THH HOBBIT NEWS
'Hobbit' production to stay in New Zealand - Los Angeles Times
'Hobbit' production to stay in New Zealand The government reaches a deal with Warner Bros. to keep the two-movie project from moving elsewhere after a labor dispute. By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times The New Zealand government said Wednesday that "The Hobbit" would keep its feet firmly planted in the small South Pacific nation, ending a short but intense saga over where the expensive two-picture production would be filmed and averting fallout that would have damaged all sides. After two days of talks with Hollywood executives, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced that his government had reached a deal with Warner Bros. to shoot the prequel to the "Lord of the Rings" films in the country. Warner Bros. and filmmaker Peter Jackson had threatened to change locations for the planned February production of the $500-million-budget project after a labor dispute that erupted between Jackson and New Zealand Actors Equity, which was seeking to provide union benefits to actors on "The Hobbit." "I am delighted we have achieved this result,'' Key said in a statement. "Making the two Hobbit movies here will not only safeguard work for thousands of , but it will also follow the success of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in once again promoting New Zealand on the world stage." The agreement comes after Key met with New Line Cinema President Toby Emmerich and Warner Bros. home entertainment chief Kevin Tsujihara in an effort to persuade the studios to keep the production from exiting New Zealand. The Hollywood executives wanted assurances that Warner Bros.' investment would not be threatened by future labor unrest and appeared to be using the prospect of shifting locations as leverage to gain more concessions from the New Zealand government. They succeeded: As part of the agreement, the government said it would broaden the criteria for its film fund, entitling the producers to a rebate of as much as $7.5 million for each of the "Hobbit" movies beyond the $60-million to $75-million subsidy that producers would be eligible to receive under New Zealand's film rebate program. The government also said it would offset $10 million in Warner Bros.' marketing costs as part of a "strategic partnership" to "promote New Zealand as both a film production and tourism destination." Love-hate relationship with Washington plays out in Nevada politics Eastern Sierra's autumn colors peak Mumbai billionaire's home boasts 27 floors, ocean and slum views Ring the kettle bell. School's back in After two years of eco-living, what works and what doesn't Solar energy proponents push California to adopt 'feed-in tariff' for individual power producers Jon Stewart's 'Rally to Restore Sanity' could draw tens of thousands...
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