Force of Hobbit: New Zealand woos Jackson back

There and Back Again, indeed. I thought we would hold off covering the endless dispute in New Zealand that was mucking up production of The Hobbit on the same terrain where The Lord of the Rings was set. Finally broke down and reported the good news/bad news about the casting details and apparent steadfast resistance of the studio to meet what it saw as unreasonable demands from the NZ Actors Equity.

Today brings more good news/bad news. New Line Cinema and Warner Bros have won concessions from the New Zealand legislature in the form of substantial tax breaks and other perks if production remains Kiwi-based. Good news for those worried about how Middle Earth might look transplanted to Eastern European. Bad news for anybody hoping for a ghastly Romanian Bilbo the Impaler.

Hundreds of people marched in several cities Monday to show their support for keeping production in New Zealand. …the package includes an extra tax break of NZ$20 million ($15 million) for the studios, on top of $45 million already pledged by the government… New Zealand will also contribute $7.5 million to help with marketing costs of the two films.

A labor law change will be put to Parliament on Thursday “to ensure New Zealand law in this area is settled to give producers like Warner Bros. the confidence they need to produce their movies in New Zealand.” (LATimes)

All’s well that ends in Wellington.