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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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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Peter Jackson’s multimillion-dollar blockbuster The Hobbit could be moving to the Gold Coast with the Oscar-winning filmmaker ready to quit New Zealand due to major hurdles crippling production. The southern Gold Coast is being touted as a possibility for relocation for the Lord of the Rings prequel with its rolling hills and sparser population two attributes attracting the interest of producers. More..
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Gordon Campbell with Scoop.co.nz has weighed in on recent events concerning what he phrases as the end game for The Hobbit. He states the actors boycott is really just a “sideshow” and what matters is “the production incentives available in New Zealand compared to elsewhere in the world” as well as “the late intrusion of the 74 year old corporate raider Carl Icahn into the sale of debt-burdened MGM, which owns a major stake in The Hobbit project.”
You can read the entire article here.
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Sharon Waxman at TheWrap.com has posted an exclusive on her blog, Wax Word, that a deal for Peter Jackson to direct “The Hobbit” is all but complete:
“Now his deal is all but complete, according to individuals close to the project. Both Jackson’s directing fee and percentage of the gross have been settled, though a number of lesser deal points remain outstanding.”
Confirmation that PJ will be adding the director role to his writing and producing duties can’t come soon enough for fans who have been hoping PJ would take over the director’s role for since Guillermo Del Toro announced earlier this year that he was vacating the position. The pieces are falling into place for “The Hobbit” to get back on track!
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