Who needs US$500m – NZ doesn’t

Michael Field at Stuff reports:

Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is set to be the most expensive film made, Hollywood sources reported this weekend.

The Daily Telegraph in London said The Hobbit will cost US$500 million (NZ$663m) to produce.

This would make it about $200m more expensive than the third part of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

It would also mean The Hobbit’s final price-tag would be approaching twice that of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which cost $281 million, the Telegraph reported.

Almost two thirds of a billion dollars – much of which would be spent in New Zealand. That would provide a lot of jobs for a lot of people.

But hey why not let a tiny group with just 87 members drive it off shore. Solidarity is more important than jobs – right. $5,000 a week is just slave labour and can not be tolerated.