Chapter 181 Casting
The main roles of "District 9" need to be found by two Chinese, and Cao Yang is also considering this matter these days.
At the last premiere of "Despicable Milk", Li Lianjie and Cheng Long who came to attend both said privately, in a joking manner of course, that they asked if there were any roles suitable for them in the new movie, and it would be fine to play a supporting role. .
The walk-on role is definitely just talk, but wanting to participate in "District 9" is definitely true.
They hang out in Hollywood and know more news.
I knew that in Cao Yang's new movie "District 9", one of the main characters was going to be Chinese, so I said it as a joke to avoid the embarrassment of being rejected.
Again, it is not easy for Chinese people to mix in Hollywood.
Throughout the year, there are very few movies with Chinese protagonists.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be just a few moderately successful Chinese in Hollywood.
In some major productions, even important supporting roles are rarely Chinese.
Li Lianjie and Cheng Long have now become celebrities, and their salaries have also increased. Looking back, there are fewer roles suitable for them, and it is harder to find a job.
Not to mention Hollywood, even in China, few movies would be willing to use them if they didn't organize their own production.
It's not that I don't want to use it, but compared to their salary, the price-performance ratio seems too low.
Of course, if they don't reduce the pay, even a big director won't be able to use them.
Cao Yang's "District 9" is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.
It is claimed that a co-production of US$70 million, plus post-production publicity and distribution expenses, can barely be called an A-level production.
When Cheng Long and Li Lianjie were in Hollywood, most of the projects they received were B-level productions.
The first film of "Rush Hour," which helped Cheng Long gain a foothold in Hollywood, only cost more than 30 million U.S. dollars. It was only the third film that had to be divided between the two protagonists, so the investment increased significantly.
Li Lianjie is similar. Most of the resources he receives are films with an investment of RMB 30 to 40 million, and few of them exceed RMB 50 million.
In fact, Cheng Long's situation is much better than that of Li Lianjie. He has distinctive characteristics and has a series of movies in his hands, which is his confidence.
"Around the World in 80 Days", which has left him exhausted, won't be released until June, and he won't panic until the box office comes out.
So his current mentality is that if he can be in Cao Yang's movie, it's best, and if he can't be, he won't force it.
Li Lianjie is different.
After his "The Cradle" was released last year, his vitality was severely damaged, and it was temporarily difficult for him to receive movies in Hollywood.
The investment in "Cradle of Death" is almost 26 million US dollars, and the North American box office is 34 million, and the global box office is 56 million. If you want to make money back, you can only rely on subsequent discs and peripherals. This is a long process.
Li Lianjie is the one who most wants to be in Cao Yang's movie.
When Cao Yang didn't get a promise or invitation, he approached Mr. Han from China Film Group, hoping to achieve his goal through Mr. Han.
When he thought about it, "District 9" was a co-production. There was definitely nothing he could do about it in Colombia, and they wouldn't give him face. But as another investor, China Film Group, it wasn't easy to land an important role?
It turned out that he was overthinking it.
Mr. Han was very happy when he heard that he wanted to join the film.
"It's great. We have Oscar-winning actor Depp, and it's definitely a good thing to have you join us. By the way, have you talked to Director Cao? Did Director Cao agree?"
A smile appeared on Li Lianjie's face, but she was still stunned for a moment after hearing the next words.
"Mr. Han, you're not the protagonist, you're just an important supporting actor. Do you still need Director Cao's approval? Aren't you the producer of this movie? In the United States, the producer can decide everything."
The smile on Mr. Han's face faded a little, and he just repeated: "Have you not talked to Director Cao?"
Li Lianjie felt something was wrong and quickly explained: "Mr. Han, I really want to join this movie, and I also really want to talk to Director Cao, but Director Cao has been busy and has no time at all, and I can't see him. Director Cao.
Mr. Han, in order to show my sincerity, I can give you a 50% discount on the salary and only charge 5 million US dollars. ”
$5 million?
When converted, it's only a little over 40 million, which is a bit different from the more than 100 million he claimed when he starred in "Hero".
Relatively speaking, this is definitely a big deal.
Mr. Han couldn't help but feel a little moved.
This is Li Lianjie, one of the most developed Chinese actors.
However, Mr. Han was still very sober and chatted with Li Lianjie for a while, but in the end he did not give a clear answer, which made Li Lianjie extremely grateful.
Perhaps this is the art of leadership speaking.
However, Mr. Han still called Cao Yang. He felt that 5 million US dollars was still a good deal compared with "Hero".
Mr. Han now likes to create big productions and recruit big-name actors. Cao Yang was chatting with Duan Yihong when he received a call from Mr. Han.
It was Duan Yihong who came to him on his own initiative, and Cao Yang was surprised as soon as he opened his mouth. He said he wanted to sign an agency contract to Cao Yang's studio.
Cao Yang has no plans to make the studio bigger for the time being. His goal is to invest in theaters and a few companies that have a say in the Internet. He also has no plans to sign people for the studio.
His studio was an empty shell. It was established to invest in "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox".
"Isn't your workplace speaking Chinese? Can you still sign in outside?"
Cao Yang then said with a smile: "My studio is just a name. Even if you sign it, it will be of no use. I don't have time to find resources for you."
"I didn't make it clear that I can no longer sign outside management contracts. I just saw some colleagues signing outside management contracts, and then I remembered that Director Cao also has a studio. Can I sign in Director Cao's studio?"
< br>
Duan Yihong smiled and explained: "To be honest with Director Cao, I don't have much ambition. I just want to occasionally make movies with Director Cao and act in plays at other times. I think this is good. ”
Cao Yang wanted to laugh a little. Would someone without ambition think of signing his own empty studio?
Would a person without ambition come over and say he wanted to sign with his studio when he was casting for "District 9"?
Forget it, looking at the sincere look on Duan Yihong's face, maybe he really has no ambition and just wants to study acting and drama.
Cao Yang was chatting with Duan Yihong when Mr. Han called.
This book was recently updated in ##六@@九@@书@@!! Updated!
When Cao Yang found out that Li Lianjie wanted to participate in the show, and even offered a 50% discount and a "salary cut" to US$5 million, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Mr. Han, his salary is not a secret within the film company.
His first Hollywood movie was "Lethal Weapon 4", and the film studio directly reduced the salary to 500,000 US dollars. His market price at the time was 20 million Hong Kong dollars, but in order to develop in Hollywood, he accepted this movie with 500,000 US dollars.
The salary for the second film "Romeo Deadly" rose to 2.4 million, the third film "Kiss of the Dragon" rose to 5 million, and the fourth film "The Savior" rose to 7.5 million. It was at this time that an offer of 10 million was made. .
However, the film invested 49 million, and the North American box office was only 44 million, and the global box office was 79 million. The film studio can only rely on subsequent income to recover its capital.
By the time of the fifth movie "The Cradle", his salary dropped back to 5 million. This movie was released last year, but this movie lost money again. Mr. Han, you know what I mean. ”
Cao Yang smiled and gave Han the total number. This was the data he obtained in Colombia when he was casting for "District 9" in North America.
Mr. Han was silent.
What a smart man he is, he understood it all at once.
In other words, if Li Lianjie wants to accept a movie in Hollywood, his salary will be reduced because he screwed up two movies in a row... No, because he screwed up the first two movies, it will be difficult for him to have resources in Hollywood.
Damn it, you dare to give me a 50% discount and offer 5 million US dollars!
Mr. Han is a little angry. You can just apply for 5 million, or even 7 million. It’s okay. The key is not to pretend to give me a 50% discount. Isn’t this kidding me?
After hanging up Mr. Han's call, Cao Yang looked at Duan Yihong. Although the other party didn't know that he was rejecting Li Lianjie, he could definitely guess that Mr. Han was recommending candidates for him.
"Mr. Han recommended Li Lianjie to me just now, but now that the budget for actors is low, I won't hire him."
Cao Yang could clearly see that Duan Yihong was relieved.
It's normal. No matter what you say, now that you are an actor, how many people really don't "fight" and don't care?
"Okay, I won't say any more. I will give you the script later. There is a very important role. You go back and prepare."
The candidate for the commander of "District 9" has been determined, and now only the candidate for the alien leader is left.
This character can be considered one of the protagonists, but because the alien shape does not show his face, there is only one name left for the protagonist.
But no matter what, even if you are a nominal protagonist in a movie with such a large investment, even if you don't show your face, there are still many people vying for this role.
During this period, many people approached Cao Yang through various connections, and Cao Yang was fed up, so he simply called Wu Qihua in Xiangjiang and asked him if he was willing to play this role.
Wu Qihua was so happy that he joked that even if Cao Yang asked him to play a minor role, he would flock to it, let alone such an important role.
As for not showing your face, what’s wrong with not showing your face? You can’t write on your resume without showing your face. Have you ever participated in a movie with an investment of 70 million US dollars?
If you don’t show your face, can’t you count the box office of future movies to yourself?
As long as the movie is a hit, you can write your resume and find reporters to issue press releases, and you will still be the leading actor in a Hollywood hit movie.
The most important thing is that Wu Qihua felt that Director Cao finally remembered him.
He had actually wanted to call Cao Yang for a long time and wanted to continue to participate in director Cao's movies.
But I was afraid of making the call. If there was no suitable role for me, and Director Cao would think that I didn't know how to advance or retreat, I kept resisting and didn't ask about the role.
Now that he's fine, he doesn't have to worry anymore. At least Director Cao is thinking of him.
Director Cao was not only thinking about him, but also about Dong Xuan who liked to wear double ponytails at night.
There was a small female role in the movie, a female reporter, so Cao Yang gave it to Dong Xuan.
Director Cao is a nostalgic person, and the senior crew members who have followed him all know that the role was given to Dong Xuan because of nostalgia, not for other reasons.
Well, that's it.
(End of chapter)