Chapter 389: New Zealand Director

A small car was parked by the side of the tree-lined avenue near the Silver Lake Reservoir.

"Arthur, take it easy," Nicole Kidman gently reminded, half-leaning on the seat.

"Okay," Arthur responded, still leaning over the woman. The open blouse revealed a scenic view, with new kiss marks on her fair chest.

Nicole Kidman reached out to unbuckle the man's belt and started kissing Arthur passionately.

Soon after, with a sudden gasp from Nicole Kidman, she clung to Arthur, breathing heavily!

"Darling, Australia is launching some new movie support policies. Have you thought about shooting a film over there?" Nicole Kidman asked, stroking Arthur's hair.

Lying in her arms, Arthur kissed one side of her softness while caressing the other. "Australia? It depends on the support policies they offer. Tax incentives or cash compensation must be attractive for the crew. Also, it depends on how strict the policy is in selecting projects."

At that time, Australia wasn't very appealing to Hollywood. Even though labor costs were low, practical film crew availability there couldn't compete with nearby Canada.

Furthermore, Europe, especially the UK, had cash subsidy policies and a talent pool second only to Hollywood.

After all, Galaxy wasn't like News Corporation. As an international media group that grew out of Australia, 20th Century Fox built a large production base in Sydney.

"It's too complicated," Nicole Kidman said, asking casually since she was now Australia's top actress.

"By the way, did you hear about the film that won the Silver Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival this year, Heavenly Creatures?" Nicole Kidman suddenly remembered something.

"Yeah, I heard about it. I think Miramax handled the domestic distribution." Galaxy buyers were involved in the three major European international film festivals.

Especially after acquiring MGM, they focused more on various film festivals with their subsidiaries, United Artists and Orion Pictures.

"Heavenly Creatures is a drama directed by the Australian-New Zealand director Peter Jackson. Peter Jackson is 33, so he's quite a newcomer. Do you know him?" Nicole Kidman had met the young director before.

"Hey, I sure do," Arthur said, moving to his seat and pulling Nicole into his arms.

Leaning back in the chair, Arthur fondled the woman while smiling, "Remember a comedy-horror film from two years ago called Braindead? That was Peter Jackson's directorial debut.

Although Braindead was a genre film filled with gore, violence, and absurdity, it provided a strong sensory impact by mixing all kinds of violent scenes and absurd plot twists. The film ended with a twist using black comedy, so despite its tense plot and gory scenes, the audience laughed along under the director's guidance.

Braindead broke the traditional zombie movie mold. Its comedic elements gave the emerging Peter Jackson some fame!"

No wonder, back then, Arthur often focused on B-movies, so Peter Jackson's name naturally caught his attention.

Nicole Kidman smiled, kissing Arthur's chest. "So you know him. I once met him at a party where he said he's a huge fan of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He really wants to bring The Lord of the Rings novels to the big screen. Right now, Galaxy owns the adaptation rights for The Lord of the Rings!"

Not only did Galaxy hold the full rights for The Lord of the Rings, but after acquiring MGM, they also got the distribution rights for The Hobbit, which they previously only had production rights for.

However, the character and likeness rights for The Hobbit still belonged to the Tolkien Estate.

"Sigh, adapting The Lord of the Rings isn't an easy task. Peter Jackson needs to be fully prepared," Arthur thought. He actually wanted to adapt The Hobbit series first.

Then, they could adapt The Lord of the Rings based on the storyline!

Running two trilogies back-to-back, Arthur couldn't imagine the outcome!

Back in the day, New Line Cinema adapted The Lord of the Rings first because they simultaneously acquired the production and distribution rights from Saul Zaentz. Saul Zaentz also held the production rights for The Hobbit, but the distribution rights were in the hands of MGM/United Artists.

That's why New Line had Peter Jackson adapt The Lord of the Rings series first!

"Oh, so you're willing to adapt The Lord of the Rings novels?" Nicole Kidman raised her head to look at Arthur.

Arthur nodded. "Of course! Otherwise, why did I spend $22 million to buy all the novel rights from Saul Zaentz? It's just that, over these years, no one proposed to adapt The Lord of the Rings. There was an Icelandic series adaptation, but it didn't make much impact!"

But Arthur remembered that Peter Jackson was also a big fan of King Kong. His desire to remake King Kong was actually stronger than making The Lord of the Rings series.

Well, Nicole Kidman didn't think that the current Peter Jackson had the ability to direct The Lord of the Rings either.

Arthur had invested so heavily to acquire the novel rights, and they wouldn't settle for mediocrity. Making that movie would require a huge budget.

Currently, Peter Jackson had only directed a B-grade gory horror movie Braindead and a low-budget drama Heavenly Creatures.

"Arthur, are you thinking about it again?" Nicole Kidman sensed the man's change and smiled as she wrapped her arms around Arthur's neck and kissed him.

After a while, Arthur, holding the woman in his arms, complained, "What do you think? You didn't even let me enjoy earlier."

Nicole Kidman blinked and traced her finger on Arthur's chest. "Isn't there still plenty of time tonight?"

After a while, Arthur drove away from the Silver Lake Reservoir towards Nicole's villa in the Hollywood Hills, while his mind was racing with thoughts about developing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels.

With Galaxy's current conditions, they could follow the novels' sequence, developing The Hobbit series first and then continuing with The Lord of the Rings series!

However, they had to wait for the right opportunity. Next, Galaxy MGM had to develop blockbusters like Twister and Independence Day.

*****

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