Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's statement on The Hobbit and a release from the Council of Trade Unions in response.
MEDIA RELEASE - PETER JACKSON & FRAN WALSH - THE HOBBIT
WELLINGTON - Thursday, 21 October 2010
The lifting of the blacklist on The Hobbit does nothing to help the films stay in New Zealand. The damage inflicted on our film industry by NZ Equity/MEAA is long since done.
Next week Warners are coming down to NZ to make arrangements to move the production off-shore. It appears we now cannot make films in our own country - even when substantial financing is available.
The spectacle of NZ Actors' Equity suddenly cancelling their Wellington meeting, because film workers wanted to express to them their concern at losing The Hobbit, exemplifies the pure gutlessness of this small, self-centred group. They don't appear to care about the repurcussions of their actions on others, nor are they prepared to take responsibility for decisions made in their name. NZ Equity constantly refer to 'good faith' discussions but they have never acted in good faith towards our film.
Four weeks ago NZ Equity, represented by the Australian trade union, the MEAA, urged several international actor's unions to gang up on our production in an attempt to bully us into illegal collective bargaining. MEAA's representative, Simon Whipp, admitted in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, that it was his intention to use The Hobbit as a way to 'unionise other productions' in the New Zealand film industry - presumably whether we want it or not. This unilateral decision, made by an off shore union, we assume with Equity's blessing, is the reason why our film industry is now in dire jeopardy.
NZ Equity's unjustified industrial action against The Hobbit has undermined Warner Bro's confidence in New Zealand as a stable employment environment, and they are now, quite rightly, very concerned about the security of their $500m investment. Unfortunately lifting the blacklist does nothing to help the situation. This will be the start of a domino effect, as word of NZ's unstable employment environment, registers with film investors and studios, world-wide.
Nobody denies Equity's right to represent their group of actors, but incredibly, this industrial action was taken without consultiation with their own membership. These clumsy, heavy-handed tactics have put at risk the livelihoods of thousands of workers and jeapardized a potential investment of a billion plus dollars into the NZ economy.
Seemingly overnight, NZ Actors' Equity shredded the reputation of a burgeoning industry, which has been over forty years in the making.
Remarks on television by Helen Kelly of the CTU, demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the film industry. Nothing she had to say about The Hobbit and film financing was remotely factual. Why she has suddenly become the NZ Equity spokesperson is unclear, it appears to be a case of the blind being lead by the even-more-blind.
We will continue the fight to keep the film in NZ, but ultimately this decision belongs to Warner Bro's. We are however, hugely heartened by the incredible show of support from Wellington actors, technicians and crew. It is a reflection of the terrific pride NZ film workers have in their industry and their very real fear of losing their jobs.
THE CTU'S RESPONSE
MEDIA RELEASE
21 October 2010
Facts on Hobbit
Helen Kelly, CTU President, said today that it is important that some facts about the union stance on the Hobbit are placed before the public.
• The union is seeking basic terms and conditions such as hours, breaks, overtime payments etc.
• The union has always been prepared to agree those conditions as an industry standard rather than a collective agreement.
• The union advised Warners on Sunday (their time) that they had asked the Screen Actors Guild to lift any "don't work" orders in place. A statement has been prepared by Equity but Warners have asked to control the time of the release and have delayed several days. We understand Wingnut were aware of this when they met with Technicians last night but failed to pass on this information.
• MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance New Zealand Incorporated) is a registered union in New Zealand. They affiliate to the CTU in New Zealand and are a trans-Tasman organisation. We are used to having hundreds of Trans Tasman businesses in NZ and that appears to be perfectly acceptable. Many of our performers work in both countries so a Trans Tasman union makes sense.
"These films can be made here", said Helen Kelly. "Following a meeting last week, which included Hon Gerry Brownlee, good progress is being made on developing an industry standard through improving the content and form of the current "Pink Book". Last night's meeting was ironically to begin discussions with Equity members on that process. It will now have to be rescheduled.
"Helen Kelly said NZ Performers want the movie made here as much as anyone, but let's get all the facts on the table about taxes, subsidies, and other issues - rather than just blaming the union for asking to meet on basic terms and conditions".
