Actors Union Calls Off Hobbit Boycott

But director Peter Jackson rants that the damage has been done, and the two movies may not film in New Zealand

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and New Zealand Equity have called off their boycott of The Hobbit films, but Peter Jackson is warning that the damage has already been done and that the two-part movie may still be forced to film outside of New Zealand. His statement, issued in conjunction with Fran Walsh, is full of seething criticism of the unions’ actions and motives.

“The spectacle of NZ Actors’ Equity suddenly cancelling their Wellington meeting, because film workers wanted to express to them their concern at losing The Hobbit, exemplifies the pure gutlessness of this small, self-centred group. They don’t appear to care about the repercussions of their actions on others, nor are they prepared to take responsibility for decisions made in their name. NZ Equity constantly refer to ‘good faith’ discussions but they have never acted in good faith towards our film.

“Four weeks ago NZ Equity, represented by the Australian trade union, the MEAA, urged several international actors’ unions to gang up on our production in an attempt to bully us into illegal collective bargaining. MEAA’s representative, Simon Whipp, admitted in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, that it was his intention to use The Hobbit as a way to ‘unionise other productions’ in the New Zealand film industry – presumably whether we want it or not. This unilateral decision, made by an off-shore union, we assume with Equity’s blessing, is the reason why our film industry is now in dire jeopardy.

“NZ Equity’s unjustified industrial action against The Hobbit has undermined Warner Bros’ confidence in New Zealand as a stable employment environment, and they are now, quite rightly, very concerned about the security of their $500m investment. Unfortunately lifting the blacklist does nothing to help the situation. This will be the start of a domino effect, as word of NZ’s unstable employment environment, registers with film investors and studios, world-wide.

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.