New Zealand wants the new Hobbit films to be shot within its borders so badly that it’s changing labor laws to make it happen.

• Just when it seemed the J.R.R. Tolkien film adaptation industry was moving to New Zealand for good, Warner Bros. almost pulled its latest project – a two-part adaptation of The Hobbit – out of the country.
• After an actors’ union boycott threatened production, Warner Bros. management flew to New Zealand to discuss whether the movie could be made there or not. Thousands of Hobbit fans took to the streets to protest.
• New Zealand’s government responded swiftly, promising Warner Bros. additional tax breaks on future movies, setting up a joint marketing deal, and changing the country’s labor laws to “clarify the differences between a contract worker and a movie production employee.”

Facts & Figures

• The Hobbit film project is worth about $500 million to New Zealand.
• Losing the film could have meant up to a $1.5 billion loss.
• “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published in 1937.

Best Quote

“Making the two Hobbit movies here will not only safeguard work for thousands of New Zealanders, but it will also follow the success of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in once again promoting New Zealand on the world stage.” – John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand