Just like many of the main creators of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are comic book fans, if an IP can be successfully transformed into a film and television, the creator must first have a considerable understanding of the work itself.
If you pay a little attention to the behind-the-scenes of the entire Middle-earth series, you will find that Peter Jackson is not a die-hard fan of Tolkien's Middle-earth series. He is just like many people. After watching it, he liked it very much and inevitably had some thoughts. Most people tend to forget about their ideas after they come up with them, but Jackson actually started to implement them.
The familiarity with the novel series, the solid film skills accumulated over a long period of time, and the pragmatic attitude finally created a big screen legend.
These factors may seem simple, but few people can do them.
In the office, after listening to Jackson's obviously prepared remarks, Simon nodded slightly: "I have seen the plan you submitted. It is a good idea to split the "Lord of the Rings" novel into two for continuous shooting. This can save a lot of costs. , the shooting location will be in New Zealand. This is yet to be determined. However, as long as the shooting environment and tax rebate benefits are met, there is no problem at all. My idea is that since it needs to be split, it can be split into three parts according to the original work. , three films in a row.”
Peter Jackson actually prepared a whole set of words. At this moment, hearing Simon's words, he was a little stunned: "Simon, so you agree?"
Simon shook his head: "It's just an intention, Peter. You have to know that the most common thing in Hollywood is uncertainty. Ninety percent of projects disappear without a trace in the process of time. Therefore, first of all, I want to see " Treat the result of "Horror Ghost" as a trial. Secondly, you can start creating movie scripts from now on. According to the standards of the trilogy, in the future I will also see the animation samples and live-action films you made based on your own ideas. Fragment, if the trilogy is launched at the same time, even if the investment budget of each part is 70 million US dollars, the trilogy will be 210 million. So, Peter, if you fail, Daenerys will still be Daenerys, Peter Jackson may no longer be Peter Jackson, you have to understand that."
Simon's tone was calm, but Peter Jackson felt a tremor of excitement or fear all over his body, and his fingertips were slightly numb.
With the current influence of Daenerys Entertainment in Hollywood, if this project, which costs more than 200 million US dollars, fails, Jackson knows that he will never have any foothold in this circle in the future.
but.
Everything actually has two sides.
What if it succeeds
After being silent for a few seconds, Peter Jackson forced himself to calm down his thoughts, looked into Simon's eyes, and said with firmness in his tone: "Simon, I will cherish this opportunity."
Simon was very satisfied with Jackson's ability to recover so quickly under the pressure of his words: "Very good. Then, someone will contact you about the script creation commission agreement. Let me talk about some of my personal opinions first."
Just as he was about to continue, there was a knock on the office door.
Girl A came in, holding a stack of photos: "Boss, this is a photo of Mia Sara, and a resume."
Simon paused the topic, took the photo information handed over by Girl A, handed it to Jackson in a pile, and then looked at the photos in his hand.
After flipping through a few pages I was a little disappointed.
I remember that I had just arrived in Los Angeles and "Spring Is Not a Day to Read" was being released. The production cost was US$6 million, but the box office in North America alone reached US$70 million. As the heroine of the film, Mia Sara has also become the dream lover of many teenagers.
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Mia Sara in the photo is still very beautiful, with a score of 80 or above, but she no longer has the stunning look that made people's hearts beat faster, and the traces of plastic surgery are obvious, and it is still not a very good plastic surgery.
Simon picked up the resume and opened it again.
Mia Sara is 29 years old this year. Except for "Spring Is Not a Day to Read" ten years ago, none of her other works have caused much repercussions. Many films in recent years have been marked as 'TV movies' .
When actors are reduced to filming TV movies, it is difficult for them to get a chance to make a comeback.
Since he could not meet his own requirements, Simon would not waste time on these details. If it were any other time, it would be rejected directly and Jackson would be asked to re-select the heroine. However, at this moment, some inexplicable nostalgia for the passage of time arose in my heart.
Ten years.
It was also my starting point.
It's rare to be emotional, so I decided to give the other party another chance.
The original "Scary Ghost" was indeed a failure, but this time, many things have changed. Even if it is not too successful in the future, relying on your own guidance and the promotion of Daenerys Entertainment, there is a possibility that the local box office will exceed 50 million US dollars. Very big. By reaching this standard, as a heroine, Mia Sara can step out of the TV and movie circles again and get more opportunities in Hollywood.
Girl A's voice sounded in her ears again: "Boss, CAA said Mia Sara is in Los Angeles and can be here within half an hour if necessary."
Putting down the photo, Simon shook his head and said to Alison: "No, send a copy of the script of "Horror Ghost" and let her prepare it." Then he turned to Jackson: "You will arrange an audition in three days. You don't need to worry about me. My opinion, be strict, if possible, it’s her, if not, choose someone else.”
Peter Jackson agreed, but in his heart he had another plan.
Unlike Simon's sudden emotion, after seeing the photos, Jackson was very satisfied. After all, the production cost of "Scary Ghost" was only US$30 million. In this era, it was only a mid-range production, and first-tier actresses could not be hired. At first, he only wanted to find a second-tier or third-tier star, Mia Sara, who has more than ten years of acting experience. Totally above the level.
As for the difference between the photos in his hands and those from ten years ago, Jackson didn't feel the same way Simon did.
And he also secretly made up his mind to choose the other party as much as possible.
This is the wisest choice based on human sophistication. Although Simon Westeros does not need to worry about his opinions, if the big boss's suggestions are adopted and the project is successful, it will bring some potential benefits anyway. Return of favor.
After the interlude, Simon and Jackson continued the topic of the "Lord of the Rings" series, and Girl A packed up the stack of photos and left the office.
As soon as she arrived outside, another assistant reminded her that CAA's Michael Ovitz was on the line.
In the heyday of CAA in the late 1980s, Michael Ovitz's phone calls could be made directly to any studio executive office without being transferred by an assistant. Although it is still possible now, the situation here at Simon is different.
Girl A’s previous contact was David O’Connor, Ovitz’s former assistant. As other veterans of CAA continue to retire or leave, a new generation of agents such as O'Connor has taken on their own role. Alison just didn't expect Ovitz to receive the news so quickly, so she called and briefly introduced the situation. Girl A followed Simon's instructions and sent a copy of the script to CAA.
Century City, CAA headquarters.
In less than five minutes, multiple copies of the "Scary Ghost" script in the email were distributed to everyone in a conference room.
It's actually a coincidence.
When Girl A called, David O'Connor was about to attend a Friday afternoon work summary meeting of CAA executives. A certain actress who was barely considered a third-tier actress now had no turn for David O'Connor to pay attention to. This Ovie The clients that Ci's former assistant is now responsible for are all at the level of Tom Hanks and Robert Redford.
However, O'Connor could not ignore the call from Simon Westeros' office. He delayed the meeting in order to personally get Mia Sara's photo and send it to Daenerys Studios.
Of course, Michael Ovitz, who personally chaired the meeting, did not blame him and was quite concerned about this matter. After all, Simon rarely directly asks the agency for information on actresses. It is usually the casting director who has followed Simon for many years. Linda Vargas is in charge.
Maybe Daenerys might have some big moves on her side.
Everyone didn't know that if it hadn't been for someone's sigh and emotion, nothing would have happened.
CAA's intelligence gathering capabilities have always been very strong.
While the script of "The Ghost" was distributed to the senior executives of CAA in the conference room, various information was also gathered, including basic information about Peter Jackson, a general overview of the "The Ghost" project, Jackson's meeting with Simon at this time, and, News about the "Lord of the Rings" series.
The original topic of the work summary meeting has been shelved. Each of the CAA executives held a copy of the script of "The Ghost" and quickly flipped through it. After about ten minutes, Michael Ovitz first put down the script in his hand and read it. Watch, it's already 5 o'clock.
After get off work time.
No one mentioned this. For a qualified agent, there is basically no difference between work and get off work. Sometimes even in the early morning on weekends, when the phone rings, you have to get out of bed to help clients because the party is too much. Doing drugs, getting drunk, getting into fights, that kind of shit.
After everyone put down the scripts one after another, Ovitz asked, "What do you think?"
David O'Connor, who was across the conference table, first said: "The script is average, but it may be revised in the future. Moreover, I think the key to this matter is not "Scary Ghost", but "The Lord of the Rings", or the entire Chinese Earth series.”
Michael Ovitz nodded slightly.
This is what he thinks too.
According to the gathered news, New World Pictures positions "Ghostbusters" as another "Ghostbusters" series, but just looking at the script, the differences between the two series are very obvious.
The story frame is more like the "Detective Detective" series that just released its sequel recently.
Jim Carrey became famous in "Planet", in which the male protagonist makes a living by helping people find lost pets and is unintentionally involved in various conspiracies. As for "Scary Ghost", the male protagonist accidentally gained psychic powers and made a living by helping people catch ghosts. He was also involved in a series of incidents.
Both projects are comedies.
Both protagonists are terrible.
In the end of both stories, the hero and heroine defeat the villain and live together happily.
Standard Hollywood commercial film routine.
After O'Connor's words fell, Jay Murray, another golden agent on Ovitz's left, also said: "Obviously, this "Scary Ghost" is just a practice for Jackson from Westeros, just like Michael took over "Dwarf". "SpaceX" before the Rocky Park" series, as well as Brett Natner, who produced "The Man from Earth" and the Victoria's Secret Show before filming the "Charlie's Angels" series, and the one who worked on "Mission: Impossible 2" An Eastern director, he also shot "Broken Arrow" before."
Sitting at the corner of the conference table, Richard Lovett, who is also a new generation of CAA and has been promoted to vice president, said: "What Jay said is right, but I think Westeros needs to be more devoted to this Peter Jackson. Attention, if I remember correctly, all the copyrights of Tolkien's Middle-earth series are in the hands of Daenerys Entertainment, and they were purchased together with DC's Batman, Superman and the entire Marvel copyrights. It was probably the 1987 stock market crash. Then, there was a lot of money being made in Westeros at that time. So, what did everyone think?"
When Richard Lovett said this, everyone was refreshed.
Tolkien's Middle-earth novels, "The Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit" and "The Silmarillion", completely constitute a Middle-earth world with an independent and huge world view. Whether it's elves, dwarves, hobbits, humans, orcs, etc., there are a lot of stories to explore in this series.
What's this
It couldn't be more obvious.
Simon Westeros plans to create another Middle-earth movie universe after the DC movie universe and The Conjuring movie universe!
If this is the case, CAA must respond with a 12-point spirit.
Just like the DC movie universe that is currently in full swing.
Simon Westeros originally allocated the main roles to major Hollywood agencies in order to pursue balance. It is conceivable that if the main creators of the entire DC movie universe are mainly clients of WMA who have good relations with Westeros, regardless of Whether it is CAA or ICM, as well as other second- and third-tier brokerage companies, life is not going to be easy now.
The salaries for starring in the DC Cinematic Universe are indeed not high.
This is one thing that makes many Hollywood filmmakers feel unbalanced.
However, this low level is only compared to the astonishing box office of a series of movies in the DC movie universe. Putting this aside, at this stage, most of the DC movie universe creators receive the salary level of first-line filmmakers.
Not only that, the super popularity of these people also allows them to absorb other resources in the circle, such as advertising endorsements and other movie contracts. Adam Baldwin, the actor of Batman, relies on various endorsements and participation in DC series and other films. In 1995, his personal income reached US$32 million.
Among them, the salary for Batman Vs. was only US$9 million.
This year, although there is no DC series to participate in, the producer will definitely receive an additional bonus due to the current success of Batman Vs.
He originally signed a five-film contract at a low price, but now only one is left. Many people thought that Adam Baldwin would not renew the contract, or even if he renewed the contract, he would offer an absurdly high price to package the five films.' The losses will be recouped, but according to rumors in the circle, Adam Baldwin is actually now taking the initiative to communicate with Daenerys, hoping to continue to increase cooperation.
Because the last "Justice League" may not be released until around 2000 according to the DC movie universe's plan. In the four-year gap, if Adam Baldwin does not take the initiative to maintain his popularity, even the series of advertisers behind him will not agree.
In addition to Adam Baldwin, other actors in the entire DC series include Brad Pitt as Superman, Will Smith as Cyborg, Valerie Golino as Catwoman, and Nicole... Kidman, etc., have been the focus of Hollywood in recent years.
In the era of eyeball economy, high attention actually represents real benefits.
If Simon Westeros really wants to create a Middle-earth movie universe after the DC movie universe and the Conjuring movie universe, no matter what, CAA must let its clients try their best to get roles.
Because this is the core resource of Hollywood now.
Everyone in the conference room paused for a moment because of Richard Lovett's reminder. However, some people still raised objections: "If we want to develop a movie universe, why doesn't Daenerys Entertainment develop Marvel?"
As soon as the words came out, the person involved reacted when faced with a series of looks.
This question is so stupid.
The popularity of the DC movie universe is still at its peak, and even if it has to be shared with Warner, the benefits are huge enough. If Marvel is developing at this time, Daenerys Entertainment may be able to monopolize it, but what about DC? You can't just throw it away. If the two go hand in hand, it will cause serious internal consumption of resources.
Tolkien's Middle-earth series is different.
Due to differences in audiences and other aspects, the DC Movie Universe and Tolkien's Middle-earth series may compete with each other for some resources, but it will not cause too serious internal friction, just like the DC Movie Universe series and Daenerys Entertainment at this time Like the "Jurassic Park" series, they can completely coexist.
Everyone discussed it again. Now that we have determined this, the next step is how to deal with it.
Michael Ovitz, who has completely given up the idea of jumping to take charge of a major studio, finally decided to take charge personally. Since Simon Westeros can invest in a film specifically for the development of the Middle-earth series and let his favorite director practice, CAA also Actors can be trained in a targeted manner.
After all, in the Middle-earth novel series, the various characters are clearly identifiable.
And there are a lot of them.
Now begins to select and train actors for suitable roles. Even if Simon Westeros still holds the idea of balancing the major agencies to allocate resources, as long as the candidates provided by CAA are good enough, he will definitely be able to win more shares .
At the end of the meeting, Ovitz also specifically assigned company vice president Richard Lovett to try to contact Peter Jackson.
The New Zealand director's management contract is with the WMA.
If you can dig it out, of course it would be best.
If you can't dig them out, it's definitely not a bad thing to have more contacts and relationships.
After finalizing the matter, everyone continued some of the original meeting topics. By the end of the meeting, it was already past six o'clock in the afternoon. Ovitz finally went out and saw Mark Ferguson, an agent under the company, with Another brunette was waiting outside, and the girl was Mia Sara.