the past, such as your own " Lord of the Rings " series, " Alice in Wonderland " and the Narnia films. Those sort of properties are a bit different than making a movie about a bestselling toy... PJ: There are perennial stories like "Alice in Wonderland" and Sherlock Holmes and those sorts of things, which have been around since almost as long as film, and Frankenstein is another one. They're perennial favorites, which get remade every 20 years and that's OK. We almost expect that but it is really the making and putting huge resources into something that was never that good in the first place, which I guess nonetheless is a brand name. And I guess one of the most cynical ones is when people can take toy lines and turn them into films. To some degree I was very dubious of the " Pirates of the Caribbean " idea  -- taking a theme park ride and turning into a film -- even though they seemed to end up being quite fun films. GB: That's true, although " Country Bears " and " Haunted Mansion " suggest that the rest of the theme park might be best left alone. Can you talk a bit about "District 9? and how you came to the project as producer? PJ: Well I came to it because Neill Blomkamp , the director, and I got to know each other when we were supposed to be making " Halo " together, with me