Jackson thanks Government for Hobbit support
In a new press release from their company Wingnut Films, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh expressed their gratitude to the NZ Government for helping them keep The Hobbit in the country.
“We are grateful to the Government for introducing legislation which shall give everyone in the film industry certainty as to their employment status. This clarification will provide much needed stability and reassurance for film workers as well as investors from within New Zealand and overseas,” they said.
The producers also thanked the studios – Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema for their continued commitment to the country, as well as everyone involved in the project.
“The film technicians, actors and fans who came out in support. To the thousands of people who took the time to write and let us know they were with us – thank you. It made all the difference.”
After one month of speculation and two days of negotiations between Warner executives and Government, it was finally revealed last night that The Hobbit would be shot in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Herald reported that the price of keeping the shoot in the country would be “up to NZ$34m in tax breaks and help with marketing costs, and an urgent change to labour laws”.
This figure comes from support for marketing costs by U$10m (NZ$13.4m) and “up to U$7.5m (NZ$10m) in extra tax breaks” for each of the volumes of the two-part project. According to this report, the total cost would be “just under NZ$100m”.
