Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh’s scathing memo indirectly aimed at the various actor’s guilds that had blacklisted The Hobbit production in New Zealand was backed up today by New Line.
In a separate memo written in response to reports of the blacklisting, New Line has reaffirmed Jackson’s stance as well as confirm their present course of action. “The actions of these unions have caused us substantial damage and disruption and forced us to consider other filming locations for the first time,” they wrote. “Alternative locations are still being considered.”
New Zealand stands to lose millions upon millions of revenue in jobs, tourism and production expenditures should The Hobbit’s $500 million budget end up in another country. Their dollar is currently showing weakness that some analysts suggest is from the uncertainty of whether The Hobbit will film there. That’s how big of a deal it is for the country.
Jackson, likewise, will lose immediate access to his production facilities that include sound stages and the WETA workshop. He would likely still use them, but the logistics will be far more complex.
Clearly it is in both party’s best interest for The Hobbit films to be shot in New Zealand. It’s also in the fans’ best interest as we’ve come to associate those locations in New Zealand as Middle Earth and expect to see some of them reappear in The Hobbit.
Cross your fingers and hope those burned bridges can be forgotten.
