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LOTR films now become entangled in off-duty police regulations - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

September 05, 2000 at 01:11:44

The Nelson Mail is reporting that 15 local police officers accepted a three-day contract to work as drivers on Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' films without following proper regulations.

They were supposed to get permission from their local commander but failed to do so. The command officer said he regarded the breach of regulations to be minor and not requiring disciplinary action, but his position seems to be contrasted with recent "warnings by Police Minister George Hawkins that there was no room for moonlighting by police staff."

The paper reports that the national office will not take action against the 15 officers, who received free accomodations and expenses plus $150 (New Zealand) in return for responding to a last-minute request to the police department for help in driving vehicles.

"The Lord of the Rings" production has been touched by several controversies since it began filming in October 1999, including mishaps with the weather, clashes with fan sites on the Internet, disputes with residents over security guards' behavior at one location, the seizure of 500 photographs taken by a former security guard, legal disputes over copyright with New Zealand news media, and a widely reported month-long sting operation which resulted in three arrests of men allegedly involved in an operation to sell stolen videotapes, props, and scripts over the Internet. Two of the men have pleaded guilty in court but a third is insisting on a trial-by-jury according to TheOneRing.Net.