LOS ANGELES — The New Zealand government said Wednesday that “The Hobbit” would keep its feet firmly planted in the small South Pacific nation, ending a short but intense saga over where the expensive two-picture production would be filmed and averting a fallout that would have damaged all sides.
After two days of talks with Hollywood execs, New Zealand leader John Key said his government reached a deal with Warner Bros. to shoot the prequel to the “Lord of the Rings” films there.
Warner Bros. and filmmaker Peter Jackson had threatened to change locations for the planned February production of the $500 million project after a labor dispute erupted between Jackson and the New Zealand Actors Equity, which was seeking to provide union benefits to actors on “The Hobbit.” The dispute caused deep anxiety in New Zealand, where the film and TV industry is one of the largest private employers and pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy annually. Los Angeles Times
