Weta Workshop has announced that it has entered into a publishing agreement with HarperCollins Publishers. The latter is the latest version of a British publishing company going back for many decades. It published the first editions of The Hobbit, LOTR, and Tolkien’s other works of fiction. It also published the licensed tie-in books for the film trilogy. (Houghton Mifflin published both the original Tolkien books and the film tie-ins in the U.S.)

The announcement says:

There are major opportunities for both companies in this agreement. The most significant is the global publication of beautifully produced movie tie-in volumes written and designed by Weta’s own creative people, illustrating the amazing skills and talents of the Weta team. Traditionally, the authors of movie tie-in books are several steps removed from the making of the movie, and the books are last minute additions to the movie merchandising plans. However, these books, which will be published under the management of HarperCollins New Zealand’s experienced publishing and production teams, will give a real insight to the creative genius that Weta brings to the projects it is involved with.

This apparently means that the comparable tie-in books published for The Hobbit will be created in-house at Weta rather than being done by people commissioned for that purpose. The announcement concludes

‘We have been developing book ideas for many years and now with our relationship and friendship with the team at HarperCollins we can see these books reach an even wider market through their global network’, says Richard Taylor, Creative Director and Co-founder of Weta Workshop.

The relationship between HarperCollins and Weta Workshop goes back many years. As the publisher of the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, HarperCollins and Weta have developed an appreciation and understanding of each other’s capabilities whilst working together on The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia movies. Recent projects include The Art of District 9 and the award-winning The Crafting of Narnia.

TheOneRing.net has posted a story about a new venture between Wingnut Film Productions and Rings Scenic Tours to run “Shire Tours” of the Hobbiton set. There had been an announcement late last October that the new set, built for The Hobbit on the same farm outside Matamata that had hosted the trilogy, would be kept permanently. (After LOTR shot there, the hobbit-hole doors were removed, leaving white backings that were all that tourists could see of the built portion of the set.)

That announcement came just as the dealings between the New Zealand government and Warner Bros. had ended with the studio agreeing to keep the production in the country in exchange for further incentives. It has never, as far as I know, been revealed whether the permission to keep Hobbiton as a permanent tourist attraction was part of the government deal, but certainly Warner Bros. agreed to that arrangement at exactly the time when the negotiations ended. If it was part of the deal, then the government has helped ensure that income from tourism will be boosted by keeping The Hobbit in New Zealand.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, part of the new deal between the New Zealand government and Warner Bros. involves brand partnering. This is where a film studio partners with another company (usually a company) to mutually promote each other. Here’s part of what that will involve with The Hobbit and what the potential benefits are:

But the Prime Minister says for the other $13 million in marketing subsidies, the country’s tourism industry gets plenty in return.

“Warner Brothers has never done this before so they were reluctant participants, but we argued strongly,” Key said.

Every DVD and download of The Hobbit will also feature a Jackson-directed video promoting New Zealand as a tourist and filmmaking destination.

Graeme Mason of the New Zealand Film Commission says the promotional video will be invaluable.

“As someone who’s worked internationally for most of my life, you can’t quantify how much that is worth. That’s advertising you simply could not buy.”

If the first Hobbit film is as popular as the last Lord of the Rings movie, the promotional video could feature on 50 million DVDs.

Suzanne Carter of Tourism New Zealand agrees having The Hobbit production here is a dream come true.

“The opportunity to showcase New Zealand internationally both on the screen and now in living rooms around the world is a dream come true,” Carter said.

Marketing expert Paul Sinclair says the $13 million subsidy works out at 26 cents a DVD.

“It’s a bargain. It is gold literally for New Zealand, for brand New Zealand,” he said.

(From a TVNZ story.)