Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 194 Global Casting
Global casting for "Fifty Shades of Grey" started. When Judy read the news in the newspaper, she couldn't help but jump up and cheer.

"What's wrong, so happy?" Mirren, who was accompanying her, was a little confused.

"Look, global casting, readers vote! As long as you send the special number under the actor's name to a specific mobile phone number after the actor candidate list is announced, you can vote successfully!"

Judy handed the newspaper to Mirren and said, "I can also participate in the casting process! I must choose the most handsome male lead!"

"Uh..." Mirren admitted that she was a little jealous, but he was an actor after all, and Judy couldn't get in touch with him anyway.

So I suppressed my discomfort and continued to ask: "But look, it costs money. A text message costs $2, which is really expensive."

"Is it expensive? I think it's very cheap." Judy was very happy and didn't care about the money at all.

There are many girls like her, everywhere in the school, and they are already discussing the choice of male actors.

"How about Tom Cruise? Handsome and manly."

"I like Leonardo, he is so handsome in the pilot!"

Tang De is already considering moving the office location, and now it depends on the box office of "Fifty Shades of Grey" after its release.

But Tang De also tried his best. He did not write a pure Mary Sue literature like the original work, but added the heroine's efforts and her determination to fight for equality.

Unfortunately, Sony's acquisition was not paid in cash, which resulted in MGM always lacking the funds to repay its debt.

After taking Rachel's coffee, he replied: "Because of "Fifty Shades of Grey," "Saw" and "Little Miss Sunshine." I have to say, you are really a very discerning producer. Every movie has made a huge profit.”

Therefore, they are eager to come up with a profitable work and achieve profitability.

As an ordinary girl, she conquered a young billionaire and became his equal.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Parent..." Tang De was silent for a moment: "Although I am very moved, please allow me to say no."

This is also MGM's last valuable asset as one of the eight major Hollywood film companies.

Even if it is acquired by Sony, the market has only changed from pessimistic about its future to wait-and-see.

At this moment when feminist awareness is growing, women are eager for a work to prove their charm and strength. "Fifty Shades of Grey" accurately hits this pain point.

But he is now busy negotiating with film companies.

But now these also belong to Sony.

This was also the part that was later adapted into the film version, but Tang De combined it with many comments from later generations and changed it even more.

Thinking about it, MGM's huge debt really weighed him down.

He emphasized his tone: "It only accounts for 30% of the domestic box office share and 40% of the overseas box office share."

This resulted in the conditions they offered being the highest among all film companies, but they did not meet Tang De's expectations, so they did not agree.

"Because I believe this movie will create a miracle." Tang De looked confident: "It can be seen from the current response of the female community that they have been restrained and disciplined for too long, and they urgently need a chance to prove themselves."

"I hope to be able to obtain the distribution rights and investment rights of "Fifty Shades of Grey". For this, we can pay more than other film companies."

The normal overseas distribution ratio is higher than the domestic distribution ratio, and 15% is normal. Unexpectedly, MGM directly lowered it by 5 percentage points. Even if other companies compete, it will probably not be lower than him.

"Unfortunately, due to the gambling agreement, our film will be distributed by Lionsgate Pictures." Norton Eyes has signed an agreement with Lionsgate, and "Fifty Shades of Grey" will be the second film.

Isn't this the fantasy they need most right now?
Although this is nonsense from a practical logic point of view, from a story logic point of view, it is very cool.

"Don, I've been hearing your name all this time. You even appear in my dreams. Do you know why?" Parent is a handsome middle-aged man with short black and brown hair combed back.

When he said this, Tang De could tell that Parent was serious.

"This is only part of it." Parent put his hands on his knees: "According to your announcement, the production cost of this movie is around 3500 million US dollars. We can provide million US dollars, and..."

"But I don't have hundreds of Oscar awards or various classic IPs." After Tang De said, Parent smiled.

"why?"

"I like Keanu Reeves. Don't you think handsome guys with deep eye sockets are more attractive?"

Tang De nodded: "You are very sincere."

Now it seems that it does work.

This is undoubtedly more generous than any previous film company, but Tang De is still not satisfied.

As for actresses, they are far less discussed than male actors.

Now that I see Norton Eyes operating the "Fifty Shades of Grey" IP so hotly, I finally made up my mind to take a gamble.

"Emmm..." Parent raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect to encounter a setback when he came up, but it didn't matter. He thought for a while and continued: "Then we can be responsible for overseas distribution, and the proportion will be divided according to 10%."

Most girls only have one requirement, which is to be beautiful and ordinary, as long as it satisfies their sense of belonging.

MGM was the first to change its attitude. Their operating conditions have been very poor and they are burdened with heavy debts.

In fact, Tang De is not sure whether this movie can surpass the box office of its previous life, because after all, the two spanned ten years.

So after receiving this feedback, the magazine and publishing house also gathered it together with Tang De.

"If I had to choose, I would prefer MGM to be as small and sophisticated as Norton Eyes, rather than as bloated as it is now."

Parent is the current executive CEO of MGM, and he is sitting in the office of Norton Eye at this time. Of course, this is also the office of Angel Declaration.

"Why? Don, I believe that no Hollywood film company can give you this contract, except me." Parent frowned, feeling that Tang De's appetite was really too big.

"Okay, I won't talk nonsense anymore... Don, you also know the purpose of my coming here." Parent sat up straight and returned to negotiation mode.

There is no essential difference from Shuangwen novels. They both realize some unattainable wishes through fantasy.

Thinking of this, Tang De continued: "As long as it arouses a response among the female community, then their boyfriends will naturally be ticket buyers. Although they may not be willing to accompany their girlfriends to watch it, it is not up to them."

"And our research shows that 30% of the readers of "Fifty Shades of Grey" are housewives over the age of 30. Mr. Parent, do you know what this means?"

"What?" Parent looked at the thick stack of reports that Tang De took out, and finally knew what preparations Norton Eye had made for the movie during this period.

"This means that there will be movie-watching as a family unit, and a chain reaction. Most communities have women's organizations or tea parties. If they watch the movie and think it is good, then soon women in various communities will Know."

Tang De smiled, this was one of his promotional strategies for "Fifty Shades of Grey".

"So I will invite some women to watch the movie for free. Of course, these people are managers of women's organizations, and they will become the best propaganda tools."

Parent looked at Tang De in surprise, not expecting him to be so unconventional.

Generally speaking, movie promotions are very aggressive, using massive advertisements and newspaper news to reach the target audience.

But Tang De came up with another idea to let the target group spread the word spontaneously. There is no doubt that when those chatty women finish watching the movie, they will be eager to recommend it to others or complain about it. But no matter what you say, it means that this movie will reach the best movie-watching groups as quickly as possible.

Thinking of this, Parent felt that he couldn't sit still anymore.

The movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" is already half successful. On the one hand, it has won over core readers through voting, and on the other hand, it has captured a wide target audience through publicity.

Unless there is something wrong with Tang De's direction, there is no possibility that this movie will not be successful.

But who is Tang De?
In the past two years since his debut, although he has not had many works, he has always been a model of using small things to win big. Even when shooting the MV, he has never made any mistakes.

His name as a tyrant on the set is the best quality assurance!

Parent didn't think it would be a bad film if he followed the original work.

So there was only one way before him now.

"Oh, Mr. Parent, I have other guests next. If you have nothing to do..."

"No, Don, I can offer you a new contract."

Parent seemed to have made up his mind. He stretched out his hand to adjust his tie and said seriously: "We can invest 4000 million US dollars and only occupy % of the box office in the North American market and % of the global box office. This is what I want It’s the lowest share ratio that can be decided.”

Tang De looked at him in surprise, feeling not only the courage of the MGM CEO, but also the deep sense of urgency behind him.

Obviously, the performance pressure has overwhelmed him. If he cannot lead the company out of trouble within a year, he may have to leave this position.

Tang De knocked on the table and thought for a while.

Rachel, who was next to me, suddenly came over and leaned into her ear: "Boss, the people from Universal are here."

"Let them talk to Jimmy." Tang De did not lower his voice, so Parent could naturally hear him and understand what he meant.

"Tang..." He looked at Tang De.

"Mr. Parent, we can discuss the contract further..." Tang De smiled.

Thirty minutes later, Parent left Angel Declaration satisfied.

Tang De also received a preliminary film investment agreement.

The investment ratio and sharing are what Parent said have not changed, but Parent has added a new one, that is, Tang De must direct two movies for MGM in the future and be the planner of the publicity plan. The film can be directed by Tang De Make your own choice.

Obviously, the publicity strategy Tang De mentioned made the CEO realize his hidden value.

Tang De was good at everything. He was making money no matter how he filmed, so it didn't matter if he helped MGM.

After all, when MGM faces bankruptcy, liquidation and reorganization in the future, maybe it can take advantage of it.

After finishing these matters, Kane came over again. It turned out that several actresses had recommended themselves and submitted their resumes.

Tang De looked through it and originally planned to put it in the resume cabinet and make a selection later.

But Kane suddenly said: "In fact, Don, an agent has brought his actress to the door of the company."

"Who?"

"James Forow from Universal Agency, and his contracted actress, I'm sorry, I didn't remember her name."

"It seems that the casting of "Fifty Shades of Grey" made them very excited."

"Of course!" Kane laughed: "This is an adaptation of a best-selling book, and a young girl is the protagonist. I don't know how many people are watching."

Although the book is a hit, so far the cast of actors and actresses has been sparse or generally of low quality.

Especially male actors, no one who is a famous actor is willing to play this role, because SM itself is inseparable from eroticism.

This is a kind of damage to the actor's screen image. It is impossible for male stars like the readers to expect to take such risks and participate in such movies.

And famous actresses are not willing to expose themselves easily. After all, it is not worth it to be exposed in a movie that is destined not to win awards.

So the dilemma facing Norton Eyes now is that there are no popular actors available.

But it doesn't matter, Tang De just took this opportunity to let Cindy or another actress from Angel Declaration play the role.

"Then let them in."

Tang De nodded and decided to meet the self-recommended agent.

Five minutes later, Tang De saw the two of them in the office.

James Forow was a slightly bald man with a big belly and a rather greasy look.

On the contrary, the actress he brought was fresh and beautiful, with three-dimensional facial features, long golden hair hanging around her neck, and gray eyes that were unforgettable at first sight.

Tang De felt as if he had seen her before.

"Hi, Mr. Norton." James shook hands with Tang De, and then said with a smile on his face: "This is Chloë Grace Moretz, come and say hello to Mr. Norton."

"Hello, just call me Ke Luo." The bright smile of the blonde girl is very healing.

"So are you here to interview the heroine? But the casting for the movie has not officially started yet."

When Tang De heard the girl's name, he immediately realized where he had seen her before, the super-killer girl in "Kick-Ass".

She entered Hollywood in 2003 and starred in TV series. It was not until 2005 that she got a movie opportunity.

It's just that the movie doesn't have any splash, and it's silent.

I didn't expect that now she would be auditioning for "Fifty Shades of Grey".

"We just want to meet you in advance, because Ke Luo is a really good actor..." James introduced Tang De, and Ke Luo kept smiling with the two of them.

Tang De listened for a while, then stretched out his hand to stop James from talking: "I understand your feelings as an agent, and I will seriously consider it, but the casting work has not started yet, so..."

"I understand!" James nodded and stood up suddenly: "Let Khloe talk to you in person, Mr. Norton."

"What?" Tang De raised his eyebrows.

But James had already walked out of the door and thoughtfully closed the door for the two of them.

"Clap."

Ke Luo and Tang De looked at each other.

(End of this chapter)