LORD OF THE KA-CHINGS

New Zealand earned some $200m from the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, shot over 275 days in 150 locations. The government even appointed a Minister for the Lord of the Rings, whose job was to ensure that New Zealand earned as much as it could from the production. No, he did not have a flowing white beard and a staff — but it is likely that, at some point, proposals were returned to director Peter Jackson with the words,

“These shall not pass!” ● L S. Paul Ash