Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 478 Direct Trilogy

At their vacation villa on Lake Como, Aaron leaned against the pool, embracing two stunning beauties, Cristiana Yeri and Monica Bellucci.

Christina Yerry picked up a grape and put it in Aaron's mouth. "Well, the Venice Film Festival has already closed, aren't you going back yet?"

"Didn't you say the other day that Jack called and said Houston wanted your support to form a football team?"

Aaron scoffed, "Houston? How can it compare to Los Angeles!"

He then kissed Monica Bellucci on the cheek. "It's time to go back. What about you? Do you want me to come back to America with us?"

Monica Bellucci smiled, nestled in Aaron's arms, and said, "I'll be staying in Italy for a while longer; you guys go back first."

"When the time comes, I'll go back to Rome!"

Aaron nodded, then kissed Monica Bellucci on the lips, and soon the pool was filled with an incredibly sensual atmosphere...

Hollywood talent agency CAA experienced the departure of three shareholders—Michael Ovitz, Ronald Meyer, and Bill Haber—within two years, revealing internal management chaos.

Although they managed to stabilize their position with the help of new generation agents like Richard Lovett, they have also been poached by other companies this year.

Big-name stars Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand have switched to ICM, and Tom Hanks has also ended his years-long collaboration with CAA and joined the new company UTA.

With the addition of Michael Jackson and others who left CAA last year to join UTA, CAA is now facing increasing scrutiny from agencies like ICM, UTA, and WMA!
In comparison, UTA (United Elite Brokerage) was established after the 1990s. It is a young company formed by the merger of several small and medium-sized brokerage firms and has developed rapidly in recent years.

"UTA is quite an innovative company, isn't it?"

In Burbank, in Dawn's office, Aaron leaned back in his chair, chatting with Tom Rothman, a senior executive at Universal.

"Yes, UTA has even set up a dedicated independent film department to help independent film projects with financing and distribution!"

Tom Rothman smiled. CAA's package deal strategy was all the rage back then, and UTA's current financing channels are also a first.

By persuading banks to lend money, or by introducing external individual or institutional investors, we can assist in the pre-sale of copyrights both domestically and internationally, as well as apply for special government funds and strive for tax incentives.

UTA can be said to be ruthless in its efforts to help independent films raise funds!
"Nowadays, major Hollywood studios are pursuing high-concept films with big budgets, big stars, big productions, big marketing, and big markets."

"Regarding film revenue, sales from cinemas, videotapes, cable TV, satellite TV, European television, and the development of DVDs have all contributed to continued growth."

"Unfortunately, the cost of blockbuster films is increasing too fast these days. Perhaps we will need to expand our financing channels soon!"

However, Dawn doesn't need to worry about these things right now, as Dawn's film and television copyright prices have always been relatively high.

In the afternoon, Aaron met with Peter Jackson, a New Zealand director, in his office;
Peter Jackson, a new director who had only made a few low-budget horror films, wanted to adapt "The Lord of the Rings"!
Aaron looked at the short, stout, bearded Peter Jackson and chuckled, "The whole of Hollywood says 'The Lord of the Rings' is difficult to adapt; even J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the original novels, thought it was impossible to adapt."

What makes you think you can change it?

Peter Jackson stroked his beard. “Mr. Anderson, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series has a grand world view, numerous characters, and a complex and bizarre story; it is indeed difficult to adapt, but I am confident that I can adapt it and present it as a grand epic fantasy blockbuster.”

Aaron nodded. "Specifically, do you have any ideas?"

Peter Jackson said earnestly, "I know that Dawn owns the novel rights to *The Hobbit* and *The Lord of the Rings*;"

"But The Lord of the Rings has a larger readership than its prequel, The Hobbit, so I want to adapt The Lord of the Rings series."

"It would be best to adapt The Lord of the Rings into two parts, since The Lord of the Rings series has enough length."

The Hobbit was published first, so it was shorter, while The Lord of the Rings was published as a trilogy.

In terms of sales, The Lord of the Rings series is far ahead, while The Silmarillion is mainly based on Tolkien's manuscripts written during his lifetime.

Aaron thought for a moment, "The rights to 'The Hobbit' are indeed in the works, but the distribution rights belong to MGM's United Artists."

"The copyrights to *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy—*The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*, *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*, and *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*—all belong to Dawn Studio.

"Actually, since the novel is being published as a trilogy, it would be perfect to make the movie as a trilogy as well!"

Peter Jackson was taken aback, unable to contain his surprise, and said, "So, Dawn is willing to adapt The Lord of the Rings series into a trilogy of films?"

Aaron shrugged. "Dawn is willing, but you need a proper plan. You know how vast the world of *The Lord of the Rings* is."

"How to adapt the script, how to handle the special effects of the film, and so on are all problems you need to solve."

It's fair to say that the early stages of adapting "The Lord of the Rings" were quite complex!

Peter Jackson took a deep breath and nodded seriously. "I understand, but I have confidence in myself."

"Alright, you can start your preliminary preparations now. Dawn will provide you with financial support!"

Aaron breathed a sigh of relief as Peter Jackson left. Peter Jackson, a huge fan of *The Lord of the Rings*, was finally going to adapt this fantasy epic…

That evening, in Belair's villa, Aaron leaned back on the sofa, flipping through "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in his hands;
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in the UK in July, but Bloomsbury Publishing seems to have given this children's fantasy novel little importance, with a very small print run of only a few hundred copies.

Therefore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone can only be considered a niche children's book at present.
But at least within the readership, the novel has received extremely high praise.

"Sigh, it seems we'll need more time for the novel to gain positive word-of-mouth before it's introduced to the US!"

Aaron wasn't worried, since Bloomsbury Publishing Company had already been wholly acquired by Putman Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Dawn Publishing Group.

When the time comes, just let them increase their publicity efforts. Anyway, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is already in our grasp.

(End of this chapter)