Interestingly enough, the development occurs after New Zealand essentially cleared productions such as The Lord of the Rings back in May; a clearance that was embraced by another notable kiwi country production in director James Cameron’s ambitious concurrently-produced quartet of Avatar movie sequels. Additionally, Rings was also one of a handful of productions to be granted a border exemption back in July, which, combined with the May clearance, would have facilitated two months’ worth of progress by now. While no official explanation for the summer delay was given, it might have been safety-related. Nevertheless, this return to an intimidating workload is a task that’s embraced with optimism. Indeed, as Samwise the Brave pertinently put it in 2002’s The Two Towers: “Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.”
