Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 218 Movie Adaptation
The script discussion meeting for "Juno" was completed in two days.

Because the script is simple and the scenes are not complicated, the shooting naturally went smoothly.

The original film was shot in just 37 days.

The time Tang De gave this time was only 40 days.

However, compared to "Juno", the preparations for "Inception" were much slower.

There are not many qualified prop teams in Hollywood, and they all work on the crew, so we can only wait for their schedule to be arranged.

In addition, actors also encountered difficulties. Leonardo DiCaprio's schedule is already full. This guy said he wanted to make a documentary by himself, so he couldn't spare time.

Heath Ledger politely declined Tang De's invitation because he was fully committed to the role of the Joker and did not want to be distracted by it.

Tang De was a little helpless and planned to go find them with the script and have a chat after the filming of "Juno" was completed.

Compared to the troubles on his side, other companies were having smooth sailing.

In particular, Bernay Public Relations Company, after its reputation at the Oscars, many film companies or producers immediately came to the door, hoping to help the film get on the Oscar stage.

Not long ago, Supreme Creative and Ford's newly released advertisement not only successfully won the New York Advertising Award, but also increased the sales of Ford's new models by 20%.

This advertisement successfully opened up the automobile market for Supreme Creative, and many big-name cars began to come to us for advertising cooperation.

Not to mention the advertisement in collaboration with Durex, the sales of Durex doubled on the day the advertisement was aired. A large number of young men and women bought Durex for fear that they would get pregnant unexpectedly and have a child who would only know how to play tricks.

While these were happening one by one, Tang De was watching the scene in the crew.

"Stuck! Great!" For the first time, Tang De passed without any suggestions at all.

This made the assistant director next to him stunned.

But Ellen Page's performance is really natural. This kind of girl image comes easily, without any sense of violation at all, just like a real girl worried about pregnancy.

Moreover, the movie itself does not require too many heavy acting skills. It can be done as easily as it wants to achieve the comedy effect.

So surprisingly, everyone kept smiling throughout the filming process, making it the most relaxed crew the crew has ever experienced.

However, during the break in filming, many film companies approached Tang De.

"I see you've been thinking about it this afternoon, what's wrong, Don?" Anne Hathaway asked Don De while blowing her hair in the room at night.

They currently live in a suburban apartment three kilometers away from the crew.

This is where he found someone to rent, and it is also the best house in the area.

"Because those film companies want me to direct movies." Tang De took off his bathrobe and put on his pajamas.

"This is a good thing, why are you so depressed all the time?" Anne Hathaway looked at Tang De through the dressing mirror,

"Well... because I'm thinking." Tang De explained: "There are several movies in front of me now, and I need to pick out the ones that are most likely to shine."

"It's really difficult, like I often receive a lot of scripts, and it feels overwhelming every time I choose."

"Won't your agent help you?" Tang De went to bed and leaned on the bedside.

"I didn't ask him to help because I'm an actor and I need to find a script that works for me."

"Right."

"So you need advice? Mr. Tod?" Anne Hathaway put down the hair dryer and lay on the bed with Tod.

"Of course, dear." Tang De touched the back of her smooth hand and said, "There are three movies, one of which is "Charlie's War" sold by Universal."

"The second one is the Warner movie "The Gunslinger."

"The last one is still a Warner movie, "I Am Legend."

"What are these three movies about?" Anne Hathaway tilted her head and leaned on his shoulder.

"Charlie's War is about a group of Americans fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, although I think it's more of a joke."

Tang De is not interested in the so-called game between great powers, but he also knows that history books are written by the victors. The tragic experience of the third world countries is closely related to everything done by the two major powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, but now they have become little girls who can dress up and dress up as they please.

"What about the second part?"

"'Assassination of the Gunslinger' is an adaptation, telling a western story, a story about a robber who robbed the rich and gave to the poor and was eventually killed by his own people."

"Okay, what about the third part? Is it telling the story of a hero?" Anne Hathaway guessed based on the title of the film.

But Tang De shook his head and smiled: "Not at all. It tells the story of a man and a dog surviving in the apocalypse. I heard that the lead actor Will Smith strongly suggested that I direct it."

"Haha, he really has been thinking about you."

"Come on, I won't think about him." Tang De joked, and then said: "Although I also want to agree to him, unfortunately, my schedule does not support it."

"The film "Inception" is destined to take a lot of effort on my part, and it is estimated that it will take at least a year."

The movies Tang De shot before were either low-budget or fixed scenes, and they actually didn't take much time.

But "Inception" is completely different, whether it is the various scenes in the dream or the different special effects.

It requires Tang De to devote himself wholeheartedly to the crew to complete this film.

Therefore, blockbusters of the same level as "Charlie's War" and "I Am Legend" are no longer in Tang De's consideration.

After thinking about this, Anne Hathaway asked curiously: "So you want to take on "The Outlaw"?"

"No..." Tang De shrugged: "I don't even plan to answer it."

"why?"

"Because I don't think "Assassination" has any hope of winning awards."

Tang De doesn't want to waste his limited energy on movies that have no hope of winning awards. On the one hand, "Juno" and "Inception" are enough to make money, but on the other hand, he needs a movie that can really win awards to establish himself in the industry. Hollywood status.

Now he's well-liked, but that's not enough.

Nominations are just nominations.

So he leaned on the bed and thought for a while. It wasn't until Anne Hathaway touched his leg with her hand that he came back to his senses.

"What did you think of?" Anne Hathaway asked him.

"I thought of... a lot. I seem to have remembered something." Tang De narrowed his eyes: "Western movie... maybe I have a brand new choice."

The next day, when Karl got up from the big bed at home, he suddenly received a call from Tang De.

Some time ago, he had been accompanying Zun Long for interviews and filming in China. It must be said that the food in China is far richer and more diverse than the food in the United States. Carl followed Zun Long and ate every day, so much so that he gained five pounds. However, although he is loved by the country, Zunlong is very happy.

But he also felt a little troubled and tired amidst the extreme noise.

So Zunlong has now returned to his home in Canada to rest, and Karl is also liberated.

Unexpectedly, just after two days of rest, Tang De's task was handed down.

"Go to Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy to buy the copyright of his novel?" Carl knew when he heard this task that Tang De must be preparing a new movie.

He packed up his clothes, combed his hair in the mirror, and looked at his face that was more swollen than before and couldn't help but swear: "I have to control my appetite."

After swearing, he came downstairs, where his wife had already prepared breakfast for him.

There were various kinds of bread and bacon on the dinner plate. Karl looked at these things and thought for a while, then put the bacon into the bread and took a bite: "These are not Chinese fried dough sticks. Eating some will not make you fat."

After finishing breakfast, Carl called the publisher responsible for Cormac McCarthy's novels.

"Hello, I'm Carl, the producer of Norton Eyes."

"Well, I'd like to talk to you guys about the film rights to Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men."

"Yes, the boss of our company likes this novel very much and wants to buy it."

"As for the price, I think we should discuss it face to face to be more sincere, don't you?"

"Okay, I'll be at this address at two o'clock in the afternoon, right?"

"No problem, see you then."

After hanging up the phone, Carl and his wife complained: "No Country for Old Men, the title is really a tragic story. Maybe the Oscar judges will like it."

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Karl sat on the sofa of the publishing house.

The head of the publishing house, Hokaf, was opposite him, with a Mediterranean hairstyle, pouring tea for him.

"Thank you." Karl took the tea cup very gentlemanly, and then said: "Let's get straight to the point. We hope to purchase the priority adaptation rights for the novel "No Country for Old Men"."

Hokaf nodded: "This is really good news, but unfortunately, there are others who are interested in the adaptation rights of this novel. In fact, they have already communicated with Mr. McCarthy first."

Karl immediately frowned: "So the copyright of this novel has been sold?"

"Not yet, but I think they are more likely."

Carl relaxed his brows when he heard this: "Don't worry, Mr. Hokaf, we come here with sincerity. No matter how much royalties our competitors publish, we can be higher than him."

Tang De's order on the phone was to do whatever it took.

This is the first time Karl has heard such a powerful statement, so no matter how difficult it is, he must complete this task beautifully.

And Hokaf couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Karl's resolute attitude.

And then said, "Well, in that case, I'll pass it on to Mr. McCarthy."

"It's not just about conveying it, Mr. Horcuff." Karl said seriously: "We are different from those big companies. Norton Eyes is Donde Norton's private company. We don't have the disadvantages of those big companies. We won't buy the script but Bring it to the bottom of the box."

"And you should know that at last month's Oscars, our company's films received many nominations and awards, and all our goals are to make the best films possible."

"Mr. Norton believes that Mr. McCarthy's novel is an undoubted treasure. He had already thought about everything about the film adaptation when he read the novel. For this reason, we can directly purchase the copyright of the entire book and pay it all at once. And Shooting this year.”

"We will also hire Mr. McCarthy as a screenwriter to co-write the film with us."

Karl said in an extremely seductive tone that these Norton Eyes could do everything, and even the well-informed Hokaf could not help but be a little moved by this determination.

"Okay, I will try my best to explain it to Mr. McCarthy. I believe that if you are really so sincere, Mr. McCarthy will also be willing to cooperate with you."

After coming out of the publishing house, Karl called Tang De and reported.

"Very good, Karl, you did the right thing." Tang De looked at the filming scene that he stopped, and then said: "No matter what, let me see Mr. McCarthy."

"Well, that's it."

Tang De hung up the phone and picked up the receiver: "Do it again!"

The crew began to rearrange the scene and the actors began to recite their lines.

Tang De, on the other hand, kept tapping the armrest with his fingers. It was only when he heard the movie "Assassination of the Outlaw" that he recalled the same western movie "No Country for Old Men".

This movie came out that year and directly won four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

It can be said that it is Tang De who needs the movie most.

Moreover, the filming process of this movie is simple, the scenes are not complicated, and the production cost is low. It will not affect the shooting of "Inception" at all.

So this is why Tang De tried his best to win it.

And the reason why he has an impression of this movie is because of a certain girlfriend in his previous life.

This girl is a senior movie enthusiast and has been working on shooting some niche movies since graduating from film school.

Then I usually go to film festivals and win some small awards.

Tang De relied on his camera skills to attract her, and the two of them watched a lot of her favorite movies together.

Among them is "No Country for Old Men."

But that era was really a long time ago, and Tang De was not the photographer of the dark world at that time.

He is still a young man who is full of hope for the future and is on the right path.

So Tang De does not have very deep memories of these.

In this way, after getting Tang De's reply, Karl went to the publishing house to harass Hokaf every day.

Anyway, he had a lot of time, so he would have a cup of tea in Horcuff's office every time, and then look at other published books to see if there were any novels with potential for adaptation.

The afternoon passed easily.

Seeing that Carl was so perseverant, Hokaf had to increase his efforts to persuade McCarthy.

Finally, a week later, Cormac McCarthy, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, finally took time to meet with Tang De.

So Tang De suspended filming, put down everything he was doing, and rushed back to New York.

(End of this chapter)