Four Hundred and Twelve - Kill Peter Parker.
"Who has come early?"
After hearing the assistant lady's report, Wayne did not immediately go up to say hello. Instead, he stopped with Naomi Watts and stood at the theater door to ask.
At this moment, a burst of screams suddenly broke out at the entrance of the Grand Theater, and the fans at the scene cheered and shouted.
The three of them looked outside at the same time. It was Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who walked onto the red carpet together.
Nina looked outside curiously and said, "Up there are Todd McCarthy, David Denbigh and Kenneth Turan."
"Forget it." Wayne shook his head and looked at the two big guys walking across the red carpet for interviews. "Steven and George are coming in soon, we have to say hello right here."
After a short time, the two of them finished their interviews with media reporters and walked into the Grand Theater together. Steven Spielberg hugged Wayne and then said with a smile:
"The film's test screenings have received very good reviews, so it shouldn't be a problem to sell well. The attendance of "Twister" has been slowly declining this week, and "The Departed" just takes over as the box office champion."
It can be said that everyone in the industry knows about the ambitions of Warner Bros. After hearing the words of the good Jewish man, Wayne first shook hands with George Lucas, then puffed up his chest and said with an unceremonious smile:
"Of course, I am confident in my film."
There was a strong confidence in his words, as if the other big production that was premiering tonight didn't exist.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
"Okay, there's no need to entertain us two. You go about your business and we'll go in and rest first." George Lucas patted him on the shoulder and waved to call a staff member over.
"Okay, we'll talk later."
The two major Hollywood directors nodded to Naomi Watts and followed the staff of Warner Bros. to the rest area on the second floor.
"Pity."
After the staff left and the two sat down, Steven Spielberg whispered to the old man: "Wayne is the most suitable director for "Saving Private Ryan." No one can do R-rated movies better than him."
George Lucas took a sip of coffee and said unceremoniously: "Don't think about it. He can facilitate the cooperation between DreamWorks and Warner Brothers, which is the biggest help to you now. There is no way that Wayne will take over the filming of Warner Brothers." Other films.”
The good Jewish man nodded involuntarily. In fact, as the majority shareholder of Warner Brothers, it was a good thing that Wayne did not stand on the Big Six's side to suppress DreamWorks.
Now he has taken the lead in promoting the cooperation between DreamWorks and Warner Bros., allowing DreamWorks to breathe a little easier and focus on building its own distribution channels. Such help is indeed more meaningful to DreamWorks than shooting a film for them. .
"Everyone calls him a dark madman!" Steven Spielberg sneered and looked in the direction of the theater entrance. "But what those people don't know is that Wayne is full of humanity to everyone around him!"
"Jealousy is the biggest sin, Steven." George Lucas agreed: "Sometimes he does seem like a madman, it depends on who is right. However, Wayne's character is indeed very complicated..."
The two people upstairs were talking about Wayne, when an unexpected figure came in front of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
"Strange, why did he come to the premiere of Warner Bros.'s movie..." Nina pushed up her glasses slightly and muttered as she looked at the middle-aged white man walking towards them.
Then he moved two units forward, approached Wayne and whispered: "This is Paul Knight, the executive of Sony Columbia. It seems that he is coming to us."
When he heard Sony Columbia, Wayne was stunned for a moment, and then nodded slightly thoughtfully. This giant acquired by Benzi Capital may be the only member of the six major companies that has not participated in the war this summer, so there should be no hostility between them.
Not allowing him to think any further, the person smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, Wayne."
"Welcome to the movie premiere, hello, Paul." Seeing the other person extending his hand, he took two steps forward and shook his hand politely.
There has also been fierce competition with his films in the past, but according to Hollywood's rules, they will choose to stop after the competition. No one can guarantee whether there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future.
"The reputation of "The Departed" is very good." Paul Knight suddenly appeared this time, obviously not just to say hello. "Warner Bros. is destined to be the big winner this summer. Wayne, I heard that you like superheroes very much. Are you interested in working together?"
The other party didn't mention how they wanted to cooperate, but when Wayne heard him mention superheroes, he immediately thought of the little spider. The most famous copyright in Sony Columbia's hands can only be Peter Parker.
He vaguely remembered that Jimmy had mentioned to him that Sony Columbia had extended cooperation invitations to Jimmy more than once. Faced with the temptation put forward by the other party as soon as they met, Wayne smiled and said nothing.
"Your films Batman Begins and Joker have inspired every studio in Hollywood, and the results of those two films are unbelievable."
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Paul Knight didn't care and continued: "Originally, Columbia also wanted to make its own superhero, but "The Incredible Hulk" failed so miserably that it destroyed the confidence of many senior executives in the company. Wayne, I have to admit that in the comic-book superhero genre, only you can make a film mainstream."
"Thank you, I just have better luck." Unable to figure out what the other party meant, Wayne nodded modestly and kept thinking about what the other party wanted to do.
As the main manager of Sony Columbia, it is impossible for the other party to not know that he will not make films for other companies. Since everyone in the information circle knows this, why do they still want to explore cooperation?
"No, no, no, Wayne." Paul Knight suddenly shook his head seriously and said seriously: "One success can be said to be good luck, but continuous success cannot be due to luck. Sony Columbia and I both believe that, Superheroes can only succeed if they are in your hands."
"ha!"
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him who was trying his best to compliment him, Wayne simply didn't bother to go around in circles anymore. "Paul, let's be honest, how do you want to cooperate? I can tell you clearly that Warner Bros. and I have a series of plans. Within the next ten years, I feel that I will not have time to shoot other companies' projects."
The atmosphere between the two suddenly froze. When the two women beside him thought that this short conversation would end on bad terms, Paul Knight suddenly smiled.
"Wayne, of course I understand what you are saying. I have a proposal here that you can consider."
Halfway through, he looked at Wayne's face and found that he was not impatient, so he continued: "Sony Columbia invested in launching the "Spider-Man" project, how about you being the project producer?
Sony Columbia will rely on your opinions when it comes to recruiting the main creative team, adapting the film script, filming style, etc. You just need to control the direction of the film, just like the work on "The Matrix" similar.
I can assure you that the investment in this project will never be less than US$150 million. If you feel that the budget is not enough, you can always increase it! "
It turned out to be this plan. As he finished speaking, the three people present suddenly realized. During the filming and post-production work of "The Matrix", Wayne did not participate in the specific work. He only pointed out a general direction and gave the creative team a framework.
Moreover, the other party told them all about the general plan, except for the issue of remuneration. This was obviously not a sign of stinginess, but a sign that they were prepared to spend a lot of money.
Wayne smiled and shrugged. Spider-Man was completely different from The Matrix. It was not a conceptual job at all. There was no way he could agree to it.
However, seeing how sincere the other party is, there is a high probability that they will be entangled for a while. Traditional Hollywood methods will take turns, and if you guessed it right, they will spend money.
"In this way, Paul." He leaned forward slightly with his upper body, a look of interest flashing on his face. "I'm very interested in Peter Parker, and darkening Spider-Man should be and is very exciting. I'm the one who decides the script, right? That's great.
Do you think what if we darken Peter Parker's experience and put him in a state of both good and evil? I have filmed superheroes who hide and avoid bloodshed. This time I plan to have Spider-Man killed off at the end. Will it be very interesting? Then we’ll…”
Looking at Wayne who became more and more excited as he talked, Paul Knight's face became darker and darker, turning into a dark and twisted Peter Parker? Spider-Man was killed? This is bullshit!
They want to persuade the other party at all costs, with the goal of ensuring success even if they give up most of the profits from the first film. Once there is a foundation for the success of the first part, starting from the second part, is the time for Sony Columbia to make a lot of money.
I wanted to have a successful beginning, but looking at this, if Peter Parker turns evil and is killed later, so what if the beginning is successful? This is not in the interests of Sony Columbia at all.
"Wayne, think about it. Let's talk some time later." Seeing that he still wanted to continue, Paul Knight reluctantly left a word and turned to walk to the second floor of the theater.
"Hey, Paul, don't you think my plan is very interesting? Paul..."
When the backs of the Sony Columbia executives completely disappeared, Naomi Watts and Nina looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Wayne, you are so bad. Haha, when I just heard you say you wanted to kill Spider-Man, the guy's face turned from blue to black, hahaha." The Australian actress hugged his arm and smiled. Almost bent over.
Wayne put away all his bad intentions, spread his hands, and looked at the two women innocently. "I think Sony Colombia should give up completely now."