hollywood system: art

In a well-kept wooden house, with paintings neatly arranged in rows and a tower of books covering every corner, people lined up to give it the space it deserved. The property was sumptuous, with cobblestones that seemed to shift with the wind.

Peter Jackson settled into his seat—the first dollars had arrived in his account, two million, to create the models for all the scenes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some photos were scattered beside him, and he had plenty of space. Alongside that came two tickets to Los Angeles, meant to kick off the casting process, adding or removing characters without much concern. There were plenty of suggestions, but salaries weren't a priority—just quiet admonitions.

–So the new insights have arrived. It's surprising, the layouts from Pixar were included—they were brilliant. Each of them captured the early ideas we had about the Balrog. –he replied, still astonished. He had long hoped to see what they were capable of—the special effects. There was work to do, but four months of solid effort lay ahead.

They also produced the cinematic sequence for the Mines of Moria. It was Fran Walsh's idea—Peter Jackson's wife. She felt a bit exposed, almost wrapped in what was still left to be done. They even wanted to craft real armor, but truth be told, when he envisioned something as a starburst of colors and transformations, he couldn't turn away. The challenge was undeniable—just three films, each 190 minutes long—nearly three hours per movie. The disappointment within each, and the challenge of uniting everything into something coherent. Thousands of scenes would be filmed, and many discarded, yet it was possible to draw more than one movie from each book, at least three, if needed, as every book was rich with content, adaptable with a few tweaks.

–Adding Tolkien's children is a mistake, or a misstep. –Peter Jackson asked as he checked his mail, now functioning properly.

–It's fine. Billy owns 100% of the rights. He can help us stay true to the source, love. Don't get nervous. This is how we create room for upcoming scenes. Besides, they're good kids, and Billy seems determined to keep everything close. –Fran replied, pressing her lips to his in a clean, unhurried kiss.

–Then you handle it, sweetheart. You know how tough things get when they're managing something I should be managing. –Peter answered.

He already had in hand at least the next twenty locations, though he was somewhat lost and stuck in what they called... hard to translate, each of those spaces they'd use for The Lord of the Rings.

–It looks like everything will begin earlier than expected. –Peter Jackson noted, contrary to Billy's hope, his lens was more delayed than anticipated. Peter proposed shooting all three settings over a year. An entire year dedicated to filming. And if they were going to film that long, everything had to be completely ready. Over the next 15 months, he'd have to delay each upcoming step, reduce setbacks to a minimum, and make them disappear without waiting around for anyone to notice or get annoyed by things that never seemed to be addressed in time.

–So you think you can call him to talk about art? Anne contacts me about finances... or sometimes Jim Gianopulos. But the creative lead is the boy, and well, maybe with the models we've got from Pixar, they've given us some good ideas about what to expect—and what not to. –Fran Walsh remarked. She focused on her role, and her role was exactly what was needed, at the right time and in the right way—it made her a standout.

–He can be so distant. I only spoke with him for fifteen minutes. Even little Rachel was there—a charming woman who always seems to hit the mark when it comes to stressing me out about the budget. But now I see I've got a few ideas. They always seem to come with a price tag. For instance, when I mentioned extras, she asked how many and what the margin of error was. When I brought up backgrounds, she asked how many seconds, and whether those seconds mattered, or how the whole thing would be arranged for special effects. And whether the effects company would handle it, or if we'd have to hire others. –Peter Jackson said with a deep sigh.

Some things happened, and tired of the many discomforts of talking to business agents, he sent his wife to deal with it.

–The boy will be in Australia, tentatively in June or July. In the meantime, you could all come together in harmony. –Fran replied. He nodded in agreement,n ot rejecting the inconvenience. And even if he seemed hesitant, he was sure they'd use the time to create something remarkable, something that would bring them together and allow them to enjoy each other. And when that happened, the series would take off—and when that happened... triumph would be within reach.

–These situations can be so tough. –Peter said.

***

Raimon had already noted that the cut-off came in March. When it came to closing the gap, the finances had gone wild over the last two months. He reviewed the bulk of the holdings and discovered plenty of reasons why Billy was so optimistic about tech stocks. But the signs were troubling. This had all happened before—15 years ago—with a different kind of stock. But this time, the conditions seemed ripe for everything to be recalculated in the coming days.

–So there's something off. The MACD indicators are at least 15 times above average. If they keep rising like this, we might be facing a bubble. –said Loco Lomas beside him. Raimon, meanwhile, noticed other symptoms—a curve rising sky-high. But what caught his attention most was the excitement surrounding it.

People were thrilled, unaware of any coming crash. Everything was happening quickly. Even in the hallways, there was talk that a correction might already be penciled in.

–I don't like this feeling. –Raimon remarked.

–You'll sell, then?

–Not until... within two years. Maybe a bit less. –Raimon replied. He was still weighing how much faith he had in Billy's plan—how he understood time, and how he sensed what was coming in the days ahead. It wasn't easy to tell.

…

–How do you know there'll be a crash in the next two years? –Raimon asked.

–It's hard... very hard. But it's insider knowledge I've had since 1994. The thing is, I realized the web market had been around a long time, but it got going in '93. By '94, I knew it wouldn't work as is. Then in '95, someone whispered to me what I needed to hear. And in three to four years, business was good. Just from those dates, I calculated five years to make real money. And of course, the instinct to make money. –Billy told him.

–So you've got nothing and you're going on instinct. –Raimon said, tapping his fingers on the table. It was the kind of answer he hated. But Billy seemed to have the nerve.

–We need to have a real talk about this. –Raimon added. He now seemed to realize he couldn't just prepare and act like a parachute.

...