Chapter 402 Hit it off
After hearing Wang Shu talk about the biopic of "Stock God", Gong Li was still a little confused. She had never thought that Wang Shu would make this type of movie.
However, there are also big A’s in China. Compared with the biopics of figures in European and American history or corresponding fields, the “Stock God” biopic is indeed one of the biopics that Wang Shu is most likely to make.
Because as long as Wang Shu knows something about Big A, he also knows some knowledge about the stock market.
One-stop service.
Even if you only know something superficially, as long as you find a professional team to assist you, this superficial knowledge is enough to make a movie.
"Wall Street Stock God?"
But no matter what, Gong Li was still confused.
Seeing this, Wang Shu immediately explained: "There was a legendary figure on Wall Street, Jordan Belfort. This man once earned US$12 million in three minutes and had a fortune of hundreds of millions at the age of 31. "
"The script of this movie is adapted from his autobiography."
Then, after talking about it in detail, Gong Li suddenly understood.
She asked with some doubt: "Can this kind of autobiographical movie work?"
She was not asking about the box office, but the Academy Awards.
For a long time, most of the biographical films that won Oscars were about people in "another" field, not stockbrokers.
Although this is also a biographical script, it is far from the style of those biographical movies.
It gives the impression that it seems a bit unreliable.
It is understandable that Gong Li would think so, because compared to the protagonists in the biographical films that won Oscars, this kind of stockbroker biography film is far inferior in terms of status and other aspects. Far worse.
In comparison, it is indeed not impressive.
But the financial crisis is coming.
With this addition, the meaning of "The Wolf of Wall Street" will be different.
Of course Wang Shu would not explain it this way, but said: "Most of the biographical films that won the Oscars are biographies of famous people."
"There are too many such biographical films, maybe this This biographical film about a unique stockbroker can make people’s eyes shine.”
Gong Li understood what Wang Shu meant and couldn’t help but joked: “Are you trying to take a different approach?”
After saying that, he worried again, "It's just, is it too much of a gamble?"
Wang Shu smiled and said: "As a director who first came to Hollywood from China, how can it be so easy for me to be a director in Hollywood? Oscar?”
"It's already good to be nominated, so there's nothing to bet on."
Gong Li understood what Wang Shu meant and couldn't help but smile.
Compared to local directors in Hollywood, Wang Shu is an outsider, and a young outsider at that.
In this case, no matter how good the movie is, it will be difficult to win an Oscar.
It has nothing to do with the quality of the movie, but a question of "circle", "qualifications", and "preference".
Not to mention outsiders, let’s talk about local Nolan. He has been in Hollywood for a long time and finally won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Oppenheimer".
Prior to this, "Inception", "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk" failed to help him win the Academy Award for Best Director.
Among them, "Interstellar" is the only movie among the top ten global box office movies in 2014 that is not a remake, a sequel, a reboot or an adaptation.
After its release, "Dunkirk" successfully surpassed "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor" and was hailed as "the most successful World War II-themed movie in history."
Steven Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Saving Private Ryan", but "Dunkirk" which surpassed "Saving Private Ryan" did not win the award.
All this shows that if you want to win the Academy Awards, many people need to go through qualifications before they can get it.
Of course, if the film participating in the award happens to be in line with the preferences of the old guys in the academy, you can win the award even if you are not qualified enough.
In short, either you have to endure the qualifications, or you can make movies that are in line with American political correctness and are liked by the old men in the academy.
“Is it still Dino’s production?” Gong Li asked.
Wang Shu shook his head and said: "Matt Damon has an idea for this script and said that he wants to attract investment. If things go well, the movie will be produced by Matt Damon."< br>
Gong Li couldn't help laughing when she heard this: "Matt Damon shouldn't just want to produce, right?"
Wang Shu answered noncommittally: "If he gets investment, it will be this movie Producer, then he should be the leading actor.”
That’s what Gong Li guessed, and said with a smile: “Matt Damon is a well-known Hollywood actor, and the box office will be guaranteed if he plays the leading role. "
There is certainly nothing wrong with this, but the 13-year version of "The Wolf of Wall Street" in the original timeline starred DiCaprio, who was more powerful than Matt Damon.
If nothing else, in terms of per-film salary, DiCaprio is higher than Matt Damon.
"That's true, so he said to attract investment, so I agreed to wait." Wang Shu answered with a smile.
Of course Xiao Lizi is more suitable, but Wang Shu has no chance to cooperate with him at this time.
Gong Li sighed: "I thought you would have further development in Hollywood after "The Tuner" was released, but I didn't expect that you are already preparing for the next movie now."
This is a sigh from the heart.
Because it has been three years since Gong Li came to Hollywood.
It’s not that there have been no opportunities in the past three years, it’s just that there has been little improvement.
In 2005, Gong Li first arrived in Hollywood and starred as the supporting actress in "Memoirs of a Geisha", earning a salary of US$3 million.
The following year, he starred in "Miami Vice" again, earning a salary of US$5 million.
With this net worth, she ranks first among Chinese actresses.
She is the highest-paid Chinese actress.
When she first came to Hollywood, she had such a high net worth precisely because of her various honors in the three major European companies.
It’s just that it’s really hard for Chinese-speaking actors to get along in Hollywood. There are very few outstanding characters with oriental faces.
It is even said that if Gong Li did not have three major honors in Europe and was an international movie queen, "Miami Vice" would not have designed a character with an oriental face.
Even if this character is designed, he is still a villain.
Despite this, Zhang Ziyi, another international star, is still far behind her.
Zhang Ziyi appeared in North America for her role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" directed by Li Eucalyptus, and then relied on Chen Long's connections to star in "Rush Hour".
After that, no matter how hard I tried, I could never survive in Hollywood.
In comparison, Gong Li has one of the top three honors in Europe. Even if she is not as hardworking as Zhang Ziyi, she can still get some roles in Hollywood.
Although it’s good, there are producers who take the initiative to invite you.
Zhang Ziyi is a good recruiter, but she can't even get a role.
The difference is obvious.
It can be said that Zhang Ziyi’s so-called internationalization is just flattery. Gong Li is truly international.
Although she did not do well in Hollywood, she has really gone international.
Gong Li’s eyes fell on Wang Shu. She also knew that directing is a behind-the-scenes profession, so it is easier for Chinese directors to survive in Hollywood than Chinese actors.
However, even though I knew it, I still felt emotional when I saw Wang Shu coming to Hollywood and developing so smoothly.
She was not jealous. Not only was she not jealous, she was also happy for Wang Shu.
Because Wang Shu is from the Mainland, he can become famous in Hollywood, which will be good for domestic entertainment actors in disguise.
However, when she thinks about the development in the past few years, she will inevitably sigh.
With her celebrity status, it is impossible for her to play supporting roles in some low-budget movies, and there are few opportunities for Chinese actors to star in big-budget Hollywood movies.
This was very embarrassing and made her embarrassed.
It is precisely because of this that she chose to return to China in 2011. In addition, because she was old and there were few suitable roles, she kept a low profile and reduced her production.
By 2015, she will be 50 years old.
When an actress reaches this age, her flowering period has long passed, and she either plays supporting roles or disappears from the big screen.
When she was 50 years old, she also starred in "Journey to the West: Fighting the White Bone Demon", and when she was 55 years old, she starred in "Win the Championship".
Looking at the domestic entertainment actresses from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places, none of them can still star in blockbuster heroines at this age.
For example, Zhang Manyu officially retired from acting at the age of forty.
In the future, in the era of self-media, many people born in the 2000s and 10s will leave all kinds of sarcastic comments when they see a video in which Gong Li appears, saying that they don’t know this person at all. In terms of acting skills, status in the entertainment industry, and other aspects, she is far behind the popular actresses of this era such as Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi, and Tang Yan.
As everyone knows, Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi, and Tang Yan together were far inferior to Gong Li's status in the entertainment industry when they were most popular.
Whether it is domestic or international.
It’s just that in this era, Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi, Tang Yan and others are in their prime and becoming popular, while Gong Li is no longer young and has already passed her flowering period.
Wang Shu could hear the sentimentality in Gong Li's voice, and then said modestly: "I am also lucky, and I happened to meet Matt Damon starring in "The Tuner.""
"You too You know, Hollywood has a paranoid pursuit of Academy Awards.”
“Matt Damon wants to win the Academy Awards, and I happen to have a biographical script planned to be produced.”
"It hit it off right away."
Gong Li didn't believe Wang Shu's nonsense, took a sip of juice and continued: "In my opinion, you have calculated this biographical script carefully."
Biographical movies are popular for Academy Awards. Award-winning theme.
Under normal circumstances, Hollywood producers and actors will be moved when they see biographies.
Then, once the biographical script is satisfied, the excitement will turn into action.
This is because the producer can use the biographical script to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. This award belongs to the producer.
With this honor, it will be easier for the producer to attract investment in the future.
As for actors, not to mention, they all want to win the Academy Award for Actor.
In Gong Li's opinion, Wang Shu most likely knew that biographical films were popular at the Academy Awards, so he created the script for this biographical film.
Given Wang Shu’s current popularity and status in Hollywood, biographical movie scripts are obviously more favored by producers and actors than other movie scripts.
This is exactly what Wang Shu had in mind and why he came up with this biographical film script. It was not a coincidence that he had this biographical film script.
Compared with other Chinese-language film directors who were invited to Hollywood to direct their first film, then waited like a headless fly for an opportunity, and then went home dejected before they could wait, Wang Shu was obviously well prepared.
Compared to those Chinese film directors who leave their fate in the hands of others, Wang Shu takes the initiative to hold his fate in his own hands.
“Haha.” When Wang Shu saw Gong Li’s exposure, he immediately stopped covering up.
Seeing this, Gong Li shook her head.
Although I feel helpless on the surface, I admire you in my heart.
As far as she knows, Chen Kaige, Chen Kexin, Wang Jiawei and others have all been invited to Hollywood, and all of them returned home in despair after their first work failed and their reputation was shattered.
Wang Shu, like these people, was also invited to come to Hollywood to direct "The Tuner".
Compared to those people who left their fate to others to wait for the result after making their first movie, Wang Shu took the initiative to take control of his fate before the release of "The Tuner".
With the script of this biographical movie, even if "The Tuner" fails, Wang Shu will not end up returning to China in despair, but will have another chance.
The conversation had already begun, and the two continued to chat about their own affairs while eating their food.
Like a big sister, Gong Li has been telling Wang Shu what he needs to pay attention to when he is in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and even the United States, so as not to suffer a disadvantage if he is a newcomer.
She never mentioned the role from beginning to end, because she knew that a director like Wang Shu, who had just come to the United States from China, would not have the right to cast.
For her to mention this kind of thing would not do any good except making it difficult for Wang Shu and making the atmosphere cold.
After the meal, before leaving, Gong Li turned back to Wang Shu and said, "Director Wang, let's get together often when we have time."
"Okay!" When Wang Shu heard this, he immediately replied Nod with a smile.
He understood what Gong Li meant.
Chinese-speaking artists come to Hollywood alone and need to join a group to stay warm.
Furthermore, he is a director and Gong Li is an actor, so getting together often also means to enhance friendship.
Gong Li’s words are obviously because she is optimistic about Wang Shu’s development in Hollywood.
Seeing Wang Shu agree without saying a word, Gong Li smiled back and left.
Wang Shu immediately returned to the hotel where he was staying.
Two days later, Wang Shu and Matt Damon met again.
"Shu, the investment has been secured. If you have no objection, we can enter the process of signing the contract." Matt Damon said with a smile.
The general content of the contract is that Wang Shu sells the script of "The Wolf of Wall Street" to Matt Damon and agrees that Wang Shu will direct the film.
Of course, I am paid as a director, so I am not working in vain.
This is the Hollywood model. Independent producers purchase scripts and invest in actors to form a crew.
Unless Wang Shu is a big Hollywood director, he will have the right to speak.
Otherwise, he can only take the next step by selling the script to an independent producer or a film and television production company.
As for him wanting to enjoy both the copyright of the script and other rights and interests, this is unrealistic.
The root of everything is that he is unknown in Hollywood and has no right to speak.
(End of this chapter)