According to her interview with Conan‘s super lame TBS talk show cousin George Lopez, Faris was harassed by rowdy New Zealander dudes watching her film recent cinema masterpiece Yogi Bear. From there, Faris concluded that all New Zealand guys are (CG animated) pigs, which Ian Long, spokesman for the New Zealand tourism board, took offense to.

Noting that Faris received an award for being a smoking hot pot smoker later on Lopez, Long said that since “she accepts an award for being a pothead stoner of the year… I don’t think she has any credibility.” His bosses weren’t pleased with that, and New Zealand released this official retraction:

“The inference that Tourism NZ did not take Ms. Faris’ comments seriously is very much regretted and was certainly not intended. On a U.S. talk show Ms. Faris spoke about disrespectful behavior she experienced during her stay in New Zealand and as a consequence her impression of New Zealand men is, to say the least, poor.”

When Bart Simpson pissed off Australia, they gave him a booting. I don’t think Faris was in the wrong, but I’d still like her to receive a booting. It beats an entire country pussying out on what could have been an awesome publicity war. Then again, when I think of “great wars,” none of them involve New Zealand. (Cinema Blend)

I, for one, am totally relieved now that a compromise has been reached. Since the original Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot in New Zealand, moving the prequel’s production to Eastern Europe would have been a disaster. The trees in the background would have been completely different! Does Warner Bros. think we can’t tell the difference between a Rimu in New Zealand and a Common Oak or Black Alder tree in Poland? Well they are complete fools if they do think that! Fools, I tell you! (Deadline)

New Zealand is coming across as a little too desperate about this whole Hobbit situation. Granted, I know losing the Peter Jackson film, with its $500 million budget, would be a huge economic loss, but this video/rally seems just a little over the top.

New Zealand has to understand that Warner Bros. isn’t going to respect them if they act so needy. What they need to do is act like they don’t give a damn where The Hobbit is shot. Maybe New Zealand can even make out with some executives from Universal in a public place where Warner Bros. can totally see what’s going on! That’s sure to make Warner Bros. jealous! (Deadline)

Watch New Zealand come across as desperate after the jump…

Everyone knows that Hobbits, with their hairy leather feet, hate wearing shoes. Well now we can add another item to the list of things hobbits despise: organized labor.

Various unions, including the Screen Actors Guild and the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance of Australia, have officially warned their members not to take part in the production of the film due to a dispute over working conditions and residual payments. In response, producer/director Peter Jackson is claiming the move is an attempt by Austrialian interests to gain control of New Zealand‘s film industry and is threatening to move production to Eastern Europe if the matter is not resolved.

“There is a twisted logic to seeing NZ humiliated on the world stage, by losing the Hobbit to Eastern Europe," he said. "Warners would take a financial hit that would cause other studios to steer clear of New Zealand. Seriously, if the Hobbit goes east (Eastern Europe in fact) – look forward to a long dry big budget movie drought in this country."

Personelly, I thinks Jacksons actions be deplorable. Unions is vary important. Four example, the Tearchers Unions’ are vary big in the USA, and education ain’t never been better. Sham on u, Peter jackon (Empire Online)