NZ wins commitment for 3 Avatar movies

NZ wins commitment from Lightstorm, Twentieth Century Fox for 3 Avatar movies

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – The government has won commitment from Lightsource Entertainment and Twentieth century Fox Film Corp to make three Avatar movies in New Zealand after signing an accord that would give the movie companies access ton increased production rebates.

The Avatar films will qualify for a full rebate of 25 percent provided the production meets terms of a memorandum of understanding signed with the government. They include spending at least $500 million in New Zealand, ensuring employment for locals, hosting at least one red carpet premiere and including a short feature on New Zealand on DVD and Blu Ray versions of the films.

The government separately today said it is combining its Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) and Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) into a single scheme called the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

Existing rebates of 15 percent for the LBSPG and up to 40 per cent for the SPIF will be replaced by two rebates - 20 percent plus an extra 5 percent for productions that meet special and up to 40 percent for New Zealand productions.

“This is excellent news for the New Zealand screen industry,” said Economic Development minister Stephen Joyce. “The Avatar sequels will provide hundreds of jobs and thousands of hours of work directly in the screen sector as well as jobs right across the economy.”

(BusinessDesk)

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