Three Hundred-I Will Not Take over Other People’s Projects

Although he was skeptical about the news reported by the tabloids about Wayne's conflict with Warner Bros., and knew that the possibility of it being true was very low, Townsend-Rosman still did not give up.

But when he heard the other party speaking frankly about the shares in his hand, his heart actually dropped.

Based on the current shareholding ratio, Wayne can be said to be one of the major shareholders of Warner Brothers. I am afraid there is no reason to abandon his own company and cooperate with outsiders.

No matter what plans he had in mind, considering the special relationship between the other party and his family, Wayne did not beat around the bush and said directly: "Townsend, for the rest of this year, I have determined the work plan and there will be no more Start directing any movie.

Therefore, most of the remaining half of the year will be mainly rest. Some projects may be launched in the middle, and even if a part-time producer works, the most he can do is to do planning work, and he will not work on the front-line crew. "

"You want a vacation?!"

This news really surprised Townsend Rothman. As we all know, Wayne Greenberg is definitely one of the representatives of Hollywood workaholics. He is like an iron man, shooting one movie after another non-stop.

However, his work efficiency and achievements fully deserve the title of workaholic.

"Yes." Nodding affirmatively, Wayne took a deep drag on the cigarette and glanced at his mother who was in a good mood. "So, Townsend, if you have any questions, you can just say it. If I can help, I will definitely help. After all, it was you who gave me the first chance and released "Happy Death Day"."

This is his sincere words, and there is no trace of water in them. If he really wanted to thank anyone, the first person he thought of was Townsend Roseman.

Although his father was actually behind this, the other party gave him a chance to show himself, which is an objective thing.

In addition, the other party worked hard to find the first batch of perfumes handmade by her mother's idol, fulfilling her mother's fantasy when she was young.

Even though they parted ways immediately after the first movie, ending their short-term cooperative relationship, and there were some unpleasant moments in the process, this did not affect his good impression of the other party.

"Okay." Townsend-Rosman crossed his hands, leaned on the sofa and looked at several people around him, including his assistant Nina, who was sitting alone in a corner.

"Then let me tell you directly, Wayne. Yesterday, Paramount's Ms. Shirley Lansing and I talked for a long time on the phone. Regarding the project that our two companies invested in together, yes, it has become a The Titanic of inside jokes.

The film has been in preparation since 1992, but now half of 1995 has passed. In addition to chasing us for investment, James Cameron has postponed the filming plan again and again. For more than three years, we have invested more than 150 million US dollars in this project, but we have not seen even a single shot of footage!

So, Shirley Lansing and I have always wanted to change directors! But there is also no suitable candidate in the industry. If you are willing to take over this series, we can give you a sky-high share of the remuneration for the director and producer..."

"No, I won't take over other people's projects!"

Without hearing what the other party said or the conditions that were about to be offered, Wayne interrupted him directly.

The fundamental reason is that it is too difficult. First of all, not to mention the production style, a project that has been prepared for nearly four years and all the specific plans are in the minds of the director team, whoever takes over will definitely die.

No matter who takes over this hot potato, the first thing to do is to replace the core team, and then they have to face the mess of hundreds of people working half of the work. It may take several years to sort it out.

There is also the most important production style. Wayne himself is very sure that he will never be able to make such a warm movie. An enduring love story like this will completely change in his hands.

Everyone knows their own business, and every director is good at different things. The same is true for Wayne himself. Just like now, he will never overestimate his ability and shoot comedy movies and pure love movies. This is completely different from him. A way.

"Are you sure you won't think about it again?" Townsend-Rosman's voice was unhurried. "Believe me, with the speed at which you shoot the scenes, this project, which has been basically prepared, should take less than two or three months to shoot all the scenes."

Wayne has never shied away from his reputation as a quick shooter, but he really didn't dare touch this film.

It is true that Townsend-Rossman is an insider, but he is not a director and does not understand the difficulty at all.

"Townsend, I suggest you give up the idea of ​​changing directors." Wayne put out his cigarette in the ashtray, tilted his head and gave his sincere advice. "There is too much work involved, definitely more than you and Paramount imagined, and the effect may not be good. Director James Cameron is the most suitable candidate."

New projects start shooting in Hollywood every day, and there are countless people involved in changing actors midway. Changing actors and the like is relatively normal, but the most taboo thing for the crew is probably changing directors.

Regardless of whether there is a producer or not, the director will always be the leader of the filming work, and the work of the normal crew will always revolve around the director's creativity.

However, capital has always had the final say in Hollywood. Even if they know the disadvantages of changing directors, sometimes they have to change them. For example, if there is a conflict between a big-name star and the director, which prevents work from proceeding normally, or if the producer has objections to the director, it may cause the director to lose his job after half the filming of the film.

Just like the incomparable classic "Gone with the Wind", in the preparation stage of the film, there was a stumbling block due to the issue of actors' remuneration, and the filming finally started. The male lead Clark Gable fell out with the director George Cukor because of a trivial matter. .

The producers chose to side with the big stars, blaming George Cukor for issues such as the filming schedule. MGM founder Louis Meyer weighed the pros and cons and finally fired the director who was halfway through filming and replaced him with a well-known director. Great director Victor Fleming. Poor George Cukor worked hard for more than two years to prepare, and only shot for more than three weeks before he was fired.

There is another more famous thing. After the formation of Marvel Entertainment, Disney announced that Edgar Wright would direct the latest movie "Ant-Man". A large number of fans and media around the world felt that this movie must be It's the best one in the Marvel Universe.

But contrary to expectations, Edgar Wright's strong personal style is not harmonious with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In an interview with the media, he said helplessly: 'I want to make a Marvel movie, but Marvel doesn't want to make an Edgar Wright-style movie. ’

Finally, when the film was about to be shot, the two parties had an unpleasant incident and parted ways.

The situation Wayne encountered was not much different from that of Edgar Wright. Directors with strong personal styles like them are most afraid of this kind of tricky situation.

So even though he knew the potential of "Titanic", he never had any small thoughts.

"Okay, let's not talk about this topic." Townsend-Rosman saw that he was determined and did not continue to insist. Instead, he took out a stack of comic books from his bag.

"Take a look at this, I think you might be interested."

When he came this time, even though he knew that the hope was not great, he was fully prepared. "Batman Begins" is now blowing a dark hurricane all over the world. Whether it is North America or overseas theater markets, they are also trembling under this dark and serious movie.

What’s even more eye-catching is Warner Bros.’ crazy peripheral income. Twentieth Century Fox’s marketing department has estimated that before “Batman Begins” is released in North America, the film’s production costs will come from peripherals. Earn it back!

The revenue generated by this kind of film is too terrifying. I don’t know how many companies are jealous of it, but 20th Century Fox is lucky. They also have a treasure in their hands, which is this set of comic books.

"Aha, "X-Men"!" Wayne exclaimed and opened the top book. It was the first issue of "X-Men" published in 1969. The creators were Stan Lee and Jack -Kobe Bryant.

Others don't know this series, but he understands it very well. This is a big gold mine. Even if 20th Century Fox has no overall plan and makes a few random shots, it can still maintain a successful series.

Ever since Townsend-Rossman started discussing business with Wayne, the elder Greenbergs had not spoken. They did not want to influence their son's decision because of themselves.

Seeing him turn his attention to the comics, the few of them continued to communicate, constantly recalling the past events of their youth.

"New Line is about to be unable to sustain itself. I heard the news more than once that Shea plans to sell his shares to Time Warner. This year they have only invested in one major production, including the participation of Warner Brothers. David - Fincher directed "Seven."

Even if Ruben and Anna didn't ask, Townsend-Rossman talked about New Line's recent situation with a sigh of relief. He knew that Old Greenberg would want to hear this.

"No, New Line will not fall so easily." Ruben Greenberg shook his head, leaned on the sofa with a big belly, and said with great certainty: "Shay's character is not that fragile, as long as this movie is called If the film "Seven Deadly Sins" succeeds in his bet, New Line will come back to life."

Old Greenberg thought he knew his former partner. That person had a strong desire for power and would never be willing to sell the company completely.

Shrugging, Townsend-Rothman tilted his head and said, "Who knows, investing in a movie is like gambling unless..."

Speaking of this, he immediately looked at the young man opposite, who was reading the old comic with a smile on his face.

Anna Greenberg also looked at her son. They all knew in their hearts that the person who could turn film investment into a sure-win gamble was the young man opposite. He was also the director with the most terrifying success rate in Hollywood in recent years.

A long time ago, the media reported more than once that the name Wayne Greenberg represents success!