Seven Hundred and Sixty Six - Olive Branch

Hollywood Drawn 766-Olive Branch

"Try to let him invest in you, Chris. As long as Wayne Greenberg is willing to invest in you, it won't matter how much money you have. What will follow is an extremely broad development platform. You can spend your time as much as you like." Talent, believe me, Warner Bros. can give you all the conveniences you want.

Listen, Chris, listen! Show your talents to Wayne Greenberg. Remember those materials I told you to look at? Many of your ideas are actually very consistent with this big shot’s production style.

If he values ​​your ideas, then simply throw away the shitty "Memento" script and find a way to join his core team behind the scenes for an internship.

Believe me, as long as you can impress him and join his core team behind the scenes, it will definitely be easier to get results than shooting a few movies in Hollywood. Think about Zack Snyder, think about Guillermo del Toro, even think about that Coppola kid, as long as you can impress him..."

At the Vanity Fair party last night, the agreed time was in the morning, but Christopher Nolan got up early. Since he had just arrived in Los Angeles, his agent drove him to the top of Beverly Hills, in front of the gate of Greenberg Manor.

Listening to the agent's ramblings that he repeated countless times before leaving, he closed the car door and looked up at the historic front entrance of the manor in front of him.

"I'll be waiting for you half a block away. Call me as soon as we finish the conversation, okay?"

The window of the silver Chevrolet sedan was lowered, and the agent warned again: "Chris, this is your best opportunity. Seize it. If you miss this opportunity, you may really start from the bottom."

"Yes, I understand."

Looking down at the suit he was wearing, Christopher Nolan was stopped by the paparazzi who had been guarding him all night before he could get close to the gate of the manor.

"Hey, man, you got an invitation from Wayne?"

"Man, can we talk..."

"..."

But soon, the dozen or so paparazzi surrounding Christopher Nolan quickly dispersed under his surprised gaze and ran across the road from the manor gate. The neat movements make it easy to guess that these people must have practiced more than once.

"Look, don't let me see you harassing the guests of the manor again, otherwise, I will kick your butts!"

Looking up, Christopher Nolan discovered that a strong white man who looked like a bear came out of the guard room at the gate of the manor. The other person raised an arm, pointing at the dozen paparazzi across the road and cursing.

"F**k, I'm not a talkative Hela, and I don't have damn hot coffee for you. I only have m1911 here. Do you want it? A bunch of scum."

The paparazzi who have been squatting at the entrance of Greenberg Manor for a long time basically have something in mind. Most of the people in this manor are very talkative. Even the housekeepers of the manor, Hela and his wife, will occasionally give low-class people like them a cup of coffee.

However, among these easy-to-talk people, this manor security chief was by no means included. No paparazzi would try to provoke this Russian bear.

They all eat this bowl of rice, and of course they all know that this guy's relationship with Wayne Greenberg is very unusual.

Who can guarantee that if you provoke the other party and fail to get the news, you will be treated to a bullet for breakfast? If you think about it with your buttocks, you can imagine that Wayne Greenberg would definitely not mind paying some compensation for the security chief.

"Hello, I made an appointment with Mr. Greenberg last night..."

"Eon, let's go, I'll take you in."

Without waiting for Christopher Nolan to explain, Sergey once again glared at the group of paparazzi opposite him, mouthed at the manor behind him, indicating that he understood and just went in.

"You came a little too early."

After entering the gate of the manor, Sergey invited Christopher Nolan to get on a golf cart and drive along the main garden road to the interior of the manor. "Damn it, it's not even nine o'clock yet, the boss probably hasn't woken up yet."

While observing the huge manor, Christopher Nolan shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter, I can wait a little longer."

Along the way, the two of them chatted about each other. It was the first time since he came to Los Angeles from London that he saw the so-called celebrity treatment in Hollywood. That's right, just before he came in, he could have sworn that he saw two paparazzi digging out the trash can not far from the door.

Comparatively speaking, the paparazzi in the British Isles are even more dedicated than their North American counterparts. After all, Fleet Street has always been famous, and even politicians are not spared by those paparazzi.

However, he had only heard of taking out trash cans before, and this was really the first time he had seen it.

The walk into the manor was far longer than Christopher Nolan imagined, winding around the garden and followed by a green lawn. After passing the lawn, their car stopped next to the fountain in a small square. Only then did he see the whole main building of the manor.

After Sergey put him down, he drove the car back to the gate. The housekeeper Hela took him directly to the living room of the main building.

"Mr. Greenberg hasn't gotten up yet. Mr. Nolan, would you mind having breakfast first?"

"I can wait a little longer."

Sitting on the sofa, Christopher Nolan politely took the coffee and indicated that he had had breakfast. "Can I have two newspapers from today?"

"ok, no problem."

Basically, as long as they are mainstream media newspapers, Greenberg Manor can receive them before dawn. Hela turned around and put a large pile of newspapers back on the coffee table, nodding politely. "If you need anything else, you can always call me."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Christopher Nolan could tell that neither the security guard who brought him in nor the housekeeper had any intention of waking up the owner in advance. But it makes sense. Before he came, he had already envisioned a similar scene.

Unlike other newcomers who have just arrived in Los Angeles, he is a director who has already shot movies. He can see some things quite clearly. With his current reputation, I am afraid that he has not interrupted the sleep of the Hollywood big shot and got up to see him at the last minute. .

Silently thinking about what to say after the meeting, Christopher Nolan took a sip of coffee and opened a newspaper.

"When we look at all the good movies that have been abandoned by the Oscars in the past, "Saving Private Ryan" is also the most unfortunate one among them.

Before the Oscars, the Academy announced that they would carry out youth reforms this year, and what we saw was that the young actor Cate Blanchett was elected as the Best Actress at this year's Oscars. This may be the youthful reform that the core members of the academy consider themselves to be!

If you observe carefully, you will find that more than 99% of the core members of the college still maintain the old-school style. In fact, these core members who control the college are still immersed in the so-called "golden age". Still unwilling to face the development of the times.

Just because the film style of "Shakespeare in Love" is more in line with their fantasy of the "golden age", this film can overwhelm all others and win 6 heavyweight Oscar awards? If the youth reform is like this, then movie fans will definitely not accept the academy’s rhetoric.

Many people may be wondering why the Academy ignored the merits of "Saving Private Ryan" and gave all its heavyweight recognition to a niche biographical film. Through the performance at this year’s Oscars ceremony, it is not difficult to find that the Academy has not carried out the so-called youthful reform, but has become increasingly conservative and old-fashioned..."

Looking at the "New Yorker" in his hand, Christopher Nolan shook his head. It was obvious that on the day after the Oscars, this mainstream newspaper that was marketed across North America was openly apologizing for "Saving Private Ryan."

He can even imagine that the theme of most media today is to feel sorry for "Saving Private Ryan".

"Can the judges really not see it? Tom Hanks' performance penetrates the soul, and his great acting skills are not comparable to that of the Italian director. Or is it that the academy, in order to pursue the so-called balancing policy, completely ignored the great actors' efforts? The effort you put in?"

"According to a survey by a relevant statistics company, more than 70% of the existing academy members in North America are over sixty years old. This is probably the fundamental reason why "Shakespeare in Love" became the big winner! If according to the If the current trend continues, I'm afraid there will be directors or producers who will take the risk and directly shoot "black and white silent films" to compete for awards. After all, this is closer to the taste of the elderly judges, isn't it?"

"A great win for the PR lobbying team, this Oscar..."

What Christopher Nolan didn't expect was that he picked up several mainstream newspapers one after another, such as "The New York Times", "Chicago Sun", "Movies", "Entertainment", and even the "Washington Post". There is a lot of dissatisfaction with this Oscar.

Obviously, compared to the popularity before the Oscars, the controversy after it ended has caused widespread discussion in the media.

Ironically, before the Oscars, the Academy promoted a youth-oriented reform, but after the Oscars, the media tacitly targeted the Academy's "conservatism" and "conservatism."

"Sorry, I'm too busy at work during this time."

Just as Christopher Nolan was looking at the newspaper in his hand, Wayne came down the stairs. After sitting down on the sofa, he shrugged and said, "You know, this is a rare time for me to sleep in."

"Good morning, Mr. Greenberg."

Quickly putting down the newspaper in his hand, Christopher Nolan greeted him politely. "I came early."

He was very smart. Even when he saw the two Hollywood actresses coming downstairs, he deliberately refrained from looking around. He stared directly at the man next to him and ignored the two people walking towards the restaurant. woman.

That's right, the mainstream newspapers were all talking about last night's awards ceremony. But he didn't ignore it. Any newspaper related to entertainment also had a photo of Wayne hugging two Hollywood actresses and bending down to get into a car.

"In the newspapers, the controversial voices about the Oscars must have dominated the mainstream, right?"

After glancing at the newspaper on the coffee table, Wayne did not pick it up to read. He waved to the housekeeper Hella, pointed to the coffee cup on the coffee table, and casually chatted with the London director.

"It's very controversial." Christopher Nolan nodded.

Wayne took out a cigarette from the coffee table and lit it. He took a big sip and shook his head with a smile. "As time goes by, well, after experiencing a few more Oscars, you will get used to it."

The media is always like this. Don’t let their opinions dominate the mainstream. But in fact, they know better than anyone else. No matter how they report, they will not only be unable to change the awards ceremony that has ended, but they will also be unable to change the events that will follow every year. An award ceremony.

To put it bluntly, the media’s sense of smell is the popularity of the topic. In the past many years, when the Oscars had a strong meaning of dividing the cake, such as when no film could win more than four statuettes, there was a lot of criticism in the media, and the theme of the criticism was dividing the cake.

But when this year's 71st Oscars ended and a certain film won multiple awards, they still continued to argue, but they just switched to other topics that could arouse heated discussions.

Therefore, regardless of whether the college adopts the method of dividing the pork or the method of monopolizing one company, it is impossible to silence the media.

Only when there is discussion can there be enthusiasm. There is a great degree of tacit understanding here. The media, the losers at the Oscars, the Academy, it can be said that everyone is in this tacit understanding, and there is a looming shadow.

"The media never care about who is the Oscar winner. The only thing they care about is whether they can find a topic that can be hyped."

Breathing out a large cloud of smoke, Wayne curled his lips with disdain and said unceremoniously: "The premise is that it can attract attention. These so-called media outlets that speak on behalf of the masses will surround them like a group of sharks smelling the smell of blood. Come up. As long as you read and are willing to watch, they will just praise the winner as a flower with their front foot, and then trample the flower into the cesspool with their back foot."

Christopher Nolan shrugged, picked up his coffee and took a sip. This was the first time since he came to Hollywood that someone had exposed the nature of the media in person.

"Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and "Saving Private Ryan." These terms naturally attract a lot of attention. They have a huge influence in North America and even the world. It’s normal for the sound of frustration to appear.”

Glancing at the spread newspaper, Wayne said casually: "Just watch, similar sounds will disappear within a week at most."

The reason why he said this was because he understood the essence of these hype words too well. To put it bluntly, this is the result of the tacit understanding between several parties.

Under normal circumstances, similar voices of dissatisfaction would appear every year. In fact, to put it bluntly, on the one hand, this is to win sympathy points from the public, and on the other hand, it is to remind the college that it has been wronged this time. For those interested in Oscars, this method is a must.

The media needs popularity, the Academy also needs public discussion about the Oscars, and the frustrated need sympathy points. Therefore, as long as the media reports do not get out of control like a scandal, there is a high probability that it will end soon.

"I know something about you, which is why I asked you to come to the manor to talk."

After a brief chat, Wayne smoked a cigarette, relaxed on the sofa, and looked at the British man next to him. "By chance, I saw a film called "The Following", and I remember the director's name was Nolan."

"Yes."

Christopher Nolan's face instantly showed a hint of joy. He nodded and explained: "The filming of "Following" only cost $6,000. It was distributed to North America by a small Hollywood company this year."

Unlike novice directors, Christopher Nolan is very clear that Hollywood has never regarded film art as a topic for discussion on the table.

The only way to impress investors is to prove that your project can prevent the other party from losing money, or even make the other party make money. There is no doubt that the production cost of this film called "Following" is only US$6,000. As long as it is distributed, it will not lose money.

"Nice script."

Looking through the script that the other party brought, Wayne's appreciation was not concealed at all. The movie script in my hand called "Memory Fragments" has no so-called innovation or specialness at all. The story routine is very clear and concise. It can even be said that this is an old-fashioned mystery and suspense story.

What he liked even more was a simple project plan attached to the back of the script. Just flipping through it casually, you can see that the shooting time, location, expenses, problems that may be encountered during the shooting, and methods to solve these problems are clearly marked on it.

Every director who can succeed in Hollywood must be a master of finding money. With the simple script and plan in his hand, Wayne is sure that the guy next to him will definitely make money even if he can't get investment from him. Can impress other people.

Because the feasibility of this project is very good.

"Mr. Greenberg, this project will cost approximately US$5 million to achieve the expected results." Seeing the admiration on the other person's face, Christopher Nolan quickly struck while the iron was hot. "In terms of actor selection, if you don't invite famous actors, then part of the cost can be saved, but in other places, it is difficult to squeeze out financial space..."

"I like your style."

Putting down the script in his hand, Wayne thought about it for a moment, interrupted the other party, and said directly: "I can give you three choices."

As he spoke, he held out a finger. "First, my film studio invested in this project. I can guarantee you that as long as this project can achieve the effect in the script after filming, it will definitely be sent to theaters, and the film distribution will be handed over to Warner brother."

Seeing Christopher Nolan's eyes instantly burst into joy, he waved his hand to signal the other party not to worry, and stretched out a finger again.

"I said, I like your style. I believe that the reason why you came to me is probably for this reason. Second, after you go back, organize the script and make the project plan as detailed as possible, uu read the book I can help you pitch this project to Warner Bros. Pictures Production."

Having said this, he was no longer anxious, and looked at Christopher Nolan, who was already deep in thought, smoking silently.

Yes, the former option is the fastest way to make the project happen. After all, Greenberg Studio is wholly owned by Wayne himself. As long as he nods, there is no complicated review process at all, and the crew can set it up in less than a month.

The latter choice is even more full of uncertainties. However, as long as the project is approved by Warner Bros. and the filming results are good, it will be more beneficial to the director's own development.

Because a huge platform like Warner Brothers is in front of us, as long as we can gain their trust, there will definitely be no shortage of job opportunities in the future.

Unexpectedly, after thinking for a while, Christopher Nolan was no longer anxious. He looked at Wayne sincerely and asked: "Mr. Greenberg, where is the third one?"

"Abandon this project with a low ceiling."

Wayne suddenly smiled. He stretched out his hand and patted the script on the coffee table. "I have been very busy at work in the past year or two. If you are willing, you can join my team."

Faced with the olive branch offered, Christopher Nolan was obviously stunned for a moment, then looked at the script on the coffee table and fell into silence again.

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