Daenerys Studios, Malibu.

The time is April 12.

It's been the 12th day of Peter Jackson's arrival in Los Angeles, and yesterday he was notified that Simon Westeros was going to meet with him to discuss the film he was working on "Horror Ghosts" and another proposal for the "Lord of the Rings" series, so he didn't get much sleep all night, weighing back and forth what to do when he met a young Hollywood tycoon.

The appointed time was 4:30 p.m., and Jackson arrived at Daenerys Studios an hour early.

Arriving too early is as unpleasant as arriving late, and Peter Jackson, who has a very sleek personality, did not ignore these details, parked his car in the Daenerys Studios administrative area, and did not rush directly to the first office building, but sat down in a café in one of the studios in the administrative area, bought a copy of "The Hollywood Reporter", and drank coffee while reading recent current events in Hollywood to kill the waiting time.

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 $650 million at the domestic box office, there are also two new films produced by Daenerys Entertainment, "Detective Plane Head 2" and "Morgue Haunting 2".

Jim Carrey's new film "Detective Plane 2", which opened on March 29, earned $45.51 million at the box office in the first week, and fell by 40% the next week to collect another $27.27 million. Two weeks after the opening of the film, the sequel to "Detective Plane", which was released two years ago on Easter and made Jim Carrey famous, has grossed $72.78 million at the box office.

According to the tiered account sharing rules, Daenerys Entertainment easily recovered all $50 million in production and publicity costs and made a profit in two weeks.

Then came "Morgue Haunting 2" on April 5.

In the first week of filming from April 5 to April 11, the fourth film in the Conjuring Cinematic Universe series performed even better at the box office, with the same scale of production and publicity as "Detective Nose 2", with a seven-day revenue of $51.69 million.

Another member of the 100 million yuan box office club.

Daenerys Entertainment has focused on creating the Conjuring Cinematic Universe series in recent years, although the commercial volume is far from being comparable with the DC Cinematic Universe series, but counting the previous "Conjuring", "Morgue Haunting" and "The Conjuring 2", the entire series of four consecutive movies can achieve more than 100 million, which is also a big 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, it may not be as good as the local box office of DC Cinematic Universe blockbusters, but on the other hand, the production cost of this series, for example, "Morgue Haunted 2", is only $30 million, which is also only a fraction of the production cost of Super Bat Wars.

Daenerys Entertainment has done a pretty good job of controlling the production costs of the DC Cinematic Universe series, with the production budget of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" still reaching $135 million, which is comparable to "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" two years ago.

Looking at the news in the "Hollywood Reporter", Peter Jackson, who has no shortage of ambitions in this circle, only feels his heart fluctuate.

It has been eight years since he went to Melbourne and was unexpectedly hired as an assistant director of "Batman: Time to War", and the genius boy who was once born in Hollywood is now standing in a position that everyone can only look up to, and Peter Jackson has not stopped his steps over the years.

Whether it is the bad taste of "Crazy Fat Treasure Variety Show" or the recent pseudo-documentary "Forgotten Movie", it has achieved a certain repercussion in the industry, and "Angel of Sin" won the Venice Silver Lion Award two years ago.

When you really enter the industry, you can understand that there are thousands of films produced every year around the world, and most of them don't even make a splash.

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

Moreover, Peter Jackson can also clearly feel that he has been in Daenerys Entertainment or Simon Westeros' attention over the years, from the original "Crazy Fat Treasure Variety Show" to last year's "Forgotten Movie", as well as "The Corpses Play Across the Line" and "Angels of Sin" in the middle, eight years, four movies, every time Daenerys Entertainment is very active in contacting and cooperating with him, which makes the most difficult for many filmmakers to cross the funding threshold on his side.

This is clearly the case with a recent screenplay, Horror Ghosts, and his proposal for the Lord of the Rings series.

This time it's clearer.

Simon Westeros wants to interview him, and it is clear that the other party has not forgotten the assistant director on the set of "Batman: Time to War".

Keeping an eye on the time, at 4:25 a.m., Jackson arrived on time for Simon Westeros' office in the No. 1 office building in the borough district.

Just after waiting in the lounge, a young man who had barely changed his appearance over the years quickly appeared, which surprised Jackson a little bit about the punctuality of the other party. In the Hollywood circle, they consciously have status, whether it is many studio executives or those big-name stars, punctuality is almost the norm, and many people obviously do it deliberately in order to take a position.

Peter Jackson quickly understood, though. Simon Westeros doesn't need such a small trick at all, compared to the fact that the other party is in the current position and can still do this, which makes people more admirable.

Thinking so, Jackson had quickly stood up, smiled and stretched out his hand to Simon who walked over: "Hello, Mr. Westeros. ”

Simon shook hands with Jackson and said with a smile: "Just call me Simon, like on the set of Batman." By the way, how's it going?"

Peter Jackson also smiled: "Not bad. ”

didn't ask the other party a rhetorical question as usual, mainly because of some kind of instinctive restraint when he saw the superior, and, how is Simon Westeros doing, do you need to say?

Simon didn't go too far to greet Jackson, and after greeting him, the two entered the office and sat down together in the reception area.

Girl A, who followed up, put the two documents in front of Simon and Jackson, and another female assistant brought coffee to the two, and then both quickly retreated.

Simon flipped through the information in his hand and went straight to the point: "Let's talk about "Horror Ghost" first, Peter, I read the memo of your production meeting on this project last week, and everyone's positioning of the film is another "Ghostbusters", which is a good direction. However, I found that the scale between horror and comedy is very critical. Just like "Ghostbusters", although it is a 'ghost hunt', it is positioned as a fantasy comedy, not scary, and the audience's overall feeling of watching this film is very joyful. And "Horror Ghost" is positioned as a horror comedy, and you also depict a lot of horror scenes in the script, and if you don't pay attention to it, you may have an embarrassing situation that is neither scary nor comedy, have you ever thought about this problem?"

Peter Jackson didn't expect Simon to be so direct, and he almost didn't follow the train of thought, but he quickly cheered up and said: "Of course, Simon, I've been discussing this with the team recently, and it has been determined that the film will tend to be comedic style, that is, comedy over horror." And, about the question you just asked, we also paid attention to it, and everyone felt that the key was to identify a suitable actor, and we are all picking actors these days. ”

The original version of "Horror Ghost", the male protagonist is Michael Fox, the star of the "Back to the Future" series.

The film ended in failure, and although there are many reasons, the failure of the casting of the male lead is indeed a factor. Although the blockbuster "Back to the Future" series also has comedy elements, Michael Fox's positioning is more inclined to a teenage idol star, and by the mid-nineties, he was an outdated idol star and did not have the potential of a comedy actor.

The main reason for choosing the other party is that the producer of "Horror Ghost" is Robert Zemeckis, who is the director of the "Back to the Future" series, and there is obviously a human factor.

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

Simon pondered this information as he asked, "Are there any suitable candidates at the moment?"

Peter Jackson nodded and explained: "What I need is a 30-year-old actor with a loser temperament, and these days, we have considered male stars such as Dana Vika, Rob Law, Michael Fox, Frank Wiley, etc., and have also done some auditions. At the moment, Dana Vika's performance is relatively good. ”

Dana Vika is the other male protagonist of the "Fighting Intelligence" series alongside Mike Myers, but he was suppressed because of Myers' core creative identity.

Simon recalled Dana Vika's performance in the "Fighting Intelligence" series, shook his head, and said, "If you talk about loser temperament, Vika is really fine. However, the protagonist of this script is a small person who relies on his psychic abilities to deceive, so he also needs some low-level shrewdness, and in this regard, Dana Vika is too stupid. ”

Vetoed Jackson's tendency, Simon didn't discuss it with the other party again, thought about it a little, and said: "The comedy style of "Horror Ghost" is biased towards black, so the actor's performance can't be too outward, and it needs to be restrained and contrasted. So, I'll give you two choices, one is Ben Stiller and the other is Adam Sandler, well...... Adam also seems to be a little stunned, just Stiller," said Simon, who quickly wrote a name on the document in front of him, tore off a corner and handed it to Peter Jackson: "I don't know the specific situation of him now, you can contact it 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 take control of his work, but Peter Jackson puts himself in the right place, knowing he has no room to bargain with Simon. What's more, the film talent of the young people in front of him is definitely not comparable to those studio executives who are lawyers and accountants, and the level of the other party's selection of actors must be far above him, and it is definitely not a layman to guide an insider.

Simon handed the note to Jackson, remembered something, wrote a line on the document again, tore it off and handed it to Jackson and said: "In addition, I recommend you another movie, this is a Hong Kong film, called "Mr. Zombie", a standard horror comedy style, and it is also the box office champion of Hong Kong films in 1985, I suggest you watch it a few more 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 with the temperament of a goddess. ”

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

Simon said: "It's the kind that makes people look a little unattainable at first glance, the Cindy Crawford kind." ”

"Simon, you're saying let me pick a supermodel?"

"Of course not, the heroine of this story is not a vase, she still needs acting skills, and at the same time it must be stunning and eye-catching, and in the end, the heroine and the male protagonist walk together, and the counterattack of the loser can bring a sense of satisfaction to the audience. ”

Peter Jackson is not one of those pretentious filmmakers, and when he heard Simon say this, he suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment: "So, Simon, what do you think, well, how about Miss Nicole Kidman?"

"Nicole is too tall and has a cold temperament that is not suitable for comedy. Simon said, thinking about it for a moment, and said, "Mia Sarah, yes, that's it. ”

Peter Jackson reminisced and remembered who Mia Sara was, the actress's most famous movie called "Spring Is Not a Reading Day", one of the biggest hits of 1986, which he also saw in New Zealand that year. Moreover, the male protagonist of this movie, named Matthew Broderick.

Jackson still knows something about Simon Westeros.

I don't know how to respond, Simon also remembered this, not the grudge with Matthew Broderick, a certain starlet who has completely disappeared in Hollywood is not qualified to let him remember it until now, but "Spring is Not a Reading Day" is already a movie 10 years ago.

Mia Sara in the film was really amazing back then, and now I don't know what it looks like, because the other party has no movie that Simon remembers after "Spring is Not a Reading Day".

casually pressed on the landline on the side table next to the sofa, Girl A pushed the door in, and Simon ordered: "Mia Sarah, the heroine of "Spring is Not a Reading Day", I want her recent photos." ”

Girl A nodded and turned to leave.

Simon turned back to Jackson: "Let's go on, Peter, I think you should be able to feel Daenerys' support for you all these years, and I arranged it personally. ”

And so it was.

Even though he had already guessed 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 his hand for Jackson to sit down again, and said, "Of course, I must tell you that you are only one of them. Before you, like Michael Bay, Bright Ratner, and others, they all fall into this category, and there are also losers among them. ”

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

"Cinema is never a one-man job, and if a filmmaker can't realistically coordinate the whole team to complete the project, no matter how talented he is, he won't be able to show it. Secondly, on a pragmatic basis, you are not short of talent, whether it is the original "Crazy Fat Treasure Variety Show" or the "Angel of Sin" that won the Venice Silver Lion Award, it proves this. So, I hope Horror Ghost can be a kick-start for you to break into Hollywood. ”

Who is Michael Bay?

The first movie "Cosmic Shock" achieved a box office score of more than 100 million, and the box office of "Jurassic Park 2" surpassed Spielberg's first film.

Who is Bright Ratner?

Last year's "This Man from Earth", written by Simon, was a small test, and it earned more than $200 million at the box office in North America alone, and then the adaptation of "Charlie's Angel" from "Charlie's Angel" was also hot.

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

All the filmmakers in Hollywood who are still trying to climb, including himself, probably want to be one of them.

Unexpectedly, Simon Westeros had already listed himself as he was, Peter Jackson didn't know what to say for a while, and couldn't help but want to get up, but remembered Simon's gesture just now, fell back to the sofa, leaned forward slightly, and said: "Simon, I promise, I will do my best to finish "Horror Ghost". ”

Simon nodded with satisfaction: "So, regarding "Horror Ghost", since you have decided on a comedy-biased style, my final reminder is that you need to change your cult film style as much as possible from early films such as "Cosmic Stranger" and "Crazy Fat Treasure Variety Show", OK, that's it, let's talk about your thoughts on the "Lord of the Rings" series, first of all, why did you want to shoot this movie?"

Peter Jackson realized that this was the point of the conversation when he received the invitation to meet today, and he collected his thoughts a little and said, "Simon, I actually didn't get my first exposure to Tol King's work until I was 17 years old, and it was the 1978 animated version of Ralph Bakshi. Because the Tol King series was so famous, everyone went to watch it, and I followed it into the cinema, but I was very disappointed. ”

"Soon after, I was travelling from Wellington to Auckland, and I bought a copy of The Lord of the Rings because of the long train, and that trip completely changed my mind. King's Middle-earth, if possible, one day in the future, I will definitely depict those stories on New Zealand soil. ”