By RUSSELL BAILLIE
Peter Jackson has cracked the big time in Hollywood salary deals.
US film industry bible Variety says the New Zealander is being paid US$20 million ($34 million) to direct his remake of King Kong.
Under a profit-sharing scheme, Jackson stands to make a lot more. Major studio Universal has
apparently agreed that if the film makes US$400 million, Jackson will take 20 per cent of all earnings above that.
The deal, says Variety, is one of the largest a studio has made with a director - eight-figure salaries are rare for those behind the camera - and the advance puts him in the same wage bracket as stars such as Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson.
The remuneration is tied to Jackson delivering the film within budget and does not include money Universal will spend making the movie in New Zealand.
Jackson's feat of returning a huge profit on The Lord of the Rings would seem to have helped his agents' negotiations - the trilogy's budget was about US$350 million and the first two instalments have grossed US$860 million and US$910 respectively.
Jackson, whose personal worth has been estimated at NZ$70 million, will share the payday with partner and co-producer Fran Walsh and co-writer Philippa Boyens. The three wrote the Rings scripts and have been working on new King Kong screenplays for many years.
Meanwhile, American magazine Newsweek reports that the final Rings film, The Return of the King, is already a front-runner for the best picture Oscar next year, with Jackson a leading contender for best director.
The first two films had multiple nominations and wins in technical categories, but the final movie will have the momentum of the entire trilogy behind it.
The magazine also says there is speculation in Hollywood that the running time of Return of the King will be more than three hours.
The first two films were cut to under 180 minutes by Jackson, with some edited scenes re-inserted in the extended DVD versions.
The Return of the King has its world premiere in Wellington on December 1 and King Kong is due to be released late in 2005.
