Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 589 Tom Cruise's Invitation

Tom Cruise is also a legend of a comeback!
He debuted in 1981, and his acting skills were still immature.

He became a huge star after starring in "Top Gun" in 1982 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but he was still criticized for his poor acting skills and for relying solely on his looks. In today's terms, he was a "traffic star".

His acting improved noticeably in later films like *Rain Man* and *Interview with the Vampire*, but it was too late; he still got criticized.
The film industry has an inherent hostility towards handsome people; becoming famous is easy, but gaining recognition is difficult.
This is similar to Andy Lau; he has worked hard for 40 years.

He went through ups and downs in the industry until Mission: Impossible 4, when it seemed like he suddenly had an epiphany and started doing extreme sports.

Many people say he was influenced by Jackie Chan, and Tom Cruise himself said that Jackie Chan is his idol. In fact, many people directly call him the American version of Jackie Chan.

However, some people believe that Tom Cruise must have obtained some kind of system that requires him to risk his life to extend his life, or that he must die in an accident during filming in order to return to his original world.

Then this guy got a fighter jet pilot's license, a helicopter pilot's license, a race car driver's license, a skydiving qualification, a diving qualification, a maritime rescue qualification, basically unlocking a skill with each movie...

To be honest, his dedication is truly admirable; he's 62 years old and still working himself to the bone!
But take my advice, let's end it after Mission: Impossible 8.
"Director Zhang Chen, this is our first meeting, but I really love your film 'Taken'!"

"Thank you~ I also love the Mission: Impossible series. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Ethan Hunt~"

Both are celebrities, so there was no awkwardness as when they first met.

In fact, Tom Cruise came here today not just to attend the premiere, but also for his own purpose.

David Ellison recommended Zhang Chen to direct Mission: Impossible 4, which made Tom Cruise somewhat interested.

He certainly knew who Zhang Chen was. His films, such as Pacific Rim and 2012, had performed very well at the box office, but most importantly, his film Taken pioneered a new genre of action films.

Brian became the new synonym for secret agent after James Bond, Ethan Hunt, and Jason Bourne, and is the only Asian agent in the classic spy film series.

The creation of Mission: Impossible 4 was a very complicated process.

While Mission: Impossible III grossed $1.34 million at the North American box office, it was the lowest-grossing film in the entire series.

Paramount's attitude towards Mission: Impossible is somewhat like a double-edged sword—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.

But ultimately, they didn't want to give up this IP, so Mission: Impossible 4 was put on the agenda.

But at this crucial moment, Tom Cruise suddenly became emotional.

On the surface, it seems like he's throwing a tantrum, but actually, Tom Cruise is anxious.

The box office performance of three films in a row—"War of the Worlds," "Valkyrie," and "Lambs in the Tiger's Den"—failed to meet expectations...

Hollywood is very realistic; if three films in a row don't do well at the box office, the film will immediately be shelved.

Tom Cruise seems to be falling out of the top tier!
Therefore, he dared not take on any film roles for a while.

If the fourth installment flops, then they'll truly fall out of the top tier.

The entertainment industry is like a martial arts world; navigating it is truly like rowing against the current—if you don't move forward, you fall behind.
Once you fall out of the top tier, it's not impossible to come back, but it's also quite difficult.

There are already some signs of this, as some big-budget scripts are no longer being offered to him, which indirectly shows the investors' concerns.

Therefore, Tom Cruise is very cautious.

He doesn't have any good projects right now; the only one that's somewhat reliable is Mission: Impossible 4, which is arguably his only chance.

If this movie flops, the consequences will be unimaginable.
In addition, Paramount was not very optimistic about this film. If they were really optimistic, they wouldn't have needed to release it in 400 theaters first before expanding the theatrical release.

Mission: Impossible 4 had to be absolutely perfect, but even Tom Cruise himself wasn't sure.

Then David Ellison's suggestion caught his eye.

"David said, 'You mentioned a great idea, to link Mission: Impossible and Taken together...'"

"Yes, they are all well-known spy movie series with a highly consistent fan base. If they could be linked together, the effect would definitely be great, just like 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'..."

To be honest, this idea isn't anything special.

Hollywood must have thought of this a long time ago.

Collaboration between well-known IPs~
For example, the idea of ​​linking "007", "Mission: Impossible" and "Taken" has definitely been thought of by some people, but why has it never come to fruition?

There are likely two reasons:

One aspect is style. Films that can be made into a series must have already established a fixed style.

Just like in the James Bond movies, it always starts with a big boss who wants to destroy the world, then Bond gets a car, weapons, and girls, and incidentally takes down the big boss...

That's his routine.

If it's changed, will it still be James Bond?

The same applies to Mission: Impossible. Ethan's team always manages to escape danger by using their brains and high technology, and throughout the entire Mission: Impossible series, they almost never kill enemies with guns.

As for *Taken*, with its film featuring the killing of over a hundred enemies, such a strong stylistic clash makes it very difficult to perfectly blend them into a single movie.
If things go wrong, neither Taken fans nor Mission: Impossible fans will accept it, and we'll end up pleasing neither side.

Besides the difference in style, the second issue was that they couldn't reach an agreement.

"007" is from MGM, and "Mission: Impossible" is from Paramount. They are both big companies. If they are working together, who takes the lead and how are the profits distributed?

If these issues cannot be resolved, then collaboration is definitely impossible.

The reason why the MonsterVerse can collaborate is because King Kong can collaborate with Godzilla, since the copyright holder of Godzilla is Toei Company, not a Hollywood company.

Hollywood companies need to take the lead before any collaboration can be discussed.

This collaboration is similar; the copyright holder for "Taken" isn't a Hollywood company, but rather the Chinese company Star Entertainment, which gives us room for negotiation.
The idea itself wasn't anything special, but Tom Cruise was really interested in it.

"Taken" is a well-known IP, and its fan base highly overlaps with that of "Mission: Impossible." If the collaboration is done well, it can definitely achieve a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Another thing is that Tom Cruise watched "White House Down" very carefully.

The film wasn't particularly amazing, but he had to admit that Zhang Chen's control of the pacing was superb.

This is exactly the same as "Taken".
This made Tom Cruise lean even more towards David's advice.
Perhaps Zhang Chen really is the perfect choice for Mission: Impossible 4.

"Zhang, you know I'm currently preparing for Mission: Impossible 4. I'd like to know, if Mission: Impossible and Taken were to be linked, would you be willing to direct it?"

Zhang Chen paused, glanced around, and smiled before declining, "Tom, this idea was indeed mine, and I also think a crossover would be a good gimmick, but to be honest, I don't have any ideas on how to handle the relationship between the two, and I'm very busy. I'm not sure I'll have time to direct this movie..."

Zhang Chen's schedule also includes "Inception," so he might not have time for it.

Another reason is that he always calls the shots in his film crews, even on projects he works on with Warner Bros.

But if Mission: Impossible really does link up with Taken, it would be a collaboration with Paramount, and Paramount would be the main entity.

Don't forget, the movie is called Mission: Impossible 4, not Taken 3.

Will Paramount let him take the lead?
Or will Tom Cruise let him take the lead?
Definitely not~
Zhang Chen is used to having complete control, acting as both producer and director. Asking him to simply be a director while also being constrained by the producer is something he definitely can't handle.
"That's a real shame."

Tom Cruise wasn't surprised by Zhang Chen's rejection. It's often difficult for big-name directors to work with big stars; everyone involved has significant influence and can easily clash.
Moreover, cost is also an issue that cannot be ignored.

The typical cost breakdown for a Hollywood A-list production is as follows.

制片组费用占总成本6-18%，导演组费用占总成本的3-10%，编剧费占5-8%，摄影组2-5%，演员15-30%，器械与照明2-3%，现场声音0.4-1.2%，美术6-9%，置景3.5-8%，特效0.5-8.5%，差旅住宿6-10%，妆发0.5-2%，服装1.5-2.5%。

If it's a combination of a big-name director and a big-name star, personnel cost control is very likely to exceed the 50% threshold.

Once this line is crossed, it becomes very unhealthy from a risk control perspective.

...Over there, Tom Cruise said goodbye and left, and immediately another voice rang out behind him: "Wow, you actually turned down Cruise's invitation?"

Zhang Chen was puzzled; why did everyone like to hide behind others and eavesdrop?

Turning around, I saw it was a truck driver.

A strong woman was also with the truck driver, and they were acting intimately.

Cameron's aesthetic has always been quite unconventional.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, I just happened to hear it."

Card God's nonchalant explanation was met with Zhang Chen's shrug and indifference.

Thank you for your compliment on the movie!

Zhang Chen recalled the media interview earlier, in which Cameron said a few good things about the film.

This is completely different from last time.

When Cameron was able to attend "Pacific Rim" and even give Zhang Chen a few words of praise, it was all because he was paid.

To put it bluntly, back then he and Zhang Chen were complete strangers, so why would he speak well of you? It was all because of Franklin!
But this time, Cameron came simply to show his support.

During the interview, he could have praised the film or remained silent, but he still praised it—that's what people are like.
In response to Zhang Chen's gratitude, Cameron waved his hand and said, "You think I was just being polite? You're overthinking it. I genuinely think it was well-made, with a tight pace and some very well-handled details. I especially liked the beam of light that shone on the skull when the male lead emerged from the shadows..."

The skull light is a top light that shines down from above the head. This technique casts heavy shadows on the face, around the eyes, nose, and cheekbones, making the person look like a skull, hence the name "skull light."

Many movies use similar lighting techniques. In "The Silence of the Lambs," when Clarice visits Hannibal in prison, Hannibal is illuminated with a skull-shaped light.

The lighting in "The Silence of the Lambs" was designed to enhance Hannibal Lecter's sinister aura.

"White House Down" was entirely designed to showcase Jason's ruthlessness.

Imagine Jason slicing an enemy's neck under the skull light; doesn't that immediately evoke the feeling of killing without blinking an eye?

"Thank you~"

The two chatted for a while longer, with Cameron doing most of the talking.

Avatar has finished filming and is currently in post-production.

Although this film later became a masterpiece, it was still fraught with difficulties at the time.

With a production cost of 3.5 million, just hearing that number would probably scare away most investors.

With a cost of $3.5 million, how much box office revenue would it take to break even?

Cardi himself is under immense pressure.

He even signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox, but because the filming went over budget, he didn't even ask for a director's fee; the money all went into his pocket.

Zhang Chen also heard some news.

Warner Bros. also invested in Avatar, but they didn't have high hopes for the film, even though the director was the world-class James Cameron.

It seems that's how things were in the original timeline; Warner Bros. didn't have high hopes for Avatar and allocated all their promotional resources to another film.

Then the movie suffered huge losses, but fortunately, the losses were made back by Avatar.

That's Hollywood for you—lots of opportunities, but even more opportunities you miss.

Matt Damon gave up Manchester by the Sea to star in The Great Wall.

……

That evening, Zhang Chen used the room key that Fan Xiaopang had given him to arrive at the Moxy Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The hotel was located in the central area of ​​Los Angeles, and Fan Xiaopang had booked the presidential suite on the top floor.

Standing on the terrace on this floor, you can overlook the night view of Los Angeles.

"You look like you have something on your mind?"

"It's nothing, I just don't have much confidence in the box office performance of 'White House Down'..."

How many do you think there could be?

"I don't know either. Judging from today's reaction, it probably won't be too bad, but it definitely won't be as good as '2012,' and it might not even be as good as 'Pacific Rim.'"

The theme of enclosed spaces has been overused; if it weren't for the White House location this time, its impact would probably be even less.

"By the way, reserve your schedule for the second half of the year for me!"

Have you decided what your next movie will be about?

"It's most likely Inception. You'll definitely be the female lead, but I'm still considering the male lead?"

"Not Jason?"

"He's not good enough; his acting skills aren't up to par. I want to invite a top-tier star."

"Tom Cruise?"

Fan Xiaopang clearly saw Tom Cruise and Zhang Chen chatting during the day; he misunderstood.
Zhang Chen shook his head: "It's not him, I'm still looking..."

He was obviously looking for Leonardo DiCaprio.

But this guy is hard to get; he's only focused on winning the award right now.

Zhang Chen did know some award-winning films, but those were the types of films he disliked the most.

Fan Xiaopang's attention was focused on Zhang Chen's comment about 'acting skills'.

"Do you think I should also improve my acting skills?"

"No need, actors are mainly judged by their commercial value."

"?"

Seeing that Fan Xiaopang didn't understand, Zhang Chen simply explained it to him: "The so-called acting explosion actually has prerequisites."

The prerequisites are that the role is suitable and the film project is reliable.

There is no such thing as a movie that is terrible but has great acting; it simply doesn't exist.

If a film project is doomed, no matter how hard the actors try, they can't save it.

Although it's often said that male actors rely on box office success, while female actors rely on awards.

But you're taking a different path than other actresses; you're the one who's expected to carry the box office.

As long as your business performance is good enough, nothing else matters.

But if your commercial performance is lackluster, even if you're a Best Actress winner, it's all for naught.

(End of this chapter)