hollywood melon man

Chapter 52: Casting for "Speed ​​of Life and Death" (please follow up)

On a new week, little Gilbert walked into his Melon Studio in Burbank with a briefcase in hand.

"Anna, morning!"

"Good morning, boss!" Anna stood up, took little Gilbert's coat, and hung it on the clothes rack: "Miss Boone is already waiting for you in your office."

"Yeah," little Gilbert nodded and entered his office. The female agent was looking through the documents and had been waiting for a long time.

"I've spoken to both Robert Iger and Jeff Robinoff.

Robert Iger agrees to the conditions you proposed, but in terms of sharing, they hope to be based on the North American box office. "Xina Boone introduced the status of discussions in the past few days.

"What about Warner?" Little Gilbert asked.

"The conditions are similar, but Warner Pictures also promised that if the film's box office reaches certain requirements, there will be bonuses." Sheena Boone replied.

"That's not bad," little Gilbert said, rubbing his chin, and then asked, "What's the situation at Universal Pictures?"

"Universal has Spielberg, so it's best not to have high expectations," Sheena Boone said.

Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" is about to be released, and the most important thing for Universal Pictures right now is this project.

As for Gilbert Jr., although he is also important, he is definitely not as good as Spielberg.

Little Gilbert thought about it and then decided: "In this way, you reveal Warner's conditions to Robert Iger."

"You mean to bring China into the fold?"

"It doesn't hurt anyway, right? If you can support my conditions, I will welcome you with both hands." Little Gilbert said with a smile.

Sheena Boone understood and wrote it down in her work notes.

Then she added: "I have signed Naomi Watts, and currently have arranged several modeling and catwalk jobs for her, and she has also made one or two guest roles in the series."

"Okay, I'll thank you on Naomi's behalf, Hina." Little Gilbert thanked her.

"You're welcome, this is what I should do."

After Gilbert Jr. expressed his welcome to Warner Pictures' investment, although Disney wanted to refuse, Warner Pictures couldn't stand it and agreed to Gilbert Jr.'s request.

The box office of "Dead Man" was rising steadily, and Disney realized that the live-action film business could not do without little Gilbert.

So after many discussions, its subsidiary Touchstone Pictures officially reached a joint investment and distribution decision with Warner.

Touchstone Pictures and Warner Pictures each invested $10 million, for a total of $20 million. At the same time, Disney is responsible for North American distribution, while Warner is responsible for overseas distribution.

As director, screenwriter and producer, Gilbert Jr. received a total salary of five million US dollars, plus a share of the total North American box office.

Starting with US$50 million, for every US$50 million in box office revenue, there will be an additional 5% share, up to a maximum of 15%.

This director's contract is not the highest in Hollywood, but it is already high for a new director who has made two movies.

After the negotiations were completed and it was confirmed that there were no legal issues, Gilbert Jr. signed his name on the director's contract.

"Believe me, you will never regret your actions today." After signing the contract, Gilbert Jr. said this to the executives of the two companies.

For Disney and Warner Pictures, of course they signed such a lucrative contract because of their trust in Gilbert Jr.

Now that they have signed a contract, there is no point in regretting it. The two companies can only help Gilbert do his job well.

Although "Death" is still in theaters, the box office it gets every week is better than nothing. But little Gilbert has already put the crew's preparations to the forefront.

The producer sent by Warner Pictures was Charles Rowan, and the producer from Touchstone Pictures was Kane Waxman, an old acquaintance.

The two will assist Gilbert Jr. in handling crew affairs, including casting. The script review was very fast. The two companies passed the script review as quickly as possible within the program, which means that "Speed ​​of Life and Death" has officially entered the preparation stage.

The first thing we faced was the casting issue. Since it was an action film, Charles Roven suggested Sylvester Stallone, while Kane Waxman proposed Bruce Willis, who was just starting out at this time.

Both candidates were rejected by Gilbert Jr. He said: "The production cost of the film is only 20 million US dollars, and their salaries are too high, and we can't afford them."

This is indeed a reason to either invest more or find someone else to play the role.

But Gilbert Jr. obviously didn't want to invest more. He suggested: "I think Keanu Reeves will be chosen to play the leading actor Jack."

"Keanu Reeves?" Charles Rowan frowned and thought about who this person was for a long time, but Kane Waxman said: "Is it the one who played "Point Break" directed by Kathryn Billoge? ?”

"That's right," Gilbert Jr. said, "I've seen his performance in the film. He plays an agent, which is remarkable. I think he's suitable for the leading role."

The assistant quickly sent Keanu Reeves' information. Charles Rowan looked at Keanu Reeves' overly handsome face in the information and couldn't help frowning: "Is his image too weak?
  The figure doesn't seem strong enough. Will the audience accept it? "

In the concept of action movies at this time, it seems that only muscular men like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Jean-Claude Van Damme meet the requirements.

The image of Keanu Reeves, called a little boy, does not meet the requirements of an action movie hero.

But since Little Gilbert chose Keanu Reeves, it certainly makes sense. The original version was played by Keanu Reeves.

"Let's let him audition and see the effect." Little Gilbert did not act arbitrarily, but suggested an audition.

Although the two producers felt that the selection was inappropriate, little Gilbert now had a great say in the crew and could not object directly, so they agreed to the audition plan.

When the audition is not good, just reject Keanu Reeves.

The requirements for the audition for the male lead were set in this way. Perhaps considering that he had just discredited Little Gilbert, Charles Rowan suggested: "As the candidate for the female lead Annie, I propose to use Cameron Diaz. "

This suggestion is good, and Kane Waxman also agrees. Cameron Diaz has just become famous with "Death Comes", and he is enough to be a vase in commercial movies.

But little Gilbert disagreed: "Michelle has her own things to be busy with. I suggest Sandra Bullock."

At this time, Sandra Bullock starred in "Modern Cinderella 2" and "Perfume No. ". She was slightly famous and her salary was not high.

If possible, Gilbert Jr. would prefer to hire more famous actors such as Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, and Demi Moore.

But unfortunately, great fame means high pay. With a budget of only 20 million US dollars, most of which will be spent on film production, it is impossible to choose someone too expensive for the leading role.

Anyway, in "Death Comes", Gilbert Jr. used a lineup of almost pure newcomers and achieved good box office results.

The person chosen now is at least familiar and somewhat famous. Except for the male lead, the two producers have no objections.

The casting preparatory meeting ended here, and little Gilbert made a special call to Naomi Watts: "Naomi, prepare for the audition. The role you are auditioning for is Emily.

I'll say hello to Annie, and as long as you meet the audition requirements, you'll be the first choice. "

Naomi Watts on the other end of the phone thanked: "Thank you, little Gilbert."

"You're welcome, Naomi, come on!"

After hanging up the phone, Naomi Watts squatted down and buried her head in her legs, her shoulders twitching continuously.

After about ten seconds, Naomi Watts raised her head.

She was actually smiling, smiling happily, but the tears at the corners of her eyes gave her away.

After waiting for so long, she finally got an important opportunity. Although she is not the first female lead like Cameron Diaz, the opportunity to play a supporting role is also quite rare.

Her dream is finally about to take off...

(End of this chapter)