Law change to keep Hobbit in NZ
The production of The Hobbit will remain in New Zealand after an agreement was reached between the NZ Government and Warner Bros. The Government agreed to up to $34 million in tax breaks and an urgent change to employment laws.
The Government introduced The Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill into Parliament on Thursday afternoon under urgency to ‘clarify the distinction between independent contractors and employees as it relates to the film production industry.’
The Government agreed to offset US$10 million ($13.4 million) of Warner Bros marketing costs and an additional tax rebate for The Hobbit movies of up to US$7.5 million ($10 million) per picture, subject to the success of those movies.
The deal came after two days of negotiations between the Government and Warner Bros.
What do you think about the deal to keep The Hobbit in New Zealand? Use the comment box below.
Comments
28 October 2010 - 11:59 AM
What do you think about the deal to keep The Hobbit in New Zealand? What are your concerns? Please use the comment box below to have your say.
John Key is an excellent businessman - the Govt is the biggest business in the country - without knowing all the details etc I would expect that John has done his best for the country & our people - it is not easy to reach agreements with big players - he has obviously done what he needed to do - we should all be grateful!
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/10/28/gordon-campbell-on-the-hobbit-finale/
Businessmen are considered good in retrospect, and generally in enriching themselves at the expense of others. Union bashing and Trickle-down economics don't work. Scandinavian countries have the highest proportion of unions. They also have among the highest tax rates and most generous welfare systems in the developed world, but “when it comes to international competitiveness, there’s no beating Scandinavian countries. That’s the conclusion of this year’s annual global competitiveness survey by the World Economic Forum, which ranks countries according to economic dynamism, the quality of public institutions and technological prowess” (Time magazine a few years ago). As far back as 1994 the Economist magazine reported that countries with wider inequality have more ill-health, social stress and crime. Those factors all hinder economic success. So even if your objective is solely economic success in terms of growth and productivity, more inequality defeats that objective.
Sure we all want the Hobbit here. Many strategies existed that didn't include a wholesale sell-out. But ramming through another nail in NZ’s labour laws at the whim of the Virtual Parliament and spending money that we don’t have to keep teachers wages from falling fast with GST induced inflation, while handing the wealthy a windfall in tax cuts is not the way to go …and recipe for disaster.
‘I’m thankful John Keys and the Government took action to resolve the situation. I don’t have any concerns because I’m confident any negative issues which may arise can be handled positively by the individuals, companies and groups involved. I look forward to a prosperous future in the Film Industry. C.E.O. Marutuahu Corporation Ltd; Parent company of Toi Toi Film Productions NZ.’
This is good news indeed, and maybe a step in the right direction toward adaopting some of Ireland's tax breaks for the arts in general!
As a visual artist, I'm glad. However, as a person married to a secondary teacher, I always find it curious that there is up to 34 million dollars in tax breaks for an American movie company, but no money to give our nation's educators a salary that is competitive with other professions.
We make it a priority to attract movie makers to New Zealand, while it is becoming more and more difficult to attract our youth into the teaching profession. If parliament can make an "urgent" passage of a legislation for the "Hobbit", I think they owe the same courtesy our teachers
I am glad that the Movie been made here, since so many people rely on it for income in this difficult times.
But that Employment law change is certainly an opportunity for a Government which has obviously no interest to protect workers and basic human rights.
The big excuse is always the economy. When do we learn from the crises.
There is still lots Money for roads a senseless war (see www.wikileak.com).
This is a good lesson how Globalization changed the playing field. Individual against Multinational, small country against powerful once. Watch the free trade.....
The demonization of the unions from the government, is more than disgusting....
I think it is very poor indeed that the government is bending over for corporate America. What about the workers who will suffer in the long term?
To be honest it is just the kind of elitest, money hungry, mercenary nonsense that we have come to expect from the National party. The money that the government makes from the movies is not nearly enough to justify the appalling erosion of basic human rights.
Shame!
New Zealahd has, perhaps one of the collectively most ignorant, uninformed and naive populations in the world. As an American I know the way American minds work, where the rest of the world is concerned. I'm ashamed to also have NZ citizenship because I have just seen this country used blatantly by the US, exploited and hoodwinked into coughing up millions of dollars and succumbing to the fascist move of changing legislation without due process and for what? The dubious honour of having two films made here on the gamble that it'll be good for the country!!! For whom, might I ask? The deal is so very much on the side of the filmakers that I fail to see what the fuss is about! Is Warner Bros sharing profilts with the NZ govt? The cineman industry, that is to say the actors and tech people, have just been given the shaft and everyone is yelling their heads off in relief that the workers have been screwed and the population as well! Wake up,
New Zealand, you've just been fucked.
As a Kiwi who has lived and worked in the USA for some years, in a 'right to work' state, I have to agree with you. Whilst the opportunities presented seem to be amazing, on the surface, the precedent created by the PM gives cause for alarm. I am delighted that NZ talent will be utilized - I just ask, at what cost?
Arts Management Consultant/Educator
USA
NZ has been declining from the Finland of the South Pacific to the mini Texas of the roaring 40’s over the last 30 years - with the exception of the Clarke years. Finland made it to the #1 “best country in a recent Newsweek survey…as the US and NZ slipped further down the scale. A study by Massey University and the University of New South Wales showed “that the gap between New Zealand's rich and poor is now one of the widest amongst developed economies”. This is quote is from the study that also stated that "four out of five households now have a smaller share of the country's total income than they did". It was presented almost 15 years ago regarding exactly the same policy that the government is now ramming through.
I believe Mr Jackson to be a decent New Zealander who would have done his best to look after all his Teams effort's without a Union getting involved. We are here now so lets just make the thing's Awesome:)
Nicki Stewart
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The smart money is on the Government on this occasion. It has nothing to do with bending over backwards for corporate America. The amount being proposed by the Government represents approx 5% of the movie budget spend and the bulk of that is going to be spent locally. The flipside to not investing if you want to use that term was the loss of not only this movie being made in New Zealand, but the loss of possibly up to 1500 jobs in the 'back office' sector of the film industry, together with the potential to gain other film work. When Warner first considered The Hobbit being filmed here our dollar was much weaker against the US dollar than it is today.
Combine that with the promotional NZ trailer to be inserted into each Hobbit DVD. How many DVDs are likely to be sold?, tens of millions? What is the price of buying a blank DVD?, 50 cents to a $1. What is the cost of purchasing a finished DVD containing a movie or music, anywhere between $10 and upwards. Whichever way you look at it, it is cheap advertising to promote our country. A tourism advertising budget could not achieve the same results for that money.
I worked as an extra on LOTR, now almost ten years ago. We got $100 per day for which we were on location for up to 13 hours. Is the glass half full or half empty? You could say that is a meagre hourly rate over the day. On the other hand you could also say that as we spent most of the day sitting around and being catered to, and actually only 2 to 3 hours really working in which case that was a good hourly rate.
You pay peanuts, you get Kiwis.
While not denying it is in the best interest of the NZ Film Industry to keep The Hobbit 1 & 2 in New Zealand, it is a sad day indeed when the government has to make financial concessions which not only only assist one specific company, but in some very very small way prop up the american dollar. The value of the american dollar plummets almost to the exact value of the australian and we have to subsidise Warners to the same percentage. Also we have to redefine the employment laws to suit. Does this mean I am no longer able to be a $20.00 per hour wage earner, and instead I have to now call myself a self-employed contractor and charge $75+ per hour. One way of raising the costs to the industry, and not very well thought through. As for the open parliament while all these employment law changes are debated and changed, Seems like an even bigger bulldozer is now on the move demolishing our democracy. Is it time for revolution or am I just sounding like an old worn out piece of vinyl on a turntable going shhh shhh shhh where the needle is stuck in a worn out inside groove?
A colleague of mine who worked with Jackson over the years told me that that the green light was given at $.64 to the USD. He told me a year ago that Warner Brothers balked when the dollar shot over $.70 USD. The high dollar in part is due to not only the tanking US dollar but Key’s inane tax policy which replaced the recommended capital gains tax on multiple investment properties with the regressive and unfair GST rise. Since NZ is about the only developed nation without a capital gains tax, foreign investors come here raising the dollar higher than it would otherwise be. In addition other means could have been used to keep the Hobbit here instead of selling out employment laws in a most undemocratic manner to the Virtual Parliament of a USA based mega-corporation. The unions are just a convenient scapegoat. The Uber-nationalistic fervor and oh so clichéd anti-union slogans surrounding this issue are reprehensible!
The election promise was to catch up with Australia, Which has better wages because of strong Unions.
The attack against Unions is not a new policy of National. This shows again that National has no real will or plane to catch up with Australia at least not in regard to wages.
The next attack against representation of the vulnerable is the Law change for student representation with the attempt to seriously weaken it. This is happen largely in the background, since there are final examen s and the start of the holidays in tertiary Institutions. That there is not more outcry against this sly tactics of John Key and his colleges, will one day be regretted by many. Why do we allow that to happen???
The business man is earning again Millions why the bill for the crises they caused through creed will be paid by us, if we don't get smarter and look behind the rhetoric!!!!
2 November 2010 - 19:28 PM
The Hobbit: Chronology of dueling press releases – 24 September to 30 October.
A chronology of the official press releases issued by the parties involved in The Hobbit dispute, as well as various onlookers @ www.onfilm.co.nz
22 November 2010 - 18:24 PM