Below is the statement just released by Sir Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger over at wetanz.com:
On behalf of all our friends and colleagues at Weta Workshop, we send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of the people from around New Zealand and the world who have sent us their messages of support.
Everyone here has tried to stay optimistic for a positive outcome but in the darkest days of the past week it has been the amazing support from the fans of LOTR and our family and friends which has given us the resolve to stay cheerful and positive about the outcome for these films.
It is a fantastic result reported tonight by our Prime Minister, the Honourable John Key, and we are grateful for the support of our Government in recognising the challenges our film industry was facing.
We are also very pleased that Warner Bros are happy to continue to see these films made in New Zealand – and thank them for their efforts.
Most importantly our thanks go out to Peter, Fran and Philippa, for their unrelenting efforts to see these films made in our country. We are very lucky to work with such passionate film makers.
All our best and cheers to you all.
Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger
I might add we’re lucky to have such passionate people as our friends at WETA working on these beloved stories too. Our very best wishes are with you as you embark on your journey into Middle-earth once again!
Ray writes: Here is a video I put together featuring some of the main speakers at the Hobbit rally on 25.10.10 in Civic Square, Wellington City, New Zealand. Rallies were also held in Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Queenstown and Matamata (where the Hobbiton sets have been built), and were set up to coincide with the arrival of the Warner Bros. executives, who will be meeting to decide where The Hobbit will be filmed. “This is where Middle Earth was born and this is where it should stay,” Peter Jackson.
A meeting between Warner Brothers and senior government ministers has ended inconclusively, with studio executives asking for larger incentives to keep The Hobbit movies in NZ. Read More
Prime Minister John Key has already made it clear to Warner Bros that the Government can not go to extreme lengths to ensure The Hobbit remains in New Zealand ahead of his meeting with the company’s executives this afternoon. Mr Key will meet the executives to try to persuade them to keep the filming of the Hobbit in New Zealand. He would not discuss exactly what the Government could offer but will not rule out further tax breaks or changes to industrial laws to placate the movie company. However he said there was only so far the government could go. “From the conversations I’ve had with Warner Bros so far I’ve made it quite clear if it comes to a bidding war, then New Zealand is out because I don’t think that’s the right way to run this.” More..
Dominic Kane reports on all the New Zealand craziness behind The Hobbit recently. However this video report features a few tantalizing images of Bag End, and a few other Hobbity looking sets in mid construction! Take a look! More..
NZ Prime Minister John Key was on Newstalk ZB this morning and said the following: “I have spoken with the chief executive of Warner Brothers, who I know, but the real meeting is set to be this afternoon. They’re sending their senior people here. They want to assess things. They’re definitely not coming here to say no (to having the movie filmed in New Zealand) – if they were they probably wouldn’t send such a high-power team; they probably wouldn’t send a team at all. But there’s no question the action of the unions has destabilised their confidence in New Zealand – we’re a long, long way from a slam-dunk with the films being made in New Zealand.”
Below is the statement just released by Sir Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger over at wetanz.com: