America is in control

Chapter 297 Director Finalization and Audition Conspiracy
In the next few days, Liu, with the cooperation of Jonathan and all employees of the new Caesars Entertainment Company, began to intensively formulate the preliminary budgets for the two projects "Charlie's Angels" and "Death Comes".

Some of the filming locations for the two movies were still chosen in Los Angeles. There was no choice but to do it. The place was familiar and it was convenient to do all kinds of things.

After working hard for several days, the preliminary budgets for the two projects were finally released.

"Boss, the initial budget of "Charlie's Angels" is US$1500 million, which can be increased later. We have announced that the production cost of the film will exceed US$4500 million."

"The same is true for "Death Comes". The initial budget of this project is US$800 million, and its public production cost will exceed US$2400 million."

Liu Jiang carefully reviewed the budget sheets of the two projects, and after finding no problems, he signed his name.

"Boss, the investment in the two movies the company has approved this year is not small. We may be able to seek tax rebate subsidies from abroad."

Jonathan seemed to suddenly remember something, and he gave General Liu a suggestion.

"Is there a tax rebate subsidy? This is possible! I'll leave this matter to you!"

General Liu nodded, and he simply left the matter of obtaining tax rebate subsidies to the other party.

Then, he added another sentence.

"How have you gotten in touch with directors who are good at action comedies? Which directors have clearer intentions?"

Jonathan thought for a moment, took out a stack of director materials specializing in action comedies from his briefcase, and handed it to General Liu.

"Boss, these directors have all directed action comedy movies that performed reasonably well at the box office, but their asking prices are very high and their requirements are extremely cumbersome."

Liu Jiang frowned, took the director's information from the other party, and looked through it roughly.

After going through the information in general, his face became a little ugly.

Damn it! These directors, who are not very famous and whose works are not very well-known, are really good at opening their mouths!

Not only is the director's salary easily worth millions of dollars, but he also plans to share the box office share. This is simply intolerable!

"Continue to maintain contact with these directors, and at the same time expand the scope of screening to include those directors who are very unique but have relatively little directing experience."

After pondering for a moment, Liu Jiang made a decision.

"Okay, Boss!"

Jonathan nodded and responded quickly.

In the following period, the preparation progress of "Death is Coming" obviously exceeded that of "Charlie's Angels" by a lot.

Under the leadership of James Wong and Glen Morgan, the framework of the crew has basically been completed, the film storyboards have been drawn, and the shooting plan is almost made.

As for "Charlie's Angels", Liu Jiang and Jonathan interviewed several directors, but none of them were very satisfied.

These guys are either talking nonsense and trying to deceive the two of them.

Either the lion opens its mouth and shouts the price crazily, hoping to make a fat man out of it in one bite.

No way, the success of "Looking for the Midnight Kiss" is so dazzling!

Having learned from the past, these directors would rather not have a fixed salary, but must come up with a certain percentage of the box office share.

How could General Liu agree to such an unrealistic request? These guys are not famous directors. Without them, "Charlie's Angels" would be impossible to play!
He simply focused his attention on rising star directors who were very distinctive but relatively inexperienced in directing.

Through Jonathan, Liu will make a request to these directors to shoot a dazzling and action-packed female fighting sequence as a stepping stone to apply for the directorship of "Charlie's Angels".

It didn't take long for New Caesars Entertainment to receive 'assignments' from those directors one after another.

"Hey! The fighting scenes shot by this director are very cool! His shooting techniques are quite skillful and suit my taste."

General Liu motioned to Jonathan on the side to pause and asked again.

"Who is this director? He should have a lot of shooting experience before. This shooting method feels a bit like shooting a music video."

"Joseph McGinty Nitcher, born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, grew up in Newport Beach, California, and graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a major in psychology. He is 29 years old."

Jonathan pulled out the director's information and gave General Liu a general introduction.

Joseph's career began by taking advertising photos for some unknown local brands in California and taking artistic photos for some unpopular singers.

Because he has been cooperating with local brands and record companies in California all year round, he quickly got to know many people in the industry.

In 1993, Joseph was spotted by a record company called G Recordings and became a MV producer.

While working as a MV producer, he would also participate in the creation of songs for the company's bands from time to time.

Not only filming music videos and writing songs, Joseph also filmed a documentary about the band's musical journey for the company's then-signature Sweet Rays.

Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Soon, he was tasked with shooting theme videos for MLB (Major League Baseball) and TV commercials for Coca-Cola.

MLB theme videos and Coca-Cola TV commercials made Joseph famous among advertising directors.

"Are you saying that this commercial director named Joseph has never directed a real commercial movie?"

Liu Jiang raised his hand to stop Jonathan from continuing. He asked a question that concerned him most.

"Uh! Yes! But the documentaries and promotional videos he shot are quite well received in the industry! His commercials and MV works have also won many awards!"

Jonathan considered his words and answered.

"Yeah! That's it! Let's meet up then! In case the other party can bring me a different surprise, Jonathan, please make arrangements."

After thinking for a while, General Liu issued an order to Jonathan.

"No problem, Boss!"

The next day, Liu Jiang and Jonathan met Joseph and his agent in the reception room of the new Caesars Entertainment Company.

After meeting, the two parties first greeted each other politely, and then started chatting word by word over the script.

Liu will have high hopes for "Charlie's Angels," his groundbreaking work.

He wanted to find the perfect balance between storytelling, visual style, comedy, fight scenes and colorful characters.

After Joseph heard General Liu's statement, he answered directly.

"I will appropriately exaggerate certain things in the movie, allowing the audience to enjoy 90 minutes of sensory stimulation while savoring an excellent story."

Joseph's answer won General Liu's heart. He could see that the other party liked the script of "Charlie's Angels" very much and wanted to direct the movie. Liu Jiang asked the other party a series of questions about directing feature films. He found that except that Joseph had no experience in directing feature films, everything else was good!

What to say about making a feature film! It’s not difficult for those who know how to do it, but it’s difficult for those who don’t know how to do it.

If Joseph can be matched with an experienced and compatible assistant director, and with two producers, himself and Jonathan, keeping an eye on him, there should be no problem for him to direct "Charlie's Angels".

Liu Jiang and Jonathan secretly exchanged glances, and both of them saw recognition of Joseph in each other's eyes.

Since there is no problem with the director's quality, and both of them agree, the only obstacle left is the director's salary.

Because Joseph had never directed a feature film, his agent didn't have much confidence.

After some bargaining between Jonathan and Joseph's agents, they won the other's two film contracts at a relatively low price.

Naturally, there is no share of the movie's box office. The director's salary of US$50 was settled in two installments.

This price is based on Joseph’s award-winning commercials and music videos.

Otherwise, Liu Jiang and Jonathan would not be willing to give so much!

Of course, the new Caesars Entertainment happily agreed to some of the rights that the director should enjoy.

For example, when the director is working, the crew should provide him with an independent office or lounge, and provide him with a special car to pick him up when he goes out.

Under the same conditions, the crew must give priority to the behind-the-scenes staff recommended by the director, and Joseph also has the right to make suggestions when casting.

The requirements of Joseph and his agent are actually not excessive, just some basic requirements!

Compared with those directors who have endless things to eat, endless things to do, and many things to do, Joseph is completely like a 'white lotus'.

Liu doesn't really care about the director's requirements. As long as he doesn't go too far and doesn't deliberately look for trouble, that's fine.

The actual power of the crew is in his hands, and the decision-making and final editing rights are also tightly controlled. Joseph alone cannot make any waves at all.

After negotiating all the conditions, the two parties formally signed the director's employment agreement. Joseph immediately returned home with the complete script, worked overtime to draw the movie's storyboards, and began to formulate a shooting plan.

A few days later, Jonathan and the location selector from New Caesar Production Company settled the issue of the filming location for "Charlie's Angels".

After the director and filming locations were finalized, the recruitment of other behind-the-scenes staff began on a large scale.

Joseph and some people who were close to General Liu recommended some familiar behind-the-scenes staff to apply for the job.

Jonathan was picky and selected professionals with excellent skills and high cost-effectiveness to join the crew.

During this period, General Liu gradually received some movie drawings drawn by Joseph.

When the crew's behind-the-scenes staff were almost recruited, Jonathan proposed to General Liu to hold a film preparatory meeting at the new Caesars Entertainment Company, and the latter readily agreed.

The film preparation meeting is mainly for the members of the crew to get to know each other, coordinate their work and confirm the power level.

Liu will serve as the boss and main producer of the new Caesars Entertainment Company, and his status and power are naturally unique.

Jonathan Gliman serves as executive producer, below Liu and above others.

Director Joseph McGinty-Nitcher is on the third level of the crew pyramid.

As for Liu's classmates at the University of Southern California, the employees of the new Caesars Entertainment Company, and the newly recruited professionals, they are undoubtedly the bottom of the crew.

"The first project budget has been received, and some of the location shooting locations and Warner Bros. studios have also been negotiated."

Jonathan briefly introduced the preparations of the crew.

"Yesterday, the photographer and I went to actually inspect some of the outdoor shooting locations. The conditions were okay, basically no problem."

"We are currently working hard to formulate the film shooting plan, and the complete version should be available within five days."

"I've already finished drawing the movie's storyboards. If there's anything you need to modify, you can tell me directly."

After Jonathan finished speaking, Joseph immediately took over and reported to the crew what he had been doing these days.

"The storyboards of your movie are well drawn. There are no major problems. It's just that some details still need to be discussed."

"After you complete the modifications, you can arrange the shooting scene according to the movie shot drawings."

"Hurry up and complete the filming plan of the movie. We will select the main roles in this movie through open auditions."

Liu Jiang nodded to Joseph and expressed the views he and Jonathan had discussed in advance.

"Okay, I will complete the modifications to the movie's storyboards as quickly as possible and come up with a movie shooting plan!"

Joseph replied solemnly.

Everyone continued to discuss, one problem after another was solved, and the film preparation meeting ended perfectly.

As the news spread of the open auditions for "Charlie's Angels" to recruit the main roles in the film, Liu Jiang's phone was immediately buzzed with calls!

"Teresa, this is a medium-sized film. In order to select the actor who best fits the role, the new Caesars Entertainment Company held this open audition."

"Of course you can recommend actors! What? Directly to the third round? This is not possible! Neither the male or female protagonists! Supporting actors can enter the second round."

"I'm not polite? Teresa, you have to touch your conscience when you speak! Of course, if you can't control it yourself, you can let me do it."

Just after hanging up the phone with Theresa Peters, Liu Jiang's cell phone immediately rang again.

"Hey, Nick, have you also heard about my new movie project? What? Add two people to the crew? Of course small supporting roles are fine, but the rest"

"Hi, Bro, I haven't seen you for a while! How have you been recently? What? You also want a small supporting role? I heard you right! Bro, do you have connections in Hollywood? Oh...! It was you at the banquet before Go to the one you know”

"Hey, who are you? I have an impression, but not much! I don't have time for dinner. If you want to audition, you can send your resume to New Caesars Entertainment."

Liu Jiang was annoyed by the phone calls one after another requesting roles. However, these people were more or less friendly, and he couldn't refuse them strictly, so he could only practice Tai Chi.

After finally dealing with it, he originally thought the matter would be settled.

Unexpectedly, on the day of the open audition, the actors who came to audition for the new Caesars Entertainment Company gave General Liu a small shock.

A lot of second- and third-tier Hollywood stars came, including Milla Jovovich, Alyssa Milano, and Jenny McCarthy.
There are countless other minor celebrities, 18th-tier stars, and amateur actors who have just entered Hollywood.

Liu Jiang feels that he has underestimated the brand name of the new Caesars Entertainment and this movie, which has a public production cost of US$4500 million!

(End of this chapter)