Sir Peter Jackson has rejected a union statement that it was only seeking a meeting to discuss contract terms for actors on The Hobbit, saying the union had decided to boycott the films before he was told it wanted to meet.
Union wary of proposed law change over Hobbit
Australian-based union Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) issued a no-work order on the films last month in an attempt to get producers to enter contract negotiations.
The New Zealand branch of the union, Actors' Equity, dropped the boycott last week.
MEAA head Simon Whipp yesterday said the union had simply wanted to get producers to discuss basic work conditions, but that they would not even agree to meet with the union.
In a statement today Sir Peter said he had been made aware of the issue only on August 17, when he was copied into a letter from the Federation of International Actors (FIA) addressed to the United States directors of Warner Bros company 3 Foot 7 Limited.
The letter requested producers enter contract negotiations with the union, and said that it was urging members affiliated with FIA not to work on the film until they began bargaining.
"It was the first time a meeting was ever requested and it was clear from the letter, they had already voted to blacklist us, before even asking for one conversation with me," Sir Peter said.
"I am sick and tired of hearing Equity say 'All we ever wanted was a meeting' because it's disingenuous - they fail to add that from the outset, they had a gun to our head.
"It just made me incredibly angry, I wondered how can a union behave like this? How could Simon Whipp initiate an international strike action against our film with no prior vote from the Kiwi membership?"
Meanwhile, a decision on whether The Hobbit movies were made in New Zealand remained in the balance as Government officials and the films' US financial backer Warner Bros continued to discuss possible labour law changes and the level of taxpayer subsidy.
Prime Minister John Key and a team of senior ministers met Warner Bros executives for more than two hours yesterday without resolving the problems that have made the movie company consider taking the $630 million production to another country.
The producers are worried about legal definitions of contractors and employees in New Zealand law, which they think could be used against them.
They are also said to have been spooked by union action and the international "do not work" order.
"We will have to make an assessment about whether we think a clarification in the law would assist New Zealand economically," Mr Key said. "If we do, we might make some changes."
The Government has also admitted it is prepared to move "at the margins" on subsidies for the two films but would not enter a bidding war to match what was on offer internationally.
Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly said changing New Zealand's labour laws to appease Warner Bros could challenge the concept of New Zealand's sovereignty.
The law was already clear and any changes could mean thousands of workers were made contractors instead of employees.
Mr Key said he was not overly positive about The Hobbit being made here.
"They're not here with a ransom note, or putting a gun to our head ... but they're out of here if we can't give them clarity, no question about that."
He was trying to save the $2.8 billion movie industry, because there were fears that if Warner Bros pulled out other big producers would also stay away from New Zealand.
