Extracting skills from movies

"This morning, I accompanied a Warner producer to a meeting.
There were two screenwriters and directors from Hong Kong attending the meeting. ”

As Kawi spoke, he opened his briefcase and took out a box of discs:
"This film is extremely popular in the Asian market. Director Scorsese is very interested in it and plans to adapt it into a version for the United States of America."

Hades took the disc and saw the words "Infernal Affairs" on the cover, which was a police and gangster film.

In fact, the remake rights of "Infernal Affairs" had already been purchased by Warner Bros. Pictures, but they have not been able to find a suitable director to take over.

Kawi continued:
“The story will be set in Boston, and the characters’ background will be the gangster theme that Scorsese is best at.

The two main characters in the film are both undercover agents.
One was an undercover agent planted by the Irish mafia within the police, and the other was an undercover agent sent by the police into the Irish mafia.

The latter will be given to a Hollywood A-list star, and Leonardo DiCaprio has already been confirmed to star in it.”

Hades's eyes immediately focused on the undercover character who had infiltrated the gang:

"Does Director Martin think my client is suitable for this role?"

Kavi nodded and held up two fingers:
“Two reasons. One is that your client is very popular recently.

He has won two gold belts as an action actor and will also have a showdown with Tyson, which has attracted the attention of many Hollywood executives.

Director Martin was preparing an action film and noticed his presence.

The second reason is that the screenwriters and directors from Hong Kong all praised Du Sheng’s performance in Infernal Affairs, and their words and actions were full of strong recommendations.”

Hades smiled, and it turned out to be pretty much as he had guessed.

In recent times, in addition to attracting global attention in the boxing world, Du Sheng has also made considerable achievements in music and film.

For example, his newly released single "Stereo Love" has already debuted at number eight on the Billboard singles chart.

Judging from the boiling heat and public opinion, it is expected to make it into the top three next week.

There is even a great chance of topping the list.

As for the movie, "SPL" has been released in North America for less than two weeks and has already grossed $683 million.

Don't underestimate this data.

After all, Columbia Pictures did not release the film on a large scale. In the early stages, it only tested the waters in eight large cities with large Chinese populations, such as New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

After the film received rave reviews in the Chinese community and even received positive responses and support from many boxing and music fans, the number of screens was expanded to 800.

However, according to this trend, it is basically certain that the box office will reach 2 million US dollars in the end.

If you include discs and peripherals, $3 million in revenue is conservative.

This small but huge investment made Sony CEO Howard Shringer personally call Columbia Pictures to ask them to pay attention to "Flash Point" which will be released in January next year.

This data also attracted the attention of many people in the Hollywood industry.

Naturally, many more celebrities are paying attention to Du Sheng.

Martin Scorsese is one of them.

After all, he is going to remake "Infernal Affairs", so he must watch the original version.

It is hard not to pay attention to Du Sheng, one of the leading actors with sharp acting skills and neat movements.

As for the screenwriter and director from Hong Kong, they are naturally Zhuang Wenqiang and Liu Weiqiang.

They have collaborated with Du Sheng many times and have expressed their satisfaction more than once.

In addition, they are considered the last defenders of Chinese-language films. Naturally, they are happy to see that they can give Chinese people more opportunities on the international stage.

So when Martin Scorsese casually asked about the role, they mentioned Du Sheng.

However, Haddish is well aware that this big name in the industry, who has won the Best Director Award at the Venice, Golden Globe, Cannes and other awards, has never lacked well-known co-actors.

His projects not only promote people, but also broaden the actors' acting range and role types.

Therefore, it has always been in great demand in Hollywood.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio, Scorsese's favorite actor and a member of Hollywood's multi-million dollar club, often has to attract investment to join the crew.

So Hades vaguely guessed something and asked:

“Should there be some specific conditions?”

Kavi smiled and said clearly:

"Du's acting skills are beyond doubt. He is very popular in Asia, and he has also starred in Infernal Affairs 2. These are all great advantages.

But if we only have these, we will probably be outdone by others.”

Although he didn't say it very specifically, combined with the recent actions of well-known actors such as Matt Damon and Edward Norton, Hades also understood the subtext:
“You’ve worked on big projects like Gangs of New York and The Aviator, and you’re very familiar with how Scorsese’s crew works.

If Du Sheng is interested in performing, what does he need to do? "

He knew very well that if Du Sheng wanted to make it in Hollywood, he had one disadvantage that could not be ignored, and that was that he was Chinese.

There is no way. Where white supremacy reigns, there will never be a lack of discrimination.

Even Jackie Chan and Jet Li had to go through a lot of hardships to get their foot in the door.

Although Du Sheng can shoot and film himself, it is far from being as quick as working with a big director to increase his fame and connections quickly.

And as long as the door is opened, the next movie he is preparing, "Wanted", will qualify as a Hollywood first-line star, and the film can be released on a large scale in North America.

Kawi thought about it and gave the most direct and effective advice:
“Like Leonardo, he can bring money into the group.

Scorsese's gangster films usually require huge investments, but the return on investment is not as high as expected, and the profits come more from long-term market operations.

When faced with investment issues, even the most arrogant bigwigs have to compromise. "

Hades thought for a moment and said:
“Did Leonardo maintain a long-term cooperative relationship with Scorsese in a similar way?”

Kavi nodded in agreement:

"It is true that the huge global impact of Titanic completely changed Leonardo's career.

Due to his extremely high international popularity, he attracted a large amount of overseas funds to invest in his projects.

Not only can he easily attract tens of millions of dollars in investment, he also has a strong box office appeal. Who can resist such a leading actor? "

Hades raised his eyebrows:

"How much investment is still needed? Sony or Interstellar Media may be interested."

"At least that much."

Kavi held up two fingers and added with a smile.

.........

"Starring in The Departed?"

Du Sheng was a little surprised when he heard the report.

He is now preparing to return to China, thinking about tinkering with an action movie, and then devote himself to "Wanted".

"Yes, Director Scorsese adapted the gangster theme based on the Hong Kong film..."

Hades recounted the recent situation in detail.

Du Sheng nodded and confirmed that it was a replica of "Infernal Affairs".

The adaptation rights had already been bought by Warner, and he heard about it from Du Qifeng last year.

It seems to be 800 million Hong Kong dollars.

I didn’t expect it to take so long before we start preparing.

But when I think about the fact that this is Hollywood, where filming takes years, it doesn't seem strange.

Martin Scorsese, as a leading figure in the field of lighthouse gangster films, has a deep love for this type of film.

"Infernal Affairs" occupies a place in the long history of global gangster movies, and its influence and artistic achievements undoubtedly attracted his attention.

When talking about gangster movies in the lighthouse, we have to mention the legendary "The Godfather".

It is almost undisputedly the top of the genre.

Coming in a close second place is generally considered to be The Lighthouse.

The film was widely praised for Jennifer Connelly's performance as the young Deborah. The third place went to Martin's Goodfellas.

This series of works also left a deep mark in film history.

There are only a few directors who can be respected as masters in the lighthouse film industry, and Martin Scorsese is undoubtedly one of them.

Although his box office results may not be very impressive, his contribution to promoting the progress and innovation of film art cannot be ignored.

If Du Sheng remembers correctly, Martin has been directing for decades and has won many awards, but not an Oscar.

It was not until two years later that he finally realized his dream by winning four major awards including Best Picture and Best Director with the remake of "The Departed".

The global box office reached a huge amount of 3 million US dollars.

In other words, if Du Sheng played one of the two main roles, even if he didn't win the award, he would still be able to gain a lot of glory.

What's more, this action film can be regarded as one of Hollywood's masterpieces.

Not to mention, his co-star is the international superstar Leonardo.

This passively enhanced status and global popularity are unparalleled.

If we add the box office revenue of more than 20 billion RMB...

This investment is indeed worth it!
"Director Martin wants me to play the role of Colin?"

"Yes, the corresponding character is Liu Jianming from Infernal Affairs."

Du Sheng hesitated for a moment and asked:

"We are still short of 2 million in investment. Doesn't Warner Bros. have an exclusive deal?"

Hades nodded and said:
“As far as I know, Warner Bros. has invested in blockbusters such as Harry Potter 3, Troy, Million Dollar Baby, The Polar Express, and Constantine in the past two years, and the capital utilization rate is very high.

This is also the reason why the remake rights of "Infernal Affairs" were acquired for more than a year, and it was not launched until this year, but..."

Du Sheng shook his head and smiled in his heart.

In the final analysis, the reason is that they feel that this remake is not secure enough and can't get to the top, so they simply bring in a few more companies to share the risk.

After all, according to director Martin's generous investment and Leonardo's minimum salary of 1300 million yuan, including the post-production promotion...

This film cost at least nearly 100 million US dollars to invest.

Although Warner Bros. has launched many successful blockbusters in the past two years, it has also suffered heavy losses from flops such as "Catwoman," "Jupiter Ascending," "King Arthur," and "Constantine."

This becomes a bit of a double-edged sword.

The same was true in the previous life. The main investor handed it over to companies such as Plan B, whose greatest value was production and distribution.

Du Sheng smiled and said:

"What about Sony? Have you contacted them?"

"Its subsidiary Columbia Pictures is quite interested, but considering that its rival is Warner Bros., this cooperation is unlikely to be reached."

Hades shrugged and said:
"Leonardo doesn't seem to want to delay any longer. He once told Director Martin that he could try to get another investor in..."

The competition between Sony and Warner Bros. in the industry has become almost public. Recently, not to mention cooperating in filming, there are even fewer opportunities to work together.

Therefore, if he wants to make this investment and get a huge return, he can only count on this Asian star.

If Leonardo were to obtain investment from France, this wish would be dashed.

He knew very well that Du Sheng was preparing for "Wanted Order" and was also a shareholder of MGM, which was undergoing restructuring, so he definitely had the ability to do so.

Now all we have to do is persuade him.

Du Sheng thought deeply and asked:
"What about Plan B Company?"

Hades understood immediately and said with a smile:

"I heard from a friend that Scorsese wanted to invite Pitt to play this role, but Pitt refused."

Plan B was started by two big stars, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, who also worked with Scorsese.

It’s just that this couple is getting a divorce, so how could they be in the mood to invest in a movie?

Du Sheng thought for a moment and said:

"I can invest and act in the film, but I have a small suggestion."

Hades was overjoyed and said:
"Just tell me, I'll discuss it with you."

It is true that Martin Scorsese is a great director, but in Hollywood, the producer often has the final say.

Behind the producer are almost always representatives of production and financing parties.

If Star Media invests 2 million US dollars, it would certainly make sense to make suggestions as long as they are not unreasonable.

"Since this film is a remake of the Eastern version of Infernal Affairs, I hope to retain some details so that Asian audiences can empathize more with it."

Du Sheng flipped through the script and listed a few paths:

“For example, the classic rooftop scene, the duel between two heroes, and the Buddhist metaphors of fate and destiny.

Of course, the most important thing is to slightly modify the fact that Colin is impotent. "

In his previous life, Du Sheng had seen this remake and found some flaws in it.

Let’s not talk about the bloopers like long-range missiles, bloody handprints, etc. These can be modified by my old friend, screenwriter Zhuang Wenqiang.

The character of Colin alone is actually a bit bloody.

In "Infernal Affairs", Liu Jianming at least makes people feel a glimmer of the complex brilliance of human nature.

He still has good intentions deep in his heart and hopes to turn over a new leaf and become an honest policeman.

It was just a trick of fate and past choices that left him with no choice.

This makes the audience feel both sympathetic and helpless towards him.

In comparison, the previous version of the character in "The Departed" appears to be more cold-blooded and ruthless.

He is a character driven purely by self-interest.

Not only did he skillfully exploit the conflict between the police and the gangs, he also knew how to judge the situation and constantly strive for a higher position for himself.

His behavior lacks moral bottom line and gives people a feeling that he is unscrupulous.

In addition, this character has a little-known setting.

That is impotence.

As a result, his psychologist girlfriend cheated on him with the girl played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although this plot increases the dramatic tension, it is too bloody and can be replaced with another reason.

Hades nodded repeatedly and said:
"OK, Du, what you said is not a big problem. It should be OK. Wait for my good news!"

There really isn't much of a problem with the facts.

Warner Bros. was worried about investment issues, so since someone brought in money, they were naturally happy to see it happen.

What's more, Du Sheng himself is very influential in Asia, and his recent duel with Tyson has caused a heated discussion around the world.

Are they stupid enough to push away this good thing that was delivered to their doorstep?

As for Martin Scorsese.

He spent more than half a year preparing for this film and was exhausted by the financial issues.

Since neither Plan B nor Pete have any ideas, Du Sheng, who is suitable in all aspects, naturally becomes the best replacement.

So "The Departed" was released smoothly.

In order to repay Martin Scorsese for his support, Leonardo voluntarily reduced his salary to $800 million.

This is actually nothing new.

Because for his last film, The Aviator, with Martin Scorsese, he voluntarily reduced his salary from tens of millions to five million dollars.

………(End of chapter)