TVNZ reports that  Prime Minister John Key will be dining with Warner Bros. executives in Los Angeles on his way to Washington, D. C. to meet with President Obama and other officials. Key negotiated with Warner execs last year when a labor dispute threatened to drive the Hobbit production to a different country. Extra tax incentives and a change in labor laws convinced WB to keep the production in New Zealand.

According to Key: “They are very keen to build a long-term relationship with us. They see us as a strategic partner and New Zealand as a quirky but talented little market that’s quite cheap.” The report also says: “Before leaving yesterday, Key told reporters the Government wanted to build a partnership with Warner Brothers ‘like they have with the United Kingdom, where they film the Harry Potter movies’.”

Maybe he’s being overly optimistic, but perhaps The Hobbit will continue to support the Kiwi film industry, a tradition started by The Lord of the Rings. After all, Wellington isn’t all that much further from Los Angeles than London is.

The New York Times has weighed in on the controversy over the Wellington airport’s plan to erect a sign reading “Wellywood” on a ridge near the runway. Quotes from representatives of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (which claims to own rights to the sign) and the airport are given. The role of Peter Jackson’s films is noted:

Since the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was shot in New Zealand, that country’s film industry has proved a boon to tourism, with foreigners eager to climb the peaks that served as Mount Doom.

Last year, New Zealand officials agreed to contribute special financing to ensure that the two movies based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” would be shot there, and the Wellywood sign was supposed to boost “Middle-earth” affection further.

A telethon for charity, “Rise up Christchurch,” is happening in New Zealand. Ian McKellen is/was scheduled to appear at Te Papa museum during this. He’ll present a copy of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, autographed by cast members, to be auctioned off. As most readers will recall, Christchurch was struck by a devastating and deadly earthquake earlier this year.

It’s not the first time that Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations have pitched in after a catastrophic event. The Fellowship of the Ring was due to start its American run in December, 2001. After the attack on the World Trade Center in September, fundraising screenings of the film were held.

[Thanks to Paulo Pereira for the link!]

[Added May 23: There’s now a ten-minute TV clip with Ian McKellen and a group of the dwarf-actors doing a gag bit “revealing” their costumes and makeup for the film. The only news here seems to be that Cate Blanchett is at work in Wellington, so the White Council scenes must be underway.]

[Added May 26: If you’re interested in bidding on the autographed copy of The Hobbit, go here.]

The New Zealand Herald has posted a brief story revealing that the producer of the Spartacus TV series is having trouble finding enough crew members in the country. Why? Peter Jackson has hired about 500 of the top behind-the-camera film talent in the country.

Producer of TV’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Rob Tapert said he had recruited crew members from Australia, Canada and Eastern Europe because Jackson “sucked up” local talent, according to OnFilm Magazine.

Tapert has found it particularly difficult to find Kiwi make-up artists and stunt performers.

The labor disputes of last year seem to have put the production a little on the defensive:

3 Foot 7 publicist for The Hobbit Ceris Price said most of the crew had worked on Lord of the Rings. “They are here because they want to work on our production. It’s a free world,” Price said.

In Chapter 10 of The Frodo Franchise, I discussed the “up-skilling” of filmmaking talent in New Zealand during the production of LOTR. Before that shoot, there were very few trained make-up artists and stunt performers, let alone sound mixers and other technicians. There are a lot more now, but when a few major productions requiring similar specialties are filming at the same time, foreign talent still needs to be brought in.

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.

TVNZ.co.nz has posted a brief story on local businesses in Wellington gearing up for the influx of customers during the shooting of The Hobbit. Most of the facilities built up by Peter Jackson’s team in the Miramar Peninsula area of the capital. A local business leader estimated a 25 to 30% rise in patronage. All very true, no doubt, but at one point the story says, “And there are predictions Jackson’s two Hobbit films will pump $2 billion into the national economy.” At the current exchange rate, where the NZ$ is worth around seventy-five cents, that’s about $1.5 billion US$.

Given that the announced budget of The Hobbit is $500 million, I’m curious about the basis on which those optimistic predictions. Of course, every dollar spent gets spent again and again, so there’s a multiplier effect. It’s almost impossible to gauge, though, and the story seems to be more about an influx of American dollars into the country. Maybe the government is assuming a certain rise in tourism, other producers deciding to shoot films in New Zealand as a result of The Hobbit, or whatever. Still, it seems a high figure to be dangling in front of small local businesses. And Miramar is a charming suburb with many friendly small businesses. I hope they, Wellington, and the country benefit as much from the film as Kiwis are hoping–but I’d still like to know how they came up with that figure.

Stuff.co.nz reports that the Hobbiton set being built on the same farm outside Matamata that was used for LOTR will be left standing after the filming is over:

Brett Hodge, owner of Matamata Post and Rails, which has supplied the timber for The Hobbit duology since construction began in February, told the Waikato Times that Sir Peter Jackson’s company Three Foot Six was building the home of the Hobbits to last.

“What they did last time was build a temporary set, but now it’s a permanent set,” said Mr Hodge, whose business also supplied the timber for the temporary The Lord of the Rings trilogy Hobbiton set.

The hobbit houses will also have meet to building codes for permanent structures.

“Once the filming is over the set will stay as a permanent tourist attraction.”

A permanent set is guaranteed to attract back many diehard The Lord of The Rings fans who have visited Hobbiton from overseas as well as win over new visitors.

It will begin a perpetual celebration around the party tree, on the set, where The Fellowship of the Ring began with Bilbo’s disappearance.

The Green Dragon, where the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield awaits Bilbo Baggins ahead of their quest, will include a real thatched roof and the nearby Bywater bridge, made from polystyrene blocks resembling stone for The Lord of the Rings, is being rebuilt in permanent stone. […]

Vic James, a school principal who has run Lord of the Rings tours since 2001, said the Government had come up with a fantastic deal that would benefit all New Zealanders.

Interest in his tours, which visit locations used in The Lord of the Rings across both North and South Islands, had dropped to about half a dozen people per month since fans were waiting for some certainty around the Hobbit films.

Many fans, who had done the tour three or four times, had put off coming back because they wanted to attend The Hobbit premiere which was slated for 2011 but been put back as directorial, money and then industrial woes stalled the film.

“It will be December 2012 and we are expecting well in excess of 100 people on that tour,” Mr James said.

Fans will recognize Vic James as the owner of Red Carpet Tours, the company offering the longest tour of LOTR filming locations available. They also might notice a little mistake here. The company building the current Hobbiton set is 3 Foot 7, the successor to 3 Foot 6. (Every significant film production has its own production company.)

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.)