Chapter 911 Peter Jackson

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Malibu, Daenerys Studios.

The time is April 12th.

This is the 12th day of Peter Jackson's arrival in Los Angeles, and he was notified yesterday that Simon Westeros is going to meet with him to discuss the film he is working on "Ghost of Horrors" and another submission about "The Lord of the Rings". " series production plan, so I didn't get much rest all night, repeatedly weighing how to deal with meeting a young Hollywood tycoon.

The agreed time was 4:30 pm, and Jackson arrived at Daenerys Studios an hour earlier.

Arriving too early is not as pleasant as being late. Peter Jackson, who is actually very smooth, did not ignore these details. He parked his car in the administrative district of Daenerys Studios, and he did not rush directly to Office No. 1. Instead, he sat down at a cafe inside a studio in the administrative district, bought a copy of The Hollywood Reporter, and drank coffee to kill the waiting time while reading recent Hollywood events.

The North American Easter schedule ended yesterday, and this issue of The Hollywood Reporter is mainly a summary of the Easter schedule.

In addition to "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", which exceeded US$650 million at the domestic box office, there are two new films "Detective Plane 2" and "The Haunting of the Mortuary 2" produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

On March 29, Jim Carrey's new film "Detective Plane 2" earned $45.51 million at the box office in the first week, a drop of 40% in the second week, and another $27.27 million. Two weeks into the filming, the sequel to Jim Carrey's famed Easter release two years ago has grossed $72.78 million at the box office.

According to the step-by-step accounting rules, Daenerys Entertainment easily recovered all $50 million in production and publicity costs within two weeks and achieved profitability.

Then came The Mortuary Haunting 2 on April 5.

From April 5th to April 11th, in the first week of the filming, the fourth film of the Conjuring Cinematic Universe series performed even better at the box office, with the same production and publicity scale as "Detective Plane 2", and the revenue reached 7 days. $51.69 million.

Another member of the 100 million yuan box office club that is a sure thing.

The Conjuring Cinematic Universe series that Daenerys Entertainment has focused on creating in recent years, although the commercial volume is far from being comparable to the DC Cinematic Universe series, it counts the previous "The Conjuring", "The Mortuary Haunting" and "The Conjuring 2" , the entire series of four films in a row can break through 100 million, this achievement is not a small miracle in Hollywood.

What's more, the cost of this series is low enough.

Even if the global box office of the first three films is in the range of 200 million to 300 million US dollars, it may not be as good as the local box office of the DC movie universe blockbuster, but on the other hand, the production cost of this series, take "The Mortuary Haunting 2" for example , and only $30 million, which is also only a fraction of the production cost of Super Bat Wars.

Daenerys Entertainment's production cost control of the DC Cinematic Universe series is quite good. The production budget of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" still reached 135 million US dollars, which is comparable to "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" two years ago. .

Looking at the news on The Hollywood Reporter, there is no shortage of ambitious Peter Jackson in this circle.

It has been eight years since he ran to Melbourne and was accidentally hired as the assistant director of "Batman: Time for War". The genius boy who was just born in Hollywood is now standing in a place that everyone can only look up to. Position, Peter Jackson has not stopped his footsteps all these years.

Whether it is the nasty "Crazy Fat Treasure Variety Show" or the recent pseudo-documentary "Forgotten Movie", they have achieved a certain response in the industry. Two years ago, "Angel of Sin" also won the Venice Silver Lion Award.

If you really enter the industry, you can understand that there are thousands of movies produced every year around the world, and most of them are not even splashed.

Therefore, no matter from which aspect, as long as your film can attract attention, it is a success.

Moreover, Peter Jackson can clearly feel that he has been under the attention of Daenerys Entertainment or, to be precise, Simon Westeros, all these years, from the original "Crazy Fat Baby Variety Show" ” to last year’s “Forgotten Movie”, and the middle “The Dead” and “Angel of Sin”, eight years, four films, each time Daenerys Entertainment has been very active in contacting and cooperating with him. In fact, this has made the most difficult threshold for many filmmakers to cross the threshold of funding projects to be smooth sailing on his side.

That's apparently the case with a recent script, "Ghost of Horrors," and his proposal for the "Lord of the Rings" franchise.

This time it was more clear.

Simon Westeros is going to interview him, and it's clear that the other party hasn't forgotten the assistant director who was on the set of "Batman: Hour of War".

Keeping an eye on the time, at 4:25, Jackson arrived on time at Simon Westeros's office in Office Building No. 1 in the borough.

Just waiting in the lounge for a while, a young man whose appearance had hardly changed over the years appeared soon, which made Jackson a little surprised by the other party's punctuality. In the Hollywood circle, people consciously have a position. Whether it is the executives of many studios or those big-name celebrities, it is almost the norm that they are not punctual, and many people obviously do it on purpose in order to maintain their posture.

However, Peter Jackson quickly understood. Simon Westeros doesn't need such a small trick at all. In comparison, the other party is in the current position and can still do this, but it is even more admirable.

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Thinking about it, Jackson has quickly stood up, smiled and stretched out his hand to Simon who came over: "Hello, Mr. Westeros."

Simon and Jackson shook hands and said with a smile, "Just call me Simon, just like on the Batman set. By the way, how are you doing?"

Peter Jackson also smiled: "Not bad."

However, he did not ask the other party as usual, mainly because of some kind of instinctive restraint when seeing the superior, and how is Simon Westeros doing, needless to say?

Simon didn't talk too much with Jackson too deliberately. After greeting, the two entered the office and sat down together in the reception area.

The girl A who followed up put the two documents in front of Simon and Jackson respectively, and another female assistant brought coffee to them, and then they both quickly withdrew.

Simon opened the information in his hand and went straight to the topic: "Let's talk about Ghost of Horror first, Peter, I have read your production meeting memo about this project last week, and everyone's positioning of the film is another "Ghostbusters" "The Expendables", this direction is very good. However, I found a problem, that is, the scale between horror and comedy is very critical. Just like "Ghostbusters", although it is 'Ghostbusters', its positioning is a fantasy comedy, It's not scary, and the overall feeling of the audience watching this film is very joyful. And "Ghost of Horror" is positioned as a horror comedy, and you also depicted a lot of scary scenes in the script. It's an embarrassing situation that isn't comedy, have you thought about it?"

Peter Jackson didn't expect Simon to be so direct, and almost missed his train of thought, but quickly picked himself up and said: "Of course, Simon, I've been discussing this with the team recently, and it's been determined that the film will lean towards comedy. , that is, comedy trumps horror. Moreover, we have also paid attention to your question just now. Everyone thinks that the key is to determine a suitable male lead, and we are all choosing actors these days."

The original "Ghost of Horrors" starring Michael Fox, the star of the "Back to the Future" series.

The film ended in failure. Although there are many reasons for it, the failure of the male lead casting is indeed a factor. Although the popular "Back to the Future" series also has comedy elements, Michael Fox's positioning is more inclined to be a teen idol star, and by the mid-1990s, he was an outdated idol star, not a comedy man star potential.

The main reason for choosing each other is that the producer of "Ghost of Horror" is Robert Zemeckis, who is the director of the "Back to the Future" series, and there are obvious human factors in it.

Compared to Fox, Ghost of Horror needs a real comedy star.

Simon pondered the information and asked, "Are there any suitable candidates at present?"

Peter Jackson nodded and explained: "What I need is a 30-year-old male lead who has the temperament of a loser. These days, we think about Dana Vicca, Rob Lowe, Michael Fox, Frank Wei. Lee and other male stars have also had some auditions. So far, Dana Vicca's performance is better."

Dana Vicca is another male protagonist in the "Fighting Wisdom" series alongside Mike Myers, but was suppressed in the limelight because of Myers' core identity.

Simon recalled Dana Vicca's performance in the "Fighting Wisdom" series, shook his head and said: "If you talk about the temperament of a loser, Vicca is indeed fine. However, the protagonist of this script is a deceiver who relies on his own psychic abilities. It's a small person, so it needs some low-level shrewdness, and Dana Vicca is too stupid in this regard."

After rejecting Jackson's inclination, Simon did not discuss with the other party any more. After a little consideration, he said, "The comedy style of "Ghost of Horror" is biased towards black, so the actor's performance cannot be too extroverted, and needs a kind of restraint and contrast. In this way, I give Your two candidates, one is Ben Stiller, and the other is named Adam Sandler, um... Adam seems to be a little bit dumb, just Stiller," Saying so, Simon quickly put on the document in front of him. Write a name, tear off a corner and hand it to Peter Jackson: "I don't know the specific situation of him now, you can contact yourself, I believe it should meet your needs."

Peter Jackson took it and said seriously, "I'll do it as soon as possible."

Any director wants to be in charge of his own work, but Peter Jackson has put himself in the right place, knowing that he has no room for bargaining with Simon. What's more, the film talents of the young people in front of them are definitely not comparable to those of the top studio executives who were born in lawyers and accountants.

Simon handed the note to Jackson, remembered something, wrote a line on the document again, tore it off and handed it to Jackson: "In addition, I recommend you another movie, this is a Hong Kong movie called "Mr. Zombie" ", the standard horror comedy style, and it was the box office champion of Hong Kong films in 1985. I suggest you watch it several times, it can bring a lot of inspiration. By the way, there is also the heroine. According to the setting of the script, I suggest you Find an actress who has the air of a goddess."

Peter Jackson took two notes in a row and carefully put them in his hands. He was almost overwhelmed and asked subconsciously, "Goddess temperament?"

Simon said: "It's the kind that makes people a little out of reach at first glance, the kind of Cindy Crawford."

"Simon, you mean, let me pick a supermodel?"

"Of course not. The heroine of this story is not a vase. She still needs acting, and at the same time, she must be stunning and eye-catching. In the end, the heroine and the hero walk together, and the loser's counterattack can bring a sense of satisfaction to the audience."

peter jackson not those

The self-proclaimed filmmaker, listening to Simon say this, has a sense of sudden enlightenment: "So, Simon, what do you think of, um, Miss Nicole Kidman?"

"Nicole is too tall and has a cold temperament, which is not suitable for comedy." Simon said, thinking a little, and said, "Mia Sara, yes, that's what it is."

Peter Jackson recalled and remembered who Mia Sara was. The actress's most famous film was called "Spring is not a day for reading", one of the best-selling films in 1986, which he also watched in New Zealand. . Moreover, the male protagonist of this film is named Matthew Broderick.

Jackson still knew something about Simon Westeros.

Just when he didn't know how to respond, Simon also remembered this point, not the grudge with Matthew Broderick, a little star who has completely disappeared from Hollywood is not qualified to let him remember it until now, but " Spring is not a day for reading" is already a movie 10 years ago.

Mia Sarah in the film was really amazing back then, but I don't know what it looks like now, because the other party has no more movies that Simon can remember after "Spring is not a day for reading".

He casually pressed it on the landline next to the sofa, and girl a pushed the door and came in. Simon instructed: "Mia Sarah, the heroine of "Spring is not a day for reading", I want her recent photos."

Girl a nodded and turned to leave.

Simon turned back to Jackson: "Let's continue, Peter, I think you should be able to feel Daenerys' support for you over the years, which I personally arranged."

Sure enough.

Even though there was speculation in his heart, Peter Jackson still showed a surprised and happy expression, and with gratitude, he got up slightly and said, "Thank you, Simon."

Simon waved Jackson to sit back up and said, "Of course, I also have to tell you that you're just one of them. Before you, like Michael Bay, Brett Ratner, and others, they were all in this category, and There are also losers.”

"The reason why I like you is that you are very pragmatic, which is very important in Hollywood, because many filmmakers, as literary and artistic creators, are not lacking in talent, but they are often too high-minded and stubborn, and it is difficult to have good cooperation with Hollywood. ."

"Film is never a job that can be completed by a single individual. If a filmmaker cannot pragmatically coordinate the entire team to complete the project, no matter how talented he is, he will not be able to perform it. Secondly, on a pragmatic basis, you are not lacking in talent. , whether it is the original "Crazy Fat Baby Variety Show" and "Angel of Sin", which won the Venice Silver Lion Award, have proved this. Therefore, I hope "Ghost of Horror" can be a start for you to break into Hollywood. "

Who is Michael Bay?

The first film "Space Shock" has achieved a box office break of 100 million, and "Jurassic Park 2" has surpassed Spielberg's first film at the box office.

Who is Brett Ratner?

Last year, "This Man From Earth", which was written by Simon, was a small test, and it won more than 200 million US dollars at the box office in North America. Later, "Charlie's Angels" adapted "Charlie's Angels", which was also very popular.

As for the rest, Peter Jackson can think of many names.

All Hollywood filmmakers who are still climbing, including himself, presumably want to be one of them.

Unexpectedly, Simon Westeros had already listed himself among them. Peter Jackson didn't know what to say for a while, and he couldn't help but want to get up. He just remembered Simon's gesture and fell back on the sofa, his body still slightly forward. He leaned forward and said, "Simon, I promise, I will do my best to finish Ghost of Horror."

Simon nodded satisfactorily: "Then, regarding "Ghost of Horror", since the style of comedy has been determined, my last reminder is that you need to change yourself as much as possible. The cult style accumulated by the film, ok, here it is, let’s talk about your idea of ​​​​planning to shoot the “Lord of the Rings” series, first, why do you want to make this movie?”.

When Peter Jackson received the invitation to meet today, he realized that this was the crux of the conversation, sorted out his thoughts a little, and said, "Simon, I didn't actually have my first exposure to Tolkien's works until I was 17 years old. It was an animated version of Ralph Bakshi in 1978. Because the Tolkien series was so famous, everyone went to see it, and I followed into the movie theater, and I was very disappointed."

"It was not long before I traveled from Wellington to Auckland, where I bought a book of The Lord of the Rings because of the long train ride, and that trip changed my mind completely, reading Thor King's writings along the way. The magnificent epic picture scroll, while admiring the scenery along the way, the snow-covered mountains, the boundless grassland connecting the sky and the earth, the surging river under the peaks and cliffs, at a certain moment, I feel that my hometown should be Tol King My Middle-earth, if possible, one day, I must paint those stories on New Zealand soil."

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