More than 1000 people turned out for Hobbit march
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More than 1000 people from New Zealand's film industry have marched through the country's capital to voice concern about the future of The Hobbit films.
The book The Hobbit, first published in 1937, was the predecessor of The Lord of the Rings. After three Lord of the Rings movies, two Hobbit movies will follow in 2011 and 2012.
The prospect of the two movies being made in New Zealand has been uncertain following a dispute between Sir Peter Jackson and the actors' union over pay and conditions on the films.
Film industry technicians gathered Wednesday evening here to discuss "new industry standards". They began marching towards Parliament after that meeting was canceled.
One of the main messages from the march was for the Australian union Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which has been advising Actors' Equity, to stop interfering in the New Zealand film industry.
At Parliament, Sir Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop told those gathered that the film industry can take control of its own destiny.
Sir Taylor said he saw the New Zealand film industry "at some level of peril".
"The producers are doing all that they can to retain the film here in New Zealand.
"By the actions of a very limited few, a huge fraternity of filmmakers, technicians, and artists will be affected," said Sir Talor.
A number of meetings have been held amongst actors in the last few weeks to discuss the dispute.
The shooting of The Hobbit was given the greenlight at the weekend.
The announcement was made by New Line Cinema and its parent company Warner Bros, nearly three years after Jackson and New Line reached an agreement over the movie, but did not state whether the adaptation of the JRR Tolkien novel would be shot in New Zealand.
