LOTR has departed Covid-19 is back What does that mean for our screen sector? stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Ainsley Thomson, New Zealand’s plan for a phased reopening of borders in early 2022 has come too late to stop it from losing one of its world-famous attributes as the filming location of Lord of the Rings, with crews deeming the nation’s stringent quarantine requirements untenable.
The film industry fears skilled workers will go overseas after it was confirmed this week that further seasons of Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series will be made in the UK.
New Zealand s film sector is maturing. “This also serves to limit the number of productions that can come here per annum, and thus the benefits and rebate spend.” That’s – potentially – a market of untapped billions. Presently, a global paradigm exists where nations wanting to have a film industry must be part of an incentive environment to attract runaway productions. New Zealand’s Screen Production Grant, where productions can access a cash rebate equivalent to 40 per cent of their spend, coupled with our ability to produce in-person due to control over Covid-19, have resulted in recent exponential growth for the sector.
The 12 productions would have “reasonably [been] expected” to get pandemic cover before it became unavailable on the private insurance market earlier this year, ministry deputy chief executive Anna Butler said. The cover was only for productions which needed private finance, of which insurance was a requirement. The insurance covered against both delays and abandonments due to Covid-19. Butler said the 12 productions would be considered by Finance Minister Grant Robertson on a “case-by-case basis”. Some had already been granted the indemnity, while others were yet to be considered. “Screen productions generally need pandemic insurance to secure private finance. If granted, the indemnity will give financiers the comfort they need to lend to productions,” Butler said.