The Lord of the Rings is returning to his homeland: New Zealand has been in turmoil since the American film company Amazon announced on Friday morning that the next season of the series would no longer be shot in the Pacific Islands, but in Great Britain.

With a budget of around 1.4 billion New Zealand dollars (837 million euros), the Amazon film is considered the most expensive series ever shot.

Christoph Hein

Business correspondent for South Asia / Pacific based in Singapore.

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The Pacific Islands now have the hope of continuing to shoot the Avatar films by James Cameron. The taxpayers sponsor the international filmmakers with hundreds of millions of New Zealand dollars. With Amazon, the government hoped to have found a door opener for tourism after the end of the corona pandemic: The Ministry of Economics, Innovation and Employment insisted that the contract with the Americans "offers the opportunity to visit New Zealand through targeted visits by high-ranking managing directors from To present Amazon in a serious and meaningful way ”. Amazon should "show the will to explore innovative ways to support economic development in different parts of New Zealand".

Streams of tourists had traveled to the islands to visit the filming locations of the Peter Jackson theatrical trilogy, which won 17 Academy Awards.

During the continuation, almost 2000 people were now busy shooting the first series of the material.

He is still nameless, but is said to deal with the narration of events that take place thousands of years before "Lord of the Rings".

Filming in West Auckland has just ended.

As with any international film production

The islands are popular with filmmakers not only because of their fantastic nature, but also because the government has given massive support to major projects for decades. As recently as April, Amazon had announced that it would also shoot the second of the series in New Zealand from the summer of next year. “Amazon is committed to promoting and developing the talents and skills of the New Zealand film sector,” said Minister for Economic Development, Stuart Nash, after signing the “landmark agreement”.

On Friday morning it was said out of the blue for the employees that they could pack up. Only the post-processing of the raw material will take place on the Pacific Islands, while the rest of the shooting will take place in Great Britain. The influential New Zealand Film Commission said the first, still nameless series based on the material by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, which was filmed in New Zealand over a year and a half during the deepest Corona crisis, created 2,000 jobs and the New Zealand economy around 650 Brought millions of New Zealand dollars.

The commission supported production by having taxpayers pay 20 percent of the production costs in New Zealand - as with any international film production there.

For Amazon, that amounts to a discount of around 132 million New Zealand dollars.

When the negotiations came to a head, the government offered another 5 percent support.

But Amazon now rejected it because the entire production is expected to be relocated to Scotland.

The Americans said their decision was a strategic fit with their concept because they had more and more production in the UK.

Others seem to want to pay more

The head of the commission, David Strong, called the emigration a "disgrace". He encouraged himself: “Our locations are legendary and we offer competitive incentives and infrastructures. Together with how the government has dealt with the pandemic, this makes us an attractive partner for international productions. ”In 2019, the Treasury Minister had warned that estimated rebates for international film companies that shoot on the islands would cost taxpayers around one billion by 2024 New Zealand dollars could cost and thus represent a "noticeable tax risk".

The opposition in Wellington immediately attacked the government, calling its supposed failure to keep the Americans a "comedy." “Amazon Studios' decision in no way reflects the skills of our local film industry or the talents of the people who work in it. It's about a multinational company that has made a commercial decision, ”defended Nash. "We do not regret that we have set in motion all the levers for such a production."

More pressure is now on the upcoming decision of Team New Zealand, where the America's Cup won in spring will be defended.

Of course, the New Zealanders want to stay in their home port of Auckland, which offers all the conditions.

But they are demanding more support from taxpayers, which the government has limited to around 100 million New Zealand dollars so far, also in view of Corona.

Other sailing cities in the world such as Valencia or Cowes, but also Dubai seem to want to pay significantly more if they get the prestigious world event.

The decision should be made in September.

If the team pulls away, this would be a second low blow for the sport-loving nation, but also for high-performance sailing, which is deeply anchored in New Zealand.