Exporting Jobs to Middle Earth

New York Post ^ | March 4, 2004 | Robert B. Ward

[MikeJ75]

SEAN Penn and Billy Crystal made minor news with political comments at Sunday night's Oscars. But the real headline went unnoticed: Hollywood now agrees with President Bush that "outsourcing" American investment and jobs can be a good thing.

This year's big winner, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," shows - better than any economist could - how Americans gain when our companies invest and create jobs all over the world.

Financing for "King" came from New Line Cinema, a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc. By the standards of some political and economic analysis these days, New Line's investment in the $300 million project represented American dollars being used to create jobs overseas.

In an epic movie, that can be a lot of jobs. At one point during filming, according to The Economist, director Peter Jackson had 20,000 actors, extras and technical staff on his payroll - making him the largest private-sector employer in New Zealand.

And Jackson's is not the only big picture shot in the island nation recently. Others include Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai," which received four Oscar nominations this year; and "Sylvia," with Gwyneth Paltrow portraying Sylvia Plath.

Leaders in the land of the kiwi are looking forward to still more jobs - and their associated tax revenues - from Hollywood. Jackson has built a world-class post-production studio near the capital city of Wellington and will soon start filming his next project, a remake of "King Kong."

[Agnes Heep]

This guy is nothing but a commie plant. And I bet he didn't even like "The Passion of the Christ."

[Conspiracy Guy]

No Hobbit is getting my job.

CG

[Khaibit]

No way. Bush never said that sending jobs overseas was good for the economy. That's just BS put out by the Librul press. It was some flunky on an economic policy board or something and all he said was that the economy is strong enough that jobs going overseas isn't a concern.

[kjam22]

Somewhere Ross Perot is sitting around saying "I TOLD YOU SO. NOW LISTEN TO ME..... I TOLD YOU THERE WOULD BE A GIANT SUCKING SOUND"

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

The Hobbit Hole :: Troop Support Projects

Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.

[Willie Green]

Bush never said that sending jobs overseas was good for the economy...
It was some flunky on an economic policy board or something...

Treasury's Snow defends U.S. job outsourcing

Yeah, I'm afraid I gotta agree...
Treasury Secretary John Snow is nothing but a "flunky" alright.

[stands2reason]

And I bet he didn't even like "The Passion of the Christ."

Sigh.