Posts Tagged ‘warner bros’

The repeal of the Hobbit law

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, October 29th, 2017 - 70 comments

Labour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.

Warner Bros – corporate welfare beneficiary

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, September 9th, 2015 - 63 comments

Figures have been released showing that Warner Bros were paid NZ $191 million in tax rebates to create the Hobbit Trilogy.  The films were very profitable.  Why is corporate welfare for profitable activity tolerated?

National’s terrible deal making

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, August 9th, 2015 - 114 comments

A brief analysis of a number of deals that National has negotiated suggests that its reputation as a supposedly tough dealmaker is misplaced.

LocalBodies: John Key Aspires to Mediocrity

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, April 24th, 2014 - 26 comments

Local Bodies provides this interesting comparison on John Key compared to some of the more ethical leaders of our past. Suffice it to say that the ever forgetful John Key doesn’t measure up to past standards. He is really only distinguished the his sustained level of  pathetic mediocrity.

The Key-Fletcher trail

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, April 11th, 2013 - 77 comments

The PM, Fletcher, the GCSB – questions need answering: why, when, where, who? It’s all about intellectual property, global commerce and international networks. From London to Aus 2009, to NZ 2010, then down the rabbit hole to Dotcom, Hobbits & uncertain links with complex global money mazes.

ImperatorFish: DOC sheds 140 jobs, but new owner remains committed

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, March 27th, 2013 - 9 comments

DOC’s new owners, Warner Bros, are reportedly concerned that too much emphasis has been placed on preserving uninteresting animals, like native parrots and snails. The restructure will see a renewed focus on wolf-breeding, resurrecting Haast’s Eagles and fire-breathing dragons.

Community Service

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, February 9th, 2013 - 70 comments

Greenpeace activists were fined and ordered to do Community Service – for serving the global community by protesting about Climate Change & the oil industry.  Others get honours like knighthoods for services that are damaging for the majority in the community.  Misplaced values? [update] RNZ interview with Lucy Lawless.

Brownlee in gun for misleading the House

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, January 20th, 2011 - 15 comments

Mallard has laid a Privileges complaint over Brownlee’s Hobbit lies. Good. Brownlee and Key deserved to be hammered for their part in the Warners/Jackson shake-down that cost just $34m and work rights. Lockwood won’t uphold the complaint though. He hates Brownlee. Not enough to severely embarrass his party in election year though.

Jackson statement worsens Hobbit fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 23rd, 2010 - 80 comments

Peter Jackson yesterday did what the government has refused to do and commented on the revelation that he told Gerry Brownlee the Actors’ Equity blacklist was no threat to the Hobbit movies being filmed here. Unfortunately, Jackson has just further sullied his reputation by revealing the true motives for the Hobbit Enabling Act.

Nats & Jackson played us for fools

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, December 21st, 2010 - 130 comments

The Herald has used the OIA to get hold of emails Peter Jackson sent Gerry Brownlee during the Hobbit shakedown. They show that the Actors’ Equity blacklisting was not a threat to the film staying here – yet Jackson and Brownlee told us it was to justify handing Warners $34 million and rushing through an anti-worker law.

Treasury warned on risk of Hobbit hustle

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 2nd, 2010 - 15 comments

Remember how Peter Jackson and Warner Bros pulled the old Hollywood shakedown on us? By making a hollow threat to film elsewhere they got an extra $30 million and a law passed just for them. This was supposedly necessary to save a vital economy gain for the country but the Government knew that was bollocks all along.

Q&A on The Hobbit – Part 2

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 3rd, 2010 - 52 comments

In a highly-charged debate like the Hobbit fiasco, it’s easy to lose sight of the real issue amongst the claims and counter-claims over petty details. In a second post that strips things back to what matters, Blue asks the big question: ‘how exactly did NZ taxpayers end up handing over tens of millions of dollars to Warner Brothers?’

Made in Wellington

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, November 3rd, 2010 - 33 comments

I went to see Made in Dagenham last night. The parallels between the dispute, that began when female workers at a Ford plant in the UK struck for better pay, and then equal pay with men, and the Hobbit fiasco were striking. But it’s the dissimilarties in the outcomes that I was left pondering. Let’s take a look at the two events:

A rushed law, a bad law

Written By: - Date published: 5:11 pm, October 29th, 2010 - 56 comments

The Hobbit Enabling Act is meant to do is say ‘you’re an employee if you are called an employee in your contract, if not, you’re a contractor’. But it doesn’t say that and it doesn’t override the Bryson case that caused the ‘uncertainty’ Warners supposedly feared. Now, nobody knows what the law actually is. Well-founded disagreements will mean court cases.

The best country money can buy

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 97 comments

Today, the Hobbit Enabling Act will be slammed through Parliament by National removing the right of employees working in the film industry to get employment rights if their contract calls them a contractor. It’s the latest in a series of anti-democratic laws that show National is the party of big business, not democracy and ordinary Kiwis.

Q&A on The Hobbit

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 28th, 2010 - 84 comments

The Right argues that an already settled labour dispute involving a small union somehow scared a multi-billion film company enough to make them consider abandoning the $100 million already invested in NZ. Blue has gone beyond the slogans and done some excellent research to answers our questions on what really happened.

The price of our hysteria

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, October 27th, 2010 - 180 comments

The Government will give the Hobbit producers an extra $33 million to stay in New Zealand and it’s going to use this ‘crisis’ as an excuse to slam through more anti-worker laws. New Zealand has been played like naive hicks. The Hobbit was never leaving. We let Jackson and his Hollywood mates whip us into a frenzy of fear – now we’re paying the cost.

Key’s announcement

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, October 27th, 2010 - 179 comments

John Key will be making an announcement on The Hobbit this evening, with a press conference due to be held at 7.20pm. Will update this post after the announcement.

Update: Predictably, the movies are staying in NZ, with a sell out of our employment law, and further tax sweeteners for the studios.

An invitation to Warner Brothers to be up front

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, October 27th, 2010 - 10 comments

Wallace Chapman has a thoughtful Open Letter to the visiting Warner Brothers executives on his blog, inviting them to front up to the New Zealand public: We have a small segment called “Soapbox” and we’d just love you to come over and join us and speak your mind to camera for 60 seconds. We know […]

Lord of the tax breaks: A history of capital flight threats

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, October 27th, 2010 - 90 comments

The Hobbit ‘crisis’ is just the latest in a series of capital flight threats from Jackson and Hollywood. We’ll end up paying more to stave off the threat of capital flight because the wider economic benefit makes it worthwhile. Key is trying to talk down how much we can pay but he bears responsibility for talking up the ‘crisis’ to put the boot into unions.

Tax breaks and the Hobbit

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, October 26th, 2010 - 96 comments

From Stuff: A meeting between Warner Brothers and senior government ministers has ended, with studio executives asking for larger incentives to keep The Hobbit movies in NZ. The two-hour meeting, which included New Line Cinema boss Toby Emmerich, ended with no resolution to the Hobbit standoff…

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