12 May 2008

At the end of April, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, New Line Cinema and MGM announced that director Guilllermo Del Toro will spend four years in New Zealand making two films based on The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit.

An interview with Del Toro appears on Lord of the Rings fan website Onering, where he endorses New Zealand as a premier film making location.

“I really love how they have that setup in New Zealand, I call it ‘Hollywood the way God intended it’. New Zealand has all the technical advantages when doing a big movie and you are shooting it in paradise, both in terms of artistic freedom and commitment.”

Further recognition of the potential for New Zealand to work with other international partners came from Singaporean President SR Nathan, on his first state visit to New Zealand at the end of April.  The New Zealand Herald reported the President announced Singapore was seeking to boost collaboration in the art and cultural sectors with New Zealand.

Both countries are keen to see more co-productions in film, television and animation - like The Tattooist (a two feature production deal between Singapore-based MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and New Zealand’s Eyeworks Touchdown).

Singapore's Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balaji Sadasivan, who was with the President's entourage, told the Straits Times: "[New Zealand] is the land of The Lord of the Rings. They are very advanced in digital and creative technology ... This collaboration will expose our talent to some of the technological capabilities that New Zealand has."