Email protest puts NZ on Universal's map

By JO-MARIE BROWN

After an epic trilogy, countless academy awards and a persuasive internet campaign, a Hollywood film studio now agrees New Zealand deserves to be in the global spotlight.

Universal Studios has been forced into an embarrassing backdown and has confirmed it will add New Zealand to the impressive globe that stands at the entrance to its Los Angeles theme park.

The turnaround comes after expat Roger Wadham noticed the space beside Australia was empty despite Peter Jackson's having signed on to direct Universal's next blockbuster, the US$100 million ($156 million) remake of King Kong.

"I wrote to them and asked them to fix it seeing as their next hot director, Peter Jackson, might be insulted, not to mention the entire country of New Zealand," Mr Wadham said.

"A senior executive politely told me to sod off."

However, Mr Wadham, who now lives in LA, was not deterred and started a website urging people to email Universal executives and demand New Zealand's inclusion.

And after having been bombarded by hundreds of emails from around the world Universal has relented.

In a letter to Mr Wadham, the studio's vice-president of public relations, Eliot Sekuler, said the globe was an artist's interpretation of the classic Universal logo and was never intended to be an accurate representation of the world's land masses.

"Many of the Earth's geographical features were omitted, reduced in size or exaggerated," Mr Sekuler said.

"Certainly, neither the artist nor Universal intended a slight toward any nation in creating or presenting this sculpture."

The artist had now been asked to add New Zealand to the globe and the steel plates required would be welded to the structure as soon as they were complete.

Mr Wadham said the decision was "exciting and wonderful news", and admitted that his sentimental feeling towards his home country was the reason he took up the cause.

"It's going to be a great day when I can go there and see New Zealand in its proper place," he said.

"Each and every person who contacted Universal Studios can now proudly say they helped put New Zealand on the map."

The aspiring movie director, who grew up in West Auckland, is on the lookout for any other large globes that are missing Godzone.

"I am asking all supporters to send me pictures ... if the globe is detailed and New Zealand is missing," Mr Wadham said, "and especially if the institution has a relationship with New Zealand, then a new lobbying process will take place."