Plans to film LotR television series in NZ under threat

[Otaku-sempai]

Here we go again:

The Government has held a crisis meeting with Amazon TV executives as the network threatens to pull plans to film the Lord of the Rings series in New Zealand.

At US$1 billion (NZ$1.49 billion), it is touted as the most expensive television series in history – and accordingly, the most lucrative for the country where it is filmed.

Earlier this year, production company boss Jennifer Salke confirmed New Zealand was being considered as the location – but now, that's in jeopardy.

Read more about it here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/109543455/plans-to-film-1-billion-lord-of-the-rings-television-series-in-nz-under-threat. My take has been that the show will probably not film entirely in any one country, though New Zealand is certainly a likely contender.

[Thor 'n' Oakenshield]

It never ceases to amaze me how rabidly New Zealand hoards Middle-earth - not that they don't have good reason to, I mean, they have beautiful landscapes and vistas, and Lord of the Rings was like being introduced to the world in a way they never had been before; but it seems a little ridiculous to assume that Amazon has to film the whole series there. I mean, what if they plan to go to, you know, the Ice Wastes of Forochel during the series, or the deserts of Far Harad? I would definitely love to see NZ's other natural wonders explored, and to see places like Matamata that have become so embedded in the public mind, but I wouldn't mind seeing some new locations too.