For those who are interested in the finances behind the making of The Hobbit trilogy, here’s a news story from the NZ Herald about the subsidies that Warner Brothers received (thanks to ringer Ataahua for the link):
New Zealand taxpayers put up an “extreme” amount of money to get the Hobbit films made here – and the real winner was Warner Bros, the Green Party says. The Government has defended the spending of close to $200 million as having wider benefits – including more than one in ten visitors citing the movies as a reason they became interested in visiting.
The latest statements for Warner Bros Entertainment’s New Zealand subsidiary, 3 Foot 7, show the firm received a large budget screen production grant of $38.3 million in the 12 months to March 31 this year. That adds to the $54.6 million it received in the 2014 year, $31.3 million in 2013, $46.9 million in 2012 and $20.2 million in 2011. Across the five years, production costs amounted to around $1.1 billion, meaning the Warner Bros unit has claimed about 17 per cent of total costs under the grant.
Green Party finance spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said the level of taxpayer money stumped up was “pretty extreme”.Read More…
Here’s a nice story from stuff.co.nz: Sir Peter Jackson has come to the rescue of a historic Wellington church. Jackson and wife Fran Walsh have bought St Christopher’s Church in the suburb of Seatoun for $1.06 million in a move that saves the earthquake-prone church and neighbouring hall from potential demolition. The couple made their latest purchase to ensure the buildings would not be lost from the peninsula, trust chairman Richard Stubbs said. According to Stubbs, the community would have faced a huge fundraising effort were it not for Jackson and Walsh stepping in.
“They’ve rescued it. They’ve totally relieved us of that obligation, and that means we can get on and run the facilities … their involvement here is absolutely pivotal. They’ve done this for the people of the peninsula, and indeed for Wellington.”
Read the rest of the article on the stuff.co.nz website here.
Join Kili and Mike the Guide for a tour of several Lord of the Rings filming locations, including Isengard, Anduin, and Rivendell!
Book your own Middle-earth adventure with Mike the Guide, recommended by not only Kili but Ian Brodie, author of the official locations guidebook, himself! Click here to learn more.
Enjoy the photos below and remember to check out our Happy Hobbit YouTube channel for many more videos from New Zealand and the California shire! A great place to start is this playlist:
Where the hobbits tumbled down the hillside in their “shortcut t mushrooms!”
Hiding from the Nazgul… and my fellow tourists! (The tree in the film was fake)
Being Frodo resting and smoking in he and Sam’s camp.
Frodo’s view of the canopy.
Where Sam and the cookfire should be!
Buckland?
Where the Ringwraith appeared in slow-mo in FOTR.
One of the Anduin locations
By the river Anduin
Trying to make a wizard’s beard in Isengard.
We bumped into Jack Machiela, the head of the Wellington Tolkien Society!
Mike the Guide and I pose as Gandalf and Saruman. “Your love of the halfling’s leaf has dulled your mind.”
“Rip them out. All of them.” Isengard.
The two trees in the distance are where Gandalf rode when he arrived at Isengard in FOTR.
Where Brego awakens Aragorn after his “tumble over a cliff” in TTT.
If only Brego really were there!
Where Faramir’s vision of his dead brother was filmed for TTT:EE.
Elven carvings.
An Elvish welcome in Rivendell!
Because some of our Elvish is rusty…
Mike the Guide and a not-so-accurate height chart in Rivendell.
Sauron’s eyes?! Just… no.
Posing like Legolas where he did some classic photos.
It’s
undoubtedly the dream of many a Tolkien fan to set foot in Hobbiton – or, really, any of the countless other locales you will find in The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films.
Many have, in fact, traveled to the beautiful country of New Zealand to do just that. However, not all of us have had the opportunity (or means) to travel and see Middle-earth for ourselves. To illustrate just what awaits us across the globe, NewZealand.com has just the solution. Continue reading “‘Take a Flight’ through the filming locations of Middle-earth”
Sir Peter Jackson has a new award to add to his trophy cabinet! The film director has just been honoured with New Zealand’s highest accolade, having been made an Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, for services to the country. Sir Peter is the first member of the film industry to be made part of the Order; he joins a list which includes politicians, judges, sportsmen and even the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip!
Read the full story here. Everyone at TheOneRing.net sends many congratulations to Sir Peter on this significant honour!
(Photo, by Kevin Stent, shows Sir Peter with NZ Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, at the investiture ceremony.)
Just like last year, Air New Zealand has a new Hobbit-crossover video clip that spruces its wares: “just another day in Middle-earth”.