Chapter 444 444 Independent Films

"You mean the script you mentioned to me last time?" Hugo felt a little surprised, but it was reasonable. After all, he and Quentin had only met twice, and Quentin would insist on hoping to meet Hugo. On the one hand, it is definitely not a simple chat with friends, so the script invitation is the most reasonable explanation.

"Yes, the name of the script is 'Pulp Fiction'. After thinking about it for a long time, I originally wanted to use a character actor like John Travolta (John. Travolta) to act, but there is still no way to abandon 'If you What would it be like to come to the show?" Quentin didn't beat around the bush any more, and directly stated his thoughts.

"Pulp Fiction", it really is this movie. "Pulp Fiction" was a crucial piece of Quentin's directorial career, and the film was a shining star even in 1994, when it was full of masterpieces. When people bring up the pomp of 1994, "Pulp Fiction" along with "Forrest Gump" and "The Shawshank Redemption" make up an enduring troika of absolute classics.

If it was said before that "The Shawshank Redemption" missed the Oscars and lost to "Forrest Gump", people would be amazed; but in fact, many film critics are even more embarrassed that "Pulp Fiction" failed to break out of the siege, simply from the film In terms of quality and film pioneering, "Pulp Fiction" can be regarded as a milestone, but it has not been able to win the freedom and hope advocated by "The Shawshank Redemption" in terms of film depth.

The success of the film "Pulp Fiction" is that it plays a new trick on the disordered ring structure, breaks people's fixed thinking mode in terms of narrative structure, and uses exquisite structure with excellent lines and dark humor to separate the film from the film. It has reached the level of ordinary genre films and has had a huge impact on subsequent films, and its unique style also makes this film one of the most important films of the 1990s.

In addition, "Pulp Fiction"'s handling of violent elements, the connection of line details, and the retro trend led by clothing, hairstyles, music and other links are all parts that make it a classic. At first glance, this movie is just a gangster movie, but there are many plot designs and dialogues worthy of deep consideration. It is a masterpiece worthy of repeated viewing and appreciation.

After its release, "Pulp Fiction" not only won praise from critics, but also won the love of audiences. On the IMDB 250 Best Movies list, "The Shawshank Redemption" has been at the top of the list for nearly ten years, while "Pulp Fiction" has stayed at the fourth place for ten years, ranking only two "The Godfather" behind the movie.

As far as Hugo is concerned, if it is "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Pulp Fiction", he personally prefers the latter, and the dark humor in it is even more applauded.

Although he suddenly heard the invitation to "Pulp Fiction" and confirmed Hugo's previous guess, Hugo still kept his cool and showed an apologetic smile, "Quentin, you know, I'm recording an album, and after the end, the band Will be touring back to LA and then doing the movie promotion, the album promotion, I don't think there's a way to fit the schedule together."

Quentin is not surprised at all. He already knew about this situation when he sent an invitation to Hugo last time, but last time he just had a flash of inspiration, but this time he thought it through and really felt that Hugo It fits the needs of the role in his movie very well, so he doesn't plan to give up immediately.

"The schedule is actually not a big problem. I am currently planning to start shooting in December or January next year. The entire shooting cycle should be about seven weeks. As long as you are willing to act, the schedule can be adjusted. I believe we can find cooperation. time." Quentin immediately expressed his thoughts. He originally planned to start filming in November, but now that he has found the male lead target, he has never been a person who will give up easily, so he would rather postpone the filming. He's also pulling Hugo into the movie lineup!

Seeing Quentin's persistence, Hugo laughed dumbly. Since Quentin had already said so, the reason for Hugo's refusal was naturally no longer valid. What's more, Hugo is very interested in "Pulp Fiction", and this script is full of surprises in terms of lines and stories.

Most importantly, the role that Quentin offered to Hugo was obviously the hero Vincent, and the role of this underworld gangster was a whole new challenge for Hugo, perhaps different from "Schindler's List" or The kind of challenge of "The Hero of the Sea of ​​Righteousness", but the dark humor of the character itself and the tension in the face of absurd situations are actually a huge test for the actor's expressiveness. Moreover, this is another performance opportunity to break the stereotype of Hugo's appearance. If Hugo wants to play the role well, the test of his acting skills will definitely not be inferior to "Schindler's List".

So, Hugo lowered his eyes with a smile, and nodded his chin slightly, "You have solved my reason, so, tell me about your plan?"

Quentin didn't show a look of joy on his face, but went on to say, "You know, I'm not a famous director, and the movies I shoot are cult movies that are difficult to promote widely, I can pull The sponsorship is very limited, so I don't have enough money to invite big-name actors to join, like, you."

The so-called Cult film is an alternative classic (Cult. Classic), mainly refers to the unique shooting method, the subject matter is strange, the sword is slanted, the style is abnormal, with a strong personal point of view, controversial, usually low-cost production, not based on Market-led films. In short, it is a film that belongs to a non-mainstream field but can be very popular among a certain young group. Niche films, alternative films, and noir films can all be considered Cult films. "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction" are typical Cult movie masterpieces.

"Me?" Hugo was amused by Quentin's words, and couldn't help laughing, "Are you sure you know who the object of the conversation is now?"

"Of course." Quentin reluctantly twitched the corners of his mouth, "After experiencing the success of 'Yihai Xiongfeng' and 'Sleepless in Seattle', your salary has been shouted at more than 10 million, at least 8 million or more. , You know, the total investment I received for this work is only 8 million, and I have no ability to invite you to play. Therefore, I did not contact your agent, but found you directly, I hope you can give I have some 'offers'."

Since "Sleepless in Seattle", Hugo's remuneration in the minds of producers of major film companies has risen to the eight million level, and Joseph, as an agent, is one of his jobs to increase the remuneration of actors, so he Externally, Hugo's remuneration has also been raised to 10 million grades. This makes Hugo truly enter the ranks.

But in fact, this is just shouting. Before Hugo actually joins a work with a salary of 10 million yuan, these news can only be said to be rumors and cannot be done accurately. Otherwise, some people say that his salary is 20 million, but no company is willing to ask him to film, and this salary is just the moon in the water. Now there are companies that are willing to spend 10 million to invite Hugo to film, but they have never been able to negotiate, so it is still not implemented.

As far as Hugo is concerned, his cognition is still at the level of three million dollars, because this is what he paid for the filming of "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Righteous Sea", and "Schindler's List" only has One million dollars in remuneration. Therefore, for Hugo, there is no accurate concept at all about eight million or ten million.

"Your cost is eight million dollars?" Hugo heard this comparison for the first time, and he couldn't help but sigh that the remuneration of top Hollywood actors is indeed very powerful, and the remuneration of first-line actors is almost the cost of an independent film.

Quentin nodded and said with a wry smile, "Yes, you know, I'm just a little director making independent films now, and I really don't have much appeal."

The concept of independent film originated in Hollywood in the 1950s. At that time, Hollywood was monopolized by the so-called eight major film companies, and the operation of a film production followed a strict producer system. The goal of this producer system is entirely aimed at the market, expecting the maximum profit, so although this system brings a lot of money to the film industry, it also limits the space for film creators to play.

As a result, a group of filmmakers got rid of the control of the eight major film companies, raised their own funds, even wrote their own scripts and acted as directors, and made many ideological films that were completely different from commercial films, which were called independent films.

Independent films do not achieve financing through direct investment by commercial institutions, nor do they take profit as their primary purpose. Small production, low cost, and simplification of technical means are the hallmarks of its extreme reality. However, low investment does not mean rough and unprofessional. In foreign countries, it is an indicator of the degree of economic investment in a film, but independent films also have large investment and large production, such as "Once Upon a Time in America", this film has invested 30 million US dollars.

In terms of subject matter, shooting techniques, and expression, independent films are less influenced by the funders, so they can cover the areas less involved in mainstream films, and can better show the personal characteristics of filmmakers. However, due to financial reasons, the venues, props, actors, costumes and other aspects of independent production are often affected. There is no limit to the subject matter of independent films, which can be commercial films or art films. Its distribution method is somewhat different from that of professional commercial film distribution. Generally, the scale is relatively small, but the review is the same as other films, as long as it does not violate the laws and regulations in the screening area.

Most Cult films are independent films, mainly referring to those films that get rid of the fixed thinking of large film companies and are not market-oriented, but are guided by the thinking of creators such as directors and screenwriters.

Hugo has no sense of rejection of independent films themselves. In fact, after entering the 21st century, independent films have gradually grown into an indispensable part of the film market, and the excellent film "Pulp Fiction" is even more famous. In order to create a classic masterpiece that independent films have entered the mainstream attention, Hugo did not hesitate to look at Quentin and asked with a smile, "Then what are the conditions you are going to give me?"