Chapter 551 James Cameron is about to start!
Sky Studio is very busy with several projects, and little Gilbert is not idle either.
The project preparation went very smoothly. After all, the core members of Gilbert's team have worked with each other for many years. They have a tacit understanding with each other and their work efficiency is very high.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for Gilbert Jr. to pay attention to the progress of the "Iron Man" project while he is busy with his own projects.
While he was busy working on "The Last of Us," he received an invitation from James Cameron to attend a party.
So little Gilbert hurried back to Los Angeles and attended the party held on the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles.
The host of this party was Twentieth Century Fox, and James Cameron happened to come back to discuss things with little Gilbert.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, James Cameron got straight to the point: "I need a lot of money."
"Oh?" Little Gilbert asked, "You're not going to do your underwater photography, are you?"
James Cameron has been having so much fun with underwater 3D photography in the past few years that people once thought he would never return to Hollywood and become a documentary director.
However, anyone who knows the inside story knows that James Cameron is actually experimenting with new technologies and can use them in future movie shootings.
Little Gilbert also understood James Cameron's activities. After all, he was the one who proposed the activity of underwater photography.
James Cameron loves water. He believes that water is the source of all things, so there is usually no shortage of water elements in his movies.
His thoughts are somewhat close to Taoist thoughts.
After this underwater photography, James Cameron felt that the technology was mature and could be used for film shooting, so he hurried back to Hollywood and started to attract investment.
Hearing Gilbert Jr.'s words, James Cameron laughed and said: "Of course not. This time I thought of a story. It's a science fiction film, but it requires a lot of production costs."
"How many do you need?" asked little Gilbert.
James Cameron sheepishly stretched out two fingers and said: "Two hundred million dollars."
Little Gilbert knew James Cameron well. James Cameron said $200 million, so it would cost at least $400 million.
"Twentieth Century Fox doesn't support you?"
James Cameron was speechless and said: "The investment is huge, and 20th Century Fox is a little hesitant."
Gilbert Jr. expressed his understanding that if he were a senior executive at 20th Century Fox and did not know in advance what James Cameron could achieve, he would also hesitate.
When "Titanic" was being produced, James Cameron increased production costs again and again, almost driving the executives of 20th Century Fox crazy.
Later, as a last resort, Paramount was brought in, and little Gilbert also participated in the investment, thus sharing the pressure.
But this time James Cameron was very loud and directly shouted out the production cost of 200 million US dollars. Bad memories came flooding back to me instantly, so it’s strange that 20th Century Fox didn’t hesitate.
Little Gilbert smiled and said: "This is a normal reaction. You can't rush this matter. Take your time. I believe that with the results of "Titanic", 20th Century Fox will eventually believe in you."
Of course, if you are willing to accept my investment, I will also be happy. "
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't come to you." James Cameron said bluntly: "I just hope you can take the lead in investing and give others a little confidence."
Gilbert Jr.'s vision for movies is trustworthy. If he is optimistic about James Cameron's project, other film companies will definitely give it serious consideration.
The two reached a preliminary intention, and Gilbert Jr. later contacted Ivanka about the matter.
After the chat, little Gilbert hid in a corner to eat something and clean himself up. But he was destined to not be able to rest tonight. Before he could finish a piece of pastry, Hall, the vice president of Twentieth Century Fox, came over.
"Little Gilbert, the senior management has some strong opinions on you!" Hall said with a bitter smile.
"Oh?" Little Gilbert expressed confusion: "How did I offend the Fox executives?"
Hall said: "It's okay if Marvel doesn't participate in the promotion of "Fantastic Four" which will be released in July, and they will publish comics."
After "Fantastic Four" was released, Marvel made all the Fantastic Four villains in one issue of comics and wrote them all to death.
This caused some trouble for the Fantastic Four movie, causing the film to fail to meet 20th Century Fox's expectations.
Little Gilbert threw the blame to Marvel: "Hall, I'm just a shareholder. I don't participate much in operational matters."
Just listen to this. Hall doesn't believe that Marvel dares to do these little tricks without little Gilbert's secret instructions?
But it’s hard to discuss this topic further. You can’t fall out with little Gilbert at the party, right? Business competition is normal behavior.
During the previous cold winter in the comic book industry, Marvel did sell a lot of superhero copyrights in order to survive. "Spider-Man", "X-Men", and "Fantastic Four" were all sold at this time.
Later, after Gilbert Jr. acquired Marvel, Marvel got rid of its financial constraints and would no longer sell its superhero copyrights.
Marvel even wants to get the copyright back, and there is a buy-back clause in the superhero copyrights sold. Once a movie fails to meet expectations, Marvel has the right to buy back the rights.
The continuous success of the "Spider-Man" series and the "X-Men" series made Marvel's buyback clause an instant good idea.
After Ang Lee's "Hulk" failed, Marvel bought back the rights to the Hulk. In the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Hulk is already planning to return.
And "Fantastic Four" is one of Marvel's signatures. Of course, Marvel wanted to take it back, so it used some tricks.
But unfortunately, although the "Fantastic Four" movie did not meet 20th Century Fox's expectations, it did not trigger the buyback clause.
It is worth mentioning that this film also stars Chris Evans, who played Captain America in his previous life.
If nothing else, he will also have a place in the Marvel Universe led by Little Gilbert.
After attending the party and meeting James Cameron, little Gilbert also went to visit the filming set of "Iron Man."
"Jon Favreau is a really good choice," Kevin Feige took little Gilbert to visit the set and was very satisfied with Jon Favreau's choice.
"Not only can he act, he is also a good director."
"He played Tony Stark's bodyguard in the film and provided a lot of humorous jokes. He is an excellent comedian." Cameron Diaz also said.
Little Gilbert nodded, he chose the person, and of course he knew the ability best.
"Is the filming going well so far?" Little Gilbert asked.
"It went quite smoothly, without any trouble." Kevin Feige was very happy and the project was progressing smoothly.
"However, Marvel is not very experienced in film production. Fortunately, you assigned some people to the crew." Cameron Diaz added.
"Very good, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions." Little Gilbert made a phone gesture: "This is Marvel's first movie, so there is no room for error."
"Understood!" Kevin Feige and Cameron Diaz both nodded solemnly. Both of them knew the importance of this project.
(End of chapter)