Minister of Economic Development, Stuart Nash, was asked why Amazon is pulling its Lord of the Rings TV series out of this country. He stated that "Amazon has raised no complaints about its experience with this production in NZ or problems encountered along the way .. In fact, it has praised every Government agency it dealt with for their great collaboration, and for the way it was treated by Kiwis who hosted the cast and crew .. Amazon's decision is not a reflection against anything NZ has done. It's a strategic commercial & operational decision to expand its studio facilities in the UK, because other Amazon Studios productions that are based there".
However Bloomberg News reports a completely different reason, totally at odds with the Ministers statement, namely that "Amazon Studios .. said it will shift filming to the U.K., with industry publication Deadline reporting that NZ’s strict border closures during the pandemic - which requires a two-week stay in a managed isolation facility - kept British cast members from returning home for close to two years. The lockdown also prevented Amazon executives from visiting the sets to monitor shooting, the media outlet said".
Hang on. The Minister said "Amazon's decision is not a reflection against anything NZ has done" yet Bloomberg News report that the decision has everything to do with what our government has done - specifically how it has organized our quarantine facilities. Which is it?
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