Actors unions advise members to avoid The Hobbit movie
It’s said there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but the long-awaited and severely troubled Hobbit movie looks set to prove that adage wrong. A collective of seven different actors unions from around the world are urging their members to avoid The Hobbit production due to its refusal to negotiate a contract deal.
New Zealand is once again primed to portray Middle Earth, and the difficulties have arisen as the region is well-known for lacking union-agreed contracts for performers, often resulting in no minimum pay rates or fair working conditions on productions.
“The International Federation of Actors (FIA) [has] resolved that the time had come for performers around the world to support their colleagues in New Zealand and seek a union contract for all performers on The Hobbit,” reads a statement by the FIA, which is serving as an umbrella for the collective of unions from the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
With delay upon delay previously causing director Guillermo Del Toro to pull out of the project, coupled with lawsuits and financial troubles for MGM and New Line, thing finally looked like the sun might be rising on the Shire once more when Peter Jackson (director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) lent his support to the production. Despite being pegged in a producers role, and tipped to replace Del Toro as director, The Hobbit has yet to officially receive a green light, even though casting is reportedly going on right now.
An atmosphere of such despondence and negativity is hardly conducive to creativity, and doesn’t bode well for The Hobbit even if it does eventually get made. The wisest course of action is probably for everyone to walk away, and we’ll all just agree to read the book again.
[Via BBC]
It wold be a shame to walk away form this project. I think this movie needs to be made, with the same quality as the LOTR movies to complete the tales. The movies will never live up to the books, but such an important prelude to the the story of LOTR shouldn’t be left out.
If the quality and care of production previously brought to the production of the LOTR trilogy of films cannot be maintained, then the effort should be abandoned until such comditions exist that are conducive to doing this right. The creative process needs to be protected and separated from all other elements of producing the film. Union negotiations, marketing, promotion, personalities and politics are going to be a factor on any film. If it can be done right, then by all means do it, but if it cannot, then put it on the shelf. We’ve waited this long.
I have to agree with you Adam, but then what ever happened to an actor must suffer for the art?
So i must agree with scott also. the movie must be made. If they can t agree on a contract get someone else to do the project, demanding the same quality as L.O.T.R.
Seems to me that unions only get in the way of progress, perhaps they should stop looking out for there profit margen and get back to making a quality product, that people want to see.