JACKSON ANNOYED WITH NEW ZEALAND UNION BOSSES
Moviemaker PETER JACKSON has taken aim at actors union bosses in his nati ve New Zealand, insisting a planned boycott of his THE HOBBIT film could severely harm the local movie industry.
The Lord of the Rings director fears the project could be moved from Ne w Zealand to Eastern Europe if producers feel filming there could be an i ssue with union officials, who are urging workers not to work on the preq uel over employment issues - and he has released a statement urging membe rs to rethink what they’re doing.
The stand-off revolves around the producers’ refusal to sign a deal wit h local New Zealand performers for their work on the stalled film.
Jackson’s statement reads, "There is a twisted logic to seeing NZ humil iated on the world stage, by losing the Hobbit to Eastern Europe. Warners (film studio) would take a financial hit that would cause other studios to steer clear of New Zealand. Seriously, if the Hobbit goes east (Easter n Europe in fact) - look forward to a long dry big budget movie drought i n this country." The boycott has become an international issue with Canadian Actors Equi ty, U.S. Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild and the U.K. Actors Equit y supporting the New Zealanders.
Jackson has explained that Disney bosses no longer shoot in Australia b ecause of frustration with the same union he’s currently battling with.
The Hobbit has been mired with problems for months - the film is still not fully financed and producer Jackson’s original director, Guillermo de l Toro, quit the project in May (10), citing scheduling difficulties.
Jackson is now expected to take over as director.
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