Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 219 Little Robert
Cormac McCarthy's home is in upstate New York.

When Tang De took Karl to the grand prize winner's home, he found that he was writing an article at home.

"Please sit down." McCarthy is a kind old man. Although he doesn't have much hair on his head, his articles are full of wisdom.

"Hello." Tang De and Karl nodded politely and sat on the sofa.

From Tang De's point of view, you can see that there are many pens and notebooks on the table in front of McCarthy. There is no such thing as a typewriter. It seems that the writer still maintains the most original way of writing.

"I heard that you want to buy the rights to "No Country for Old Men," right?" McCarthy sat in a chair. He spoke slowly in his 60s, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"Yes, Mr. McCarthy." Tang De nodded.

"Then do you know this work?"

"Of course, I've read it all..." Tang De didn't lie. He bought the novel directly in the past two days and read it overnight.

Since you want to buy the copyright of this novel, you must be well prepared.

But Mr. McCarthy did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he chatted about some family matters.

This made Tang De's preparations come to nothing, but he was not disappointed and just chatted with the old man.

After chatting like this for half an hour, McCarthy suddenly asked curiously: "Can you tell me your story?"

"What?" Tang De was a little confused.

"Your story, when you wanted to buy my novel, I got to know you, won an Oscar, and established your own company. You should be very successful."

"Yeah, you're right. Compared to others, this is indeed a success."

"So why do you want to film this boring novel?" McCarthy smiled: "This book only contains a sky full of yellow sand, drugs, people swallowed by desire and a cold killer."

"Why do you like this story?"

Tang De crossed his hands and pressed his thumbs together: "Because I can see death."

"Death?" McCarthy seemed to be interested.

"Yes, life and death are eternal themes. People in this novel have been discussing death. Even a cold-hearted killer has his own set of death logic. And the reason why the protagonist will die in the end is precisely because he does not Without respect for death, he is blinded by greed and does not consider the death it brings."

Tang De spoke eloquently for about five minutes, and McCarthy kept listening carefully.

It wasn't until he paused that McCarthy clapped his hands and exclaimed: "It's great that you have your own opinions on this novel."

McCarthy was particularly paranoid about life and death. He once expressed publicly in front of the media that he was not interested in works that did not involve issues of life and death.

So Tang De deliberately mentioned this concept proactively.

But the old man still didn't let go, his eyes seemed to have a kind of magic power, able to see through Tang De's heart.

"But I think you must be hiding the real thing."

Tang De looked at him for a while and shrugged: "Well, I am also a person blinded by desire, because I think this work can win the Oscar for best film."

"What?" Karl on the side exclaimed. Although he knew that Tang De had great expectations for this work, the Oscar for Best Picture was a bit outrageous.

There are so many movies that come out every year. This year, for example, even the most acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain" did not win the best picture.

How dare Tang De say that "No Country for Old Men" can win the best movie!
This is so arrogant!

Karl complained a few words in his mind, but felt that Tang De was not talking randomly.

Past facts have proven that all the works that Tang De is optimistic about have amazing performances in the end.

Karl felt that Tang De had a pair of eyes that could see into the future, so this time he felt that Tang De should also have his own judgment.

It's just that...the Oscar for Best Movie is still a bit too radical.

But McCarthy laughed happily after hearing what Tang De said: "Hahaha, best movie, Tang, you dare to say it."

"Of course, because I will direct and shoot." Tang De said confidently: "I have proven my ability with several movies, but I am still short of the most important movie, so Mr. McCarthy, Your novel is the most important thing to me."

"It seems like you won't let it go if I don't give it to you." McCarthy pouted, looking a little naughty.

"Yes, just like the cold perverted killer in the book, I will always be pestering him." Tang De agreed with McCarthy's statement.

"Okay, okay, old man, I don't have that much time and energy to pester you, so this novel will be yours."

"Thank you!" Tang De and Karl stood up to express their gratitude.

"But if you really win the Best Picture trophy, can you put it here with me?" McCarthy made a very strange request that seemed outrageous to Karl.

"No problem." But Tang De agreed without any hesitation.

"Then I won't let you eat."

After coming out of McCarthy's villa, Carl wondered: "Why should you give him the Best Picture trophy? This request is too unreasonable."

"It doesn't matter." Tang De explained as he sat back in the car: "I don't care where a trophy is. Even if it is made of gold, it is worthless to me. I only need the fame it brings me. "

"Okay...wait a minute." Karl, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly turned around and said, "Why do we look like we're determined to win the Oscar? Oh my god, this is too inflated."

"Hahaha." Tang De smiled: "Karl, this is not bloat, on the contrary, it is a sign that I have a clear understanding of Oscar."

A Best Picture award simply isn't enough for this movie.

But if another award like Best Director is mentioned, Karl will probably think that Tang De is crazy.

25-year-old emerging director wins Best Director Oscar?
Martin Scorsese is crazy with envy. Well, this is simply outrageous. Open the door for outrageousness. It’s so outrageous!
If Karl knew about Tang De's crazy thoughts, he would definitely persuade him to see a private doctor.

After all, this unrealistic fantasy must be caused by excessive mental stress.

"Okay, you are the boss, you have the final say." Carl turned around, looked at the taciturn Tom and asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't understand movies." Tom shrugged his shoulders: "But I think just think about something and do it, and it will be successful."

"I didn't expect that you are still a believer in success." Karl sneered at this, and then continued to ask: "Then when are you going to start shooting this movie?"

"Wait until I finish filming "Juno."" Tang De thought for a while. "No Country for Old Men" won the Oscar in 2008, and he did not intend to change this time.

Because the success of some films is a combination of the right time, place and people.

And next year’s Oscar winner is Martin Scorsese, and Oscar is indeed owed to him for many years. . If "No Country for Old Men" is released this year, there is a high probability that the Oscar gentlemen will give the best picture to Don De and the best director to Martin Scorsese.

This is not something that can be changed by public relations, so in order to gain maximum fame, Tang De needs to wait for another year.

But that's fine, "Inception" will be released by then. With the title of Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars, this film will be given greater expectations.

Maybe it can create a box office miracle that surpasses its previous life.

But since it was for a miracle, Tang De had to gather the conditions for the miracle to happen.

There is no actor with more box-office appeal than Leonardo DiCaprio in this year.

Although Matt Damon is also a versatile actor, his global popularity cannot match that of Leonardo.

As for Ryan Gosling, apart from The Notebook, he currently has no other masterpieces to show off.

But Leonardo is different. "The Aviator", "Titanic" and "The Departed" to be released this year are all his best business cards.

So in terms of global popularity, he is indeed ahead of others.

To be honest, if Robert Downey Jr. has achieved a reversal of reputation with "Iron Man", then Downey would actually be more willing to choose him, but it is a pity that at this point in time, he is still on the set as a producer.

But thinking of him, Tang De suddenly realized that he could ask him to act in advance.

Although he can't take on the big responsibility at the box office now, he can appear in a supporting role in "Inception". Anyway, his current salary is low.

Doing what he thought of, Tang De immediately arranged for Karl to find this man who had disappeared in Hollywood for a long time.
-
"Donny, make a smile, don't be so bitter, please!"

At an outdoor basketball court in Los Angeles, director Tito Montiel was holding a microphone and shouting to Robert Downey Jr.

The film "A Guide to Saints" is the debut of this new director and is also adapted from his autobiography. Downey will not only play a role in this film, but also serve as a producer.

To be honest, there is nothing we can do about it.

After all, many commercial movies would not choose Downey, a guy who was arrested three times for drug problems, even though he has continuously improved his appearance and condition in recent years, conveying to the public his new look of repentance.

But many film company executives still look at him through colored glasses, thinking that he can't turn the situation around.

Therefore, in the past few years, he started as a stand-in in music videos, played supporting roles in small-budget film crews, and then played leading roles in niche films.

For example, this one is an out-and-out low-budget award-winning movie.

There were only twenty-five people in the entire crew, which was not comparable to the large crews he had experienced in the past. Even because of the lack of venue fees, they could only borrow or temporarily rent some scenes.

But there is joy in the hardship. At least Downey has now learned the process and precautions of a producer. He feels that if he transforms into a producer in the future, it might also be a good choice.

And just after he finished filming the scene, someone suddenly found him.

"Donnie, there's someone looking for you over there."

"Looking for me?" Downey took a sip of cheap mineral water and looked at the people outside the venue.

I saw that in this slightly hot weather, the man was still wearing a suit and had no intention of taking it off.

This reminded him of his father, Robert Downey Sr., who was also so meticulous and never gave the impression of being dirty.

He walked towards the wall under the bright sun, looked at the visitor and asked, "Are you looking for me?"

"That's right." Karl thought the weather was really outrageous. It rained yesterday, but today it was so hot that it made people dizzy.

But a gentleman's instinct always controlled his behavior, so he just adjusted his tie slightly and said: "I have a video, do you want to hear it?"

Although Karl didn't know why Tang De had to find this ex-convict to act, but when he thought about his low salary, Karl felt that it was not unacceptable.

It's just a supporting role anyway.

But he will still worry that Downey will commit another crime and be imprisoned.

That would affect Tang De's new movie.

So his attitude can't be said to be very good, it can only be said to be very bland.

But as soon as Downey heard that a movie was looking for him, his eyes immediately lit up and he climbed over the fence beside the wall.

"Pa." He jumped in front of Karl and asked, "What movie?"

"Follow me." Karl couldn't bear the bad sun, so he tilted his head and walked towards the car next to him.

"Montier, I'll be there as soon as I go." Downey threw the mineral water bottle in his hand back to the basketball court and followed Carl into the car alone.

In the car, Carl finally felt alive after turning on the air conditioner.

After taking a few breaths of air-conditioning, he took out a simple outline of the script and handed it to Downey: "Let's take a look."

Downey took the script and looked at the name first: "Inception... a very interesting name. This should be a low-cost science fiction movie?"

He made a brief guess, but saw Karl raise the corners of his mouth, as if to express his disdain.

"Okay, let's take a look..." He turned to the second page and saw the words "Don't Norton" in the director's name column.

"Norton?" Downey frowned and looked at Karl doubtfully: "'Memoirs of a Geisha'?"

"That's right." Karl nodded.

Downey's expression immediately became serious because he realized something unusual from this script.

If the director is Don Norton, then it cannot be a low-budget production. Although he did start from a low-cost, every one of his films can stand on the Oscar podium.

And Oscar is the deepest desire in Downey's heart when he looks back at the past in prison.

Because when everyone talks about him, they will mention his experience, especially the movie "Chaplin" that brought him the greatest honor and the name of the award.

Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

That was his unprecedented peak, and it was also the nightmare he woke up from every midnight dream.

He wanted to get rid of the shadow of the past, but he never found a suitable way.

And now, the opportunity to stand on the Oscar stage again has finally appeared...

(End of this chapter)