Funny story about the making of LOTR

[Melodybe]

While watching the Golden Globes tonight Peter Jackson slammed Harvey Weinstien in his acceptance speech.

Story goes that Miramax was the first company considering making LOTR. Jackson had a rough draft of the script and some CGI work to present. Weinstien the head of Miramax said that they wouldn't buy it unless they condensed them into one film and changed Sam into a girl. Obviously Jackson knew that was a shit idea and begged Weinstein to reconsider, Weinstein said that PJ could go to another company. Apparently there is plenty of bad blood when it comes to this part. Weinstein's attitude was "good luck, getting anyone go for that" (chock full of sarcasm).

Jackson was able to persuade New Line to buy the project after a hefty battle with Miramax.

Tonight at the Golden GLobes, Jackson thanked Weinstein "for all his help in the beginning." A total slam, BTW. There were even a few gasps in the crowd, it was great! Weinstein is an arrogant fuck, that has pushed/cheated their last few oscar wins out of the Academy. A Beautiful Mind better than Fellowship of the Ring!?! I don't fucking think so.

So anyways it was great to see Jackson slam Weinstein, even though it may have cost him the Oscar. Weinstein is a powerful guy. But lucky for Jackson he knows that his films are good enough and loved enough, where if they don't get a little golden man this year people will think that the awards are a joke.

SAM A GIRL!?! WTF

[LiberalVoice]

1. Weinstein = Shit

:mad:

[anti_shrub]

2. I can see it now

Some Miramax movie no one ever heard of will beat ROTK for Best Picture just so Harv can have the last laugh.

[Lorien]

3. Miramax is Disney

and I'm part of that corporation. We're been making dumbass feature film decisions since Katzenberg left. Good for Jackson for teaching Weinstien that "cheaper and dumber" doesn't always win. A**holes like Weinstien are destroying our company.

[Cat Atomic]

4. In fifty years, people will still be watching the LoTR trilogy.

:)

[Archae]

5. Weinstein was lampooned in a Disney film

The guys who made the animated film "Hercules" based the character "Hades" on Weinstein. :-)

[regnaD kciN]

6. I don't think it was exactly a "slam"...

...just a case of being "viciously polite." If anything would annoy Weinstein about this, it would be having a film he passed on beat out not one but two nominees from his own studio (Cold Mountain and Master and Commander).

According to Jackson himself, Weinstein pulled out because he decided the project would cost too much. There was no talk about foisting a sex-change on Sam, nor on cutting it down to one film. As a matter of fact, the original Jackson proposal was for a two-film version, not three, and it was only expanded into three at the suggestion of New Line, after they had picked the project up.

FWIW, Harvey and his brother Bob are credited as Executive Producers on all three LotR films, even though they were made by a rival studio.

Finally, you can't blame the Weinstein brothers for A Beautiful Mind, since that was a Universal/DreamWorks SKG (Spielberg, Katzenberg, Geffen) production with no ties to Miramax. In fact, Miramax (which had In The Bedroom as a nominee that year) allegedly tried to sabotage Mind by bringing up evidence that John Nash (the real-life mathematician on whose life Mind was based) was an anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer.

[moof]

7. Agreed JDWalley, now maybe a few people will

understand what all the hype is over " cold mountain " a film every bit as terrible and every bit as hyped as " Chicago "