Of course, we loved The Lord of the Rings primarily because it told an epic story with great characters, but in addition to these and its incredible effects, Peter Jackson’s work had another big positive: beautiful landscapes. This was due to the filming of the trilogy in scenic New Zealand, and Jackson also returned here for the Hobbit films. And so the island nation practically became “Middle-earth that exists” in the eyes of fans, so it was impossible not to return there to fulfill the Amazon history series The Lord of the Rings. However, the end of this line is torn apart by the studio announceThe supplements are actually made in the UK.
New Zealand’s favorite filming location not only because of the landscape, but also because of the tax breaks, such as James Cameron’s recording of episodes of his Avatar movie series, as well as related parts of it that weren’t created with CGI. According to an official announcement from Amazon Studios, the production has become a country for its creators to expand the scope of work and “leave an imprint” on the series in the United Kingdom, the de facto motherland (New Zealand is an independent country but a member of the British community, second ruler Queen Elizabeth). This is a huge blow to New Zealand, as the series related to The Lord of the Rings provided a lot of functionality, and the scene that brought Middle-earth back to life was a tourist attraction. So it is understandable that the island nation’s politicians and financiers are not at all happy.
“It’s such a shame and my sympathy goes to everyone who put their hearts and souls into this production. Season 2 [forgatása] David Strong, CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission, said: Variatenic. However, Strong added that the door in this way is open to anyone who wants to shoot in the island nation. Stuart Nash, the Secretary of Economic Development, also expressed his frustration with the transfer. Todd McClay, a National Party economist, blamed Nash for what happened, saying the minister had shown little willingness to negotiate with the Amazon.
On the other hand, Nash says the studio is a multinational conglomerate that made a commercial decision, and in any case, he himself knew the day before the announcement that the production would be leaving New Zealand (the crew set it later: 20 minutes before the decision was announced) . Otherwise, the closures during the coronavirus pandemic are behind the move by Amazon Studios, the insider said, as the island nation has imposed very stringent restrictions, preventing business from continuing. Australia or the UK proved more favorable in this regard, and not just for Amazon.
New Zealand offers very favorable conditions for filmmakers, which is why a lot of Hollywood goes there: for example, there is a 20% tax deduction for large productions that provide enough jobs, as well as additional subsidies (5%). This means that approx. Of the $465 million spent in the first season, it will return $114 million on paper and $23.1 million. Amazon is getting an extra job, but they don’t stick with the latter.
Elijah Wood, the hero of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo, also reacted to the developments. on Twitter. Wood quoted an article from Variety and expressed quite clearly and simply his opinion on this: FACEPALM! So he finds the Amazon Studios move not shameful but pathetic based on his reaction. Commentators agreed: The general opinion is that Middle-earth is equal to New Zealand, and The Lord of the Rings cannot be imagined anywhere else.
Let us add that J.R.R. Tolkien kneaded the original narrative from Celtic, Germanic, and Saxon mythological elements, among others, and drew inspiration from these elements, closely related to the European landscape, in the case of the Celts specifically in the British Isles. So maybe it’s not just a big tragedy in terms of story that the rest of the season won’t be in the Southern Hemisphere, but in foggy Albion. From a tourist and economic point of view, however, the departure of the most expensive chain of all time is a big cut for New Zealand.
If all goes well, Amazon’s untitled series related to The Lord of the Rings will appear in Prime Video on September 2, 2022. Elijah Wood didn’t address the producer for the first time anyway, having previously stated that he thought it was stupid and misleading to refer to this second era series as The Lord of the Rings.
