Passion pays the bill. That's my comment.

Great story. Great decision.

An even more extraordinary anecdote: apparently Jackson was in New Zealand looking for a facility big enough to convert into a studio. He found a huge factory which was only working at about one-tenth of capacity. It was perfect, but it cost some number of millions of dollars, they had to know right away and Jaqckson still didn't have the official final greenlight from New Line. If he used his own money, the investment could bankrupt him. Worst case scenario, he's a director without a film and proud owner of a useless widget factory in the middle of nowhere.
What to do?
While thinking it over he went to lunch in the huge and mostly deserted company cafeteria. On an empty table at the other end of the giant room he saw a book. Someone had left it behind after a hasty meal. On a hunch he walked over to check it out. I hasten to add no one in the company knew about the project on hand. A few of them knew he was a film-maker but that was about it.
Anyway, the book was The Lord of the Rings.
He took the hint and bought the building on the spot; and got the green light a few weeks later.

Or that's how I heard it, anyway.

I guess it goes to show that even established have to "play the game."