Posts by Geoff Lealand
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themed accommodation
You will find that at Raglan (teepees) and Waitomo Caves (planes, trains and even a hobbit hole or two).
Still, some motels I have stayed at recently (including one in Epsom on Saturday night) seemed like they were designed for hobbits--except that hobbits probably weren't responsible for the condom wrappers under the bed!
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Matamata is a rich town, thanks to dairy and thoroughbreds, and my visit to the town on Monday disappointed me. Has the town no imagination?
Are you suggesting that the good citizens of Matamata start walking around on their knees and speaking a strange tongue?
I am sure there is ample imagination in the town--as well as a couple of good cafes. -
Just show the Hobbits on a NZ road trip - bunji jumping, jet-boating etc.
Or hobbit hurling?
I guess it really matters for Matamata but I wonder who the balaclava-clad pair were who wrenched out Gollum's eyes the other night--no longer will he leer (Lear?).
Sorry, catching a case of Ian D here ;-)
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@Geoff. Now, if you make the point of a NZ film having value in terms of creating NZ National identity,
I prefer to think of New Zealand identities, rather than a unitary or totalising identity. So, for some people, LOTR are NZ films but not for me; they are global films of no fixed location. I also agree that we are not Middle Earth; we inhabit a land called Aotearoa.
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What about Boy?
Fair enough, but an exception rather than the rule (has anyone else seen I'm Not Harry Jenson or The Strength of Water or Insatiable Moon?)?)
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Geoff, in a few years time when you write your next paper on NZ film, where will The Hobbit issue stand? A purely industrial and financial issue? A national identity issue? Auteurship????
Hmm! Good questions. It is probably the reason why I have been following this conversation, rather than contributing to it. I also didn't want to compromise my chapter " The Peter Jackson Era" for the Te Papa Press New Zealand Film: An Illustrated History, as I did spend some time discussing how the LOTR trilogy was greatly advantaged by the non-unionised nature of the NZ film industry--as well as the tax breaks and ancillary support (eg road-building by the NZ Army).
If I write about The Hobbit, I probably would have to frame it within a discussion of the financial imperatives of Hollywood. Personally, I want two hobbit films like I want a hole in my head but I realise I am probably in a minority--and I have to consider future employment opportunities for my students.
Still, in all this debate I wonder if there is any space for the notion of cultural nationalism. Is it a dead duck? Has Jackson, Adamson etc made all us globally oriented, where we don't make films for NZrs anymore, but for less differentiated global audiences? It may be that we do both--I consider Gaylene Preston's Home By Christmas one of the most beautiful films I have ever viewed but I suspect it has little cultural resonance for my students.
Nevertheless, it does seem a far, far time ago when there were campaigns such as the Make It New Zealand, led by actors and producers and artists.
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Rudman's column is long on sound and fury, and very short indeed on facts and insight.
But can you not say the same about the whole damn thing? Rudman is likely to inflame passions but haven't we already had too much over-heating on this issue?
If there is to be an ultimate villain (and the MEAA/AE involvement may become a bit of a sideshow), it could well be the international currency war, which is pushing the $NZ to a a level where it is increasingly unlikely that US mega-corporates will look to NZ to shoot runaway productions.
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Getting back to the shambles
Really? Do we have to? I can't imagine there's anything more to talk about, but then the whole subject bores me shitless.I with you on this Jackie. I just wish everyone would have a cup of tea and a lie-down, and wait upon what our masters at Warners might decide. After the bloody awful display by Holmes on Q&A yesterday, the whole debate has struck rock bottom.
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A damn good game last night, with Waikato taking it to Canterbury--and they didn't need Stephen Donald nor Mils.
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Peroxide (or peroxide-releasing compounds) is a major component in many Bleaches
Thanks, Ian. I knew that-- I was just being a smartass ;-)
Ward-Leland
Could you at least spell her name correctly ie Jennifer Ward-Lealand