NZ Actors Equity welcomes the release of Hobbit-related information under the Official Information Act regarding government meetings that took place in 2010…

An updated chronology of the official press releases issued by the parties involved in The Hobbit dispute, as well as various onlookers. Once the dust is settled, there’ll be an Onfilm post mortem of this sorry episode, its conclusion and the implications thereof. If you note any relevant press releases regarding the imbroglio that are missing, then please drop me a line via nick@onfilm.co.nz, as I’d like to ensure this collection is not merely exhausting but exhaustive too. – Editor

President Jennifer Ward-Lealand expressed her gratitude on behalf of New Zealand performers for the Government’s leadership over the past two days toward negotiating a positive outcome with the studio executives and producers.
“We are pleased the Government was able to resolve the economic concerns of Warner Brothers and New Line. The film business is an internationally competitive one and it’s important New Zealand offers incentives that allow us to continue to build our world-renowned film industry.

Yesterday the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) issued a newsletter to its members, attempting to explain and justify the industrial action it initiated against The Hobbit. A number of statements made in this communication are mischievous, misleading or false.
At a time when SPADA was hoping trust and goodwill were restored, this communication is divisive and destructive.

“It was the first time a meeting was ever requested and it was clear from the letter, they had already voted to blacklist us, before even asking for one conversation with me. I am sick and tired of hearing Equity say ‘All we ever wanted was a meeting,’ because it’s disingenuous – they fail to add that from the outset, they had a gun to our head.”

Seeking a meeting with an employer to discuss employees’ contracts is a fair and reasonable request. This is all that was asked on the producers of The Hobbit. Their refusal to do so was unfortunate but Equity thanks all NZ members for staying strong and campaigning for the same types of terms and conditions enjoyed by performers around the world.

NZ Actors’ Equity president Jennifer Ward-Lealand says everybody wants the same thing: to have The Hobbit made here in New Zealand.
“Finger pointing and blame is unhelpful to that aim,” she says.
“It’s time to put emotion and anger aside and to find a constructive way forward”.

Helen Kelly, CTU President, said today that the industrial issues concerning the film industry were resolved at a meeting with SPADA last week.
“This established a path that guaranteed films commencing before 31st March next year would use the existing Pink Book and in that period a revised Pink Book would be agreed for subsequent films.”

Recent reports that the boycott of The Hobbit was lifted by unions a number of days ago and that Warner Bros asked to delay this announcement are false.
It was not until last night that we received confirmation of the retractions from SAG, NZ Equity and AFTRA through press reports. We are still awaiting retractions from the other guilds.

Philippa Boyens, co-writer and co-producer on The Hobbit, has issued a media statement saying that “the filmmakers involved in this production are working as hard as they can to save the jobs of the New Zealanders put at risk by the actions of NZ Equity and are doing everything they can to keep the production from being moved off-shore. Three Foot Seven is working with actors’ representatives, namely their agents, to ensure that the terms and conditions for all actors working on The Hobbit are fair and equitable…”

The DVD release of the kidult classic Hunter’s Gold has been shelved because of a residuals dispute between TVNZ and key cast.
The decision to pull the release, which was scheduled for September, comes after at least two of the actors in the 13-part drama sought higher royalty payments.

For your convenience, a chronology of the official press releases issued by the parties involved in The Hobbit dispute, as well as various industry onlookers. As of the morning of 4 October, there were apparently hopeful signs of an impending resolution. Fingers and all other appendages crossed, eh? – Editor

Sir Peter’s latest public comments are yet further evidence of the urgent need for a calm meeting between the production company and NZ Equity to resolve the matters at hand.
I feel very disappointed that Sir Peter has chosen to use a private, confidential correspondence between us in the public arena.

The text of the letter that Attorney-General Chris Finlayson sent to the producers of The Hobbit and NZ Actors’ Equity on29 September, which states that the Commerce Act 1986 effectively prohibits competing independent contractor performers from negotiating or entering into a collective contract.

Four hundred actors attended a meeting in Auckland last night to discuss the requirements for minimum terms and conditions for the engagement of performers on The Hobbit. At the close of that meeting, the following statement was made by Jennifer Ward-Lealand, president of NZ Actors’ Equity…

NZ Actors Equity says it has no interest in jeopardising the production of The Hobbit in NZ or to see the production move offshore.
President Jennifer Ward-Lealand says that Equity has enormous admiration and respect for Sir Peter’s work, but she is most concerned by many of the comments he made in the statement issued last night.