"Mr. Peter, I'm surprised you've come in person!" Huang He was indeed a little surprised to see Peter Jackson standing before him, as he hadn't expected the man to show up himself.
While Peter Jackson was the founder of Weta Digital, his primary role was as a director, and he should have been busy preparing for the grand production of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." How could he possibly appear before him?
"I am very interested in 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu'!" Peter Jackson stated directly, "I hope to become the director of this 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu.' Although this book is not yet finished and the translation is extremely poor, even from such text, I have seen a vast world, and I can't wait to bring this world to life!"
"Although I don't know when this book will be completed, the content presented so far, I believe, is enough for us to film a trilogy, just like my 'Lord of the Rings.' This will undoubtedly become a masterpiece, just like 'Lord of the Rings'!!" Before Huang He could speak, Peter Jackson began to ramble on his own.
He seemed to have already become the director of 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu.'
The English version Peter Jackson was reading was temporarily translated by Huang He, who hired 20 university students majoring in English. Each person was responsible for 10 chapters, so the entire translation work was completed in less than 10 days, allowing Huang He to bring it with him on the plane.
Of course, the translated content was bound to be very poor, especially since it was a Xianxia novel for which it was difficult to find corresponding English words. Moreover, it was translated by 20 different people, resulting in a highly inconsistent translation style.
A traditional American would likely get a headache after reading just a few chapters.
Yet, even so, Peter Jackson sought him out after reading it, which demonstrated the novel's immense appeal to him.
This left Huang He quite shocked. Peter Jackson was actually so interested in an Eastern fantasy novel?
Here, Huang He didn't understand Peter Jackson. To put it in terms of 2021, he was a hardcore fantasy novel enthusiast. From his student days, he was obsessed with all sorts of fantasy novels, especially "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Middle-earth" series, which were Peter Jackson's favorites.
Later, the reason "The Lord of the Rings" was brought to the big screen was due to Peter Jackson's persistent efforts.
He worked diligently to persuade Tolkien's family to grant him the rights, then exhausted all means to raise the funds needed for filming, seeking investors everywhere. It took him a full five years to secure the opportunity to film "The Lord of the Rings."
Weta Digital itself was a special effects studio created by Peter Jackson for his filmmaking convenience. Later, during the filming of "The Lord of the Rings," Peter Jackson personally participated in every aspect of the special effects studio, recruiting talent, experimenting with various film props, and corresponding shooting techniques.
By the time "The Lord of the Rings" was completed, Weta Digital had also become one of the world's top special effects studios, particularly excelling in the production of realistic special props.
Frankly speaking, Peter Jackson himself was like the protagonist in many novels.
And at its core, it was precisely because Peter Jackson was so interested in those magical worlds.
Therefore, as soon as Peter Jackson saw the world described in 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu,' he was immediately captivated. He replaced the original person in charge of negotiations with Huang He and rushed out from the set to talk with Huang He.
"Mr. Peter, if I remember correctly, your 'Return of the King' is scheduled to be released in just over a year, is it alright for you to be here?" Huang He asked with a wry smile.
"What?" Peter Jackson blinked in surprise. "Isn't my upcoming release 'The Two Towers'?"
"Uh..." Huang He was stunned. In his memory, "The Two Towers" should have been released in 2002, so the one not yet released should be "The Return of the King" in 2003.
"Could it be that 'The Two Towers' is being released in November or December..." Huang He touched his head. Since it was already close to November 2002, Huang He instinctively assumed "The Two Towers" had already been released.
He didn't know that "The Two Towers" was released on December 14, 2002, which was still more than a month away.
"I'm sorry, I translated it incorrectly, my apologies!" Before Huang He could speak, Leng Zhiruo, who was responsible for the translation beside him, took the initiative to apologize in English.
Although Huang He didn't understand the specific meaning, he understood Leng Zhiruo's apologetic attitude.
"Zhiruo!" Huang He looked at Leng Zhiruo with gratitude and apology.
"Brother-in-law, you are our boss, you cannot make mistakes!" Leng Zhiruo whispered. Huang He was deeply touched and decided to treat her to some milk that night to thank his lovely sister-in-law.
"Alright, actually, the progress of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy is very smooth. The filming part has already been completed long ago. The entire 'The Two Towers' was finished a month ago. As for 'The Return of the King,' although there are still quite a few special effects to be produced, I don't need to constantly supervise it. During this time, I can start the preparatory work for 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu.' Once 'The Return of the King' is finished, I can immediately dive into the production of 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu,' achieving seamless integration."
"So that's how it is!" Huang He was now genuinely tempted. The directorial talent of Peter Jackson was undeniable. The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was the fantasy film Huang He found most satisfying, and he believed it perfectly showcased the entire Middle-earth. Peter Jackson's contribution was indispensable. If Peter Jackson were to be in charge of 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu,' Huang He was absolutely confident in terms of technical expertise.
However, there were also significant issues. Peter Jackson was not Chinese and did not understand Chinese culture. If he were to make the film, it would be like Americanized Chinese food. If they pursued a blend of East and West during filming, the result would be something akin to "The Forbidden Kingdom."
Those who are not familiar can watch that movie; any Chinese person would feel like spitting blood.
Furthermore, Huang He's 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu' was a television series, not a movie. Would Peter Jackson be willing to direct a television series?
Therefore, Huang He directly voiced these concerns.
"What! You are investing such a huge sum of money to shoot a television series!" Like Ang Lee, Peter Jackson was dumbfounded when he heard that Huang He intended to shoot a television series, not a movie.
In terms of movies versus television series, the situation was the same domestically and internationally; movies held a far higher prestige than television series. An actor could be promoted from a TV actor to a movie star. But if you wanted them to return to television series from movies, unless their movies were not successful or they were heavily indebted and couldn't survive without acting, few movie actors would be willing to go back to filming television series.
The same applied to directors; no film director would go to shoot a television series.
However, in China, there were signs of this thawing. Many film directors, around 2020, had sequentially returned to the television series industry.
For example, Director Feng and Director Zhang were both great directors!
There were also some famous actors, such as an international actress Zhang, and a renowned acting powerhouse Zhou, who had sequentially returned to the realm of television series.
Of course, the reason for this change was not that their minds had become clearer, but that several consecutive movies had lost money, while the chance of losing money in television series was not as high, and the remuneration was even more generous. For the sake of money, everything could be discussed.
However, in 2002, especially in a place like Hollywood, asking Peter Jackson to direct a television series was absolutely out of the question.
But Peter Jackson looked at the novel 'Piaomiao Zhi Lu,' and he couldn't bring himself to part with it.
"Your television series version would likely be broadcast in China, wouldn't it? Because your television series are difficult to enter other countries' markets!" Peter Jackson said.
"Yes!" Huang He nodded.
"Then there's no problem!" Peter Jackson smiled. "I think you can actually shoot both a television series and a movie version, with the movie version released globally and the television series version broadcast domestically."
"You can use the same cast for both versions, and even shoot them simultaneously. Then you can edit out two different versions. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone and achieving multiple goals?"
"That makes sense!" Huang He's eyes lit up. This idea was excellent. The TV version would air domestically, and the movie version would broadcast overseas. The two versions would not interfere with each other, achieving the perfect outcome of maximizing profit.
"It's a pity, but I still can't be the director!" Peter Jackson sighed. "If people knew I cut a television series into a movie, I'd become a laughingstock in Hollywood."
"Indeed!" Huang He strongly agreed, then said, "How about this: you serve as a special invited producer for this television series and director. You can guide the overall filming and production of the film and television series from a macro perspective, but the director will be someone else."
"This way, you can still provide your ideas for this project and receive producer fees, and this film will also be considered your work!"
"If all the special effects work is indeed done by our Weta Digital, then there's no problem. After all, as the owner of the studio, I need to guide the works of our studio!" Peter Jackson nodded. "If that's the case, I have no objections. Let's discuss the fees next!"
Even though Peter Jackson had been so eager to be the director of this project earlier, when it came to discussing prices, he transformed into the most outstanding businessman, unwilling to concede even a single penny.
Of course, our Boss Huang was not going to surrender meekly. After a back-and-forth negotiation that lasted for three full days, the production costs and prices were finally determined.
Because it was difficult to determine how many props and computer special effects would be generated during the actual filming, the entire special effects work would be charged in two parts. One part was the prop costs, which would be charged based on specific circumstances.
As for the production of computer special effects, it was divided into five different levels based on the complexity of the effects. The cheapest level would cost $2,000 per second, while the most expensive would cost $50,000 per second. That's $3 million for one minute, and $30 million for ten minutes. Indeed, special effects were a drain on dollars.
These were the basic pricing specifications. The specific pricing would only be determined after filming was completed and samples were evaluated to assess the required scale of special effects. However, it was estimated that for a 12-episode television series, the special effects production costs would be at least $100 million, which was equivalent to the production costs of a top-tier Hollywood movie. Boss Huang had truly made a grand gesture this time.