America is in control

Chapter 327: Winning the copyright and making crazy money

Peter Jackson first approached Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. These two companies had the same attitude as Disney, and they simply refused.

Immediately afterwards, he found Fox Pictures. Originally, Fox Pictures executives were very interested in the "Lord of the Rings" project.

But when they learned that the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were in the hands of Sal Zaentz.

Fox Studios executives rejected Peter Jackson without a second thought.

The reason they gave was simple: they no longer wanted to have anything to do with Sal Zaenz.

There is no other way, Peter Jackson can only hit the road again and continue to look for companies interested in investing in this project.

Sony Columbia closed the door on him citing dissatisfaction with the script.

Castle Rock Pictures directly rejected Peter Jackson!
Most of the powerful production companies in Hollywood regard the "Lord of the Rings" project as a hot potato and dare not take it on.

Seeing Peter Jackson and Harvey Weinstein running into obstacles everywhere, they were in a very happy mood.

This old pervert, who looks 80% similar to a wild boar, has long guessed that Hollywood production companies will definitely avoid the high-risk project "Lord of the Rings".

At that time, Peter Jackson, who failed to find a new home, could only come back and make movies according to his requirements.

Liu Jiang put down the information in his hand and fell into deep thought.

Fortunately! Fortunately! Sal Zaenz has yet to license the film rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

But it is impossible to bypass Harvey Weinstein’s old pervert, communicate privately with Sal Zaenz, and obtain authorization.

After all, Sal Zaenz and Harvey Weinstein have a close relationship, and the other party has no reason to cooperate with him.

Spend money? What a joke! Even if the emotional factors are put aside, in business negotiations, Sal Zaenz is very likely to be on both sides and raise prices.

Maybe he will even take the initiative to find Harvey Weinstein, and the two parties will form a private alliance, and then sharpen the knife to kill himself.

This is considered a relatively good result! The greater possibility is that no matter how hard I try, I can't get the film adaptation rights for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit."

Therefore, it is basically impossible to skip Harvey Weinstein and seek authorization for film adaptation rights!
Besides, Peter Jackson is currently in the same boat as Harvey Weinstein.

If the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy did not have Peter Jackson, a die-hard fan of the original work, as the director, then even if the movie was made, it is likely that it would not reach the heights of its previous life.

At the moment, Harvey Weinstein is too conceited and has taken the initiative to expose a flaw.

As long as he can handle Peter Jackson, it is not impossible to obtain the film adaptation rights for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", or even win the "Lord of the Rings" project.

Thinking of this, General Liu made a decision. He instructed Jonathan to contact Peter Jackson to test each other's bottom line on the "Lord of the Rings" project.

Jonathan was ordered to leave, and General Liu continued to handle the remaining affairs.

"Hello, is this director Peter Jackson?"

When Jonathan returned to the office, he immediately found Peter Jackson's number and called it, and the call was quickly connected.

"That's right! Who are you?"

A low and hoarse male voice came from the phone receiver.

"I'm Jonathan from New Caesars Entertainment. I recently heard that Director Peter has a project that needs investment."

Jonathan said calmly.

"Uh! New Caesar Entertainment? I seem to have heard of this name. "Looking for the Midnight Kiss" was produced by your company, right?"

"As far as I know, the establishment of the new Caesars Entertainment has just celebrated its first anniversary. In order to avoid wasting everyone's time, I will tell you directly, does your company have the ability to produce a movie that costs hundreds of millions of dollars?"

"The project I have in hand requires a huge amount of funds, and ordinary small production companies simply cannot handle it."

Peter Jackson was delighted at first, then seemed to remember something, and he asked directly.

"Hahaha! Director Peter, you don't have to worry about this at all. The boss of our company is the new Caesar John. You should have heard of this name."

"Not only is he one of the boxing champions with the highest appearance fees in professional boxing, but he can earn tens of millions of dollars from just one fight."

"He is also the top shareholder of the listed company Yahoo, and has many powerful companies under his name."

"With the support of such a billionaire, are you still worried that the new Caesars Entertainment Company will not have the ability to produce movies costing hundreds of millions of dollars?"

"New Caesars Entertainment spent heavily this year to acquire Landman Distribution Company, becoming one of the few Hollywood film companies with North American distribution channels."

"Our company has also approved two medium-production movies this year, "The God of Death" and "Charlie's Angels", with project budgets of US$2400 million and US$4500 million respectively."

Jonathan talked a lot, using hard facts to prove how powerful the new Caesars Entertainment Company was.

"Well! I really didn't expect that your company would be so powerful. It seems that another great film company will emerge in Hollywood."

"However, recently, many film companies have been looking for me to discuss cooperation. Many film company executives are very optimistic about this project in my hand."

"If you want to discuss cooperation with me, New Caesars Entertainment may have to wait for a while."

Peter Jackson was shocked when he heard Jonathan's nonsense. He gently slapped the other person on the back, and then started to control it in a serious manner.

"Director Peter, the new Caesars Entertainment Company is planning to launch a major production this year. We are currently doing preliminary preparations and have already contacted many well-known directors and producers."

"This opportunity is very rare! I only heard about Director Peter's search for partners in Hollywood by chance from a friend."

"New Caesars Entertainment is very sincere. If Director Peter is willing to chat with me in person, I will arrange a meeting as soon as possible."

Of course, Jonathan knew that Peter Jackson was pretending, but he did not expose the other party. He just repeatedly emphasized that the opportunity was rare and tried his best to seduce the other party.

"I know! If I can spare a little time, I will call you then!"

Peter Jackson was still holding on and said pretending.

This is actually a strategy, bluffing, and bluffing those who don’t understand the situation, sometimes works quite well!

"No problem, Director Peter!"

Jonathan didn't take it seriously either. After chatting with the other party for a few words, he hung up the phone.

After dilly-dallying for several days, Peter Jackson finally called Jonathan back and reluctantly agreed to the invitation. He came to Caesars Entertainment with a short film of about 25 minutes (made with Miramax money), a project proposal and the script for "The Lord of the Rings".

"Not bad! Very creative! I like the fantasy elements and magnificent scenery you showed in the short film."

As the short film ended and the lights came on, Liu applauded and praised Peter Jackson.

Jonathan, Ronald, Klaus and other senior executives of New Caesars Entertainment who were sitting next to him also clapped and echoed a few words.

"John, this is the project plan and the script for "The Lord of the Rings" that I prepared."

The corners of Peter Jackson's mouth raised slightly, and he pretended to be calm and pushed the information on the table in front of General Liu.

"I plan to make the feature-length masterpiece "Lord of the Rings" into two movies. Each movie has a budget of about US$100 million. I can shoot the first part first."

Seeing Liu Jiang pick up the project plan and read it, Peter Jackson carefully stated his plans and ideas for the "Lord of the Rings" project.

"The project plan was drawn up in great detail, and every aspect was taken into consideration! The script was also thoughtfully written, and the plot is very exciting, basically in line with the original work!"

"There is no problem in cooperation! But I don't understand one thing. Isn't the original work of "The Lord of the Rings" a trilogy?"

"Director Peter, why do you only want to make two movies? Wouldn't three movies be better?"

Liu Jiang patiently looked through the project plan and the script of "Lord of the Rings" while listening to Peter Jackson describe the project planning and creativity.

After the other party finished speaking, he asked pretending to be confused.

Peter Jackson couldn't believe his ears. He didn't expect that the other party would agree to cooperate so decisively.

At the same time, General Liu was also shocked by his courage. You must know that the budget for a "Lord of the Rings" movie is about 100 million U.S. dollars, and the opponent asked for three movies.
If he hadn't investigated the other party's details in advance, Peter Jackson would have almost thought that the person in front of him was an outspoken liar.

"John, of course I would like to make three films of The Lord of the Rings, but then the production costs would skyrocket."

Peter Jackson took advantage of the situation to express his true thoughts and cautiously tested the words.

"Compared with the soaring production costs, I actually value the quality of the movie more!"

"Director Peter, you don't want to ruin this fantasy masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings"! I heard you introduce it before, and you call yourself a die-hard fan of "The Lord of the Rings"!"

"Under the premise of ensuring the quality of the film, the production cost can also be compressed! For example, we can use the 'back-to-back' shooting method and choose shooting locations with cheaper labor."

General Liu expressed his attitude, and then used a move to provoke the general, which slightly stimulated Peter Jackson. At the same time, he also proposed a practical solution.

"John, I swear to God! I want to make the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy more than anyone else, you have no doubt about that!"

"When it comes to the 'back-to-back' shooting method, I am an expert. I have been shooting low-budget B-level films for more than ten years. When it comes to saving money, I am a professional!"

"As for cheaper shooting locations, I recommend my home country, New Zealand. Not only is the scenery beautiful, but the employee wages are much lower than in Hollywood."

Peter Jackson said solemnly, not hesitate to swear.

Hearing Liu Jiang take the initiative to talk about ways to reduce production costs, he instantly became interested, took over the other person's words, and expanded on them.

Saving money in Hollywood is a science. Unlike other directors, Peter Jackson is very aware of the necessity of saving money. This ability has made great contributions in his past efforts to win the director's position.

Everyone in the conference room began to chat about various ways to reduce production costs. Everyone became more and more happy and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

"John, let me confirm to you one last time. Can you and New Caesars Entertainment support the filming of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy?"

It had been a long time since Peter Jackson had such a pleasant chat with someone, and a lot of the negative emotions that had been accumulated in his heart were released at this time.

Feeling that the conversation was almost over, he suppressed the smile on his face and asked General Liu very seriously.

"As long as you don't ask me to come up with $300 million in cash at once, I think it shouldn't be a big problem to support the filming of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy!"

"Isn't it just a matter of having a few boxing matches or selling some stocks? It's not as difficult as you think, Director Peter!"

"However, licensing the film adaptation rights of 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' is a problem!"

"I don't have any friendship with Sal Zaenz or Harvey Weinstein. If they interfere with it, it will be difficult for the "Lord of the Rings" project."

Liu Jiang made a joke, pretended to be a B, and comforted Peter Jackson.

Then he changed the topic and expressed his concerns about licensing the film adaptation rights of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".

"Phew! As long as there is no problem with funding, everything else is easy! I will take care of Sal Zaenz and Harvey Weinstein!"

"After going through so much during this time, I clearly feel that Harvey Weinstein's confidence in the "Lord of the Rings" project has been greatly reduced."

"He is not particularly willing to purchase the rights to film adaptations of 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit'."

"Harvey Weinstein owes me a huge favor, plus he owes Sal Zaenz a favor if I open my mouth to Harvey."

Hearing Liu Jiang say this, Peter Jackson breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

Immediately afterwards, he patted his chest and assured the other party that he would just leave the licensing of the film adaptation rights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" to him.

Everyone discussed the details again, confirmed the action plan, and then got busy.

Peter Jackson was indeed not bragging. He successfully convinced Harvey Weinstein with his sharp tongue.

With the cooperation of Harvey Weinstein, the new Caesars Entertainment acquired the film adaptation rights of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" from Saul Zaenz for US$400 million for ten years Authorization.

He also acquired the "Lord of the Rings" project from Miramax for US$100 million, with only part of the preliminary work done.

This money is regarded as an agency fee paid to Harvey Weinstein, and Caesars Entertainment and Miramax have completely clarified the ownership issue of the "Lord of the Rings" project.

Originally, Harvey Weinstein wanted Miramax to retain a small stake in the "Lord of the Rings" project, and he would have the title of executive producer.

But this old pervert’s attempt was decisively and tactfully rejected by General Liu! He would rather spend a little more money than get involved with such a rotten person!
Soon, New Caesars Entertainment signed a contract with Peter Jackson, and the two parties officially began to cooperate and set a production plan for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Liu Jiang called his boxing manager Terry as soon as the two parties signed the contract.

"Terry, help me contact a few reliable advertisers, and arrange all the lucrative platform activities. I'm going to start making money crazily!"

(End of this chapter)