Just like many of the main creators of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are comic book fans, if you want an IP to be successfully filmed, 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 can find that Peter Jackson is not a die-hard fan of the Thor King Middle-earth series, but like many people, he likes it very much after watching it, and it is inevitable that some ideas will arise. Most people tend to forget their ideas when they have them, but Jackson actually set out to implement them.

's familiarity with the series, the long-term accumulation of solid film skills, coupled with a pragmatic attitude, finally created a big-screen legend.

These factors may seem simple, but very few people can do it.

In the office, Simon listened to Jackson's obviously prepared words, and nodded slightly: "I have seen the plan you submitted, and the idea of splitting "The Lord of the Rings" into two parts for continuous filming is very good, which can save a lot of costs, and the filming location is in New Zealand, which is to be determined, but as long as the shooting environment and tax rebates meet the requirements, this is no problem." My idea is that since it is going to be split, it can be split into three parts according to the original book, and the three parts can be shot in a row. ”

Peter Jackson actually prepared a whole set of rhetoric, and when he heard Simon's words, he was a little stunned: "Simon, do you agree?"

Simon shook his head: "Just an intention, Peter, you know, the most common thing in Hollywood is uncertainty, and 90% of the projects are lost in the struggle of time." So, first of all, I'm going to see the results of Horror Ghost as if it were a trial. Secondly, you can start writing the script from now on, and by the standards of the trilogy, in the future I will also see the animated dailies and live-action footage that you make according to your own ideas, and if the trilogy is launched at the same time, even with an investment budget of $70 million each, the trilogy will be 210 million. So, Peter, if you fail, Daenerys is still Daenerys, Peter Jackson may not be Peter Jackson anymore, you have to understand that. ”

Simon's tone was flat, but Peter Jackson had a trembling feeling that didn't know whether it was excitement or fear, and his fingertips were slightly numb.

With Daenerys Entertainment's current influence in Hollywood, if this project, which cost more than $200 million, fails, Jackson knows that he will never have any place in this circle in the future.

But.

There are two sides to everything.

What if it succeeds?

After a few seconds of silence, Peter Jackson forcibly calmed his thoughts, made eye contact with Simon, and said with firmness in his tone: "Simon, I will cherish this opportunity." ”

Simon was very pleased that Jackson was able to recover so quickly under the pressure of his words: "Good. So, someone will contact you about the creation commission agreement of the script, and I will first talk about some of my personal views. ”

Just as he was about to continue, there was a knock on the office door.

Girl A came in with a stack of photos: "Boss, this is a picture of Mia Sara, and a resume." ”

Simon paused the topic, took the photo materials handed over by Girl A, and handed them to Jackson in a stack before looking at the photo in his hand.

I was a little disappointed after flipping through a few photos.

I remember when I first came to Los Angeles, "Spring Is Not a Reading Day" was hot, with a production cost of $6 million, and the North American box office alone reached $70 million. As the heroine of the film, Mia Sara has also become the dream lover of many teenagers.

It's been ten years in the blink of an eye.

Mia Sara in the photo is still very beautiful, with a score of more than 80, but she no longer has the heart-pounding amazement that she had back then, and the traces of plastic surgery are obvious, and she is still not very clever plastic surgery.

Simon picked up the resume again and flipped through it.

Mia Sara is 29 years old this year, except for "Spring is Not a Reading Day" ten years ago, none of the other works have caused any repercussions, and many films in recent years have been marked with the mark of "TV movie".

The actor was reduced to starting to shoot TV movies, and it was difficult to have a chance to turn over.

Since he didn't live up to his own requirements, Simon wouldn't have wasted time on these details. If it was any other time, it would be vetoed directly, and Jackson would have chosen the heroine again. However, at this moment, there are some memories of the passage of time 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 "Horror Ghost" was indeed a failure, but this time, many things have changed, and even if it is not too successful in the future, relying on its own guidance and the promotion of Daenerys Entertainment, there is a high possibility that the local box office will exceed $50 million. By meeting this standard, Mia Sara will be able to re-emerge from the TV and movie scene as a leading actress and get more opportunities in Hollywood.

Girl A's voice sounded in my ears again: "Boss, CAA said that Mia Sara is in Los Angeles, and if you need to, you can come over within half an hour." ”

Putting down the photo, Simon shook his head and said to Allison: "No, send a copy of the script of "Horror Ghost" and let her prepare," he turned to Jackson: "You can arrange an audition in three days, you don't need to worry about my opinion, be strict, if you can, it's her, if not, choose someone else." ”

Peter Jackson said yes, but in his heart he had another layer of calculation.

Unlike Simon's sudden little emotion, after seeing the photos, Jackson is very satisfied. After all, the production cost of "Horror Ghost" is only 30 million US dollars, this era is only a medium production, first-line actresses can't be invited, at first he just wanted to find a second- or third-tier vase, Mia Sara, who has more than ten years of acting experience, is completely above the level.

As for the difference between the photo in his hand and ten years ago, Jackson doesn't have the same feeling as Simon.

And also quietly made up his mind to choose the other party as much as possible.

It's a human and sophisticated choice, and Simon Westeros doesn't need to worry about his opinion, but if the big boss's advice is taken and the project is successful, there are some potential favors in return.

After the interlude, Simon and Jackson continue the conversation from The Lord of the Rings, and Girl A leaves the office after sorting out the stack of photos.

As soon as she arrived outside, another assistant reminded her that Michael Ovitz of CAA was online.

Michael Ovitz's phone calls in the late '80s, when CAA was at its heyday, could be made directly to any studio's top office without an assistant, but now it's possible, but Simon's case is different.

Girl A had previously contacted David O'Connor, Owitz's former assistant. As other CAA veterans continue to retire or leave, a new generation of agents such as O'Connor has taken the lead. Alison just didn't expect Ovitz to get the message so quickly, and called to give a general introduction to the situation, and Girl A sent a script to CAA as Simon instructed.

Century City, CAA headquarters.

In less than five minutes, the script of "Horror Ghost" in the email was copied and distributed to everyone in a conference room.

Actually, it's a coincidence.

When Girl A called, David O'Connor was about to attend a Friday afternoon wrap-up meeting of a CAA executive, a barely third-tier actress who was now in charge of clients at the level of Tom Hanks and Robert Redford.

However, O'Connor couldn't ignore the call from Simon Westeros's office, so he delayed the meeting in order to get Mia Sarah's photo and send it to Daenerys Studios.

Michael Ovitz, who personally presided over the meeting, of course did not blame, and was quite concerned about this matter, after all, Simon's side rarely asked the agency directly for actress information, and it was often Linda Vargas, the royal casting director who had followed Simon for many years, was in charge.

Maybe Daenerys has some big moves.

Everyone doesn't know, if it weren't for someone's sighs and sighs between thoughts, things probably wouldn't have happened.

The CAA's intelligence-gathering capabilities have always been very strong.

While the script for "Ghost of Horror" was distributed to the CAA executives in the conference room, various information was also put together, including basic information about Peter Jackson, a general overview of the "Ghost of Horror" 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, and the CAA executives each held a copy of the script of "Horror Ghost" in their hands and quickly flipped through it, about ten minutes later, Michael Ovitz first put down the script in his hand and looked at his watch, it was already 5 o'clock.

Off-duty hours.

No one mentions this, for a qualified agent, there is basically no difference between going to work and getting off work, sometimes even if it is early on the weekend, as soon as the phone rings, you have to get up from bed to help the client deal with the bad things like drunk fights because the party is too high.

After everyone put down the script one after another, Ovitz asked, "What do you think?"

David O'Connor, who was across the table, said: "The script is average, but it may be revised later." And, I think it's not about Ghost of the Rings, it's about The Lord of the Rings, or the whole Middle-earth series. ”

Michael Ovitz nodded slightly.

That's what he thinks too.

According to the information summarized, New World Pictures' positioning of "Ghost of Horror" is another "Ghostbusters" series, but just looking at the script, the difference between the two series is very obvious.

The story framework is more like the "Detective Plane Head" series, which has just released a sequel recently.

In "Detective Plane Head", which made Jim Carrey famous, the male protagonist makes a living by helping people find lost pets, and inadvertently gets involved in various conspiracies. and "Horror Ghost", the male protagonist who accidentally obtained psychic ability to help people hunt ghosts for a living, is also involved in a series of incidents.

Both projects are comedies.

Both protagonists are decrepit.

In the end of both stories, the hero and heroine defeat the villain and live happily together.

The standard Hollywood commercial film routine.

O'Connor's voice fell, and Jay Murray, another gold agent on Owitz's left, also said: "Obviously, this "Horror Ghost" is just a practice for Westeros to Jackson, just like "Cosmic Shock" before Michael took over the "Jurassic Park" series, and Brett Nattner, who produced "This Man is from Earth" and the Victoria's Secret show before filming the "Breaking Bad" series, and the Oriental director of "Mission Impossible 2", he also filmed "Broken Arrow" before. ”

Sitting in the corner of the conference table, Richard Lovett, who is also the new generation of CAA who has been promoted to vice president, said: "Jay is right, but I think Westeros should pay more attention to this Peter Jackson, if I remember correctly, all the copyrights of the Thor King Middle-earth series are in the hands of Daenerys Entertainment, and they were bought together with DC's Batman, Superman and the entire Marvel copyright, probably after the stock market crash in 1987, when Westeros made a lot of money." So, what did you think of?"

Richard Lovett said this, and everyone was in good spirits.

Thor's Middle-earth series, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Elven Diamond, complete the composition of a world of Middle-earth with its own powerful and vast worldview. Whether it's elves, dwarves, hobbits, humans, orcs, etc., there are plenty of stories to dig up in this series.

What is it?

It couldn't be more obvious.

Simon Westeros plans to create another Middle-earth Cinematic Universe after the DC Cinematic Universe and the Conjuring Cinematic Universe!

If that's the case, the CAA will have to respond with a 12-point mental response.

It's like the DC Cinematic Universe in full swing right now.

Simon Westeros originally allocated the main role to major Hollywood agencies in order to pursue balance, and it is conceivable that if the main creators of the entire DC Cinematic Universe were mainly WMA clients who had a good relationship with Westeros, whether it was CAA or ICM, and other second- and third-tier agencies, life would not be too easy now.

The salary of the starring role in the DC Cinematic Universe is indeed not high.

This is one of the things that makes a lot of Hollywood filmmakers feel unbalanced.

However, this is not high, but compared to the amazing box office of a series of films in the DC Cinematic Universe, aside from this, at this stage, most of the main creators of the DC Cinematic Universe are paid by first-line filmmakers.

Not only that, but the super popularity of these people also allows them to absorb other resources in the circle, such as advertising endorsements and other film contracts, Batman actor Adam Baldwin has a personal income of $32 million in 1995 with various endorsements and participation in the DC series and some other films.

Among them, the salary of Super Bat War is only 9 million US dollars.

And this year, although there is no DC series to participate in, it is only the current success of the Super Bat War, and the producer will definitely not be less with an additional bonus.

At the beginning, he signed a five-part contract at a low price, and now there is only one left, and many people think that Adam Baldwin will not renew the contract, or even if he renews the contract, he will have to offer an outrageously high price to make up for the 'loss' of the five-part packaging contract, but according to rumors in the circle, in fact, Adam Baldwin is now taking the initiative to communicate with Daenerys, hoping to continue to increase cooperation.

Because the last "Justice League", according to the planning of the DC Cinematic Universe, may not be released until around 2000. With a gap of four years, if Adam Baldwin doesn't take the initiative to maintain his popularity, even a series of advertisers behind him won't agree.

In addition to Adam Baldwin, other actors in the entire DC series, Brad Pitt who played Superman, Will Smith who played Cyborg, Valerie Golino who played Catwoman, Nicole Kidman who played Poison Ivy, etc., have all been the focus of Hollywood in these years.

In the era of eyeball economy, super high attention actually represents tangible benefits.

If Simon Westeros really wants to create a Middle-earth cinematic universe after the DC Cinematic Universe and the Conjuring Cinematic Universe, CAA will have to let its clients try their best to fight for the characters.

Because this is the core resource of Hollywood now.

Everyone in the conference room was slightly stunned by Richard Lovett's awakening, but some people still raised objections: "If you want to develop a cinematic universe, why doesn't Daenerys Entertainment develop Marvel?"

As soon as the words came out, in the face of a series of looking eyes, the person concerned reacted.

That's a stupid question.

The popularity of the DC Cinematic Universe is still at its peak, and even if it is to be shared with Warner, the benefits are large enough. At this time, the development of Marvel, maybe Daenerys Entertainment can monopolize it, but what about DC? If the two go hand in hand, it will cause serious internal resource consumption.

Thor's Middle-earth series is different.

Because of the difference in audience and other aspects, the DC Cinematic Universe and Thor'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 Cinematic Universe series and Daenerys Entertainment's "Jurassic Park" series at this time, they can completely coexist.

We discussed it again, and now that we know this, the next thing is how to deal with it.

Michael Ovitz, who has completely broken off the idea of jumping ship to take charge of a big studio, finally decided to take charge himself, and since Simon Westeros can invest in a film specifically for the development of the Middle-earth series to train the director he likes, CAA can also train actors in a targeted manner.

After all, in the Middle-earth series, the various characters are clear at a glance.

And there are a lot of them.

Now is the time to start selecting actors for the right roles and training them, and even if Simon Westeros still has the idea of balancing the major agencies and sharing resources, as long as the candidates provided by the CAA are good enough, he will definitely be able to win more shares.

At the end of the meeting, Ovitz also specifically assigned Richard Lovett, the company's vice president, to try to contact Peter Jackson.

The New Zealand director's agency is under the WMA.

If you can dig it up, of course, it's the best.

If you can't dig it up, it's definitely not a bad thing to get in touch with more feelings.

After finalizing this matter, everyone continued some of the original meeting topics, and when the meeting was over, it was already more than six o'clock in the afternoon, and Ovitz finally went out, and he was greeted by Mark Ferguson, an agent of the company, waiting outside with another brunette, who was Mia Sarah.