Amazon Gets Larger New Zealand Subsidy for Lord of the Rings Series
16 April 2021 - 10:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Stephen Wright
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Amazon has secured a larger taxpayer
subsidy from New Zealand for its Lord of the Rings production,
which is expected to be the most expensive television series
ever.
A quarter of the estimated 650 million New Zealand dollars ($466
million) to be spent in the South Pacific country by Amazon.com Inc
on the show's first season will be subsidized, Economic Development
Minister Stuart Nash said Friday, an increase from 20%.
The subsidies for Amazon, whose stock market value of $1.68
trillion is about eight times larger than the New Zealand economy,
are "part and parcel of the international film game," Mr. Nash said
in an interview with state-owned Radio New Zealand.
The New Zealand Taxpayers Union, which advocates for lower
taxes, said the government could be "over a barrel" in future if
the tech giant demands ever greater subsidies to keep its
productions in New Zealand.
"Amazon is infamous for using its near-endless lobbying
resources to play different governments off one another," it said
in a statement.
Research had shown, Mr. Nash said, that New Zealand had got a
significant tourism boost from director Peter Jackson's films based
on J.R.R. Tolkien's books on the mythical Middle Earth.
Under an agreement with Amazon, New Zealand can use any footage
in international tourism promotions, have interns on the production
and get visits from Amazon staff to encourage innovation, according
to Mr. Nash.
Amazon bought the small-screen rights for The Lord of The Rings
for $250 million and the total cost of the production could exceed
$1 billion, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2021 19:50 ET (23:50 GMT)
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