Veteran producer Barry Osborne, probably best known for his appearances in the Lord of the Rings behind the scenes DVD’s, has told The Dominion Post in New Zealand, that Justice League Mortal has been put on hold.
After being denied tax offsets by the Australian government – who viewed the movie as trying to take advantage of Australian laws – George Miller has continued negotiations. However, according to Osborne, Miller is now looking to move the movie to New Zealand.
"If George is unsuccessful in appealing to the [Australian] government,” said Osborne, “then there's two choices - you either scale back the movie in some substantial way or you find another place to do the movie that you can do for the budget."
The visual and special effects studio behind Lord of the Rings, Weta, based in New Zealand, have already scored the costume design for the movie. People were specially hired for the project and now stand to lose those jobs if the hold continues. Miller was a big fan of Peter Jackson and Weta’s work on Lord of the Rings.
"He was very impressed with the work that Weta Workshop did for us on the Justice League costumes," said Osborne. "He admires what Peter Jackson's been able to do and the way he's organised. He would love to work here and if he did have to leave Australia, New Zealand is close. Where we end up it will depend on what we can make work budget-wise."
This movie seems to have no hope in succeeding. Criticized heavily for a proposed storyline that was nothing short of a farce; denied tax offsets in Australia; and now facing a proposed actors’ strike. I’m expecting to see Teen Titans before we see JL Mortal.