Prime Minister John Key says he hopes an actors' pay dispute over the production of the Hobbit movies can be resolved in the next week or so.
The dispute has been running for almost a fortnight, with the Actors' Equity union demanding a collective bargaining agreement before performers accept work on the film.
Mr Key says the Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee had some discussions at the weekend with the parties.
He remains hopeful a result will be reached, and the movies will be made in New Zealand.
Mr Key says the negotiations are still quite tense, but the matter needs to be resolved very quickly.
