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New Zealand Authorizes Amazon's Lord of the Rings, Cowboy Bebop to Resume Production


It looks like New Zealand is truly doing well while the rest of the world is still struggling to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The government has just authorized more film and TV shows to resume production in the country. Two of these major projects just happen to be Amazon's Lord of the Rings series and Netflix's Cowboy Bebop.

According to Stuff, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has confirmed that international crews for seven projects will be allowed to enter the country in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. These projects include TV shows The Lord of the Rings, Cowboy Bepop and Power Rangers Beast Morphers. There will be 206 cast and crew members as well as 35 of their family members who will be allowed to enter the country over the course of six months.

Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford released a statement regarding the decision.

"Our success at managing COVID-19 gives our country an opportunity to become one of the few countries still able to safely produce screen content," Twyford said. "The inquiries and interest we are getting from international production houses tells me that the international film community sees New Zealand as something of a global safe haven."This is an opportunity friends that we must grab. Despite the turmoil that the world is facing, this is an exciting time for New Zealand's screen sector."

The Lord of the Rings series will serve as a prequel to the Peter Jackson films. Cowboy Bebop is the live-action adaptation of the popular anime series and will star John Cho as protagonist Spike Siegel.

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