The literary era since 1979

Phoenix, Fox.

Alan Ryder flipped through the documents casually and listened quietly to the secretary's report.

"Since its release on Christmas Day, Home Alone has grossed 5287 million US dollars in North America in its first weekend, and 5419 million US dollars overseas, surpassing United Artists' Rain Man, Paramount's The Gray Wolf, and Buena Vista's The Last Thing..."

"If this trend continues, it will not only be the weekly box office champion in the United States, but also the weekly box office champion in the world."

"According to our data analysts, the final box office will be between US$5.2 million and US$5.5 million."

"Snapped!"

The secretary paused when he heard the sound of the table being slapped.

"Haha, this is indeed Fang's script!"

Alan Ryder showed a satisfied smile. The production cost of "Home Alone" was only 1800 million US dollars.

Although Fox needs to pay Fang Yan the script licensing fee for "Baby's Alone" and a share of the film's global box office, it is just a drop in the bucket compared to the profits Fox earned from "Home Alone", not to mention that "Home Alone" can still have sequels.

When I think of this, I can't help but sigh that I don't need Fox to have 10 dialects. As long as there are 10 high-quality scripts like "Die Hard" and "Home Alone" every year, I will be able to progress from Fox Film Company to the CEO of the entire Fox Group!

"Do you want to continue?"

The secretary asked politely.

"continue!"

After Alan Ryder listened to the box office statistics for Fox's December movies, he continued to listen to today's meetings and schedule.

"You have a meeting starting at 1:2 p.m., and it lasts about two to two and a half hours."

"The main discussion was about Fox's film schedule for next year, which film projects would be cancelled, and which film projects had budgets..."

The secretary spoke in an orderly manner, talking about the arrangements from the afternoon to the evening.

When Alan Ryder heard that he had a dinner party with Fang Yan tonight, his eyes lit up and he instantly became energetic:
"I can't wait to meet him!"

"I want to talk to Fang face to face about the production of movies like Die Hard 2 and The Intouchables! I want to discuss with him about Farewell My Concubine's Oscar campaign! Susan, please make a reservation for me at the French restaurant that I often visit and order some good wine. I want to treat him well!"

………………

Time flies and soon it is night.

Lin Qingxia appeared in the hotel wearing a red long dress with a thick white fur coat on the outside, holding Fangyan's arm.

Led by the waiter, the two met Alan Ryder and exchanged greetings with each other.

"Ryder, this is for you."

Fangyan handed over an invitation letter.

"This is?"

Alan Ryder was startled.

"In half a month, a personal film exhibition will be held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C."

Dialect with a smile.

"Your personal film exhibition?"

Alan Ryder was very surprised.

"No, it's my friend."

Fangyan turned his gaze to Lin Qingxia.

Alan Ryder looked left and right, with an intriguing smile on his face.

While congratulating Lin Qingxia, he solemnly promised that as long as he was free, he would attend her personal film exhibition. Even if he could not spare the time, he would send someone to represent Fox Film Corporation. No matter what, he would support Lin Qingxia and Fang Yan.

"Then I'd like to thank her on her behalf."

Fang Yan said: "In fact, I also invited some friends to the film festival to get together, such as Spielberg, Cameron, Kubrick..."

As she heard the names of famous Hollywood directors and stars, the smile on Lin Qingxia's face grew brighter and brighter, and her heart became more and more moved.

When the dialect said "Francis Coppola", Alan Ryder suddenly interrupted:

“Speaking of Coppola, Fang, do you remember that you wanted to recommend him to co-direct The Intouchables?”

"Yes. What's the problem? Is Francis still not giving in and still refusing to direct The Intouchables?"

Fangyan frowned. Could it be that The Intouchables failed to impress Francis Coppola? Or was he really planning to retire?
"No!" Alan Ryder shook his head. "After reading the script, he agreed very readily. And when he learned that the person co-directing with him was your wife, who just won the Palme d'Or for Farewell My Concubine, he had no objection."

Fangyan asked: "So where is the problem?"

"It's his choice of actors! He's too stubborn, just like when he was filming The Godfather!"

Alan Ryder tugged at his tie. "He actually wanted Al Pacino to play the rich white man in The Intouchables."

Lin Qingxia was extremely surprised. Although she had not read the script of "The Intouchables" and did not know the story and plot, based on Al Pacino's acting skills, there should be few roles that he could not handle. However, she could hear a bit of disgust and disdain in Alan Ryder's tone.

The dialect is also incomprehensible. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are both very suitable for the role of "rich man".

Upon asking, I found out that Al Pacino is in the same bad luck as Francis Coppola.

He starred in the war film "Revolution", which had an investment of 2800 million US dollars. However, the film made less than one million US dollars at the domestic box office in the United States. Al Pacino, the leading actor, was criticized as "box office poison" and had to take a 4-year break. Hollywood was unwilling to offer him any more roles.

"As for black people, we have spotted an actor with great potential named Denzel Washington."

Alan Ryder gave a brief introduction.

Fangyan raised his eyebrows. He was one of the few black actors who had won the Oscar for Best Actor. He had enjoyed watching movies like "The Equalizer", "American Gangster", "Training Day" and so on in his previous life. He was indeed a good candidate for "The Intouchables".

"He was nominated for the 60th Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for last year's biographical film, Cry Freedom."

Alan Ryder said seriously: "In terms of potential and appeal among black audiences, he is better than Coppola's Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker. We can also use The Intouchables to sign Denzel for more film contracts."

Show your chicken feet!
Fangyan smacked his lips, apparently he was coveting someone else's child labor contract.

However, there was no need for him to object to letting Denzel Washington play the leading role. Instead, he tried his best to get Al Pacino, thinking that his god-level performances in "Scent of a Woman" and "The Godfather 3" would definitely make him play the protagonist based on Shi Tiesheng vividly.

"Ryder, don't forget The Godfather. I heard from Francis that Paramount also refused to let Brando play Vito Torleone, but he ended up creating a classic screen image. In my opinion, letting Al Pacino play the leading role in The Intouchables is a risk worth taking!"

"But..." Alan Ryder opened his mouth.

"And don't you think it's a good gimmick?"

Fangyan picked up his glass and said, "The director of The Godfather, who was a box office poison, and the protagonist of The Godfather, who had a bleak career, are working together again in The Intouchables. If the movie is a success, their lives will be turned around and they will make a comeback. How pleasant it sounds."

Lin Qingxia paused as she stretched out her hand towards the wine glass and let out a light exclamation. Why did it sound so much like the “League of Losers” in the filming of “A Better Tomorrow”?

This sentence was in Chinese. Alan Ryder was confused. "Wat (what)?"

Fangyan recounted the ins and outs of the preparations for "A Better Tomorrow" and the achievements made after the film was released.

The more Alan Ryder listened, the brighter his eyes became. Just as Fang Yan said, this risk was indeed worth taking!
The total investment for "The Intouchables" does not exceed 1000 million US dollars. Even if it flopped, it wouldn't lose much money!

After weighing the pros and cons, they finally agreed to let Al Pacino audition, but the black role had to be played by Denzel Washington.

"Leave it to me, I will persuade Francis to accept it."

Fang Yan naturally also hopes that Denzel Washington will play the male protagonist based on himself.

"Thank you for your hard work, cheers!"

Alan Ryder smiled and clinked glasses with the two men, then drank the red wine in one gulp.

………………

French meals were served on the table one after another. Everyone ate and chatted, and the first thing they talked about was "Die Hard 2".

"I have already prepared the script. Now we just need to select the actors and we can start filming anytime."

The dialect cut a small piece of foie gras.

"very good!"

Alan Ryder said excitedly that based on the outstanding box office performance of "Die Hard 1", Murdoch agreed to increase the budget of the second part, which was exactly double that of the first part, hoping that the second part would be better than the first one, so that he could continue to develop the "Die Hard" series and continue to shoot sequels.

Fang Yan said: "After Die Hard 2, we don't necessarily have to prepare for Die Hard 3 right away."

Alan Ryder was full of curiosity: "What do you mean?"

Fang Yan said that Cheng Long's action movies are like Bruce Lee, which contain infinite possibilities, and he can completely develop several more movie series similar to "Die Hard". This made Lin Qingxia think of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", in which he chose to play "Shirley Yang".

The result was exactly as she expected. Fangyan told Alan Ryder the story of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series.

"The devil blew out the lights? Are you talking about a supernatural movie?"

"No, this is an action movie similar to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', an adventure movie with an oriental magical touch!" Fang Yan said that the "Hu Bayi" played by Cheng Long would be like "Harrison Ford" in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", searching for tombs and stealing treasures in China and even around the world.

"Wow!"

Alan Ryder wasn't sleepy at all when he heard "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

"Indiana Jones" is one of Paramount's signature films in the 80s, and it is simply a walking money-printing machine.

"When the time comes, she will be the leading lady of the film."

Every word spoken in dialect fell into Lin Qingxia's ears, and her eyes sparkled with refreshing sweetness.

The two people's eyes intertwined, revealing an unspoken understanding.

"That's right..."

Alan Ryder smiled knowingly.

"This is just one of the directions. In addition to super sheriff and explorer, I have also designed multiple identities for him in the movie."

Fangyan pointed out one by one, listing them one by one, "For example, agents, Interpol, and even The Matrix."

"I can't wait!"

Alan Ryder became more and more excited as he listened. "Fang, you don't know that this afternoon I presided over a meeting on Fox's film schedule for next year. The film projects reported by various departments were really disappointing and disappointing. They were completely incomparable to the surprise you brought me."

Fang Yan and Lin Qingxia smiled at each other, then said that there was a comic version of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", which would be sent to Fox after it was translated.

Alan Ryder happily agreed, "I will definitely read it as soon as it is sent to me!"

The dinner was drawing to a close as the guests toasted each other and the topic finally turned to the Oscars.

"I've heard from Mike that the recent release of Rain Man seems to be our biggest competition."

Fangyan said while eating Kelulli.

"Yes, if Rain Man hadn't interfered, I would have been 70% to 80% sure that Farewell My Concubine would be able to replicate the glory of The Last Emperor." Alan Ryder frowned, "But now, I'm afraid we have to discuss countermeasures to meet the challenge of Rain Man."

Lin Qingxia said nothing, but heard their heated discussions on publicity and public relations for the Oscars, such as sending film videotapes to judges, holding internal screening receptions, inviting critics to write film reviews, and intensive coverage in entertainment media columns, etc., to build momentum for their films.

"No problem. The funds approved by Rupert are very sufficient."

Alan Ryder changed the subject and said, "But even so, we can't take all the awards. We have to make some choices."

Fangyan readily agreed, "There is an old Chinese saying, 'You can't have your cake and eat it too.'"

"That's a really clever statement. You can't have your cake and eat it too."

Alan Ryder said: "Let's not talk about the Best Foreign Language Film. Farewell My Concubine is most likely to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture. Rain Man may compete fiercely with us in the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture categories, so we must focus on the important and avoid the trivial."

Fangyan thinks that all the investment in Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor can be transferred to Best Picture.

"what do you think?"

"I agree with you, that's how The Last Emperor worked."

Alan Ryder nodded. "That's why it was able to beat a series of nominated films including Fatal Attraction and Hope and Glory!"

Fang Yan sighed, "It's a pity for the actors of Farewell My Concubine. Their acting skills deserve an Oscar."

"Well, there is a solution."

Alan Ryder smiled shrewdly, "Maybe I can't win the Oscar, but I can still try hard at the Golden Globe Awards."

Fangyan and he smiled at each other, and then they heard a clinking sound as the glasses clinked together. Everything was said without words, in the wine. (End of this chapter)