Richard Taylor originally wanted to persuade Peter Jackson to be patient, so that they could gain more in subsequent negotiations.
But hearing Peter Jackson's anxious voice, Richard Taylor gave up the idea with a slight sigh.
He knew that Peter Jackson had been under tremendous pressure recently. If no one was willing to take over "The Lord of the Rings", they would definitely not be able to repay the more than 20 million US dollars owed to Miramax on their own.
Now in their company's accounts, not to mention 20 million U.S. dollars, even 200,000 U.S. dollars cannot be withdrawn. The money they received from Miramax has long been spent. They spent all of it on "Lord of the Rings"
Too much effort.
The money was not available, so the result was that they were at the mercy of Miramax. They could make as many movies as they wanted, and direct whoever they wanted to direct.
"Okay, I'll give you the phone if I want. Do you have a pen and paper on hand? Take a note."
…
Yu Donggang hadn't chatted with Jimmy for long when the phone on the table rang. Jimmy walked over to pick up the phone, and then heard an anxious voice, "Hello, is this Mr. James? I'm Peter Mack."
Sir, I heard that you are interested in "Lord of the Rings"?"
Hearing Peter Max's words, Jimmy smiled.
Yu Dong didn't hear what was said on the phone, but when he saw Jimmy's smile, he raised his eyebrows in surprise and made his mouth gestures, "Peter Jackson?"
Jimmy nodded and turned on the speakerphone at the same time, "Hello, Mr. Jackson, are you not in the United States now?"
"I'm in New York." Peter Jackson replied.
"New York...it's getting late in New York right now."
"It's indeed late, but I've been sleeping very late. Mr. James, when Richard told me that you called him, I couldn't believe it, because I knew that your company was preparing to shoot "Harry Potter"
"I thought you wouldn't be interested in The Lord of the Rings anymore."
Jimmy said with a smile, "Our company will never have too many good movies. Mr. Jackson, since you called me, does it mean that you haven't found a home for "Lord of the Rings" yet?"
Peter Jackson said very simply, "Of course, in fact, I just got rejected by Universal Pictures during the day."
Peter Jackson felt very disappointed when he was rejected by Universal Pictures, because Universal Pictures was also his boss. Universal Pictures poached him a few years ago and asked him to write, direct, and produce "Spooks."
In Peter Jackson's opinion, Universal Pictures should support him.
Jimmy was not interested in who rejected Peter Jackson, "Mr. Jackson, we are very interested in you and your plan. If possible, I hope you can show us the short film and script you made."
"But, you are in China now."
"It doesn't matter, our company is in New York. You can bring your script and short film to the company, and they will send it to us for you." Jimmy said.
"Okay, I'll go there when it gets light...Who should I look for after that?"
"Don't worry, I will call and explain and let them contact you."
"Okay, then I'll wait for your people to contact me... However, there is something I want to ask clearly before that. If you want to make this movie, are you willing to make two movies? This is the basis for our cooperation. If you
If you don't want to, I think there's no need to continue talking about it. There are a lot of things I want to shoot, and I can't accept it if it's compressed into one film."
At this time, Yu Dong suddenly said, "Mr. Jackson, if your script and short film can satisfy us, we can even agree to make three movies for you, so that you don't have to compress the plot."
Peter Jackson said unexpectedly: "Who is this?"
Jimmy introduced with a smile, "This is YU. He is also interested in "The Lord of the Rings", so I contacted you. Everything he said can represent our company."
Peter Jackson said with some excitement, "Hello YU, I also like your works very much. My favorite among them is "The Last City"."
Yu Dong raised his lips. "The Last City" is an inconspicuous one among all his works, and its sales volume is also low. Most people will say that they like "Second World", "Old Books", "Resident Evil" and other popular works.
Du Guang's works.
"Thank you for your support. I also like your movies very much. Your "Heaven Creation" also left a very deep impression on me, especially the concept of the fourth world. When I was watching the movie, I was thinking
, this may be more like a fantasy movie. Although it is adapted from a true story, it has a fantasy that transcends reality. Generally speaking, when showing the inner world of boys and girls, directors or screenwriters tend to use more delicate techniques.
But the way the movie is presented is so wide open and refreshing.”
Peter Jackson did not expect that Yu Dong had also watched "Heavenly Creation" and gave such a high evaluation.
Everyone loves to wear a tall hat, and Peter Jackson is also a docile donkey. Yu Dong's compliments made him feel very happy.
"YU, thank you for your appreciation. Now I have another choice to choose deep space... Haha, in fact, I have no choice now. I can only hope that you will like my plan."
Yu Dong and Jimmy looked at each other. They didn't expect Peter Jackson to be so honest. From the moment the phone was connected to now, every word he said was not conducive to the subsequent negotiations. He placed his position too low.
The two also understood why the "Lord of the Rings" plan had reached this point.
The adaptation rights of "The Lord of the Rings" are in the hands of Peter Jackson, and he also wrote the script. Logically speaking, he should have the leading power in this filming plan.
But the current situation is that Miramax can change directors at any time and turn two movies into one, and Peter Jackson has no other solution except to pay back the money.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! He should have signed the agreement before cooperating with Miramax and written down the agreement between them, which would have avoided this kind of situation.
situation.
Jimmy touched his nose. Peter Jackson was so honest that he felt a little embarrassed. Making money is making money, and bullying honest people always has some psychological burden.
"Ahem, Mr. Jackson, let's do this. It's not early now. You go to bed early and I'll have someone contact you tomorrow. I can find you by dialing this number, right?"
"Yes, just dial this number." Peter responded.
"Well, after the short film and script are sent, YU and I will read them as soon as possible. If nothing else happens, we will give you a reply within two days. What do you think?"
Peter Jackson wished that Jimmy and Yu Dong would give him an answer now, but he also knew that it would not be possible so soon.
However, Shen Kong did show interest no matter what, and YU's appreciation for him didn't seem to be fake. He felt that he was very likely to succeed this time.
"Okay, then I'll wait for your good news."
…
After hanging up the phone, Jimmy finally laughed out loud, "This Peter Jackson is so simple. He is also a director, but his business performance is much different from Steven's."
Yu Dong nodded. If Peter Jackson is a better filmmaker than Steven Spielberg, some people may have different opinions, but if you ask who has more business acumen, there is absolutely no second answer.
Compared to Peter Jackson, who was obsessed with movie special effects and fantasy novels since childhood, Spielberg was born with business talents. When he was sixteen years old, he successfully organized and released his own independent film, which cost more than 400 US dollars.
Profit of over one hundred dollars.
Moreover, Spielberg buys financial newspapers every day, studies business methods, and speculates on public psychology.
If it were Spielberg who collaborated with Miramax this time, perhaps it would be Spielberg who would take the initiative now rather than Miramax.
"Steven and he both have their own strengths. He can't make movies that Steven can make, but Steven may not be able to make movies that he can make."
"If you really decide to take over the "Lord of the Rings" project, let's take over Weta Digital as well." Jimmy said.
Hearing what Jimmy said, Yu Dong smiled and said, "Didn't you think that acquiring Weta Digital was not cost-effective before? You also said that acquiring Industrial Light and Magic would be more cost-effective."
"If you really want this company and we are going to make "Lord of the Rings", it is cost-effective to acquire it at this time. In this way, we are using money to cultivate our own company. But even if we acquire it, we still have to give it to Peter
·Jackson and the others should keep more shares. The most important thing about this company is their bosses."
Yu Dong nodded and agreed with Jimmy's words: "That's true. When Peter Jackson's short film and script are sent over, we will take some time to meet again and give him an answer as soon as possible so that he can feel at ease as soon as possible."
"Okay, otherwise, he will still be unable to sleep at three o'clock in the middle of the night." Jimmy stood up directly, "Let's go and have a meal first. I will work overtime in the evening to sort out things related to Peter Jackson and "The Lord of the Rings"
In addition, I want to see what adjustments can be made to our company's recent plans and whether we can make way for the filming of "Lord of the Rings". This is not a small project after all, and we cannot go into battle unprepared."
Before the matter was settled, Jimmy had already begun to consider these things. Yu Dong admired this precautionary effort. He said sincerely, "This matter will be hard for you, but I believe there will be a good result."
Jimmy shook his head indifferently, "Whether the result will be good or not is actually not that important. Our company cannot succeed in everything. On the contrary, if a company wants to go long term, what it needs is the ability to withstand failure."
Hearing Jimmy's words, Yu Dong couldn't help but twitching his lips, "Why does this make me feel that you are not optimistic about this plan? I was really touched when I saw you were so active just now."
Jimmy shrugged and said, "I didn't say that."
…
The next morning, Yu Dong saw Peter Jackson's short film and script.
The short film is only twenty-five minutes long, but the script looks very troublesome. Yu Dong spent nearly an hour just reading through some of the key points.
After closing the script, Yu Dong nodded to Jimmy, "It's no problem. I think we can take over this plan, and we can make the movie into three parts according to Peter Jackson's original plan. If it is compressed into two parts, it will be
Let’s greatly reduce the presentation of the movie. Let’s do this, let’s make it the top, middle and bottom movies. The production cost of each movie will be controlled at about 100 million US dollars, and the publicity cost will be controlled between 30% and 50%.
"
Jimmy knew this would be the case, so he wasn't surprised at all, "Okay, I'll... forget it tomorrow, I'll contact Peter Jackson now and tell him the news as soon as possible."
He originally wanted to wait until tomorrow to contact him, which would whet Peter Jackson's appetite, but when he thought of Peter Jackson's sincerity, he changed his mind.
The call was quickly connected, and before Peter Jackson could speak, Jimmy said, "Mr. Jackson, congratulations, your plan has passed our review. We have decided to take over the project and are willing to follow your original plan.
Divide the movie into three parts. Next, we need to discuss the specific details, such as your salary and dividends. I will draw up a simple contract and show it to you. If you agree, we will sign a formal contract.
"
"no problem."
Yu Dong asked from the side, "Mr. Jackson, let me ask, if the handover is completed within half a month, when will the first part be completed?"
Peter Jackson mused: "Part of the preliminary work has been completed. If the handover is completed within half a month, we should be able to complete all the filming work in ten to fifteen months. If nothing else, the movie
It should be released at the end of 2001 or early 2002. In fact, a lot of preparatory work has been completed. If there had not been a sudden accident on the part of Miramax, the film should have been able to meet the fans sooner."
Knowing the approximate production time, Yu Dong nodded, "Okay, I understand."
Because the shooting schedule was tight, there was no time for the Deep Space Company to raise funds after taking over this project, so they had to spend their own money to shoot the entire movie.
This is also a test for Jimmy. Although Deep Space Company currently has a lot of cash in hand, all of this cash has a purpose. He needs to squeeze out at least 60 million US dollars from his daily plan. They will start to acquire BenQ after the year.
Dentsu, the money in their hands cannot be spent at will.
The filming of "The Lord of the Rings" plus the acquisition of Weta Digital probably cost more than 120 million US dollars, but within half a year Deep Space Company only needs to come up with 60 to 70 million US dollars.
In the next few days, Yu Dong was busy preparing for the New Year, while Jimmy was busy taking over the "Lord of the Rings" affairs.
Chapter completed!