Since he began planning the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Peter Jackson's first identity has been as a director first, and then industry insiders have paid attention to him as the owner of a special effects company.

Before the filming of "The Lord of the Rings", it is not an exaggeration to say that Weta Studio was a film special effects workshop, but Weta seized the golden opportunity of Peter Jackson as the director of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and quickly broke through to become a special effects studio that directly catches up with industrial light and magic.

Ronan stood in Peter Jackson's office, carefully examining the objects on the walls and cabinets, and with his eyes, he could see that these props were scattered throughout the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

For example, the golden ring locked in the cupboard is clearly the One Ring.

Peter Jackson brought coffee and asked tentatively, "Mr. Anderson is interested in The Lord of the Rings?"

Ronan retracted his gaze and said, "Peter, call me Ronan, you're welcome." ”

Peter Jackson responded with a smile.

Ronan added, "Can I speak...... Am I a crazy Lord of the Rings fan?"

Hearing this, Peter Jackson was quite surprised and said, "This is ...... My pleasure. ”

Ronan said directly: "I like these three movies you shoot very much, even if it is the Star Wars trilogy or other movies, they can't compare." I think the Battle of the Plains of Pelenno is definitely one of the most inspiring scenes in film history. ”

Peter Jackson didn't expect Ronan to give such a high rating, and quickly said, "I'm just trying to do the best I can." ”

Ronan whispered, "Peter, you have created an era. ”

The meaning behind these words, Peter Jackson could not have understood.

That is, from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, from the time Gandalf had to change his talent in order to save money, the wizard or mage industry has a new professional identity on the Internet.

Wizards who don't smash people with sticks are not good Gandalf.

It seems that after the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Gandalf, who was promoted to the white robe, did not let go of a few spells at all, and more of them were cutting people with his sleeves.

Peter Jackson then said, "I heard that you came to Weta Studios, and I came back quickly to see you." ”

Ronan asked curiously, "Are you looking for me?"

He knew Peter Jackson, but had little to do with anything other than Avatar's business with Weta Studios.

Peter Jackson himself is also a first-class director in Hollywood, so he doesn't have to beat around the bush, let alone lower his profile, and said directly to Ronan: "I got the copyright of a film adaptation some time ago, and I am going to direct this project myself, and there is no production company yet, you just came to Wellington, can we consider working together?"

Ronan's heart moved, and he asked, "Peter, you can't be talking about The Hobbit, right?"

"No, not The Hobbit. Peter Jackson hurriedly explained: "The film and television adaptation rights of "The Hobbit" are not in my hands, after New Line Pictures integrated the copyright of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the copyright of "The Hobbit" went to New Line Pictures, and was later taken over by Warner Bros., the parent company of New Line. ”

Ronan was a little disappointed: "I thought you were talking about 'The Hobbit'." ”

Someone once concluded that Peter Jackson, who shot Tolkien's works, and Peter Jackson, who shot other works, are two directors who are completely different in level.

Anyway, Ronan has some impressions, even in his last year, Peter Jackson still did not get rid of Tolkien's works, as if he, as a director, was born to visualize Tolkien's works.

Peter Jackson opened the filing cabinet, took out a copy, and handed it to Ronan: "This is the original book. ”

Ronan next, glanced at the cover, the name is familiar - "Lovely Bones".

Then, he remembered more information, not in the past, but in the present, because Connie had collected some information about the work.

The book was published back in 2002 and was on the New York Times charts for more than 70 weeks.

It's no exaggeration to say that "Lovely Bones" is a veritable bestseller.

Because Connie and her assistant team have never stopped collecting literature, Ronan has seen this book before, and even browsed some of the contents.

But Ronan wasn't impressed at the time.

Ronan put it down and said, "I watched it some time ago, and I don't remember if it was a year ago or two years ago. ”

Peter Jackson asked, "I watched it earlier, and after I saw it, I bought the rights and wanted to adapt it into a movie. ”

"When I saw a literary work I liked, I had a strong idea of adapting a movie. Ronan smiled and said, "This is a common problem of people in our industry. ”

Peter Jackson asked, "Adaptations need investment, they need publicity and distribution, Ronan, aren't you interested?"

Instead of answering directly, Ronan asked, "I remember you've been working with Universal Pictures." ”

The fat on Peter Jackson's face moved: "My collaboration with Universal Pictures is over. ”

Ronan roughly understands that it is estimated that after "King Kong", Universal Pictures will not easily cooperate with Peter Jackson again.

At that time, "The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King" was a super hit at the same time, and Peter Jackson reached an agreement with Universal Pictures with the Oscar for Best Director, to direct a new version of the "King Kong" movie, of which the Peter Jacksons and their production team were divided into a later one, accounting for 20% of the film's global box office!

This is an upfront share, not a later profit share.

It is conceivable that with the box office of "King Kong", Peter Jackson made a lot of money, and Universal Pictures didn't say that it was painful, and it couldn't stand it well.

Ronan looked at the one in front of him and asked, "Peter, there are a few things I need to ask. ”

Peter Jackson nodded: "Just ask." ”

Ronan asked directly, "How are you going to shoot and make this film?"

"A small work project. Peter Jackson roughly understands that people like Ronan are most concerned about investment and returns: "Blockbusters can conquer countless fans, but for me, filming "The Lord of the Rings" or "King Kong" is an extremely tiring job, and the pressure of shooting that kind of movie is unimaginable to ordinary people, with huge investments, strict shooting plans, and team management of hundreds of people...... These things would hover in my head for more than half a year, and I couldn't stop at all. ”

He shrugged, "So, I'm going to focus on small projects, and 'Lovely Bones' is something I handpicked up. ”

Ronan was full of questions: "I remember a lot of people saying that the original book 'Lovely Bones' is one of the most difficult literary works to adapt to a movie. ”

Peter Jackson waved his hand, full of confidence: "It's not so much trouble, in fact, the so-called difficulty of this story is to grasp the transition between tragedy and comedy." It's a sad, angry story, because it's an explosion of the dark side of this deformed society, about the brutal murder of an innocent little girl, and while there are many directors who have shot similar subjects, it's probably the first time the whole thing has been seen from the perspective of a little girl who has died. ”

He is very sure that "this will give the film a fresh appeal to the audience." ”

"What about the budget?" Ronan asked the most crucial question, "How much budget do you need for this small project?"

If one or two million dollars can be done, it can be considered, after all, the influence of the original book and Peter Jackson is still obvious.

Peter Jackson said with a smile: "If you don't invite A-list star actors, it's about $60 million." ”

As soon as this number came out, Ronan was stunned for a moment, didn't he say a good small project? The $60 million small project, Peter Jackson was joking, or did he say that he had a wrong concept of a small project?

Ronan shook his head slowly, "Peter, are you sure?"

Peter Jackson frowned slightly and said, "$60 million may not be enough." ”

"It's not a small project, $60 million is already a medium-sized investment," Ronan said. This year, Relativity Entertainment's blockbuster film "Three Hundred Warriors of Sparta" was produced at a cost of only $60 million. ”

Peter Jackson understood what Ronan meant, but still wanted to fight for it, and said, "Ronan, listen to me......"

Ronan interrupted Peter Jackson: "If the budget is within $20 million, Peter can bring the project to Shahai Entertainment to negotiate." More than that, especially the $60 million you said, I wouldn't consider it. ”

Out of respect for Peter Jackson, Ronan further explained, "It's not up to me, and it's not up to you, it's the market. I have generally read the original book of "Lovely Bones", and no matter how it is adapted, it cannot change the essence of its own niche movie theme. Niche themes naturally have huge flaws in the audience, not that the audience will obediently enter the theater to watch it, the high investment will only bring huge risks, in case the film is a little bit of a problem, the investor will lose all his money. ”

Peter Jackson listened to these words and said, "I see. He changed the subject: "Ronan, how many days are you going to be in Wellington? I'll show you around Weta Studio tomorrow." ”

Ronan said, "Thank you. Time doesn't allow, so I'm leaving New Zealand tonight. ”

As for whether Peter Jackson listened to it or not, it is not up to Ronan to decide, anyway, it is absolutely impossible for him to invest $60 million in such a niche theme.

Peter Jackson said: "It's a shame. ”

Ronan couldn't tell if the regret he was saying was because he was leaving, or because the two sides couldn't cooperate.

But he couldn't lower the risk management requirements of the project just because he was on the other side of Peter Jackson.

$20 million, too far from $60 million, the two sides are destined to not reach a cooperation.

That night, Ronan invited the main creative crew of "Avatar" to have dinner with him, and then took a business plane back to Los Angeles.