Seven Hundred and Fourteen - Rules Can Serve You.
"...Yeah, Jeff, I don't think there's anything to discuss in the script."
In the restaurant of Greenberg Manor, Wayne was wearing pajamas, holding a mobile phone in one hand, tilting his head and talking continuously. The other hand was not idle either, constantly picking up a piece of scrambled egg with a steel fork and putting it into his mouth.
Chewing something in his mouth made his voice a little slurred. "I have only one opinion about the script. If any executive or shareholder feels that he or she understands DC superheroes or movies better than I do, then I respect his or her opinion on revisions!"
"Um...honey, is there anything left to eat?"
While Wayne was tilting his neck and holding the phone between his legs, talking to the CEO of Warner Bros. in an obviously joking tone, Naomi Watts covered her mouth with one hand and walked into the restaurant while yawning.
Staring at the Australian actress fiercely, he pointed to the phone hanging around his neck, and then pointed to the place on the dining table reserved for breakfast.
"Sorry."
Naomi Watts shrugged her shoulders and apologized silently. Regardless of whether the man saw the shape of her apology, she pulled out her chair, sat in front of breakfast, and started stuffing stuff into her mouth. food.
"Wayne, be prepared. Within a week, I will have "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" pass the review committee as soon as possible and promote the approval of these two projects as soon as possible!"
Jeff Robinov's voice came over the phone. In fact, the CEO of Warner Bros. had thought of this result early on. This call was more like a routine for other senior executives. "Hey man, don't tell me you're eating breakfast and it's past ten in the morning."
"That's right, I gave myself half a day off." Wayne responded with a smile, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the Australian actress. "Okay, let's do this for now, Jeff, try to move as fast as possible, we don't have enough time."
After hanging up the phone, he threw the mobile phone on the dining table, lowered his head and continued to work hard on the scrambled eggs and bacon on the plate.
Although it was already late September, the sunshine in Los Angeles was still warm. Naomi Watts picked up the milk and took two big sips in a row. He turned to look at the hot sky outside the window and asked casually: "What happened? Ask Jeff to call the manor early in the morning to find you."
"There are issues with the scripts of 'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman.'" Wayne mumbled in response without even raising his head: "Some senior executives on the Warner Bros. review board have some opinions on the timelines of these two scripts."
"Then how to solve it?" The Australian actress shook her head slightly and continued to ask in surprise: "Revise the script? Or what?"
Without waiting for his answer, he cleared his throat and pretended to be serious with a look on his face: "Wayne Greenberg's new project has been blocked, and the Warner Bros. review committee requested changes. Otherwise, the project will not be approved. Hahaha, I really look forward to this being the headline tomorrow!"
"Rebirth of the Great Era of Fighting Waves"
"Dear Ms. Watts, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."
After swallowing the last bite of food, Wayne leaned back in his chair with a contented look on his face, glanced at the proud Naomi Watts, reached for a cigarette, took out a cigarette, lit it and took a big puff.
With the smoke coming out of his mouth, he smiled and said: "It will only take a week at most before Jeff will push for the project to be approved. Nami, you have to know that if you have money in Hollywood, then the rules can be changed. If you If you have power, then the rules will serve you.
The rules of the Warner Bros. review board are tailor-made for producers and directors who have neither money nor power. But I am not in this category, do you understand? "
Rolling her eyes fiercely, Naomi Watts didn't continue to say anything. Although she didn't want to admit it, everything the other party said was the fact about Chi Luoluo in this circle.
Major Hollywood film companies have rigorous and complete project review mechanisms. Unlike independent film companies, every project invested and produced by a large film company must go through an almost rigorous review process.
It is still the late 1990s, but the scale of investment in mainstream commercial films in Hollywood has reached tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Don't look at the major Hollywood film companies. They all seem to have deep pockets, but in fact they don't have much liquidity. A failure to invest in a large-scale project worth hundreds of millions of dollars can completely bankrupt a medium-sized film company and hurt a large film company. Move the bones.
Therefore, film companies have no choice but to be cautious. Even so, film investment is like gambling again and again for film companies. No company can ensure the success of the film before the project is released. This is also a Hollywood film company. Like One of the reasons for making a sequel project.
Since Hollywood has been commercialized for so many years, film companies have long had a complete set of operating rules. However, before the project is officially funded, there are no one knows how many plans are required every day to review the project. At this level, the circle is suppressed. It is not uncommon for projects to undergo internal review for several years.
But all of this is for ordinary producers or directors. Practitioners at the level of Wayne or Steven Spielberg are fully capable of ignoring the almost strict rules in the industry to a certain extent. Strict rules.
Not to mention having detailed project plans and scripts, directors or producers of their level, even if they are empty-handed and rely on a sudden idea, there will still be no shortage of investors who take the initiative to send money.
"I'm going to visit Fundy at the farm, do you want to come with me?"
For actresses, body management is always the focus of life. Naomi Watts seemed to be very hungry, but she still controlled her desire to eat more and simply ate some bread and picked up skim milk. He looked at Wayne and complained:
"Damn, I hope little Fundy hasn't forgotten me as a mother."
"I have an appointment with Roland Emmerich this afternoon to talk to him about the preparations for "King Kong."" Wayne shrugged at the woman and spread his hands regretfully. "Cherish your vacation, Nami. I suggest you stay at the farm for two days and spend time with our good daughter."
"Hmm, I'll think about it."
Naomi Watts drank up the milk in one gulp, stood up and walked out of the restaurant. "But I have to say, Wayne, I really enjoy working."
Looking at the graceful back of the Australian girl, Wayne's mind kept thinking about the madness last night. Even he admits in his heart that no matter how hot the other women's bodies are or how delicate their faces are, in the end, the woman who is most compatible with him has to be this Australian girl.
When he was alone in the restaurant, he inevitably began to think about the phone call he had just answered.
In fact, after the scripts for "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" were submitted to Warner Bros. together with the project plan, Wayne had already thought that there would definitely be some executives who would object to the timeline of the scripts.
After all, according to his plan, "Wonder Woman" will be produced and released before the beginning of "Superman". If the order of the two films were reversed, these sounds would never appear.
The first is "Wonder Woman". Wayne did not make many changes, and the overall script still followed the version in his mind. After all, the long legs of the Israeli actress are really impressive.
The success of this version has fully proved the excellence of its script and story. He did not make any thankless and self-righteous revisions at all. If there is any difference between the current script and the scenes in memory, it is just that some lines have been added to the film to hint at the existence of Green Lantern, seemingly true or false.
The Easter egg at the end of the film is what he really planned, and the rest of the story has not changed much. The "Wonder Woman" in my memory is like a 360-degree display of how beautiful Gal Gadot is, and the version he is about to shoot, in addition to changing the heroine, still continues this way.
What aroused the opinions of Warner Bros. executives was actually the script and story arrangement of "Superman". Because Wayne put Superman's story line before "Wonder Woman".
There is nothing surprising about the overall story of "Superman". It can be said that even if it has not been filmed yet, DC movie fans can almost guess it. This film mainly gives the origin of Clark Kent, and the biggest villain will only be General Zod.
Just according to normal people's understanding, there is no doubt that "Superman", which is earlier in the timeline, will be produced and released first, and then through some small means to introduce Wonder Woman Diana Prince.
But Wayne didn't do that. His plan was completely the opposite.
A single film, or two films put together, with "Superman" in front and "Wonder Woman" in the back, is indeed more conducive to the film's screening performance, and is also conducive to fans' understanding and smooth viewing of the movie.
However, Wayne's eyes were not fixed on these two films at all. Instead, he paid more attention to the foundation laid by these two films for "Justice League" after they were released, providing sufficiently convincing logic.
At least in his opinion, with the popularity accumulated in the past few years, coupled with the global popularity of "Superman" and "Wonder Woman", even if the timelines of these two films are reversed, there will still be no shortage of fans. support.
But "Justice League" is completely different. When the expectations of movie fans are raised to the highest level, the difficulty of making "Justice League" is also raised to the highest level.
No one can deny that shooting a movie that is as big as a grocery store is far more difficult than a movie with a single protagonist. When various heroes come together, the appearance time, before and after appearance, the display of their respective abilities, etc., etc., will inevitably become the problem of the century.
Now it seems that none of the top executives at Warner Bros. have any concerns about Wayne being able to make "Justice League" well. But these concerns have always been tumbling in his heart. After all, he is not Joss Whedon. In this type of film, he will not even have the opportunity to practice.
In fact, as long as "Justice League" can be successful and the first phase of the DC Universe comes to a perfect conclusion, Wayne really won't worry about the development of the second phase.
Whether it is the new characters he has planned for, such as Shazam, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Constantine, Suicide Squad, etc., or the sequels of Batman, The Flash, and Superman, with the success of the first phase, As long as we keep going step by step, even if one or two of the films are not satisfactory, it will hardly affect the advancement of the overall universe.
Everything was no different from Wayne's expectations. Warner Bros. announced the project approval notices for "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" through its media before the end of September. Once the news was released, it immediately attracted attention across North America.
Compared with the slightly dull theater market in late September, it is obvious that the news of the projects of "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" can attract more attention from the media and movie fans.
This year can be called the movie year of Warner Bros. From May, when the summer season started, to now when the summer war has basically ended, Warner Bros. can be said to be the biggest winner.
So far, the first place in the 1 ranking is still occupied by "The Flash" 2. In second place is "Saving Private Ryan" with $214 million, which is also distributed by Warner Bros.
Behind it is the fourth-placed film "The Matrix: Revolutions" with US$201 million. The North American box office of this R-rated film finally barely passed the US$200 million threshold. Then there are "Charlie's Angels" with a North American box office of 145 million U.S. dollars, "Rush Hour" with a North American box office of just over 100 million U.S. dollars, "Sky Wars 4" with a North American box office of 130 million U.S. dollars, "Electronic Love Letter" with a North American box office of 115 million U.S. dollars, etc. wait.
Just look at this year's North American annual box office rankings and take a quick look. Basically half of the top ten have Warner Bros.'s name on them.
The glory that lasted for more than half a year is nothing new in the eyes of the media, or it can be said that it has become numb. Don't think that Warner Bros.'s dominance of the theatrical market is over. Now that the popularity of "The Hour" is still there, Warner Bros. has already started promoting "Superman" which was released in early October... ....
No one can deny the success of Warner Bros. this year. Although it is only January, the entire Hollywood has realized that this year’s total revenue of Warner Bros. is destined to rank first among the six giants.
On the morning of October 1st, reporters from hundreds of North American mainstream media flocked to the Warner Bros. headquarters building in Burbank. Today, the project launch conferences for "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" will be held here. It has attracted the attention of almost all media, and no media is willing to miss the new DC work that is destined to be hot. There is not much news to hype in it.
"'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman', these two projects will be approved together. I didn't expect Warner Bros.'s appetite to be so big!"
In a large conference room on the 7th floor of the Warner Bros. Building, Candice Mays, a reporter from the New York Times, looked at her colleagues who were still pouring in, and sighed in a low voice to the photographer next to her.
"It's not just Warner Bros. who has a big appetite." Photographer Hunter Brent stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat from his head, looked at the empty organizer's long table, and joked: "Candice, I prefer to believe it. It was Wayne Greenberg who became more ambitious and had an even bigger appetite."
"Actually, I don't blame Warner Bros. and Wayne Greenberg for being so crazy and starting two huge projects at the same time." A reporter from the New Yorker on the side lowered his head and said after hearing the chat between the two: "Have you noticed this year's North American annual movie box office rankings? About half of the top ten are distributed by Warner Bros."
He paused for a moment, looked around at the noisy crowd, deliberately lowered his voice, and continued: "What's even more shocking is that behind many of these projects, there is Wayne Green. The name Berg!”
The two reporters from the New York Times were stunned for a moment, then nodded silently. "The Flash", "The Matrix", and "Charlie's Angels", these three works that broke into the top ten box office of the year, Wayne is either the director or the investor and producer.
From this aspect alone, this name is still the biggest guarantee for Hollywood's success. It makes perfect sense that Warner Bros. will agree to jointly develop "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" projects, and all of them will be handed over to Wayne. .
The reporters in the large conference room are still entering the room, and the protagonist they are waiting for is in an office not far from the conference room, also waiting for the official start of the project launch conference.
"Zach, I heard that you have received a lot of invitations during this period."
A few people were sitting on the sofa. Luke Simmons looked at Zack Snyder, who was wearing a crisp suit, and joked: "If I were you, I would just put my head aside and go it alone."
After speaking, he deliberately glanced at Wayne and raised an eyebrow at Zack Snyder.
"call."
Zack Snyder whistled, crossed his hands on his legs, and watched Luke Simmons shrug, a sentence that made the other person's blood pressure soar. "Luke, if you hadn't had the same idea back then, I, a New York commercial film director, wouldn't have been offered the position of assistant director of "Joker."
His moderate counterattack immediately made everyone in the office laugh. Everyone looked at Luke Simmons with a smile. Basically everyone knew what happened back then.
At that time, if Luke Simmons, who was Wayne's senior, was not lured away by a small film company with the temptation of being a director, there is no doubt that there would be no Zack Snyder today. This incident has basically become the main topic for team members to tease him, and it has never gone out of style.
Looking at the senior who raised his middle finger to everyone, Wayne also smiled and shook his head. There are inevitably conflicts among this group of people, but every time when their new project starts, they will at least temporarily put aside all their prejudices, and at least show the unity they deserve in front of themselves. This is enough. .
There is another point, what Luke Simmons said is absolutely correct, that is, the invitation to Zack Snyder is flying like flakes.
According to the information he learned, since the North American box office of "The Matrix Revolutions" exceeded 200 million US dollars, many companies in the industry have extended an olive branch to Zack Snyder. This has always been the case in this circle. Business performance means everything. There is no doubt that Director Zha is now very popular in the circle.
Wayne suspects that if Zack Snyder is willing to let go, there will definitely be no shortage of high-paying projects among the film companies that have extended invitations to him. Maybe 10+10 companies will be willing to produce it. After all, the results of the "Matrix" trilogy are there, and the box office numbers are far more convincing than talent and ability.
The weird circle in Hollywood has always been like this. There are many talented film directors, but 99% of such people are still doing odd jobs on some small crew. Until they give up, they can't get a chance to direct.
Opportunity is always more important than talent. None of the film directors who can achieve success in this circle will become famous smoothly.
Fortunately, people like Wayne had a good father who was willing and able to support his debut film, so he got a chance to show himself to the outside world.
Take David Lynch, for example. When filming his first feature film "Eraserhead," this guy not only defrauded the North American Film Association of tens of thousands of support funds, but also emptied all his savings. Even so, the funds required for a debut film are still a drop in the bucket.
In the end, there was no other way, so David Lynch simply made a movie while delivering newspapers and picking up rags to make money. Finally, "Eraserhead" was completed and he had the opportunity to show himself to the outside world. If you are a fan of cult films, cult films, and grindhouse films, you should have seen this special "classic".
Robert Rodriguez's first work, "A Killer's Elegy," was funded by his work as a "guinea pig" for a pharmaceutical company to test drugs.
There are countless similar things. It can be said that none of the famous Hollywood directors achieve success easily. Don't look at it. After you become famous, major film companies are extremely generous when investing in them. But before success, even if the Hollywood giants see your talent that is about to overflow, they will never let go of their money bags.
It is because he knows the importance of opportunities that Zack Snyder is unwilling to take risks. He understands his luck better than anyone else. Don't think that he was laughing when he was teasing Luke Simmons. In fact, among the entire behind-the-scenes team, he and Luke Simmons have always had a good relationship, just because of that opportunity that happened by chance.
"Zach, when you get back, tidy up your beard. I don't want to be called a black-hearted capitalist who is trying to exploit you." He raised his wrist and looked at the time. Wayne reached out and patted Zack Snyder on the shoulder. "Get ready, in ten minutes we will face those media reporters who are like flies."
Zack Snyder shrugged, not caring about the messy beard on his face at all, and just lowered his head to adjust his suit.
Many people were laughing at him behind his back, mocking his shrinking when faced with the "Superman" guide tube, but no one knew how much pressure he was under after picking up the guide tube.
Not to mention the "Superman" project, even when he was in charge of filming "The Matrix" in the first two years, the constant pressure almost caused him to collapse several times. As Wayne said, Zack Snyder was lucky in that he got the opportunity smoothly, but he also lost the time to train himself to withstand pressure through low-cost projects.
He has never told anyone that during the filming of "The Matrix", even if he completed his daily work step by step, the terrible pressure made him never have a good night's sleep...