New Zealand’s government is giving Amazon additional tax breaks to film its The Lord of the Rings series in the country. Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said on April 16 that the government will give Amazon an extra 5% rebate from New Zealand’s Screen Production Grant, which is on top of the 20% that came before.
If the rumored $465 million USD (NZ $650 million) budget for season one is correct, that would work out to a rebate of about $116 million USD (NZ $162 million) with the full 25% rebate accounted for.
“The agreement with Amazon not only creates an enduring legacy for our screen industry, it generates local jobs and creates work for local businesses,” Nash said (via Reuters). “It will enable a new wave of international tourism branding and promotion for this country. It opens the door for Kiwi businesses to access future innovations in technology, research and development through connections with the wider Amazon group.”
Part of the reason why the New Zealand government is cutting Amazon such a good deal is because there is “considerable economic and tourism potential,” Nash said.
“Not only does it bolster our global reputation as a desirable place to make screen productions, it will further strengthen our tourism appeal to visitors with the ‘Middle-earth’ theme,” Nash said.
More than 1,200 people are directly involved with the production of the Lord of the Rings TV show’s first season, and 700 additional people are indirectly employed on the project, the New Zealand government said.
The New Zealand government also mentioned that the Lord of the Rings TV show’s production and cast are made up of a lot of home grown talent. This includes:
- 67% of the speaking roles cast to NZ actors
- 21% of the major roles cast to NZ actors
- 92-95% of the crew are New Zealanders
- 80% of the Heads of Departments (HOD) are New Zealanders
Regarding tourism, the New Zealand government said that–in pre-pandemic times–about 19% of all tourists coming to the country, or around 351,000 people, said Lord of the Rings was a factor in their decision to travel Come from malaysia online casino . With the new TV series, this is expected to continue once borders are reopened to international visitors. As it happens, the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia just recently opened.
Additionally, New Zealand’s tourism department will “work closely” with with Amazon on various campaigns that promote the idea of traveling to New Zealand on a vacation.
You can read the full statement on the New Zealand government website.
Sharon Tal Yguado, a former producer on the Amazon Lord of the Rings TV show, said the recently reported price tag for season one is “fake news.”
Related Posts
After months of rumors, the Nintendo Switch 2 was finally announced earlier this morning. Nintendo’s new console will be directly competing with the power of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. But according to one analyst, Nintendo has already avoided a costly mistake that hampered the launch of Sony and Microsoft’s last systems.
Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu told Bloomberg that …
Read moreMahershala Ali is in talks to star in the next Jurassic World movie, according to a story from The Hollywood Reporter. Ali, a two-time Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in Moonlight and Green Book, would join Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Jonathan Bailey, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in the film.
Shooting is expected to begin this June in London, with Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godz…
Read more8BitDo makes some of the best third-party peripherals for consoles and PC, including a burgeoning series of mechanical keyboards. Just like many of its controllers, 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboards are inspired by classic video game hardware. The NES-themed edition was one of the first models, and it remains the most popular–though the upcoming transparent green Xbox-themed edition might ha…
Read moreApex Legends Season 21 is the first new season we’re getting after the implementation of the legend upgrade system, a feature that allows playable characters to choose options from a skill tree to upgrade their passive, tactical, and ultimate abilities mid-match. Apparently, this feature makes it easier for the devs to adjust each playable legend too, offering more opportunities to finely tweak…
Read moreSquare Enix’s aggressive expansion of Final Fantasy VII has taken a sudden blow, as the company has announced that the mobile battle royale Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier will be discontinued in early 2023.
The game will shut down on January 11, which is 14 months after the game’s November 17, 2021 launch. Square Enix says they will continue to support the game wi…
Read moreLTIMindtree’s share price fell 1.04% to Rs 5,401 during the intra-day on Friday. Despite today’s downfall in the stock price of the company, the brokerage houses have shown optimism on the stock. The share price, however, surged nearly 6% yesterday on the news of the company’s earnings in Q2. LTIMindtree, the sixth-largest IT services firm, on Wednesday, reported a sequential rise of less…
Read moreA total of 11 companies will hit the bourses in the week ending May 19. In the mainboard, two companies will see listings and in the SME nine companies will hit the secondary markets.
Mainboard Listing
Aadhar Housing Finance
The company will list on May 15. It collected Rs 3,000 crore from investors by offering them…
Read moreThe benchmark equity indices ended Wednesday’s trading session in the muted territory. The NSE Nifty 50 dipped 41.90 points or 0.18% to settle at 23,516, while the BSE Sensex gains marginally higher 36.46 points or 0.05% to 77,337.60. Bank Nifty index ended higher by 957.15 points or 1.90% to settle at 51,398.05.
The broader indices ended in negative territory, with fall led b…
Read moreBy Mihika Sharma
The rupee weakened marginally by 0.1% last week against the dollar, ending at 83.49. Initially, the rupee faced pressure from a strong dollar at the start of the week. Although the dollar index weakened as the week progressed, elevated crude oil prices and a weak yuan continued to weigh on the rupee. During the week, there were net FPI inflows totalling U…
Read moreOil prices jumped 1.5% in the first session of the New Year, due to potential supply disruptions in the Middle East after a naval clash in the Red Sea, and hopes of strong holiday demand and an economic stimulus in China, the top crude importer.
Brent crude rose $1.20, or 1.5%, to $78.24 a barrel by 0438 GMT while U.S Come from Read more