New Zealanders urge Hobbit movies to stay

Thousands of New Zealanders took to the streets urging producers of The Hobbit movies to keep the production in their country.

Six rallies were held across the country on Monday, with up to 3,000 people turning up at the demonstration in the capital of Wellington.

With some sporting hobbit costumes, fans, industry workers and some actors held placards that read "New Zealand is Middle Earth" and "We love hobbits."

The production of the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogyhas already been held up by several delays, including by the departure of the film's original director, Guillermo del Toro.

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who was supposed to be executive producer for The Hobbit, has now taken over the reins.He raninto another obstacle in the fallwhen the actor's union issued a no-work edict to its members because it doesn't have a contract with the studio.

That led to a boycott by seven unions, including ones in Canada, against the production.

Could cost N.Z. $1.5B

The unions say actors on Jackson's films have worked on non-union contracts for years, with no minimum wage guarantees nor residuals for future broadcasts. Now, those organizations have backed off from their no-work order.

Despite that, Warner Bros. and Jackson have both said they are considering pulling the $500-million US movies from New Zealand.

Economists have said that would cost the country about $1.5 billion.

The rallies were held just a day before representatives from the Hollywood studio were due to arrive for two days of talks with government officials.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is leading a high-powered delegation to themeetings with the studio.Key said he's already spoken with a Warner Bros. executive and believes there's a 50/50 chance the production could move.

"We're a long way away from being a done deal," he told the New Zealand Herald. "There are a number of issues we need to resolve."

The Hobbit, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, began production in New Zealand earlier this month with British actor Martin Freeman in the main role. The films are set for release in December 2012 and December 2013.