Page 29 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 20 September 2019
Welcome to Orcland: Lord of the Rings to film in New Zealand

By NICK PERRY Zealanders hearts as well.
Associated Press We are part of Middle-
WELLINGTON, New Zea- earth."
land (AP) — Amazon an- The series will be eligible
nounced Wednesday it will for a 20% screen grant re-
film its upcoming television bate that will be funded by
series "The Lord of the Rings" taxpayers. The conserva-
in New Zealand, marking a tive lobby group Taxpay-
return of the orcs, elves and ers' Union said the rebate
hobbits to the country they meant every New Zealand
became synonymous with household could end up
over the course of six mov- paying more than $100.
ies directed by Peter Jack- "Who would seriously name
son. Amazon as the most de-
Amazon Studios said it had serving recipient of our
found a great location with hard-earned tax dollars?"
world-class sets and skilled the group wrote in a re-
staff. It said pre-production lease. But Twyford said it will In this Dec. 31, 2015, file photo, tourists take photos during a tour of the Hobbit movie set near
had already started and be money well spent. Matamata, New Zealand.
production on the series "This is not a charity issue," Associated Press
would begin in the city of he said. "This is about bring-
Auckland over the coming ing jobs, investment, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Amazon said nected with the New Line the Rings" movie trilogy
months. economic development to it would explore new story Cinema movies, although and "The Hobbit" movie
"As we searched for the lo- New Zealand." lines that precede "The Fel- Jackson has previously trilogy combined grossed
cation in which we could The series will be based lowship of the Ring." said he'd be interested in nearly $6 billion at the box
bring to life the primordial on the fantasy novels by The show won't be con- helping out. "The Lord of office.q
beauty of the Second Age
of Middle-earth, we knew
we needed to find some-
where majestic, with pris-
tine coasts, forests, and
mountains," showrunners
and executive produc-
ers J.D. Payne and Patrick
McKay wrote in a state-
ment.
But Amazon wouldn't re-
veal the extent of its plans
for the series. It declined to
say how much it plans to
spend, how many seasons
the show will run, or when it
will debut.
Some have speculated
Amazon could spend more
than $1 billion on the series
as it looks to take on other
streaming services like Net-
flix with its Prime Video ser-
vice.New Zealand's Eco-
nomic Development Minis-
ter Phil Twyford welcomed
the news, saying the series
would give a boost to the
screen industry and create
hundreds of new jobs.
"It's a hugely significant
piece of popular culture,"
Twyford said. "And it now
has a special place in New