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Wellington - Filmmaker Peter Jackson denied on Friday short-changing actors on his sets and launched a fresh broadside at unions over a dispute threatening his Hobbit production in New Zealand.
Jackson said the spat had damaged New Zealand's filmmaking reputation, prompting Hollywood studios to scout six alternative locations for the Tolkien epic and take the final decision on where it is shot out of his hands.
The director, who normally enjoys folk hero status in New Zealand after his Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, said he also felt compelled to respond to mounting criticism that he paid low wages to actors.
Blacklisted
"For years our company WingNut Films has hired actors on terms and conditions that are among the best and most generous in New Zealand," he said in a statement.
"We have always treated cast and crew with kindness and respect, because it is the right thing to do, not because it is enshrined in an industry code of practice."
He said claims by Hobbit actors that they were underpaid and did not enjoy the same working conditions as their overseas counterparts were untrue.
International actors' unions have blacklisted The Hobbit, a two-film prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, after Jackson refused to allow New Zealand Actors Equity to negotiate minimum conditions on behalf of its members.
Jackson, however, said he could not legally negotiate with the union because it was not properly registered in New Zealand.
Final call
"It would be laughable if there weren't so much at stake," he said. "But there is nothing funny about people losing their jobs and the crippling effect that losing The Hobbit is going to have on our film industry."
New Zealand's mountainous landscape provided a stunning backdrop to The Lord of the Rings but Jackson said the union row meant Hollywood studio Warner Bros would make the final call on where The Hobbit was shot.
"It is very naive to think that we have much say in what happens from this point on," he said. "Warners gave us the opportunity to set up the film in New Zealand and we have been unable to do that successfully."
He said the unions behind the dispute should "stop playing games" and help find a solution.
Calm meeting
NZ Actors Equity said Jackson's statement showed there was "an urgent need for a calm meeting" between the movie's producers and the union.
"We have no desire to jeopardise the production, create instability, or see it move offshore," it said in a statement.
The union said meeting its demands for minimum conditions for actors would have a "miniscule" impact on a production the size of The Hobbit.
Jackson said the spat had damaged New Zealand's filmmaking reputation, prompting Hollywood studios to scout six alternative locations for the Tolkien epic and take the final decision on where it is shot out of his hands.
The director, who normally enjoys folk hero status in New Zealand after his Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, said he also felt compelled to respond to mounting criticism that he paid low wages to actors.
Blacklisted
"For years our company WingNut Films has hired actors on terms and conditions that are among the best and most generous in New Zealand," he said in a statement.
"We have always treated cast and crew with kindness and respect, because it is the right thing to do, not because it is enshrined in an industry code of practice."
He said claims by Hobbit actors that they were underpaid and did not enjoy the same working conditions as their overseas counterparts were untrue.
International actors' unions have blacklisted The Hobbit, a two-film prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, after Jackson refused to allow New Zealand Actors Equity to negotiate minimum conditions on behalf of its members.
Jackson, however, said he could not legally negotiate with the union because it was not properly registered in New Zealand.
Final call
"It would be laughable if there weren't so much at stake," he said. "But there is nothing funny about people losing their jobs and the crippling effect that losing The Hobbit is going to have on our film industry."
New Zealand's mountainous landscape provided a stunning backdrop to The Lord of the Rings but Jackson said the union row meant Hollywood studio Warner Bros would make the final call on where The Hobbit was shot.
"It is very naive to think that we have much say in what happens from this point on," he said. "Warners gave us the opportunity to set up the film in New Zealand and we have been unable to do that successfully."
He said the unions behind the dispute should "stop playing games" and help find a solution.
Calm meeting
NZ Actors Equity said Jackson's statement showed there was "an urgent need for a calm meeting" between the movie's producers and the union.
"We have no desire to jeopardise the production, create instability, or see it move offshore," it said in a statement.
The union said meeting its demands for minimum conditions for actors would have a "miniscule" impact on a production the size of The Hobbit.
