Chapter 550 No Superstar
In terms of film production, Jon Favreau and Gilbert Jr. maintained good communication and basically shot the movie according to Gilbert Jr.'s ideas.
In private, he admitted that little Gilbert was actually working as a behind-the-scenes director and gave Jon Favreau a lot of guidance and help.
With little Gilbert's comprehensive control, the preparation and filming of "Iron Man" would go so smoothly.
The other project, however, did not go so smoothly.
Although "Escape from Clone Island" failed, Michael Bay still did not lose David Ellison's trust, and the "Transformers" project was still handed over to Michael Bay.
In the previous life, this project was in the hands of DreamWorks, so Spielberg took on the role of producer and also inserted his godson Shia LaBeouf into the crew as the male lead.
Megan Fox was selected in an audition, but she was later replaced because she offended Spielberg.
But now this project is not in the hands of DreamWorks, but in the hands of David Ellison's Sky Studio, so naturally it cannot be the same as the original team.
At Sky Studios, David Ellison is meeting with Michael Bay, Michael Ovitz, Martin Bob and others to discuss the preparations for "Transformers".
"The current news is that preparations for the film "The Last of Us" are going very smoothly. Tom Cruise is staying in Los Angeles to train and will rush to Australia next month to prepare for filming."
Martin Bob said that the information he had heard was all public information.
"Well," David Ellison nodded and asked, "Have you heard anything about the script?"
"No, I just know it's a zombie movie." Martin Bob said: "Little Gilbert did the script work himself. He won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and his screenwriting ability is worthy of belief.
I think that the film "The Last of Us" will definitely not be bad if he writes the script and also stars Tom Cruise. "
As a director known for his talent in Hollywood, the most amazing thing about Gilbert Jr. is that he is a director as well as a director, and he is top-notch in both aspects.
Many directors are very good at directing, but what they lack is a good script and a good story. Little Gilbert didn't have this worry. If he didn't have a good story, he would write his own script.
Moreover, the content of the script must be in-depth and refreshing, and must satisfy the needs of different audiences.
"The Matrix", "Warriors", and "The Sixth Sense" that he wrote and directed are all examples of original screenplays. These films not only won critical acclaim but were also commercial successes.
It was unpleasant to hear Michael Bay nearby. There was a time when he was compared to little Gilbert. But after several films failed to live up to expectations, his name was no longer discussed alongside little Gilbert's.
Scarlett's words are very good: "Compared with little Gilbert? You are not worthy..."
However, Michael Bay is still reluctant. He feels that "Transformers" has good potential. He must seize this opportunity and sweep away the haze of "Escape from Clone Island".
So Michael Bay suggested: "David, Mr. Ovitz, should we hire an A-list star for "Transformers"?"
"Who to invite?" David Ellison immediately understood Michael Bay's plan.
Seeing that Tom Cruise was included in "The Last of Us", Michael Bay was not to be outdone and found a big-name star to star in "Transformers".
But David Ellison knows that the most important protagonist of "Transformers" is a machine life form. Which big-name star is willing to play a supporting role for a robot?
Even if they agree, what price will the crew have to pay?
Michael Ovitz added: "There is probably only one other superstar who can compete with Tom Crosby.
But Tom Hanks is also older, and he is not known for his face, so I am afraid it is not suitable. "
David Ellison agrees, and Michael Ovitz is right. It is indeed a bit difficult for Tom Hanks to play a handsome college student in "Transformers".
And he has no shortage of acting roles, so he will definitely not take on "Transformers". It's indeed good. Tom Hanks has reached a cooperation with Ron Howard. He will star in "The Da Vinci Code" produced and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures and directed by Ron Howard.
This project is an adaptation of the current popular novel "The Da Vinci Code", and the project has attracted much attention. Tom Hanks plays a Harvard University professor in it.
It would be very inappropriate for a person who plays a professor to play a college student.
"Then Keanu Reeves." Michael Bay proposed the candidate again: "Or Will Smith."
These were all rejected by Martin Bob: "No, Keanu Reeves has not produced any good films since the "Matrix" series, and there is a downward trend.
And Will Smith is a black actor. For this project, it is safer for us to use a white actor. "
Several proposals were rejected in a row, and Michael Bay gave up the struggle: "Then who should we choose?"
David Ellison said at this time: "Let's select through auditions. They must be handsome, young, and low-paid actors."
"That's right," Michael Ovitz added: "We can't spend too much money on actors' salaries, the most important thing about this movie is the special effects production.
If sufficient funds are not spent in this area, the requirements will not be met. "
As we all know, special effects cost money. Even "Iron Man", which has no big-name stars, invested 130 million in special effects production.
If you want the visual effects of the film to shock the audience, "Transformers" will have to invest a huge amount of production costs.
The special effects producer of "Transformers" has long been decided, and it is Industrial Light & Magic, a veteran Hollywood special effects studio.
In recent years, as Gilbert's own Orange Studio has become famous, the original industry leader Industrial Light and Magic seems to have been overshadowed by its own light.
But don’t forget that it is precisely because of the birth of Industrial Light and Magic that Hollywood has the term special effects industry.
At present, Industrial Light and Magic is still the industry leader in technology, and even the rising star Orange Studio cannot match it in some fields.
So it’s true that it’s expensive, you get what you pay for.
If the special effects are only 50 cents, the kind of bad special effects movies produced by third- and fourth-tier Hollywood production companies, then the "Transformers" project will fail.
Apart from anything else, after hitting the wall several times, David Ellison gradually understood the operating rules of Hollywood.
The "Transformers" project is led by him, and with the assistance of Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob, as well as Michael Bay and others, it can really make some achievements.
After all, this project was originally fought over by Gilbert Jr. and DreamWorks, but was later taken advantage of by David Ellison.
However, not everything goes as planned for David Ellison. For example, he recently failed in competing with Melon Studios for "I Am Legend."
People obviously trusted little Gilbert more, so they sold the copyright to Melon Studio.
However, Xigua Studio did not immediately start production after obtaining the copyright. Adapting the novel into a movie requires a process.
It was also because of David Ellison's failure on this project that he became more convinced of the possibility of success in projects such as "Alien Battlefield", "Tron Legacy", and "Battleship".
David Ellison is currently actively contacting film funds on Wall Street and intends to cooperate with them to develop these projects.
(End of chapter)