An ongoing saga with unions over actors’ pay may result in The Hobbit production moving from New Zealand. Academy Award-winning director Sir Peter Jackson has defended his production company, Wingnut Films, saying that fees paid to actors are consistently “fair and generous”.
“Nobody wants to take The Hobbit off shore, but every day we are blacklisted costs Warners money and the studio is now moving to protect its investment,” said Jackson, who lost director Guillermo del Toro to other projects in June, due to delays in The Hobbit production.
There is some dispute as to why the negotiations have not moved ahead. On one hand, Jackson has said that the representatives of film producers in New Zealand, the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA), have been trying to meet with NZ Actors’ Equity and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) for the past 18 months to discuss the actors’ contracts but have had no success. Meanwhile, the union has said that the producers refuse to meet with them.
Jackson insisted, “That meeting needs to happen, it is the only logical way to solve this dispute,” according to TVNZ.
According to reports from the New Zealand Press Association, Jackson has defended the fairness of his wages, saying that a New Zealand actor in a supporting role in The Hobbit could earn about $NZ5000 a week, which is higher than the Screen Actors’ Guild of America’s published rate of $NZ3800 per week. He also said that Lord of the Rings two part prequel was to be the first time that New Zealand actors would receive residual payments, earnings based on the proceeds from the two films.
NZ Actors’ Equity President Jennifer Ward-Lealand spoke to the The New Zealand Herald saying, “My knowledge of the producers is that they are people of goodwill. I am sure they would want to explore all lawful means by which these issues could be moved forward and resolved.”
Union meetings were held in Auckland and Wellington. The New Zealand Herald reported that 60 Wellington actors could not reach an agreement on boycotting the production last night while Auckland actors voted on Tuesday to seek a meeting and negotiations with The Hobbit producers.
SPADA’s Chief Executive Penelope Borland has called the MEAA, which is rooted in Australia, “illegal” in New Zealand, while New Zealand’s Council of Trade Unions commented that it welcomed union assistance from Australia.
“Nobody wants to take The Hobbit off shore, but every day we are blacklisted costs Warners money and the studio is now moving to protect its investment,” said Jackson, who lost director Guillermo del Toro to other projects in June, due to delays in The Hobbit production.
There is some dispute as to why the negotiations have not moved ahead. On one hand, Jackson has said that the representatives of film producers in New Zealand, the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA), have been trying to meet with NZ Actors’ Equity and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) for the past 18 months to discuss the actors’ contracts but have had no success. Meanwhile, the union has said that the producers refuse to meet with them.
Jackson insisted, “That meeting needs to happen, it is the only logical way to solve this dispute,” according to TVNZ.
According to reports from the New Zealand Press Association, Jackson has defended the fairness of his wages, saying that a New Zealand actor in a supporting role in The Hobbit could earn about $NZ5000 a week, which is higher than the Screen Actors’ Guild of America’s published rate of $NZ3800 per week. He also said that Lord of the Rings two part prequel was to be the first time that New Zealand actors would receive residual payments, earnings based on the proceeds from the two films.
NZ Actors’ Equity President Jennifer Ward-Lealand spoke to the The New Zealand Herald saying, “My knowledge of the producers is that they are people of goodwill. I am sure they would want to explore all lawful means by which these issues could be moved forward and resolved.”
Union meetings were held in Auckland and Wellington. The New Zealand Herald reported that 60 Wellington actors could not reach an agreement on boycotting the production last night while Auckland actors voted on Tuesday to seek a meeting and negotiations with The Hobbit producers.
SPADA’s Chief Executive Penelope Borland has called the MEAA, which is rooted in Australia, “illegal” in New Zealand, while New Zealand’s Council of Trade Unions commented that it welcomed union assistance from Australia.
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