Hollywood New Century

Xinghai Pictures, Simon is sitting in his office, and the project Phantom Studio is looking for investment is a movie based on the novel "Life and Death".

"Life and Death" is a story and novel about a middle-aged woman and a teenager who fell in love in Germany after World War II, published in 1995 by the German writer Benhard Schlink. This work has been translated into 39 languages. It has sold millions of copies worldwide and was the first German novel to top the New York Times bestseller list.

Simon remembers, "The Reader" is this movie, Kate Winslet's Oscar-winning movie, the global box office is also more than 100 million US dollars.

It is definitely an art film with a good reputation at the box office. After all, this kind of art film, the star's salary is very low, even Nicole Kidman will not exceed 3 million US dollars!

In 2002, Cameron Diaz was paid $20 million for "Charlie's Angels 2", but "Gangs of New York" in the same year only charged $500,000!

For stars, commercial films are to increase exposure and influence, while literary films are to improve their acting skills and hone themselves.

"Laura, let Nina come to my office to discuss things," Simon asked the assistant outside to pass the word, and he was very interested in things that could not only make money for himself, but also make fun of Weinstein Pictures.

Anthony Minghella, one of the directors of Phantom Studios, has directed "The English Patient", "The Genius Hopley" and "Cold Mountain". The three films were all released by Miramax. At that time Miramax is still headed by Harvey Weinstein.

As for the other person in charge, Sidney Pollack, he is also an actor, director, and producer. In 2005, Nicole Kidman's "Translation Storm" was directed by him.

If you don't start sooner, Phantom Studios will definitely seek cooperation with Weinstein Films, which is now owned by Harvey Weinstein.

After a while, Nina Jacobson came to Simon's office, and Simon talked about the project of "Life and Death".

"I'm going to talk to Sidney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, and I'm sure they won't reject our investment," Nina Jacobson said after hearing it. After all, the novel was published in 1995!

Simon nodded, Phantom Studio is still pulling investment, haven't they contacted Weinstein Films yet? The two of them had worked with Harvey Weinstein several times.

"Go ahead and finalize this project as soon as possible," Simon didn't want this project to belong to Weinstein Films again. After all, they have worked together several times and are acquaintances!

Nina Jacobson nodded and left.

Unexpectedly, Angelina Jolie just mentioned it casually, and it was considered a gift bag for herself.

After Phantom Studios obtained the film adaptation rights of the novel "Life and Death", Anthony Minghella planned to direct it himself, but found it not suitable.

Sidney Pollack, Anthony Minghella, and Nina Jacobson were sitting in a coffee shop in Beverly Hills chatting about the novel.

"If Anthony doesn't direct, who is the director you chose?" Nina asked. After all, Anthony Minghella is famous.

Sidney Pollack laughed: "We talked to Stephen Dedley, the director of 'The Hours', and he's willing to direct and adapt the film."

Nina Jacobson nodded and asked, "Xinghai Pictures is interested in this movie, what do you two think?"

"Nina, we are of course happy that someone has invested, but the budget for this film is more than 30 million US dollars. Although many scenes were filmed in Germany, we can get German film funds and tax rebates, but the final cost will be close to 30 million US dollars! "Sidney Pollack's biggest worry is funding, after all, the film is too literary, and the big filmmakers don't like this genre at all.

The only way to find an independent film company is to have a happy cooperation with the previous Miramax, but now Harvey Weinstein's Weinstein Films is not as well-funded as it used to be.

Weinstein Pictures now releases a large number of movies every year, and many movies need external financing. "Life and Death" is too literary, and there is no answer there.

Nina smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about the funding issue. I think that apart from Disney and our Xinghai Films, there is no company in Hollywood that doesn't need external funding for its movies!"

As soon as these words came out, Anthony Minghella and Sidney Pollack were stunned for a moment, and it was true.

Xinghai Pictures only produces two or three movies each year, and the cost is not large. Large-scale productions like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are directly co-produced.

"That's great, but now we also have a disagreement about the choice of the heroine between the director and us. The director is looking at Kate Winslet, and we think Nicole Kidman, who we have worked with before, is also good. ," Sidney Pollack explained.

"However, Kate Winslet and Nicole Kidman should be out of schedule at the moment. One is filming "Revolutionary Road" and the other is filming "Australian Chaos"!" Nina Jacobson said this Doubt.

Anthony Minghella said with a smile: "Stephen Dedley is still thinking about how to adapt the script. When shooting starts, it is estimated that it will be the second half of the year."

"The heroine candidate should be considered after the script is adapted. After all, there is no schedule for the actors you are interested in now," Nina Jacobson reminded.

"We think so too!" Anthony Minghella said.

After Nina Jacobson left, Anthony Minghella said to Sidney Pollack: "Really work with Xinghai Pictures, over Weinstein?"

"Anthony, we've been preparing this movie for a few years. Harvey mentioned it when he was at Miramax, and now Weinstein Pictures has not given a clear answer. We can't wait any longer, Xinghai Pictures. There's nothing wrong with the money," Sidney Pollack felt.

"As for the conflict between Simon Parker and Harvey Weinstein, it has nothing to do with us. Our Phantom Studio has cooperated with so many film companies over the years, why can't we cooperate with Xinghai Pictures?"

Anthony Minghella smiled, patted Sidney Pollack on the shoulder, and said, "That's right, we're just in charge of making movies!"

Anthony Minghella also understands the mood of his old friend Sidney Pollack. His body is getting worse and worse, so why not his own? I don't know if I will be able to enter the first-line film production industry in the future.