The Battle for The Hobbit

If you haven't been watching the news and need a quick catch-up on the whole The Hobbit saga, here's a clip from Close-Up of Mark Sainsbury interviewing the main players - director Peter Jackson, producer Phillipa Boyens, Minister of Economic Development, Gerry Bronwlee and President of the NZ Council of Trade Unions Helen Kelly:



And if you're wondering how heated things can get (note: not comfortable viewing)...

Harry Potter Weaves Box Office Magic

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened last Thursday, has broken opening weekend box office records in New Zealand. Grossing a hefty $2.4 million, the film now stands only behind Lord of the Rings: Return of the King as the highest opening weekend earner ever in the country (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a close third). It's also doing great business around the world, globally reaping around $600 million in its first 5 days, and the critics are generally singing praises too (its current Metacritic rating is sitting at 78). All great news for Warner of course, who announced soon after the film's release that the studio has passed the $1.5 billion box office mark in the US, and that they're the only studio to have done so for nine consecutive years. The mind boggles.