the United Kingdom or Eastern Europe. Sources close to “Hobbit” producer/helmer Peter Jackson said Monday that finding a solution was still no better than a 50-50 proposition. Reps for Warner Bros. said they would have no comment until a decision is made. More..
Caras Galadhon writes: Nothing short of the whole host of Mordor (and probably not even it) was going to keep me from today’s rally in Wellington’s Civic Square. After all, this was a chance to be there, see it all unfold, participate and maybe, just maybe, make a difference to the future of The Hobbit.
I arrived at a quarter after 12, while everyone was still slowly filtering in. Right off the bat, it was clear that this was going to be a positive event, as I saw many a smile as people drifted across the square, greeting friends, finding spots to stand or sit, and snapping pictures. It could not have been even a full ten minutes before someone offered me a balloon; the square was full of them, brightly coloured and bobbing along to the beat of music playing from the loudspeakers near the City-to-Sea Bridge.
Plenty of people had brought along signs welcoming Warner Bros. to New Zealand and affirming that the only place for Middle-earth is right here. Cast, crew and public mingled shoulder-to-shoulder, and I saw plenty of jackets, shirts and other paraphernalia identifying people’s roles in various Peter Jackson productions sprinkled liberally among the crowd. I wasn’t the only non-New Zealander there, as while I was sporting my Canada/New Zealand flag pin, I also overheard people identifying themselves as American, and more than one of the speakers we were about to hear came from further afield than the North and South Islands. Continue reading “Report with Pics: Hobbit Rally – Wellington”
The Hollywood Reporter has noted that Facebook, love them or hate them, has pulled Mark Harrison’s ‘Keep the Hobbit film shoot in New Zealand’ page. That’s because the social networking site pulled the page, located at http://www.facebook.com/hobbitnz, when the number of “fans” hit 10,000. A visit to that address produced a “page not found” error.
Mark Harrison, a Kiwi actor who created the Facebook page and organized “Save the Hobbit” rallies up and down the country, was furious at the company. “We probably missed another 4,000-5,000 supporters,” he said, citing the saturation coverage of Sunday’s rallies in the local press. More..
Hey Mark, we’ll host your page for you..no problem! Give us a shout!
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”
Cad Monkey writes: Just a quick review of the rally that’s just finished in Auckland. A slightly disappointing turnout of around 250 people, plenty of news media, radio & tv. Mark Harrison the Auckland actor who has organised the nationwide rallies spoke very well and at length about the impact that LOTR had on tourism and the economy in NZ and that if Warner Bros want to make the best movies they can (and make plenty of money too ) then NZ is the only place to shoot them: NZ is middle earth. Each point he made was greeted by loud cheers and applause. A statement by Peter Jackson was read out at the end thanking everyone for their support.
Were you at a rally in New Zealand? Send your pics and video now!