Hollywood Hunter

"Simon, William Dafoe is really good, but don't you think he is more suitable for playing a clown than a black mask?"

In the conference room of Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters, the morning audition has ended. Simon and the chief creators of "Batman" are discussing the final candidate for the black mask Roman Ciennis. At this time, the speaker is another "Batman" A producer Joe Silvo. Joe Silver, the top Hollywood producer who specializes in action movies, is no less than Jerry Bruckheimer. In the original time and space, the "Matrix" series is the pinnacle of Joe Silver's production. Made. Joe Silvo, who is only 36 years old this year, has gained fame in recent years with Die Hard and Deadly Weapon.

Simon is naturally the first producer of "Batman". However, he also needs a deputy to be responsible for the coordination of the film's personnel, finance and venue. Joe Silvo, who had just reached a good partnership with Warner with the "Deadly Weapon" series, was recommended. Although unable to obtain absolute control of the project, Joe Silvo also hopes to cooperate with Simon, who has created even greater miracles in the past two years, and Simon is the same. The two sides hit it off.

"Joe, William’s acting skills are enough to hold up the black mask, but for the clown, to be honest, I have high expectations for this role. I hope to find an actor who can express the evil sense of this role from the bones, not just The bad face of William, a natural villain."

William Dafoe's most famous role should be Norman Osborne, the villain "Green Devil" in Toby Maguire's Spider-Man series. But now, Dafu is just 33 years old, and he is still not a wrinkled uncle many years later, he can even be said to be a little handsome. In the years since his debut, William Dafoe has worked with big directors such as William Friedkin, Tony Scott and Oliver Stone, and his acting skills and qualifications are enough to support the role of a black mask.

In addition, if you don’t count a small role that was cut off in "Heaven’s Gate", William Dafoe’s first feature feature film is called "Relentless" and the director is Catherine Bigelow. "Relentless" is also Catherine's first feature film.

Simon chose William Dafoe to play the black mask, in fact, for this reason. Of course he was not looking at Catherine's face.

For a major production involving an investment of 50 million US dollars, not only is it appropriate to choose the cast, but also to ensure that the actors will not have bad habits, will not play big names, and their personality will be able to get along with other creators. There are many details. The director habitually uses his own familiarity with the actors. Simon previously called Catherine specifically to inquire about William Dafoe in private, and was confirmed by the woman before he ranked him as the first candidate for the black mask.

Everyone continued the discussion for a while, and since Simon insisted, this role was completely determined.

In the afternoon, Director Gordon’s final audition began at two o'clock.

After the meeting, everyone went to lunch. Simon and Joe Silvo whispered to some of the preparation details of the film, and walked out of the meeting room together. Jennifer walked over with another white man who was not tall with black-rimmed glasses. .

Simon stopped and said to Joe Silvo: "Then, Joe, we will see you this afternoon."

Joe Silvo knew that Simon had other things, smiled and nodded, and greeted the man with glasses before he walked away.

When Joe Silvo walked away, the man with glasses stepped forward and stretched out his hand to Simon: "Hello, Mr. Westeros, this is Ella Docman."

"Just call me Simon," Simon and the other party shook hands. Seeing that he was still carrying his briefcase, he smiled and said: "If there is nothing important, let Jenny keep it for you. Let's have lunch. "

"Oh, of course," Ella Deutschman handed Jennifer the briefcase, and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Rebold."

Jennifer smiled and took the other's briefcase, but he leaned over and whispered to Simon: "Mr. Rem is online."

Simon made a please gesture to Ella Deutschman and said to the female assistant: "Go to the car phone. I'll talk to him on the way."

Jennifer nodded, Simon led Ella Deutschman downstairs, and Neil Bennett had his car ready.

The two got in the car, and without Simon’s command, Neil Bennett walked towards the destination. Simon made a waiting look at Ira Deutschman and picked up the car phone to talk to Robert Rem. The result of his contact with MGM.

After a morning of bargaining, MGM finally agreed to give up the North American distribution rights of "Rain Man" at a price of 5 million U.S. dollars. The requirement there was to get the check before Friday. Amy and Rem's psychological expectations for the redemption of the distribution rights of "Rain Man" were both about $5 million, but the offer was far below Simon's tolerance limit, so they immediately agreed.

On the phone, Robert Rem also asked whether to postpone the release of "Rain Man". People in the circle are very optimistic about "Rain Man". It is not easy to raise screen resources temporarily. Daenerys Entertainment’s publishing department is fully operating "Screaming", "Steel Magnolia" and "Death Poetry Society". The temporary addition of "Rain Man" will definitely disrupt the team's established work rhythm. Moreover, the postponement of "Rain Man" will certainly prevent it from competing with the "Dead Poetry Society" in the following week.

Simon did not agree with Robert Rem's suggestion.

The trend of public opinion on "Rain Man" in the media is not satisfactory. If Daenerys Entertainment announces the postponement of the film, the image of this film in the hearts of the media and audiences may be completely solid. Daenerys Entertainment not only could not postpone it, but also spared no effort to launch a publicity campaign for this movie.

When Simon put down the phone, the Range Rover had stopped in front of a restaurant.

Simon led Ella Deutschman into the restaurant, the two of them were seated, and he began to look at each other without a trace.

Ella Deutschman’s name sounds a bit feminine, but in fact, this Ella is'Ira' instead of'Elle'. Although'Ira' is also unisex, but in Hebrew,' Ira' prefers boy names. Deutschman is obviously another Jewish surname.

The middle-aged man with glasses in front of him is the person in charge of Simon's search for Gaomen Films these days.

Ella Deutschman is 35 years old, about the same age as Joe Silvo. Moreover, his intersection with the film industry is as deep as Joe Silvo. As early as ten years ago while studying at Northwestern University, Ella Deutschman had already participated in the distribution of a film by the famous Hollywood independent director John Kasowitz.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Ella Deutschman entered the United States Film Industry specializing in literary and artistic films.

Lianmei Pictures was merged by MGM because of the fiasco of "Heaven's Gate", and United American Classics was disbanded. In 1983, Ira Deutschman and several other partners established New Films, also focusing on literary films. field. "A Room with a View" released three years ago starring Daniel Day Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter, won the North American box office of more than 20 million US dollars at a production cost of 3 million US dollars, and won an Oscar The good results of eight mention three middle schools.

Xinying is still operating, but Ella Deutschman has recently been squeezed out by several partners and forced to withdraw from the company he founded. In the original time and space, Simon remembers that Ella Docman was in charge of New Line Films' subsidiary Jia Xian Films, which tried to enter the field of literary films in the following years, trying to compete with Miramax. It's just that New Line Film did not invest too much resources in this area, but Ella Deutschman has been active in Hollywood for many years.

The two ordered dinner, and when the waiter left, Simon spoke again and asked Ella Deutschman: "You have seen Michael Hoffman's "Sisters", right? How do you feel?"

Although Simon is many years younger than him, Ella Deutschman is inevitably nervous.

This is an interview, and Ira Deutschman knows it well. He has just been squeezed out of the company recently, which should be regarded as a taint of losers. He originally thought that Simon would be the first to ask why he quit Xinying, but he did not expect it to be this.

According to the previous agreement, he had already felt the Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters at nine o'clock in the morning, but did not see Simon. Instead, he was arranged to go to a screening room to watch a film, which had emerged in Hollywood in recent years. The work of Michael Hoffman, one of the directors of the literary and artistic film, is called "Sisters".

Now that Simon asked about this, Ella Deutschman also cheered up and said: "A very good movie. The director showed his understanding of life, love and desire through a holiday journey by the actor. The film The opening and closing of Sandro Botticelli's famous painting "Spring" is very cleverly arranged. The three goddesses of Meihui in the picture are part of "Spring". They represent all the beautiful things in the world and imply human desires."

After listening to Deutschman's explanation, Simon suddenly said: "So, how much box office do you think this film can get?"

This is another unexpected question. Ira Deutschman was taken aback. He originally thought that this talented young man in film would continue to discuss the meaning of this film with him, but he did not expect Simon to be. So straightforward.

After thinking about it for a moment, Ella Deutschman said: "If you leave it to me, you should be able to get around $5 million."

Simon was noncommittal and asked: "Tell me about your marketing ideas."

"This is a niche literary film, but it's not boring. The target audience should be young people between the ages of 16 and 22," Ira Deutschman said as he thought, "As the first release In the next step, I will choose to submit this film to the Sundance Film Festival. "Sisters" is unlikely to win awards, but the reputation of film critics should be good. After accumulating a certain degree of popularity, it can be performed in central cities such as New York and Los Angeles. For the screening, if there is a publicity budget of about 500,000 US dollars, I can arrange an opening screen of about 20 yuan and place advertisements on some art and print media. If the box office is good, I can further expand the scale of the screening. One of the heroines, Jennifer Connelly, will become an important promotional point for it. Connery’s image of Deborah as a girl in "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​left a very deep impression on many people, and she definitely It can attract a part of the audience into the theater."

Simon heard Ella Deutschman's words and shook his head: "This is a very orthodox and conservative way of distributing literary films. I can be sure that you are doing this entirely by luck, and it is very likely that you will not get you. At the predicted box office of 5 million US dollars, you are lucky if you can get one or two million dollars."

There was some chatter in Ella Docman’s expression, but in his heart he also didn’t think the movie could get $5 million.

Seeing Ella Deutschman not speaking, Simon paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Ila, do you like movies?"

"Of course," Ella Deutschman nodded without hesitation this time, and said: "Simon, I have been in film distribution since I was 19 years old. If I don't like movies, I can't be in this industry for so many years. "

Simon nodded, but then said: "You must already know the purpose of our meeting. But in fact, I want to find someone who doesn't like movies that much."

Ella Deutschman was surprised again: "Simon, I don't quite understand."

"It's very simple," Simon said: "If you like movies, you will instinctively judge the quality of a movie in your heart, and you will have a strong personal tendency. For example, if you don't like a movie, you may become Negative. In my bones, I feel that this movie cannot sell too high at the box office, so you obviously have no incentive to release a movie."

"Simon, I wouldn't do that."

Simon raised his hand to Ella Deutschman and said, "On the contrary, if you don’t like movies that much, then movies can become very pure commodities in your eyes. When you get a movie, the first thing you think of How can we sell it, how can we sell it at a higher box office."

"Simon, of course I like movies," Ella Docman couldn't help but retort: ​​"But at the same time, I will do everything you can to sell a movie for a good price, as you just said."

"So, put aside your sense of "Sisters" completely," Simon looked at Ira Deutschman and said, "Give me another plan. How can I sell it for the best price possible?"

Ella Deutschman thought about it for a moment, then quickly looked up again and looked at Simon: "To put aside the literary nature of this movie completely, then we can market it as a youth comedy. The boy is between the three girls, and the three girls are sisters. Just this gimmick is enough to attract many teenagers into the theater."

Simon raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and said, "Look, you know this in your heart, and what you should do if you want to sell this movie. It's just that because of your inner morals, or out of right The respect of the movie, you didn’t say this just now. But what the audience wants to see is actually this. We all know that Michael wants to express a lot of things through this movie, but he wants to sell it and wants to attract More people enter the cinema. In the process of publicity, you have to use what the audience wants to see, not what the director wants to express. Sometimes, this is even cruel, but it is something the filmmakers have to face In reality, most viewers are not interested in exploring the meaning of love. They just want to see a woman's breasts. It's that simple."