Date: 16th November 2000

Rings Blowing Out Budget?


Lord of the Rings exec producer Barrie M. Osborne, whose credits also include Dick Tracy, Face/Off, and The Matrix, has denied persistent rumors that Rings, which is shooting three feature-length installments simultaneously in New Zealand, has "blown out" its original $260-million budget.

In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Osborne said, "Normally if a picture is blowing out or having difficult it reflects in the shooting days, but we are finishing on December 22 as scheduled. It's a healthy three-budget film." Then, in what the newspaper described as "producer-speak," Osborne added that the original budget had been "enhanced."

Source: Studio Briefing