Confirmed: New Lord of the Rings series to be produced in New Zealand

September 18, 2019

Amazon studios has been tight lipped on the details.

The Government has today confirmed that the new Amazon Lord of the Rings TV series will be produced in New Zealand.

Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford confirmed the news this morning in a release.

It had long been thought that New Zealand was in contention to be chosen by Amazon as the production base.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) said the production will a "massive boost for Auckland's economy".

ATEED said it had been involved in "months of discussion" with Amazon about the company's "extensive production requirements".

The organisation said in a release that "the Amazon Studios series' name, budget details, crew size, and production plans are still in development, but the production's likely scale is unprecedented for New Zealand". It has previously been suggested the production has a budget of $1.5 billion.

“That is something we’ve made an active decision as a country to support,” Jacinda Ardern said.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said "this production will support Auckland's world-class screen businesses to grow, create jobs and provide an immense boost to our regional and national economy".

"We already have a billion-dollar screen industry and being the main production base for Amazon’s new TV series will take it to a new level," Mr Goff said.

Mr Twyford said that "this is a sought after production and fantastic news for New Zealand's screen sector and our economy.

"This will be an ambitious production and having it based here will create a range of benefits, including jobs and significant overseas investment, which will unlock more opportunities to grow our creative and technology sectors."

“Godfather” of Aotearoa film production John Barnett gives his thoughts.

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