Actor Unions Continues to Hold Hobbit Hostage

Have you ever received that computer "anti-virus" virus that essentially infects your computer and then pops up a "warning" box saying you should buy their software to clean the machine? In essence they are creating a problem so can then extort money from you to fix it. More and more that seems to be what is occurring here with the Australian Media, Entertainment, and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the around 200 member New Zealand Equity with the support of USA’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG), UK’s Actors’ Equity, and elsewhere . The more details that come out, the more like that virus these unions are behaving as they try to take advantage of a big budget film to further their political (and financial) agenda.

While most of us has been trained by years of high school classes to believe that whatever a union wants is by default a good thing, that isn’t always true. It is something to keep in mind. Demanding answers and explanations from unions is not a bad thing. It’s a fundamental right they should actual encourage (but often don’t). The more information (or lack of really from the unions) that comes out about this whole thing seems fundamentally wrong. A recent example comes from TheOneRing which reports that Sir Peter Jackson offered to go to a MEAA/NZ Equity meeting being held yesterday and was turned down.

Ironically the meeting in Wellington involved 60 actors that couldn't reach an agreement on the next course of action to take in the dispute. Meanwhile a similar meeting in Auckland passed a resolution to "seek a meeting and negotiations with The Hobbit producers. According to NZ Actors Equity president Jennifer Ward-Lealand a "significant number" voted for the resolutions but "a number of performers represented alternative views and we have a duty to take their opinion into consideration". Sadly no one asked what a "significant number" meant compared to the 4000 or so total actors in the country.

Studios Respond to Actor Unions

New Line, Warner Bros. and MGM have officially responded to multiple Actor Unions (in US, Australia, UK, and Canada) demanding their members boycott The Hobbit production claiming to "have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements." Peter Jackson had responded previously to their threats and below is the official studio response.

New Line, Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures are concerned by the recent allegations of unfair treatment of actors in New Zealand and instructions from the performers’ guilds to their membership to withhold services from the producers of “The Hobbit” in New Zealand. We are proud to have good relations with all of those performers’ guilds and value their contribution to the motion pictures produced in their respective jurisdictions throughout the world. But we believe that in this case the allegations are baseless and unfair to Peter Jackson and his team in Wellington who have been tireless supporters of the New Zealand motion picture community.

To classify the production as “non-union” is inaccurate. The cast and crew are being engaged under collective bargaining agreements where applicable and we are mindful of the rights of those individuals pursuant to those agreements. And while we have previously worked with MEAA, an Australian union now seeking to represent actors in New Zealand, the fact remains that there cannot be any collective bargaining with MEAA on this New Zealand production, for to do so would expose the production to liability and sanctions under New Zealand law. This legal prohibition has been explained to MEAA. We are disappointed that MEAA has nonetheless continued to pursue this course of action.

Union Attempts Hobbit Boycott, Jackson Responds

Seven Actors Guild (aka union) in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia have issued a statement asking their membership to not agree to work on The Hobbit films due to New Zealand based actors not being part of a union in that country. Peter Jackson, executive producer, writer and possible director for the two films, issued his response to the threat that is worth reading. From Variety on the boycott:

"The makers of feature film 'The Hobbit' – to be shot in New Zealand next year – have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements," the member alert said. "Members of Canadian Actors Equity, US Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild, UK Actors Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Australia) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists are advised not to accept work on this non-union production. If you are contacted to be engaged on 'The Hobbit' please notify your union immediately."

The move has been coordinated through Intl. Federation of Actors, of which the unions world are members, to support the New Zealand performers. "All unions remain hopeful that this situation can be resolved with goodwill on all sides," the group said.

Peter Jackson's issued statement brings up multiple objections worth noting. The biggest one is the demands of the actor unions is prohibited by New Zealand's Commerce Act. In other words if production wanted to meet the "demands", they would have to move production to another country. Which in turn would screw New Zealand's actors who would no longer have much of a chance of getting roles on the film since most Actor Guilds actively block non-union members from being offered roles on major productions as they seeing as taking jobs from those they represent. Here is the rest of his statement:

The Hobbit Height Casting Call

If you live near Wellington, New Zealand then you might be interested in the casting call for the Hobbit that ran in the Wellington Dominion Post. Found by The Noldor Blog, the call is for actors of various heights so they can pull off the various scale and force perspective needed to have a regular sized person appear to be Hobbit or Troll sized to the camera. As the notice indicates, this is a "preliminary" call used mostly to gather information and continue the unofficial pre-production work as the films remains in limbo until MGM sorts out its financial mess which is currently on track for the end of the year. With prep like this, once the greenlight is given principle photography will be able to start almost immediately. (via OneRing)

Boyd Up for The Hobbit

Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin Took in Lord of the Rings trilogy, has indicated to Ace Showbiz that he is open to returning to Middle-Earth. He recognizes that none of the trilogy's Hobbits were alive during The Hobbit films but figures Peter Jackson can work it out. (via OneRing)

He says, "The story of The Hobbit happens 60 years before Lord of the Rings, so all the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings - Sam, Pippin, Merry and Frodo - aren't born. Knowing Pete, and if we're all free, we might show up as each other's fathers or in a quick scene."

McKellen On Start Date, MGM Update

Two pieces of The Hobbit news. The first is from Sir Ian McKellen who supported the ongoing rumor that filming will start next year. He told the Bolton News that "the aim is to start filming in January" and that he remains on board to reprise the role of Gandalf. Not sure if a contract is in place but doubtful since the film has not been green lit.

The continued financial difficulties of MGM is pretty much the only major obstacle to preventing that January start date and it seems there is some good news on that front. Bloomberg is reporting that there is some movement on a plan to restructure the company by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This will allow the company the room it needs to restructure without having to worry about being forced to sell of its properties piecemeal. However, the plan requires approval from the various creditors. Despite the $3.8 billion in debt, it seems the studio believes they can emerge out of the bankruptcy by the end of the year. Assuming all goes according to plan, then there is little reason that The Hobbit cannot begin principle photography in January.

Richard Taylor Knighted

Richard Taylor was knighted by Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand recently. Taylor is the special effects master behind the Lord of The Rings Trilogy, King Kong, and soon The Hobbit. He also, with Sir Peter Jackson, helped co-found Weta Workshops which he continues to manager. Basically he is one of the kinds of the special effects industry and helped create many of the movie moments we have enjoyed over the years. Congratulations Sir Richard Taylor.

New-Old Directing & Story Changes Rumors

A few new rumors have popped up regarding who the director of The Hobbit films will be, a major story change from the book, and production start date.

To start with, an old rumor returns with Flicks reporting "District 9 director Neill Blomkamp will be helming The Hobbit." This rumor first started around June and was shot down by the director's agency saying that they have never been contacted by MGM or anyone else about the possibility. This rumor remains completely unverified so take it with a grain of salt for now.

In story rumors, The One Ring is reporting that Bilbo Baggins may have a creator impact on the story's final battle then he did in the film. This is based on a story summary Bilbo that is described as "...he doesn’t have huge courage he does become, particularly in the last battle, very brave." In the novel Bilbo essentially misses out on the last battle (The Battle of Five Armies) having been knocked out early on. So this seems to suggest that he either participates in throughout the battle or maybe gets knocked out deeper into the battle as a result of a heroic act. Jackson has shown, to the consternation of diehard fans, he isn't above making changes to the source material if it will service the film.

The final bit of rumor, from the same article, is principle photography may start in January, rather than the previously rumored November date. This actually makes more sense as currently the MGM bankruptcy situation isn't expected to be settled until the end of the year.

Freeman Might Still Play Bilbo

Yesterday it was reported that Martin Freeman had to turn down the starring role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit films due to his commitment to the second season of the excellent BBC's TV series Sherlock. According to PopWatch, it seems that he could still play the role as MGM and New Line have proposed a schedule that could allow the actor to do both projects. Currently the film has penciled in November or December as production start dates around the time that many think MGM might just be able to settle its financial issues. If there is a delay (which is likely), I don't know how that will impact any deal they might have with the actor.

Martin Freeman Turns Down Bilbo?

New reports are indicating that Martin Freeman was forced to turn down the offered lead role of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit films. According to The Sun, the role was offered by Peter Jackson and MGM but Freeman was forced to turn it down as he had already committed to 20 weeks of filming the second season of Sherlock for the BBC (fantastic show, recommend highly).

A source said: "It was one of the most difficult decisions of his career. MGM, who are making the film, only got a formal offer over in the last couple of weeks. It was too late for Martin because he had already signed up for another series of Sherlock. It was agonising but he had no other choice. All the actors had to read four pages of script to camera which is being shown to Peter Jackson. He is looking for a hidden gem now Martin has ruled himself out of the job."

None of this has been confirmed from official sources however. Another reason given for turning it down is the continued limbo the movies are in due to MGM. Of course this also means that Freeman might be available to do the role if Sherlock finishes filming before MGM sorts out its mess and the official green light is given. After having seen his work in Sherlock, I hope this story is true and the schedule conflict can get worked out. (via One Ring)