Chapter 333 Marvel and DC
While these related work are ongoing, Gilbert Jr. is also discussing the future of Marvel Studios with Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios.
After the establishment of Marvel Studios, according to Gilbert Jr.'s request, Marvel was not in a hurry to launch its own superhero movies.
Instead, based on the plans made by Gilbert Jr., we began to prepare for the expansion of the world view of the Marvel universe. At the same time, Marvel Comics in New York will also cooperate and prepare to publish a series of related comics.
"What are your thoughts on which superhero should we choose for the first movie?" Gilbert Jr. asked Kevin Feige.
The extremely popular Spider-Man is in the hands of Sony Columbia Pictures. The "Spider-Man" movie is currently in production and is expected to be released next year.
So we need to find a new superhero as a pioneer.
Kevin Feige has long thought about this: "I think Iron Man can do it. He is enough to take on an important task at the beginning of the Marvel Universe."
"Iron Man?" Little Gilbert agreed: "I also think it must be Iron Man."
The copyright of "Iron Man" also went through some changes. In 1990, Universal Pictures bought the film and television rights of "Iron Man".
A few years later, the rights fell to 20th Century Fox.
But 20th Century Fox ultimately did not shoot the "Iron Man" movie. After Gilbert Jr. acquired Marvel Comics, the rights returned to Marvel Comics.
So this is why Kevin Feige decided to develop "Iron Man" first. "Iron Man" is suitable enough as the first work.
With the success of "X-Men" last year and the "Spider-Man" movie next year, with the development of special effects technology, superheroes flying and escaping from comics are no longer a fantasy and can become reality through movies.
But now the question is, what actor will be hired to play Iron Man?
“I heard that 20th Century Fox wanted to hire Tom Cruise to play Iron Man?” Kevin Feige asked.
"There seems to be a plan, but Tom's salary is very expensive and 20th Century Fox canceled the plan." Little Gilbert replied.
He knew some inside information. Twentieth Century Fox Pictures wanted to shoot "Iron Man" in the mid-1990s and reached a preliminary agreement with Tom Cruise.
However, because of the big project of Big Ship, it slowed down the pace of 20th Century Fox Pictures, causing the project to be aborted.
Then came the cold winter of the North American comics industry. Twentieth Century Fox never mentioned this matter again, and the copyright eventually returned to Marvel.
Kevin Feige said: "I think Tom Cruise is good as Iron Man, what do you think?"
"He's going to play Iron Man?" Little Gilbert closed his eyes, and what came to his mind was Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr.
To be honest, for him, the role of Iron Man has been fixed in the image of Robert Downey Jr. If he suddenly changed it, even Tom Cruise would be a little uncomfortable.
However, in movies, impression flow is not advisable. In the end, what troubles the "Iron Man" movie is the issue of remuneration and production costs.
So little Gilbert said: "Tom's salary is not cheap. I can talk to Tom and see if he is interested."
"Then please," Kevin Feige waved his hand and said: "But there is no rush, according to our plan, it still depends on how "Spider-Man" performs.
According to the schedule, we will launch the "Iron Man" project at the end of 2006. "
"Very good," little Gilbert nodded and said, "Just go ahead and do it. If you have any questions, feel free to communicate with me."
It's no secret that Marvel Studios wants to make its own superhero movies, and nothing is new in Hollywood. But for Warner, this is a bit uncomfortable.
Since the failure of the fourth installment of the "Batman" series, Warner Bros. Pictures has been looking for opportunities to restart DC superhero movies.
Warner plans to shoot "Catwoman" and invite Halle Berry to star, and even reboot the "Superman" movie.
Based on his trust in little Gilbert, Warner Pictures CEO Doug Walter rushed to Cantaloupe Manor to ask little Gilbert’s opinion.
"My advice is to cancel Catwoman and Superman, Doug."
Little Gilbert's words stunned Doug Walter: "Cancel? Isn't this a bit..."
Before Doug Walter could finish, Gilbert Jr. said: "Catwoman is originally a second- and third-tier character in DC Comics, and if we find a black actor to play Catwoman, we will lose even the fans of the comic.
It's been a long time since the "Superman" movie was made, and with such hasty preparation, I doubt the quality of the final film. "
"you mean?"
"What I mean is that this matter needs to be considered in the long term and cannot be rushed." Little Gilbert drank tea and said to Doug Walter: "I believe you have also heard that Marvel plans to create a Marvel universe and is currently working on it. planning."
"I heard about it," Doug Walter nodded and said, "The whole plan was proposed by you, and Marvel is preparing for it."
"Yes," Gilbert Jr. continued: "At the beginning of Marvel's reorganization, I said that making movies is not about eating when you are hungry.
Be patient and don't rush things, otherwise there will be some unexpected situations.
I think DC is the same. I suggest DC to start over and re-plan all movie projects, rather than blindly launch them. "
Little Gilbert didn't have a plan for how to do it specifically.
Marvel has examples of success in previous lives, but DC seems to have not been very successful.
To be honest, this has something to do with the management style of Warner Pictures. In many cases, it is because of their intervention that the DC movies produced always fail to meet expectations.
The more it fails to meet expectations, the more Warner's management will have to intervene, thus forming a vicious cycle.
Doug Walter nodded as he listened, and Little Gilbert made sense: "Okay, I will submit your opinions to the board of directors to discuss and make a decision."
Little Gilbert is not an outsider. The acquisition is about to be completed. By then, Little Gilbert will become a member of the board of directors of Warner Pictures.
Before leaving, Doug Walter also asked: "By the way, when are you going to promote the "Batman" movie?"
Gilbert Jr. had already discussed this matter with Doug Walter. At that time, Gilbert Jr. said that he would shoot a trilogy of extras that would be independent of the main Batman movies.
Little Gilbert thought for a while and said: "Come on, the post-production of "The Return of the King" is almost done. I plan to work on a small project this year and a pirate-themed movie next year.
Then we started working on the "Batman" movie. "
Doug Walter nodded solemnly: "Warner, I will push it with all my strength..."
The post-production of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is almost done. After the success of "The Two Towers", little Gilbert did not go on vacation as usual, but quickly invested in the post-production of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
"The Return of the King" is scheduled to be released in the summer of next year. After completing the post-production of "The Return of the King", little Gilbert will be idle for nearly a year.
For workaholics like little Gilbert, such a long vacation can't bear to have nothing to do and go fishing every day.
Therefore, little Gilbert plans to take a break after completing the post-production of "Return of the King" and then work on a small production. This small production is also very simple, it is just a youth love movie. Little Gilbert also learned to entertain the directors who have become a monk by the way. It is impossible to make a youth movie about abortion, derailment and amnesia in a car accident... that is impossible.
In fact, little Gilbert is going to film "Heartbeat", a youth love movie adapted from a novel. Of course, it is the growth elements in it that impress little Gilbert even more.
The movie I Remember My Past Life has received good reviews on the Chinese Internet and is known as one of the best youth romance movies. However, on the English-language Internet, the film received slightly lower reviews, and it was cleared up many years later.
In addition, the box office of the previous movie seemed to be just over 4 million US dollars, which was a huge loss.
But for little Gilbert, box office is a minor issue. Such a small-budget production can be done for less than 10 million US dollars.
Gilbert Jr.'s personal box office appeal will not be a problem for the film to earn US$70-80 million in North America and US$200 million worldwide.
For a youth film, this result is quite good and satisfactory.
Of course, we still have to look at the specific situation.
Regarding the selection of the male and female protagonists, the original two actors are probably still young, so little Gilbert has already made an agreement with Scarlett to let her play the female lead.
Although the age is a little older, it doesn’t matter. The story of junior high school is also applicable to high school.
Moreover, Sijia is not tall. If you look at the camera, you can see no difference between a seventeen-year-old and a fourteen-year-old. At most, she is more mature.
The more troublesome thing is the choice of the male protagonist. I have to find a handsome boy.
Scarlett has a lot of movies released this year, including "American Paradise" on June 20th, "Ghost World" on July 20th, and "The Absent Man" next.
Although under Little Gilbert's order, Scarlett studied hard and did not take any more roles. But these works were released one after another, which was enough to maintain her exposure.
It can be said that after Anne Hathaway, who played Princess Arwen, came of age, the most famous among the underage star actresses were Scarlett Johansson and Emma Watson.
Scarlett is very popular and has many fans. Even the fans of Little Gilbert treat Scarlett like a princess because of the special relationship between Scarlett and Little Gilbert.
With little Gilbert on her back, Scarlett is a real Hollywood princess.
However, Scarlett has a good temper and personality, possibly due to the influence of little Gilbert, and she has no bad habits. If it were the same princess disease as Gwyneth Paltrow, many people would probably have a headache.
One weekend morning, little Gilbert sent Scarlett to a summer camp organized by the school.
"Scarlett, is that basketball player from your school still pestering you recently?" Little Gilbert asked.
Sijia rolled her eyes and said, "Thanks to your burly bodyguard, I don't dare to pester me anymore."
"That's good," little Gilbert nodded, and joked: "Actually, I think they are pretty good, they play basketball, maybe go to college and enter the NBA!"
"Tch," Sijia obviously didn't believe it: "I think he is not as good as the schoolbags Du and Ajan you often talk about. He relies entirely on his body to play, and his body is not as strong as him."
This is indeed true. The school Sijia attended was a private high school, which was called an aristocratic school in the past. Whether studying is good is another matter, but sports are generally not good, except for golf.
Whether it’s football or basketball, as long as you observe patiently, you will find that most of the people who play well are basically children from lower-middle-class families, or simply grew up in slums.
Of course, this is not absolute. Lao Ke in the OK group, which has completed two consecutive championships, has a good family background.
What this means is that for those rich kids with outstanding basketball talents, there are many choices, and they don’t have to play basketball.
But for those children from poor families, if they discover that they have athletic talent, it is almost the only way to change their destiny in this life.
In North America, it is really difficult to study to change your destiny, unless you are a doctor or lawyer.
Little Gilbert couldn't help but laugh after hearing Scarlett's words.
It's hard for Du Du to learn skills, but if his physical fitness is not as good as Ajan, he can only be a role player or even a water dispenser keeper in the NBA.
Little Gilbert said to Scarlett seriously: "The summer camp is over. You will be able to join the cast in October. You must study the script I give you carefully. If you do not perform well, I will not let you play the heroine."
Scarlett took little Gilbert's arm and shook it: "I know, don't worry, I will read the script carefully."
Sijia got out of the car with her schoolbag on her back and staggered to join her classmates. After Scarlett met up with her classmates, little Gilbert drove away.
Back at his studio in Burbank, Gilbert Jr. completed post-production on The Return of the King. Apart from the release promotion work for "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy", all work has been completed so far.
Since 1998, little Gilbert has spent countless efforts on the "Lord of the Rings" project, and the results have not disappointed him.
When "The Return of the King" is released next year, it will definitely achieve good results.
As for "The Hobbit", Gilbert Jr. plans to put it on hold and wait a few years, or find another director to take over.
In addition to this incident, little Gilbert began to attack the gang on the island.
Through the old man's connections, little Gilbert got in touch with that group of people, so he made a phone call to them, and the group once again sincerely invited little Gilbert to come to the island.
"We can send a boat to pick you up."
"I am seasick……"
"Uh, then we'll send a helicopter to pick you up?"
"I'm airsick..."
"..." The other person was speechless: "Then what do you want?"
"It's not impossible to meet," little Gilbert started fishing: "I have an office in the Twin Towers in New York. I like the scenery above very much. We can meet there."
The person on the other side seemed to be discussing, and after a long time he replied: "Okay..."
Even if this matter is settled, what little Gilbert needs to do next is to meet them at the Twin Towers a few more times in the name of negotiation to make these people relax their vigilance.
Then on a certain day, they will be reimbursed all at once.
As for doing so actually constitutes murder, little Gilbert has nothing to do with it.
Besides, these are many evil deeds. Little Gilbert is a Bodhisattva who uses thunderbolt methods to do justice for heaven.
(End of chapter)