18-Mar-2003
Rings Minister Pete Hodgson is doing his pre-Oscar number again in Hollywood to promote New Zealand screen production and
ICT (information and communications technology) industries.
Mr Hodgson and film industry representatives will be holding workshops and presentations for major Hollywood studios from
March 17-21 to take advantage of the attention generated by the six Oscar nominations for the second part of The Lord of the
Rings trilogy, The Two Towers.
The 75th Annual Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Mar 23, with The Two Towers likely to pick some craft
Oscars for special effects and the like.
The workshops will showcase the skills and capabilities of the New Zealand screen production industry.
"I will join New Zealand representatives on Wednesday for a networking dinner with Hollywood film industry players and again
on Friday for a meeting with the Motion Picture Association of America," Mr Hodgson said. "While in Los Angeles I will also
visit screen production companies interested in New Zealand."
On Friday, Mar 21, there will be a New Zealand reception for 300 people from the Hollywood film industry at the Beverly Hills
Four Seasons Hotel. A similar event last year, which Mr Hodgson attended, was successful in raising New Zealand?s profile in
Hollywood.
Mr Hodgson will speak briefly at the event, which will feature New Zealand stars such as Lucy Lawless and Dave Dobbyn.
Later, he is also due to meet key ICT investors in Silicon Valley to foster high technology investment relationships.
On Thursday, Mar 20, he will host a lunch in Silicon Valley for the venture capital community, to update them on the New
Zealand Venture Investment Fund and investment opportunities in New Zealand.
While in Los Angeles he will also visit Sun Microsystems and other ICT companies, meet members of Kiwi Expats Abroad
(KEA), other expatriate New Zealand scientists and academics, the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency
and the state's Secretary of Resources.
Mr Hodgson returns to New Zealand early on Monday, Mar 24.
