You say that being in New Zealand is a priviledge and not a right. That is true. However, going to New Zealand is a choice, and when health and age and time converge against you, and what is at stake is a voice role in a movie, then only a fool would opt to travel.
> You look at it as a snub to New Zealand .....I look at it as an old man being sensible in his last days.
I guess I do. In New Zealand we take a great deal of pride in our hospitality, and we show all of our guests a really, really good time, in the hopes that they will tell all their friends and especially come back and visit us again.
While he was here, Mr Lee would have been treated like Royalty. And make no mistake, the Lord of the Rings is a very big thing here: we *want* people from overseas to come visit, to see the filming sites, and to have a wonderful, unforgettable time. And to tell all their friends about it.
So with this article what happened? “Lee isn’t interested in filming in New Zealand again because it is simply too far away, for too long of a time.” And it is an article that is circulated on a LOTR fan site: the very place where potential NZ tourists might hang out. Thanks, Mr Lee. Sorry that visiting us was such a chore for you.
Think of it this way: pretend you live out in the countryside, a fair way off the beaten track. And you like to have guests, and your hospitality is legendary. How would you like one of your guests to go back home to the big city and tell everybody that they weren’t interested in visiting you again?
It’s bad manners at the very least.
Yes, it might not be sensible for him to travel to NZ in his latter days. But it was hardly necessary to burst into print about it.