Heads Up Hollywood

The "Hobbit" series of movies in the previous life were not released until 2012.

In fact, after "King Kong" failed at the box office, Peter Jackson intended to take over the "Hobbit" project to save his career.

Hollywood doesn't care about people.

The success of "The Lord of the Rings" has made his career flourish, and he is as famous in the industry as Spielberg and higher than Cameron.

"King Kong" failed, immediately fell off a cliff, and lost the opportunity to shoot a commercial blockbuster.

Except The Hobbit!

Both parties are interested in launching the project.

However, there are also many troubles.

The copyright of "The Hobbit" is very complicated, and New Line Pictures has to negotiate with MGM.

Not only that, but New Line Films and Peter Jackson are also in a lawsuit over the distribution of "Lord of the Rings", New Line Films and Harvey Weinstein are also suing over the dividends of "Lord of the Rings", New Line Films and Trust The Erkin Heritage Foundation is still in a lawsuit over the "Lord of the Rings" dividends!

Copyright "brokers" Harvey Weinstein and Peter Jackson had a bad relationship.

Peter Jackson publicly satirized Harvey, saying that he played with female stars and had a very bad character. This caused Harvey Weinstein to be furious and asked New Line Pictures to change the director and stop working with Peter Jackson!

There are so many problems to be solved, and negotiations between multiple parties lasted more than 3 years. It was not confirmed until 2009, and Peter Jackson will continue to direct the "Hobbit" series.

Filming began in 2010, and the first "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was released in 2012.

The start-up process of the project was very bumpy.

However, if the "Hobbit" movie no longer cooperates with New Line Pictures, but instead cooperates with Tang En Pictures, then all problems will be solved.

First of all, the dividend lawsuit does not involve Tang En Pictures.

Secondly, Harvey Weinstein is only an intermediary between Sal Zaenz, the real owner of the film copyright of "The Hobbit" and New Line Pictures, and takes 5% of the global box office share. If they cooperate with Tang En Pictures, there will naturally be no Harvey Weinstein.

Also, MGM was acquired by New Universal, and by cooperating with Tang En Pictures, there will be no messy copyright disputes about "The Hobbit".

In the end, "King Kong" was produced and invested by Tang En Pictures, and they have contacts and friendship with Peter Jackson, and there is a basis for cooperation again.

Sal Zanz and Peter Jackson finally reached an agreement, and they contacted Dunn Films the day before Christmas.

The film and television entertainment department didn't dare to specialize, so they immediately reported to Tang En.

Hearing about this, Tang En couldn't help being taken aback.

Sal Zaenz wants to cooperate with New Universal to start the "Hobbit" series of movies?

There is such a good thing!

Very good, must welcome!

In the early years, Tolkien lived in distress and sold the copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" to United Artists Pictures, including the right to adapt the film and all related image authorizations. The asking price is $10,000 and a dividend of 7.5% of future earnings.

Later, United Artists Pictures couldn't survive, so it sold this part of the rights to the producer Sal Zaentz. United Artists only retained film distribution rights to The Hobbit.

Later, United Artists Pictures was acquired by MGM, and the distribution rights fell into the hands of MGM.

Later, Tolkien's son, Tolkien Jr., took charge of his father's estate. While Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy was well-received, Tolkien Jr. blasted him for ruining his father's story, which he recalled from his childhood.

But there is no way.

Outside of copyright, Tolkien Jr. can't do anything about it.

In this case, it might as well break the jar.

Since the film adaptation rights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" are lost and cannot be recovered, it is better to sell the TV rights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", anyway, It's rotten like this.

In those years, Tolkien Jr. has been busy selling this part of the copyright in Hollywood.

However, no one wants to take over!

Why?

Because the image copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" are in the hands of Sal Zaenz! The Tolkien Legacy Foundation, held by Tolkien Jr., only has pure TV adaptation rights.

Without image authorization, it is impossible to authorize the character image in the film and television content to other advertisers, it is impossible to sell the same props and clothes, and it is impossible to earn advertising fees and derivative income.

This is equivalent to less than half of the income!

This also led to the reluctance of film and television companies to take over.

Tang En bought this part of the TV copyright as if picking up junk.

He knew that it was impossible to develop the copyright of derivative products, and it was impossible to use related images of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" to advertise, or put them in Universal Studios to attract tourists, and it was impossible to adapt them into games.

But he still wants to insist on filming TV dramas!

Because what he valued was a bigger picture, he wanted to put the TV series of this series on Netflix, which ignited a big fire in the streaming media industry, and deeply established Netflix's position as the leader in the industry.

In contrast, the related image income is not worth mentioning.

Unexpectedly, Sal Zaenz suddenly came to the door!

He requested to cooperate with New Universal to jointly develop the series of "The Hobbit" movies!

That's great!

Since it is a cooperation, the relevant use of the image must also be authorized to New Universal! Movies can be used, and TV dramas can't be let go!

Seriously!

However, Tang En did not show too much excitement. He frowned and looked very embarrassed, "I have already announced that the filming of the "The Hobbit" series of TV series will start within the next two years. If we cooperate to film Movie, doesn’t this make me break my promise?”

Sal Zaentz didn't have the rights to TV dramas, and wanted to make a lot of money, so he could only make movies, so he leaned forward and said, "With Peter around, the "The Hobbit" series... will definitely be a blockbuster! Of course, even if it is made into a TV series, it will be a blockbuster subject. But the revenue of TV series is far from being comparable to that of movies."

This is true.

For movies and TV dramas of the same level, the profit return rate of movies can reach 3-5 times that of TV dramas.

Tang En shook his head and said: "This is not a simple matter of movie revenue, but involves a larger strategic situation. The TV series of "The Hobbit" involves New Universal's grand strategy, which may leverage tens of billions...or even go online. It is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This is a company secret, and it is not convenient for me to say it, but for New Universal, the TV series "The Hobbit" is more valuable than the movie "The Hobbit"!"

Sal Zaenz took a deep breath, his face turned ugly.

He seemed to have guessed something.

It may have something to do with the streaming media business that has become more popular recently!

Hundred-billion-dollar industry? This tone is big enough!

If this is the case, it will be very difficult for Tang En to change his mind.

Peter Jackson tentatively said: "How about... just shoot the movie and the TV series together?"

Tang En almost laughed out loud.

I think that when I first met Peter Jackson, he was a handsome guy with a strong figure and a handsome appearance. It has only been a few years, and he has gained weight severely, turning into a chubby, short and fat man.

According to him, he spent too much energy focusing on film research and had no time to exercise.

In fact, it is very likely that after filming the "Lord of the Rings" series, he developed, became rich, and began to enjoy life.

Tang En pretended to be surprised, "Shoot together?"

Sal Zaenz immediately vetoed: "This is not good! Whether it is a movie or a TV series, this subject is a big investment. If a project is filmed at the same time, it will be divided into two categories for distribution, which will greatly affect the rate of return."

In fact, it is affecting his income.

Tang En actually thought about it too.

A new model can be created, where TV and TV dramas work together.

To shoot a lot of material, take out 10 hours of it and divide it into 10 episodes as the first season episodes. Then cut out 3 hours of the most exciting clips and play them in cinemas as movies.

But soon he vetoed himself.

This is really not a good idea. The release of movies and American dramas in this form will only hurt each other and hurt each other's profits.

Tang En pondered for a while, and said: "Tolkien Jr. sold the TV rights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" everywhere, but no one took over. I asked him to talk to him, and I still got some extra benefits. "

"extra benefits?"

"In other words, it's an additional copyright." Dunn paused and explained, "We have acquired the rights to adapt many unedited stories."

The story background of "The Lord of the Rings" is very large and complex!

Tolkien's life, which is so huge that it is extremely poor, has not been able to tell this story completely.

Thankfully, the story stayed in Tolkien's mind.

Usually, he often writes a story like "anecdotal biography", as many as hundreds.

There is also a lot of "oral history".

It is also a story that is told to children every night when they are put to bed.

There is no written record of this part, but Tolkien Jr. remembered it deeply.

After Tolkien's death, Tolkien Jr. sorted out all the texts written by his father during his lifetime, and wrote many stories that his father did not write but told.

There is a part that Tolkien Jr. published.

There is also a larger part, which he is still sorting out.

Because the TV series copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" could not be sold, Tolkien Jr. had no choice but to agree to sell some of the unpublished story copyrights.

"Which part?"

Both Sal Zaenz and Peter Jackson were familiar with The Lord of the Rings, and when they heard Tang En's words, they immediately opened their eyes wide.

Tang En smiled and said: "It's the story of the Second Era, mainly the history of the Numenoreans, the establishment of Rivendell, the dwarven city of Casa Tara, the peak period of Moria, etc."

The 100-year story of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" took place in the third era. By this time, the Numenoreans had disappeared for thousands of years.

This is a piece of ancient history!

Sal Zaenz and Peter Jackson looked at each other, and they couldn't help but let out a frenzy in their eyes, and said in unison: "This is "The Silmarillion"!"

This is a gem!

A coveted gem in all of Hollywood!

It's a pity that Tolkien Jr. didn't sell anything.

However, the time span of "The Silmarillion" is too long. The story of the second era belongs to the time category of "The Silmarillion". The history of the Numenoreans is only lightly used as a backdrop in this book, with little story to tell.

Tang En said: "No, this has nothing to do with "The Silmarillion", it's just a coincidence of time domains. These are some unedited descriptions of the Numenoreans that Tolkien hadn't sorted out before his death. We got some unpublished information from Tolkien. s material."

Sal Zaenz took a deep breath, with a shocked expression on his face.

Peter Jackson was also surprised and couldn't help asking: "Can it be adapted?"

"Of course!" Tang En smiled, "But the adaptation requires the consent of Tolkien Jr., which means that he must be included in the writing team."

Even have the right to adapt the story?

This is so attractive!

Peter Jackson was stunned for a long time before he sighed and said with a little disappointment: "It's a pity, it would be great if it could be made into a movie!"

Tang En smiled and said: "It would be great if it could be made into a TV series! I promised Jr. Tolkien at the beginning that the cost of a single season of the series exceeded 100 million US dollars, and he agreed to authorize this part of the story. It's a pity that our contract The time limit is 8 years, and if you don’t shoot it, it will expire, and he will take back the copyright.”

Peter Jackson gritted his teeth firmly and said: "Shoot! This story must be shot!"

Although the TV series has nothing to do with Sal Zaentz, he couldn't help saying, "Yes, if such a good story is not produced, it would be irresponsible to the fans."

Peter Jackson was very excited.

Tang En looked at them with a half-smile, "What about the movie?"

Peter Jackson gritted his teeth and said, "You can make the TV series "Numenores" first, and then make the movie "The Hobbit"!"

Tang En looked at Sal Zaenz, "What do you think?"

Sal Zaenz had no choice but to accept, "This is the best."

As long as it can promote the establishment of the "Hobbit" movie project, at most it will be a few years later to make money.

Tang En said: "I can watch it. First film the TV series "The Numenoreans" for three seasons, and tell the story of this part of the second era. After this story is finished... the movie "The Hobbit" should start .At that time, Cameron's new research should also be successful."

Peter Jackson's eyes lit up, "You mean 3D movies?"

"Of course!" Tang En seemed very confident, "Peter, believe me, 3D will be the general trend in the movie market in the future! Back then, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was limited by funds, and many special effects were not exquisite enough. In a few days In this year, I believe that "The Hobbit" will definitely become the best 3D movie series, and even become a sign of the times!"

Saying that, Sal Zaenz immediately became happy.

Make "The Hobbit" series into a 3D movie?

3D movie ticket prices can be high ah!

He can make more money!

The three discussed for a whole afternoon and finally reached a consensus.

The TV series "Nummenoreans" of the Second Age will be filmed first, and there will be three seasons in total.

Then I made the "Hobbit" movie, a total of three.

Then film the TV series "The Emperor Aragorn", a total of three seasons.

The so-called "Aragorn the Emperor" is the 60 years from the end of the "Hobbit" trilogy to the beginning of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, telling the growth story of the young Aragorn.

By the third era, the Numenoreans had been exterminated for thousands of years, and Aragorn, the human emperor, was the descendant of the Numenoreans!

"Aragorn the Emperor" will write another legend of the Numenoreans!

The whole story can be regarded as a complete connection from front to back.