Politicians urge Hobbit producers to talk to union

Opposition politicians were today urging the producers of The Hobbit to start talks with an actors' union to ensure the movie gets made in New Zealand.

The movie's executive producer Sir Peter Jackson has threatened to move the shooting to eastern Europe after NZ Actors Equity said it wanted a collective contract for New Zealand actors appearing in the movie.

Actors Equity president Jennifer Ward-Lealand said, following a meeting last night, a delegation would seek to meet the producers of The Hobbit to hold negotiations in good faith.

Before the meeting the Australian Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), which Actors Equity is allied with, said there had to be a boycott of the movie after the makers refused to enter a union-negotiated agreement.

The Screen Production and Development Association said it was not legal for a production company to enter into collective bargaining with any labour organisation regarding performers who were independent contractors.

Labour Arts and Culture spokeswoman Steve Chadwick said it was important for the movie's producers to meet with union representatives as hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars to the economy were at stake.

"We need a Kiwi solution and we need it fast and we need the Government to be involved in the solution," she said.

"The Ministers of Labour and Economic Development need to be involved in working on this issue, they simply cannot sit on their hands."

Green Party industrial relations spokesman Keith Locke also called for the two parties to meet.

"Talks between the parties are clearly the next step and we hope the issues can be resolved quickly," said Mr Locke.

He said moving the production to Eastern Europe "is the kind of solution that (Lord of the Rings villain) Sauron would think up".

"A successful film industry in New Zealand needs to combine the skills of film makers like Sir Peter Jackson with the talents of actors satisfied that their working conditions are protected."

Arts and Culture Minister Chris Finlayson told Newstalk ZB he was concerned at the possibility of the movie heading offshore.

Mr Finlayson said MEAA needed to note that New Zealand employment law was different to Australia's.

The dispute has been widely reported in entertainment publications overseas, particularly as the union's position has been supported by similar organisations overseas.

Actor unions from Canada, Britain and the United States, including the influential Screen Actors Guild from the US, have placed an alert advising members not to accept work on The Hobbit.

Kyle Buchanan, film editor for New York magazine, said moving the production to Europe was probably a ploy which in reality would not solve the labour dispute.

"If they did move there the unions are so united in opposition that they'd still have trouble casting it," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Even if you're looking past big stars, just to fill out the rest of the cast with people who can act is going to be difficult if you have unions from all over the world refusing to work with you.

"You'd have to cast it with total non-actors and that's simply not going to happen. There's going to have to be some sort of resolution."

Jonathan Handel, of the Hollywood Reporter, wrote that MEAA had not unionised any productions in New Zealand, "making the country a sore spot for actors unions across the English-speaking world".

During the weekend Sir Peter called the MEAA an Australian bully-boy.

He said as well as The Hobbit, the makers of other big-budget movies could turn their backs on New Zealand.

- NZPA