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.

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”

My name is Ray from Wellington, New Zealand! I was at the Wellington Rally for The Hobbit today. I took along my camera and just finished piecing together the speeches. Here’s a link to the finished video, please do share it on the site! The picture is me..I brought along my shards of Narsil Sword and some face paint. It was enough to get me on the news here in NZ lol. Enjoy – it was an awesome event and I felt very honored and lucky to be part of it. Click to watch

Thousands of New Zealanders have taken part in protests against possible plans to make the adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit outside of the country. Stephanie West investigates. Organisers of the protests said they coincided with the visit of Warner Brothers movie executives, who are due to meet New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday to discuss moving the two-part adaptation from the country where the Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot. Rallies were held in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Queenstown and Matamata, where the Hobbiton sets have been built.