Chapter 166 Exchange Conditions
This time when he went to Lao America, Cao Yang took Gu Changwei with him, and Lao Gu nominated him for the best photography.
This is the second time Gu Changwei has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography. The last time he was nominated was for "Farewell My Concubine".
It was that time, although Lao Gu did not win the Oscar in the end, it also made him famous in the United States, thus starting a four-year unsuccessful career.
Lao Gu, like Brother Chen Kai, hates Hollywood when it comes to it.
Even being nominated for another Oscar did not change his view of Hollywood. This shows how much of a shadow those four years of Hollywood career left on him.
Brother Chen Kai is different from Lao Gu. Lao Chen simply made a movie that he thought was very good, and then failed in Hollywood. Therefore, he felt that Hollywood was full of prejudice and did not understand art at all.
Because he couldn't stay in Lao America for long this time, Cao Yang originally wanted to book a hotel by himself, but he didn't expect that Colombia was very considerate.
They arranged Cao Yang to stay in a business suite reserved by the company all year round, which they specially used to entertain VIPs.
Gu Changwei once again lamented the reality of Lao America. He did not expect that he would also "enjoy" such treatment with Cao Yang and become a distinguished guest in Colombia.
He still remembered that the last time he followed Cao Yang to Hollywood, even though Cao Yang was the initiator of the project, Columbia also invested in "Despicable Milk", but these foreigners were not so attentive.
It can be seen that Cao Yang's status has been greatly improved with ten Oscar nominations, and his directing ability has also been recognized.
As a typical failure in Hollywood, Gu Changwei knows very well how realistic people like Lao America are.
After a day of rest, Tom Rothman personally received Cao Yang. As the executive director of Columbia Pictures, he is now personally responsible for related matters of "District 9".
After the greetings were completed, Tom Roseman did not go directly to the topic. The old man showed Cao Yang his humor, but there were some things that Cao Yang did not find very funny due to the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.
Since the old man wanted to get closer to Cao Yang, Cao Yang didn't mind cooperating with him, sometimes smiling and nodding, sometimes laughing.
It's just embarrassing.
Tom Rothman rambled for a while before talking about work. To Cao Yang's expectation, he was not talking about "District 9."
"Columbia has participated in investing in an adapted film called "Memoirs of a Geisha", which is based on the novel of the same name by the American writer Arthur Gordon. Spielberg serves as the producer, with an estimated investment of US$80 million."
Cao Yang nodded and looked at Tom Roseman in confusion. Why is this old guy telling him this? Do you want to direct this movie yourself?
He knew that "Memoirs of a Geisha" was about childhood, with the background starting from 1929 and extending to the end of World War II.
However, this was a very controversial movie after it was made. At that time, it was not only condemned domestically, but also boycotted even in the early days.
The reason for the domestic boycott of Little Days is very simple. This is a movie about Little Days, and the three main female characters are all Chinese. What the hell!
Are there no actresses in our childhood?
It's true.
When I was young, I really couldn't find three internationally renowned actresses.
There's nothing the Americans can do about it. For such a high-cost literary film, if you don't find a few internationally renowned actresses, what if you can't recoup the cost?
Capitalists are not philanthropists.
"It's like this. After discussing with Spielberg, we wanted to use three Chinese actresses to play the three main female characters in the movie." Tom Rothman spread his hands and explained with a smile.
"After discussing with Mr. Spielberg, we feel that the three international movie queens you have single-handedly made famous are good. Their acting skills are definitely good and they are very suitable for this movie. I would like to ask you to convey this. After all, you should have a good relationship with them. Very good.”
Cao Yang was just stunned for a moment and then said with a smile: "No problem, I will tell them. As for whether it can happen or not, it depends on their own decision."
You fucking want to eat shit, and you want to take advantage of three of my international movie queens. It’s still such a controversial film. If you make it, it won’t improve your status. On the contrary, you may become the target of criticism.
The most important thing is that the scale of this movie is quite large, and there are many passionate scenes. If you want to shoot a hammer, you'd better go to International Zhang, she will definitely not mind.
However, not taking it does not mean that you can't hype it up. Spielberg invited him. After receiving the script, he found out that it was about childhood and there was a passionate scene, so he declined. It will definitely improve the public's favorability in the future.
In addition, the three major international movie queens declined, but International Zhang and Gong Li accepted the offer, which in turn put them at a disadvantage - the three major international movie queens were approached first, and they were approached only after they were rejected.
This gives people the impression that whatever the three major international movie queens don’t want, it’s their turn.
As for whether it will offend Spielberg, that's not a big deal.
So what if I'm offended? Can he still cover the sky with one hand in Hollywood? If he really had this ability, his DreamWorks would not have been suppressed so miserably, and ended up being divided and acquired.
In fact, this kind of thing can't rise to that level at all. At the worst, just say that you don't accept passionate scenes, and there will be no problem.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
As an international movie queen, it’s understandable that she didn’t accept large-scale movies before she fell into the limelight.
"Cao, I think we need to discuss the selection of the male protagonist."
Tom Rothman looked at Cao Yang and said: "As for the three girls you praise, I can guarantee that the three heroines in "Memoirs of a Geisha" belong to them."
Huh?
What do you mean by "Lao Deng"?
After thinking about it for a moment, Cao Yang understood.
The sentimental old guy took this as a favor. He thought that letting Li Xiaoran and the three of them play the heroines of "Memoirs of a Geisha" was to give himself face?
Do you want to make an exchange with yourself?
Cao Yang wanted to laugh a little.
In fact, it makes sense when you think about it. An investment of US$80 million is definitely a big production for a literary film.
After being beaten to death by "The Incredible Hulk", Li Jian returned to the literary film industry with his first movie "Brokeback Mountain", with an investment of only 15 million.
Without auditions, Li Xiaoran, Gao Yuanyuan and Yu Feihong were directly appointed as the heroines. At least on the surface, even if it was an exchange, Cao Yang would definitely take advantage.
Cao Yang laughed. In this case, Li Xiaoran and the others used this movie to hype up, so there would be no psychological burden.
"Rothman, what are your thoughts on the leading actor?"
Cao Yang asked. In fact, he knew in his heart that he just wanted to choose a big white man and reject the Chinese man he had previously suggested as the male protagonist.
Speaking of which, I am still worried about Chinese actors and worried about box office issues.
I just want to add a layer of insurance and get a higher box office.
(End of chapter)