Lords of the Corporate Welfare

By
Martyn Bradbury
-
10
33

Politically Labour had to ensure the LOTR TV series was filmed here. Allowing National to paint Labour has Hobbit Haters was too politically damaging so David Parker was sent in to negotiate.

And what a deal David has cut.

$300million in corporate welfare to the richest man on the planet.

Yay?

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Surely we could just spend $100million and divide it all amongst every actor in NZ to get the same type of economic benefit?

We may as well, as Matt Nippert has highlighted, much of the supposed economic benefits from this corporate welfare are mostly bullshit.

So a $300million subsidy to the richest man on the planet to film an Anglo-Saxon Aryan fantasy with dubious economic benefits? Sounds like a documentary of NZ artistic culture rather than a TV series detailing the trials and tribulations of a magical kingdom.

This outrageous corporate welfare really shouldn’t be happening but NZers self esteem is sadly woven into the LOTR mythology so much so that we see ourselves as the sleepy hobbits of muddle Nu Zilind with pride not self-reflection.

Let’s just hope it’s not as awful the Hobbit Trilogy.

 

10 COMMENTS

  1. LOTR is a series of books widely available for many years.

    Jackson sets out to make money and a name for himself on the back of LOTR popularity.

    John key is owned by the people who run the Hollywood propaganda machine
    Dot Com found that out with illegal raids, stealing of equipment by off shore agencies under the PM’s protection. Nothing legal will be addressed under NZ law jk has seen to that.

    Jackson gets into bed with these crooks and we pay.

    Boycott LOTR and Jackson.

  2. I thought I was living in a fantasy series the last couple weeks, an ultra nationalist cricket fantasy complete with super heroes, the forces of good over evil, media marketing bombardment and hype, and culminating today with TV breakfast hosts actually dancing in the studio in anticipation of the big win. It didn’t come, like a dropped catch, a dark book chapter, or worse taxpayers losing out to rich white guys, Williamson and Guptil aren’t superheroes or geniuses, cricket isn’t going to unite the universe, and NZ lost a cricket match. NZers would probably have the same feeling today after this most tragic cricket loss as they would if they lost hosting the LOTR world cup, except they would still have $300 million in their back pockets. Domestic violence will probably spike though, like after a lost rugby test, but it’s only sport, we’ll be fine. We loss the cricket battle but we will win the movie war.

  4. Sad but true–the Govt. did need to grease up the producers of LOTR TV series if they want to be re elected in 2020. ‘Hobbit Hater’ is a bad epithet indeed for politicians to attract in some sections of the NZ populace.

    I still remember that reactionary rally of ‘his’ staff, which Lord Richard Taylor organised on a Labour Day! and the signs–“NZ IS Middle Earth” etc.

    Treasured books from my youth–Hobbit, and LOTR– have been well trashed forever by Sir Jackson and the spinoff industry, maybe the pre history serious will be dead boring, lose money spectacularly, and kill the franchise for good.

    • The Other Side wouldve capitulated after enduring a battering with one of his half hour long monolugue speeches

  7. Don’t know why you keep banging this drum because it is quite obvious that if a big production shoots here, we REBATE, not subsidise, a certain amount of the budget. Otherwise the $Billion-plus dollars get spent in some other country. Pretty simple maths.

  8. Comes as no suprise. What does surprise me is much of the MSM painting the current Labour led govenment as Socialist and somehow caring……..

    Still wont stop public from trotting out and voting for them come 2020.

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