Legendary Hollywood Director

"Star Wars" i is a very good quality property, but people only want to believe that Disney can't do it.

The market was so big that the family couldn't eat it, and Lehmann quickly turned his attention away from the news.

"The script of "Sea King" is finalized."

The afternoon of January 11.

That's what Kevin Feige said when he walked into his office.

Lyman took over the page and asked about the preparations for "The Incredible Hulk 2" and "Iron Man 3".

In fact, they spend a lot of energy on the development of Marvel projects every year.

Of course, because they are all sequels, most of the team members will set aside timetables in advance. Once the script is in place, the filming will start soon.

"Don't worry, we won't delay the screening." Kevin assured.

"That's good, is the budget for this project accounted for?" Ryman pointed to the script. "What about time and manpower?"

"Probably around 150 million."

"It's so expensive? There aren't many big-name actors in Aquaman. Jason Momoa has a low starting point and signed a long-term contract. Even if the price of "The Incredible Hulk 2" rises to 3 million, it will be very high."

"It's not about the cost of the actors, I asked the special effects team in the digital realm, and they said that the modeling and rendering of the ocean shots are more expensive than the scenes of destroying the city. Then, 70% of the shots of "Aquaman" are in the sea, and the special effects shots are in the sea. The number is the same as that of "Reunion", and the cost of this part is the big one."

"Well, if you can't save it, don't save it."

After spending some time and reading the script carefully, I felt that it was similar to the plot design of the previous life's Trident, Fighting Tribe, and Beauty Accompanied as Aquaman. Laiman nodded, "The script is fine, ask someone from Universal to come over and talk about it. Set up the project early and leave more time to lay out the concept and publicize it.”

"Yes, boss."

The two packed up, made a phone call, and soon went to Universal City, which is not far away.

After saying hello, the group quickly sat together.

Universal CEO Jeff Hill was in a good mood. When he saw the two coming over, he thought it was for the launch of "Hulk 2", and asked with a smile: "What's wrong?"

Hey.

Seeing how he doesn't understand much, Lehman knows that this guy doesn't know their plan... Also, who would know about Universal's Marvel property rights, Lehman has been plotting for 4 years, and step by step Adjust the affiliation between the two parties.

Others only think that he has a lot of ideas, but they don't know that he has an idea first, then deduces the plot structure, and then supplements it with a framework.

For example, now, Lehman chatted with him about Namor, and said that there is a plan to set up a project, which probably requires Universal to spend 75 million.

Jeff Hill almost spit out a sip of coffee at the time, and he quickly asked, "Namo's solo work? Is this appropriate? It still costs so much money." Full of doubts that need to be answered.

"Yeah, 150 million, 55 points."

"This... this, isn't its positioning eagle-eyed? Lyman, Kevin, how did you think of making a one-man project for it? Can it afford the investment?"

Jeff Hill really can't understand, he didn't know that Lyman was already staring at Namor. Before the Hulk sequel was approved, Namor only had a little role. Universal executives felt that it was the "group" strategy that made Marvel reaped dividends. , I have mastered the wealth code, so I asked for the sharing of management rights. How can I know that the pit is here.

Strictly speaking, it is not a pit, but poor cognition. Laiman knows that Namor has become a rooster that lays golden eggs, but he did not reveal to Universal that he thinks it is very valuable for development. Blindly talking about the Hulk.

"Our idea is to make it into an underwater avatar, underwater Pandora, and in terms of theme, it also adds elements such as exploration and treasure hunting. The probability of fire may be greater than the probability of encountering cold."

Kevin-Feige followed, and he was moved by the prospect described by Lehman, "Think about it, a story about a hero in the deep sea, the scene is also changed from land, city, universe to the deep sea, which itself It is more fresh. Is there a movie about the king of the deep sea on the market now?

No, when the Sea King Namor came out, at least it was the first work to eat crabs, and it was full of gimmicks. "

Jeff Hill thought along this line of thought, and was a little moved. Suddenly, he couldn't be more happy, because he found that Namor was supposed to be the exclusive property of their company, but it was released for the sequel of Hulk. ...fxxk, my grades.

"Ha, good project." He mocked a little unhappily.

"You think too much." Kevin could see what he was mocking at a glance, "It wasn't that you were urging the establishment of the Hulk project, and we would not have thought of introducing Namor's tsunami attack into a plot contradiction. The appearance in the sequel, its single work is even more impossible to talk about."

"You are not optimistic about "Sea King" and do not want to set up a project?" Laiman also asked.

"Humph." Jeff Hill gasped, but didn't say anything hard, "Of course I want to shoot."

"Don't worry, it's not that difficult, I have brought the script." Kevin handed the script to the other party, and also talked about the overall design ideas.

"Namo will first appear in "Hulk 2". With the help of the popularity of the Hulk, he will give the audience an early impression, and then he will launch a single product. Hulk can't be unpopular."

"Well, the Hulk has an audience base..."

"More than that, the Hulk is more popular than Thor, and has a wider spread. When the "Hulk 2" is released in the summer, we conservatively estimate that it will be 500 million worldwide... 500 million is a small goal."

"Yes, it should be able to sell so much at the box office."

"It shouldn't be, it has to be. You Universal took a lot of advantage. When you bought the Hulk for 20 to 30 million yuan, you can now guarantee a guaranteed output of 500 million yuan, but who told us to do it for the good of MCU? It is also a good thing for everyone to cooperate to make money, expand the market, and attract audiences.

If we don't shoot, the audience will be sucked away by other entertainment methods, and everyone is in one camp. "

Since last year's revenue exceeded 25 billion and was firmly at the threshold of the first-tier manufacturers, Lehmann was more confident, and he continued to cite the benefits of Namor's project with his hands behind his back, "As long as the success of Hulk's sequel is not bad, there will be enough. The environment of public opinion has made our two hype the new character Namor. After another year of image precipitation, although the foundation will not be particularly broad, the conceptual risk has also been naturally reduced a lot.

When it is launched next summer, fans will be able to recognize it when they chat, and it will be convenient for our publicity work to be carried out. "

Lehman simulated the prospect of the project, "This is all visible and achievable, just like "Reunion" made Loki popular, "Thor 2" continued to write articles on the two brothers, and then sold it again. Our creations all follow the market trend. I have thought about the words on the poster, Megatron Seven Seas, Namor Returns, do you think there is a market for this idea?"

Jeff Hill has already accepted the brain holes and thinking of these two, thinking that Star-Lord can be hyped up, and Namor, who has foreshadowed it, seems to have no risk at all. In the face of possible interests, Universal CEO There is no dissatisfaction with being calculated, and there is a longing smile on his face, "Yes, yes, continue to talk."

"With the foundation of popularity, I will let Marvel Comics make a set of "Namo" journals when the concept of characters is hot, and it will be sold at a discount when "The Incredible Hulk 2" is shown. Can it increase the audience of comics?"

"Okay, this works."

"Also, most of the people watching Marvel are for fun, and there are many passersby. If you want to take care of this part, you only need to shoot the content they are interested in and the quality of the movie is in place. We have designed a lot of contradictions. Conflicts, such as the battle for the throne, the hatred between the sea clan and humans, and the land and sea battles, are basically driven by clear events from the beginning to the end, the big and small climaxes are uninterrupted, and the cool, dramatic and big scenes are guaranteed.”

Lemanti said: "The reason why the shooting amount is at least about 150 million is because the visual effects must guarantee the quality, and the audience will be immersed in this deep-sea world when they watch it, and every penny will be used. The investment is high. The truth is, if we want to invest money, we are also investing an equal share, and we will not be involved in this... We have cooperated several times, so there should be trust in this."

"Oh, I didn't mean that..."

"Then let's shoot, our two families will implement it well."

"shoot."

Jeff Hill was almost 50, and he held Lyman's hand tightly, "As a result, Marvel's reputation is even more prosperous, and superheroes are all out of our family." He meant something.

"That's not the case. We have always cultivated the dependence of movie fans in the market with stable output, but we have not underestimated anyone's idea."

"Haha." The other party also laughed. Marvel is so beautiful, who wouldn't take a high look, "Then do you want to direct this play?"

"Me? Forget it, I don't have time." Lyman suggested, "I recommend James Wen as the chief director for the "Aquaman" project."

"Wen? But he has never made a class-A masterpiece, and has no experience in executing and scheduling large-scale studios."

"Since his debut, he has directed and supervised 10 works (the entire series of "The Chainsaw" is his), none of which is lower than 6 points. Wen is undoubtedly an excellent director, and I don't think he is limited to Horror themes."

Kevin on the side also nodded, the boss has spoken, he also knew the answer in advance, "If you want to portray a wonderful deep-sea world, the substitution of atmosphere is very important. No one should question a new generation of horror masters on the atmosphere. control."

"That's quite appropriate to say..."

Jeff is of course clear about the resume of Director Wen, who has an amazing input-output ratio in recent years, and he also knows that some outsiders jokingly call "Director Wen" Lehman's eldest disciple. I didn't think that Lehmann would mess around with one of his biggest high-quality assets, so he nodded.

"Since that's the case, I have no problem in general. I will go through the project approval procedures with the review department to get the schedule and publicity resources. Specifically, it will be released next summer, so how long are you going to shoot?"

"If preparations start in the past few days, it will probably start in April or May."

After Universal's CEO roughly understood, he waved his hand to let Marvel Studios figure it out.

As I said at the beginning, Universal is not very involved in how Marvel implements its ideas, and the editing power is not allowed to go out at all.

For two consecutive days, the preliminary copyright and development procedures on both sides were implemented first, and when the project had legal protection in black and white, Kevin immediately held a high-level meeting and elaborated on the plan preparations in more detail.

The first to bear the brunt must be the mold opening and orderly distribution preparation of the new character Namo derivatives, the supply of stores and stores. According to the previous contract, this part is a fixed share, but in terms of production lines, Universal also has it, and Marvel also has it. The family members should communicate their orders slowly to ensure that they can make money;

The other is publishing, comics, advertising, business cooperation and other large and small businesses that are involved in the birth of image property rights, and there must be an advance planning.

In recent years, with the popularity of the Marvel concept, the business has expanded, and the manpower reserves of Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios are also rising. Last year, only 857 million were spent on staff salaries.

It’s also quite difficult for a big studio to support a family, which is why so many entertainment companies in Hollywood close down every year. To produce profitable projects, the output must not be small, and sometimes it is really difficult.

If you are sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat. The family has a great business, and the prosperity also hides a crisis.

Like the 67 billion that is lying on the group’s account at the moment, it can only maintain the most basic daily operations and salary expenses for 3 years. Once something goes wrong or the production and sales are unfavorable, the major studios need to lay off staff to reduce operating costs. .

The film industry is very dependent on the environment. Even if he has assets, Lehman does not dare to bet everything on streaming media.

Hundreds of millions of copyright competitions are too crowded for the company's cash flow, so it is better to burn capital.

On the other hand, ~www.readwn.com~ Lehmann asked Wen Ziren to get together immediately after he took over Universal.

Ray Warner said that after Christmas last year, he went to the "American Horror" crew again, and he was not in Los Angeles.

"It's for the new show, I've reserved a schedule."

The two have long been a combination of interests.

In a French restaurant, he was cutting foie gras, and he spoke more kindly and directly in private, "If it suits me, I will not refuse."

"There is something bothering you."

Eating and drinking, Lyman also explained Namor's thoughts carefully.

"I'll shoot?"

Hearing that Universal and Marvel had at least 150 million large crews involving hundreds of people, Director Wen was a little stressed.

"Will it be bad for me? Will Universal agree?" Wen Ziren, who was not hurriedly appointed by Universal and took over Justin Lin's "Fast 7" guide tube, really had no confidence in big projects.

The more people there are, the more things will happen. It really tests the leadership ability of a director. This is not entirely a sensory issue such as aesthetics.

"I have confidence in you, and everyone came here like this. If you don't know, I can let you participate in the production of "The Incredible Hulk 2" first. There are a few scenes about Namor, which you will shoot. All right."

"Ha, that's good."

The rumors are right.

Lehman was the guide for Wen Ziren to enter Hollywood. With such kindness, he would not refuse hypocritically, "If it really doesn't work, I'll quit then."

Director Wen also didn't want to delay Marvel's creation, so he took a step ahead.

"Let's talk about it when the time comes. In a few days, you will have your agent come over to finalize the contract."

"No need, just a few scenes..."

"Global also has investments, so there is no need to save me money."

It's better to do public affairs. At the end of the dinner, Wen Ziren could not refuse the salary issue of joining the group...