A group of New Zealand film industry workers has petitioned to have the boycott against “The Hobbit” dropped. TheOneRing.net went one-on-one with one filmmakers behind its formation, Chaz Harris, to get the viewpoint of somebody involved on the ground in what is becoming a heated atmosphere that is the latest in a long line of obstacles to ‘The Hobbit’. Read on for questions and thoughtful answers: Continue reading “TORn interviews NZ filmmaker as Kiwi film industry petitions to have ‘Hobbit’ boycott dropped”
Category: Casting Rumors
Seven global actors’ unions have instructed their members to walk away from roles in the two big-budget Lord of the Rings prequels because producers have allegedly refused to negotiate a deal guaranteeing wages and working conditions for performers in New Zealand. Unions in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada, acting under the umbrella of the International Federation of Actors (FIA), said Kiwi performers had “struggled on non-union contracts” for some years during filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They said the contracts “provide no minimum guarantees of wages or working conditions”, no payment for future broadcasts and no cancellation payments. More..
Peter Jackson has issued a swift and decisive statement in answer to recent suggestions by the IFA and affiliated actor’s unions that their members turn down parts in “The Hobbit” movie unless all New Zealand actors are allowed to bargain with the movie-makers collectively. Peter made the interesting point that this may be against current New Zealand law:
“NZ law prohibits engaging in collective bargaining with any labour organisation representing performers who are independent contractors, as film actors clearly are. The NZ Commerce Act claims it would be unlawful to engage with an Australian Union on these matters.”
More worrisome for Hobbit fans is his assertion that this may delay the making of “The Hobbit” even further and/or force the production to move to eastern Europe:
..”the “demands” of MEAA cannot be agreed to, or even considered – by law – and therefore the only options that remain involve closing the Hobbit down, or more likely shifting the production to Europe. It could so easily happen. I’ve been told that Disney are no longer bring movies to Australia because of their frustration with the MEAA.”
The MEAA is the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, or the actors union in Australia. The IFA and New Zealand Actors guild solicited the help of the Aussie organization in 2006 to help the unionization process of New Zealand actors. Keep reading to see the entire statement and be sure to join the discussion on our message boards.
Delayed Peter Jackson movie The Hobbit has shown signs of life with a preliminary casting call in Wellington.
The movie has been held up by the sale of the MGM studio, which owns half of the production.
Budding film stars of all shapes and sizes arrived from around the country.
A preliminary casting call is great news for Wellington’s film industry, but it wasn’t the happiest of days for some Hobbit hopefuls.
Variety reported today that the seven major actor’s unions have told members not to work on “The Hobbit” due to the refusal of producers of the feature film to sign a deal with local New Zealand performers. A SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) Member Alert published on SAG’s website yesterday states:
“Members of Canadian Actors Equity, US Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild, UK Actors Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Australia) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists are advised not to accept work on this non-union production. If you are contacted to be engaged on The Hobbit please notify your union immediately.”
The alert comes after repeated attempts by Australian actor’s union, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Alliance), to negotiate minimum wages and other working conditions for New Zealand actors who are currently not unionized. The International Federation of Actors (FIA) finally stepped in to urge their affiliates worldwide to flat out refuse to work on “The Hobbit” in a show of solidarity for their New Zealand counterparts. With offers to actors rumored to be “imminent,” the initiative is undoubtedly timed to put maximum pressure on the film-makers to negotiate. It remains to be seen whether playing what they think is their strongest hand now will have the results the FIA desires.
After posting the newspaper advertisement from Wellington’s Dominion Post, we heard from official sources that indeed, it is real and authentic and official. Turns out, everything printed was exactly what was meant. The source said:
A preliminary casting call means: We don’t have a green light, but we do need to be prepared in the event that we get one!
Also as stated, it isn’t a call for extras, it is simply gathering folks around Wellington who might serve as scale doubles, much as they were used it the LOTR production. There is no word from Los Angeles studios on greenlights, directors or casting.
And, to clarify the source also said:
The NZ Dance and Drama Centre is simply being used as a venue for this casting call, and is not the home of our casting department.
So, the news is still good news for those wanting “Hobbit” movies and this wasn’t happening several months ago but we are still in a state of “hurry up and wait.”