Three words: Location. Location. Location. New Zealand has such a remarkable variety of microcosms in a relatively small area. You might find such pristine locations in the U.S., but would have to travel thousands of miles to find them. Europe, unfortunately, is so settled that it would be hard to find "untouched" locations that would not immediately be filled by curious tourists or the sound of commercial aircraft, trains, etc. <P>Also, you have a friendly, cooperative government eager to encourage the economic benefits of the film industry, plus a multicultural variety of citizens and creative artists to use for local talent.<P>OK, it's not as romantic a notion as hot actors and an amazing story, but a film maker has to think of the "nuts and bolts" aspects of putting a story on screen. Local-boy-made-good Peter Jackson tapped an undiscovered goldmine when he used his home turf to bring Tolkien's world to life. Short of Africa, I don't think there is another country where you could find such a variety of locations to duplicate Middle Earth.<P>I mean, could you picture "The Lord of the Rings" being created totally on a sound stage? They could never have done it justice.<p>[ April 05, 2003: Message edited by: Birdland ]
|