Chapter 1185 Public Enemy of the Whole People

Michael Jordan asked Simon about his trip to Japan, because there were Michael Ovitz, Jerry Bruckheimer and other people standing beside him. talk."

In fact, Simon already knew the result, and came here specially for this matter.

According to the layout in the setting, Simon did not want the head of Westinghouse to give up easily, saying: "Then be patient, Mike, wait a few more months, the economic crisis in Asia continues to ferment, and Sony may beg you in turn. "

"Oh, Simon, my team also gave the same advice," Michael Jordan said with a smile, glanced at the people around him, and continued: "That's it, since Columbia Pictures is temporarily unavailable, I'm planning to Invest in a few movies in Hollywood first, and if you have a good project, you can contact me soon. And, Simon, I look forward to working with Daenerys even more.”

It's no secret that Westinghouse's film and television production department, which is affiliated with cbs, has been recruiting for a while. It's also the reason why many people are here tonight.

The fat sheep enter the game, first come first served.

Simon heard Michael Jordan's last sentence and said directly: "No problem, Mike, speaking of it, we have already cooperated several times, and it is very pleasant, isn't it?"

"Oh, that's really, really good."

Seeing Simon's answer so succinctly, Michael Jordan was a little surprised and happy, even extremely happy and sad, and had some unexplained vigilance, but after hearing the second half of Simon's sentence, he became relieved.

Although not directly with Daenerys, speaking of it, Westinghouse and the Westeros system have indeed intersected several times.

Originally in Ukraine, Unit 4 of the Rivno nuclear power plant has now been put into operation, a very pleasant win-win situation.

Then again, at the beginning of this year, Westinghouse cooperated with the Westeros system to attack Mellon Bank.

In fact, Michael Jordan was reluctant in this matter, and finally cooperated under the coercion and inducement of someone, but Westinghouse also quickly paid off.

During the negotiation of the sale of the conventional power sector with Siemens, Simon used his personal connections with China to help Westinghouse match up. In the past six months, he has won several large power orders. Due to the substantial expansion of the Chinese market, Siemens has also made the initial US$1.5 billion. Left and right, the price was raised to the $1.725 billion finalized by the two parties.

It is certainly not a fool for Michael Jordan to sit as chairman of Westinghouse, but he is only a newcomer to Hollywood after all. Thinking about it this way, it is not surprising that Simon agreed to his cooperation invitation so simply.

On the contrary, both Michael Ovitz and Jerry Bruckheimer were quite surprised.

After all, they are in the bureau, and they can easily feel that even though there are still many external cooperation projects, in general, Daenerys Entertainment's attitude towards cooperation with other peers is tightening day by day. So no matter what, I didn't expect that Westinghouse Electric, which suddenly broke into Hollywood, could get Simon Westero's promise so easily.

Everyone even has some self-doubts. Have they been too conservative in the past and haven't been more proactive in seeking cooperation with Daenerys Entertainment?

Simon ignored everyone's thoughts, and turned to Jerry Bruckheimer after speaking: "Speaking of which, Jerry, I remember your studio is planning a movie recently, called "Public Enemy"?"

Jerry Bruckheimer took a step forward subconsciously, and quickly restrained his expression, trying his best to calmly say: "Yeah, Simon, I didn't expect you to notice it?"

In fact, the word 'recent' in Simon's words is not at all accurate.

Jerry Bruckheimer has been running his own film studio since he parted ways with Disney, which was controlled by Vivendi in France the year before. Without a stable funder, the Hollywood landscape is changing rapidly. Jerry Bruckheimer, who is a little bit behind the times, has only produced some small and medium-cost films in the past two years.

As for "Public Enemy", this is the story of an ordinary person who is accidentally caught in a conspiracy and struggles to survive and fight back under the ubiquitous eavesdropping network tracking in the United States.

Jerry Bruckheimer got the script last year, and as a result, the major Hollywood studios went round and round, including Daenerys Entertainment, to no avail.

Because it is widely believed that this project is inferior to the fast-fading old-school muscle man action movies in Hollywood, the closest thing to a deal was the Asian director John Wu, who relied on Daenerys Entertainment to make his name, but the other party overpaid. , and also demanded too much control that Bruckheimer simply could not accept.

Unexpectedly, it suddenly turned around at this reception tonight.

Perhaps, Jerry Bruckheimer suddenly felt that Simon Westeros may have been paying attention to this project very early, and only said it today.

But, so what?

Jerry Bruckheimer doesn't have the slightest idea of ​​being sold because of this. In recent years, because of Daenerys Entertainment, Hollywood has entered a state of rapid replacement of old people with new ones, and many veteran filmmakers have declined because of this. . Therefore, for Bruckheimer, being able to get on the big ship of Daenerys Entertainment and bring his career back to life is far more important than the gain or loss of a movie.

Simon didn't rush to say more, but looked at Michael Jordan again: "Mike, why don't we talk in another place, and, everyone, sorry to leave."

The people around were curious, and they could only say that it didn't matter.

The three leave the hall, come

Going to a reception room next door, after taking a seat, Simon said to Bruckheimer: "Jerry, please tell Mike about the general situation of the project first."

Jerry Bruckheimer gave a brief synopsis of "Enemy of the People," then added: "Director-wise, I talked to Lang recently and he's very interested," adding that Michael Jordan might be unfamiliar with Hollywood. : "It's Ron Howard, and he's here tonight."

Michael Jordan nodded and smiled: "I know, Lang is still very good."

Jerry Bruckheimer continued: "Also, the male lead, I would like Harrison Ford to play, his 'Desperados' is impressive and it's a good fit for a similar role."

This time Michael Jordan was slightly dissenting: "Jerry, has Harrison been in a low spot in recent years?"

Jerry Bruckheimer did not deny it, saying: "It is true, but Mike, relying on the popularity brought by the two series of "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Harrison is equivalent to a symbol of Hollywood, forever. The kind that doesn't fade. His low point in recent years just happened to allow us to get a good salary offer."

Michael Jordan hasn't experienced too many daily flickers in Hollywood, but he has doubts. He happens to have Hollywood's biggest "consultant" by his side, and looks decisively at Simon beside him.

This one is certainly not something that Bruckheimer can easily deceive.

Speaking of which, since Harrison Ford was brought forward by Simon to 1991's "The End of the World", there have been no impressive hit films in recent years. There are a lot of box office duds that have suffered from nosebleeds. Moreover, "Air Force One", which should have entered the top ten of the list this year, was also cut off by Simon.

However, Bruckheimer was right.

Because of the influence of the cultural phenomenon level of "Star Wars", coupled with the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series in the 1980s, Harrison Ford is indeed almost a symbolic existence, which is rare in Hollywood with a sound film system. The kind that lasts forever.

Moreover, it has been six years since the last movie "The End of the World". According to Hollywood's business rules, it is also a suitable time interval to make a similar film without being complained about by the audience and repeating itself.

Just like in 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle", Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's "Electronic Love Letter" in 1998, or, after 1990's "Pretty Woman", Julia Roberts collaborated with Richard Gere on "The Running Bride" in 1999.

Therefore, Harrison Ford's "repeat" himself after all these years, not only will not arouse the audience's disgust, but has the hope of getting a sentiment score.

Emotions are a big killer.

What's more, Simon isn't going to use the original Will Smith this time around either.

Will Smith already has the role of 'Steel Bone' in the dc movie universe, and his performance in "Solo Day", which was a big hit in the past summer, is also quite positive. If the other party is allowed to independently support a blockbuster, then The "Men in Black" series that came down is a bit troublesome.

After sorting out his thoughts a little, Simon said in the same expectant eyes of Michael Jordan and Jerry Bruckheimer: "Harrison is good, but the director needs to be changed, Lang's film style is too flat, and "Public Enemy" needs There's a gripping sense of urgency that Lang doesn't easily capture."

Jerry Bruckheimer thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, Simon, the director of "Hurricane Rescue" in the first half of the year, Doug Liman, should be good?"

Actually, after being rejected by Simon, Jerry Bruckheimer's first thought was his old friend Tony Scott, Ridley Scott's younger brother, the two from the 1986 annual box office champion "Top Gun" began to cooperate, when Bruckheimer was the producer and Scott was the director, and the two jointly created a box office miracle.

Also popularized Tom Cruise.

Now, Tom Cruise has completely disappeared because of the "Rain Man" incident.

Tony Scott, like Jerry Bruckheimer in recent years, has also been a little tepid, and the project of "Public Enemy", Bruckheimer's initial first choice was Scott, just because the project has not landed , Scott moved to busy other films, and Bruckheimer also began to contact Ron Howard and others.

Because of Simon's attention, if an old friend is brought in, the other party will definitely be very happy, and it can be regarded as a support. The schedule is not a problem. After all, the shooting will not start immediately. Scott can completely finish his work before joining this project.

Now, instead of mentioning Tony Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer suggested Doug Liman, the rookie director that Daenerys had brought up, on the one hand to echo Simon's possible thoughts, and on the other hand, he was a little worried The young tycoon will think of Top Gun, and even Tom Cruise.

Thinking of this, Bruckheimer is still a little sighed. After the "Top Gun" that year, he was also in the prime of life, and he belonged to the place where he was chased by the whole Hollywood.

It's only been 10 years and everything has changed.

The world is impermanent.

In any case, although he did not expect to encounter this opportunity in advance, since the opportunity came to him, Jerry Bruckheimer made up his mind to seize it firmly. For this reason, he no longer considered gaining any right to speak, and planned to do it honestly. One time Daenerys kind of logistical producer.

Simon is also considering director candidates. Of course, he will not take his anger on Tony Scott because of "Top Gun", but,

Also because of the style, even the original director of Public Enemy, like Will Smith, Tony Scott was not Simon's first choice.

Hearing Bruckheimer mentioning Doug Mann, who had just launched a new version of "Hurricane Rescue" with Jet Lee in the first half of the year, Simon also immediately shook his head: "Doug is also worse, and he is more suitable for action movies."

Having said that, because Bruckheimer mentioned Doug Liman, it gave Simon a flash of inspiration and thought of another director, who took over the two sequels of "Bourne Bourne" from Doug Liman in the original time and space. Paul Greengrass, who elevated the series on the basis of the first classic.

If it is exciting, the second or third "Bourne Bourne" is the ultimate.

After a little recall, Paul Greengrass is much older than Doug Liman in his early thirties. He is now over forty and has been in the TV circle for many years, occasionally shooting movies.

Such a person must have enough experience, and what is lacking is only the opportunity like "Bourne Bourne".

Jerry Bruckheimer noticed Simon's sudden look and asked, "Simon, have you thought of the right person?"

"I'll talk about this later, I still need to think about it," Simon put his thoughts away, glanced at Michael Jordan, and said to Bruckheimer: "Daenerys' projects for next year are already full, and the small film has not yet been released. Problem, but there is no more blockbuster, so I hope that this movie will be listed under the name of MGM, cooperate with Mike, and each will invest 50% of the investment. By the way, in terms of budget, Jerry, I hope you can get it done for $70 million, any questions?"

The original version of "Public Enemy" burned through 90 million US dollars, and the box office and follow-up channels have roughly recovered. It can only be said that it is not a failure, and it is not a success.

This time, even if Harrison Ford is higher than Will Smith in this period, Simon is not going to give so much.

Today's Hollywood is far from the turbulent state of hot money in the late 1990s. Coupled with the fact that the project has been repeatedly rejected and almost completely aborted, the reasonable budget that Jerry Bruckheimer expects is 70 million US dollars, even if Simon lowers it a little bit. , 60 million, he will also try to get it.