Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 435 Finalizes the Lord of the Rings Series

"Boss, Harvey Weinstein just called and said he has something important to discuss with you."

In the Guess What? screening room, Lewinsky walked up to him and said softly.

"Okay, I'll reply to him later."

Link continued watching "Primal Fear," a film that had been in production for some time and was having a preview screening at the company today.

After the movie ended, he received the system's evaluation.

[Participation rate: 71.3%; Film completion rate: 97.8%; Film's alignment with market demands: 87%]

[Rewards: 2.4x box office subsidy; Director experience +10%; Director stamina +10%; Film quality increase +10%]

Compared to films like "Seven" and "The English Patient," "Primal Fear" had good data on participation, completion, and market fit, but it didn't gain much experience or physical advantage.

This suggests that as he became a top director, the proportion of experience and physical benefits he gained from low-budget films decreased, and he needed to shoot big-budget productions to earn more rewards.

"Boss, both the summer and fall seasons are suitable for releasing 'Primal Fear,' but which season do you think is better?"

Joe Ferrer and Jon Gordon came over and asked.

In the past, when people attended preview screenings of Link's movies, they would sincerely praise Link for a few minutes before discussing work.

However, because Link has made so many movies and held so many screenings, all of which are of very high quality, they have become numb to Link's films.

Sometimes I want to say a few words of praise, but I realize that I've already used all the nice words, even several times, and it would be awkward to say them again. So now they don't praise anymore; they just get straight to the point.

"Let's release it during the summer season."

Given that both "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan" are scheduled for release at the end of the year, Link plans to release several of his company's commercial films earlier to avoid clashing with these two blockbusters.

"Good boss!"

After the movie screening, Link went to his office to handle some work and called Harvey back to ask if he needed anything.

Harvey enthusiastically said he had seen a great movie script, a fantasy film adapted from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. He originally wanted to invest in it, but the production cost was too high and Miramax Films didn't have enough funds.

He heard that Guessing Movies was planning to team up with Disney to create a fantasy movie, and thought that Link might be interested in the project, so he suggested that the screenwriter take the script to Guessing Movies to give it a try.

"The Lord of the Rings trilogy?"

Shortly after Harvey made the call, Link received a message from the company's screenwriting department that they had indeed received a script from a director named Peter Jackson.

However, the script is divided into two parts, and the film involves many special effects scenes, resulting in extremely high production costs and significant investment risks. They are unsure whether to invest and are preparing to submit the script to higher authorities.

Link asked Lewinsky to send over the script.

After reading the script, Link confirmed that this was the famous Lord of the Rings series.

Rumor has it that after finishing the script, director Peter Jackson first submitted it to Miramax Films.

After reading the script, Harvey believed that splitting "The Lord of the Rings" into two parts would be unprofitable and suggested cutting it into one movie. Director Peter Jackson did not agree and insisted on splitting it into two parts.

Harvey therefore abandoned his investment.

Out of his dislike for Harvey, Peter Jackson designed Gosmog, a monster leader with a fat face and a ferocious appearance, based on Harvey when designing the characters in the film.

Peter Jackson later took the script to New Line Cinema. Robert Shea read the script and thought it was pretty good, suggesting that he turn the two films into three.

Peter Jackson was very interested in the suggestion and decided to turn The Lord of the Rings from two parts into three.

After its release, The Lord of the Rings series became a global box office hit, grossing a total of $30 billion. There were also rumors that the box office exceeded $60 billion, but New Line Cinema deliberately lowered the figure because it was unwilling to pay too much copyright fee.

J.R.R. Tolkien's estate and the publisher of The Lord of the Rings trilogy have filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court against New Line Cinema, accusing the company of concealing profits from The Lord of the Rings trilogy and demanding that New Line pay them a share based on the $60 billion box office revenue.

Regardless of the actual box office figures for "The Lord of the Rings" series, it demonstrates that this is a project with significant investment value.

Link asked someone to contact Peter Jackson and invite him to the company.

That afternoon, Peter Jackson arrived at Guess the Movies, dressed casually, with messy hair and beard like seaweed. He was cast as a pirate in "Pirates of the Caribbean," requiring almost no makeup.

This man spoke very directly: "Director Lin, there's something I need to make clear in advance: 'The Lord of the Rings' is the final script, and no matter what your opinions are, we will never revise it."

Link raised his handsome eyebrows. "Not even the slightest change?"

"Yes, our scriptwriting team spent three years writing the script and revised it more than ten times. I am confident that there are no problems with the script, so I will not accept any suggestions for modification."

Peter Jackson felt very disappointed after he finished speaking. He thought that Link had called to invest in the movie, but it turned out that Link, like Harvey, did not think highly of their script and wanted to cut it.

He would not agree to the idea of ​​cutting the script. He is a die-hard fan of The Lord of the Rings novels and loves the movie. If there were enough funds, he would like to adapt the novels into ten or twenty movies based on Tolkien's Middle-earth.

However, this kind of filming and production costs are too high, the release time is too long, and the probability of box office losses is greater.

"That's such a shame."

Link patted the script on the table and said, "I really like 'The Lord of the Rings,' and I also like your adapted script. However, I think it would be more reasonable to film 'The Lord of the Rings Trilogy' as a three-part series, following the original design. But since you're unwilling to revise the script, I can't force you." "Uh? Director Link, please wait a moment!"

Peter Jackson suddenly sat up straight, propped his arms on the table, and asked in surprise, "You mean you want to make The Lord of the Rings into a trilogy?"

"Yes, making it into two parts would have been too much content, the plot too tight, and many wonderful scenes had to be cut, which was a huge waste. Making it into three parts, each telling a complete story, would have been the only way to fully showcase the wonder and magnificence of Middle-earth."

"Okay, we can make changes."

Peter Jackson stood up excitedly.

Link looked at him with feigned confusion, "Director Jackson, you just said that the script absolutely cannot be changed."

"Haha, this isn't a modification, it's based on the original design. We originally planned to design the script as a three-part series, but Harvey disagreed and asked us to cut it into two parts to suit the market. Later, he thought two parts were too long and asked us to cut it into one."

Director Peter Jackson couldn't help but swear, then continued, "Director Lin, is it true that you're investing in 'The Lord of the Rings'? We've rewritten the script into a trilogy. Guess if the studio is really willing to invest?"

"Yes, I have said that I like 'The Lord of the Rings' and I really hope that someone will make this masterpiece into a movie. I am also very satisfied with your script, so we invested in it."

Link shrugged.

Peter Jackson couldn't help but laugh, but stopped after a few laughs and said with a serious expression, "Director Lin, as you know from reading the script, this movie uses a lot of special effects, which has resulted in a high production cost."

If it's made into two movies, it will cost at least $180 million. If it's revised into three movies, the production cost will be at least $250 million, possibly even over $300 million. This is a huge investment and a very risky gamble. Are you sure you'll continue investing until the movie is finished?

Peter Jackson had only been in Hollywood for six years and had heard of many film companies using various methods to delay production funding after filming began in order to reduce costs, leading to unexpected problems during filming, such as director James Cameron.

The production costs for The Lord of the Rings series were higher and the risks were greater than those for Titanic. He didn't want to end up like James Cameron, running around asking film companies for money while making the movie.

"Don't worry, Peter. A project worth two or three hundred million is not a big burden for our company. Since I promised to invest in this project, I will keep my word."

"Haha, that's great, Director Lin. Actually, I'm a fan of yours. I like thriller movies just like you. The movies you've made are all fantastic. I've watched those thriller movies more than ten times. It's an honor to work with you now."

Director Peter Jackson shook his hand vigorously.

Link smiled slightly and also praised the other party a few times.

After Daniel DeVito and James Schamus arrived, the three began to discuss the preparations for "The Lord of the Rings".

Peter Jackson promised to submit the scripts for The Lord of the Rings trilogy by April.

Guess what? Film production began preparations in April.

The biggest challenge of this project lies in the special effects.

Peter Jackson plans to start a digital effects studio specifically to handle the special effects for this project.

Link thought the idea was good, and considering that Guess Guess Movies had obvious shortcomings in special effects production, he agreed to invest in and support Peter Jackson in starting a special effects studio.

He recalled that Weta Digital Studios, founded by Peter Jackson, later became a leader in the field of film special effects and was worth investing in.

Peter Jackson was overjoyed to hear that he was willing to invest, praising him as the best film investor in the world.

Link wasn't being modest; he also admitted that no one could compare to him in the field of film investment, and the title of "Best Film Investor in the World" was well-deserved.

"Boss, are you tired?"

After seeing Peter Jackson off, Lewinsky came over and gently massaged his shoulders, her chest pressed against his back.

"This kind of work is nothing."

Link flipped through the folder and asked, "How's the preparation for the '007' movie going?"

"The actors are ready after two weeks of rehearsals, and the film set in London is also ready. Ms. Barbara Broccoli said on the phone that filming can begin anytime you have the time."

"it is good!"

Link nodded, signed the two documents, and said, "Monica, you did a good job in the scriptwriting department before. Why don't you go back to be the director and I'll hand over the management of the scriptwriting department to you in a few years?"

"No! Boss, I love being your assistant. I don't want to do anything else. Boss, are you tired of me?"

Lewinsky blinked her long eyelashes, her expression slightly aggrieved.

"No! You've done a great job as an assistant, but being an assistant long-term isn't good for you. Moving to a management position in another department would give you more experience and allow you to utilize your strengths. For example, Liu Xiaoli and Annie have both performed very well after joining the public relations department and MPAA. If you don't want to go to the screenwriting department, you can choose other positions."

Link held the woman in his arms and said.

Lewinsky blinked at him. "Okay, I'll do as you say. If you want me to go to the screenwriting department, I'll go there. If you want me to go to another department, I can do well there too. But I also want to be able to go on dates with you anytime, just like Lina Liu."

"no problem!"

Link patted her big butt.

(End of this chapter)