'Hobbit' crisis triggers New Zealand protests

LOS ANGELES  - New Zealand's Hobbit crisis deepened Wednesday, with protests erupting in the streets amid a claim that Warner Bros. has already decided to move the troubled production from that country.

Meanwhile, local and foreign unions -- including Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild -- have lifted a boycott on the production, but director-producer Peter Jackson fears this may have come too late to retain the production.

The claim that Warner Bros. is packing its bags was made by Jackson's Wingnut Films production company in a statement decrying attempts to unionize actors on the "Lord of the Rings" prequel. Wingnut said that "next week, Warners are coming down to NZ to make arrangements to move the production offshore."

The production house also argued that "the lifting of the blacklist on 'The Hobbit' does nothing to help the film stay in New Zealand." It added that "the damage inflicted on our film industry by (the union) is long since done."

The center-right government shares the concern. Prime Minister John Key said he was prepared to meet with studio executives to "restore (their) confidence."

The unionization dispute first erupted into public view when English-speaking actors' unions around the world issued "do not work" orders against Hobbit in solidarity with local organizing efforts.

Their claim that the film's producers had rebuffed organizing efforts by the New Zealand unit of Australia's Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) union angered Jackson, who countered last month that "The Hobbit" was being used as a political football to secure gains for the guild and that the move could drive production away from New Zealand.

A reported 1,500 film workers marched in the country's capital, Wellington, to protest against the boycott. Chanting "Save the Hobbit!" and "Don't kill Bilbo!", they were addressed by Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" makeup artist Richard Taylor.

Helen Kelly, the head of New Zealand's Council of Trade Unions, told The Hollywood Reporter that the international boycott had actually been lifted several days ago, but the announcement was delayed at Warner Bros.' request, for reasons that were unclear.

She said the entire dispute could be a cover for attempts by the studio to extract higher production incentives from the government and was part of an effort to damage New Zealand Actors Equity, the union seeking to organize "The Hobbit."

In an interview on local TV, Kelly fired back at Jackson, asserting that "if this film moves offshore, it won't be because of the (union) issues but for many other reasons around financing and tax ... It will be because Warner Bros. has decided they can make more money elsewhere."

The facts are becoming increasingly difficult to discern. Citing the studio decision just days ago to greenlight the project, Kelly told The Hollywood Reporter that, in her view, Warner Bros. had never actually decided to make the two-part "Hobbit" film in New Zealand. Although "Hobbit" sets have been under construction in that country for some time, Kelly argued that this was a unilateral decision that Jackson made in order to influence the production location.

The claims by Wingnut and Kelly could not be independently verified. A studio spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

Whether moving the $500 million production would affect the planned February start date is unclear. "The Hobbit" has been beset by problems for years, including lawsuits, delays, loss of original director Guillermo del Toro and, notably, the financial distress of co-financier MGM.

Loss of "The Hobbit" would be an enormous blow to the country. Prime Minister Key warned last week that "if you can't make The Hobbit here, frankly, what movies are you going to make here?"