Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 414 Director Nolan: I feel like I'm living in Tang Wen's shadow.
Tang Wen's pool casting call, or rather party, was scheduled for the evening of the day when the Naomi Watts crew had a day off.

These past two days, he had planned to choose the male lead first.

Before the notification process even began, Warner Bros. called, repeatedly inviting Tang Wen to "take a look" at the Batman set.

"What are you looking at?" Tang Wen pretended not to understand.

In reality, he was thinking to himself: This movie is probably in trouble.

Nolan's style, his own dark script.

For the Batman series, this was actually a very bold attempt.

Previous superhero series were family-friendly.

This time it's a realistic dark style.

It would be strange if the production crew didn't encounter problems.

"Tang, you invested tens of millions of dollars! Shouldn't you come and take a look?" Charles, the producer of Warner Bros.' Batman, was speechless.

After finalizing the investment, Galaxy Entertainment did send a team to the film set.

People were sent over from finance to logistics.

President Lin Chih-ling led a group to the meeting twice.

Tang Wen never showed his face.

"What problem did you encounter?" Tang Wen asked directly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Charles sighed across the table:
"The total cost of this film was $1.3 million. Warner Bros. wanted to use a lot of CG effects, but Nolan insisted on shooting it practically!"

The two sides are now at an impasse, and I'm worried that this will slow down the project's progress.

This project was already taking a long time to complete...

Hearing that he seemed to be wholeheartedly devoted to public service, Tang Wen smiled:

"And you, who do you support?"

“I… I’m in a real dilemma!” Charles sighed again.

Tang Wen chuckled inwardly: From the perspective of reaping benefits, you probably support Nolan, right?

The extensive use of CG effects in filming benefits the special effects companies the most.

If it's filmed on location, it's easier to find the right spots.

Of course, with insurance company oversight and a professional third-party financial auditing team, the producer has little room for manipulation.

The vast majority of the funds will definitely be used for filming.

Hollywood has strict regulations in this regard and has long been pushing for legislation.

For example, secretly accepting casting fees exceeding "200 million US dollars" is a criminal offense.

A retrial is possible!

Given that producers, directors, and other influential figures earn substantial incomes, no one dares to gamble with their career.

Tang Wen said calmly, "In that case, I'll go take a look tomorrow."

“Okay, tell me the exact time, and I’ll send a car to pick you up.” Charles breathed a sigh of relief.

"No need, just give me the location."

The next day, Tang Wen arrived at the film set just in time to witness the argument between the two sides.

The atmosphere eased when he entered.

"Tang, welcome." Nolan had been too emotional during the argument, and when facing Tang Wen, she couldn't quite control her expression.

Warner's executives, much more relaxed, gripped Tang Wen's hands firmly:
"Director Tang, I haven't congratulated you yet. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has been a huge success! It's grossed over 9 million worldwide, and I think if it stays in theaters for a while longer, it might even reach 10 billion!"

Tang Wen didn't take it to heart, and used it to encourage everyone: "Thank you, I think if we work together, 'Batman' will be a great success, or even more successful!"

These words really struck a chord with everyone.

Seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean" rake in 9 million US dollars worldwide, the entire crew felt envious and shocked, but also had a strong desire to try it themselves.

If "Pirates of the Caribbean" can create brilliance, why can't "Batman"?

The former refers to the collaboration between Tang Wen and Disney.

There's also Tang Wen in "The Batman". Does that mean Warner Bros. is worse than Disney?

After the pleasantries.

Tang Wenyan said succinctly, "I know what everyone is arguing about. Here's what we'll do, Director Nolan, I'll give you two days to prepare the materials. After two days, you need to convince everyone why you insist on shooting on location."

As he spoke, he came up to Nolan, blocked the view of the others with his body, and winked at Nolan.

From a standpoint of opinion, Tang Wen is undoubtedly on Nolan's side.

However, Warner's people weren't so easily persuaded.

We need to go through the motions and produce something.

Originally, without Tang Wen's involvement...

The script was meticulously crafted by the Nolan brothers and the screenwriters, giving Nolan a greater degree of persuasiveness in terms of both control over the story's details and his voice.

Now, the complete story comes entirely from Tang Wen.

Nolan is merely someone who understands and executes, lacking much of the necessary thought in the process, so Warner Bros. certainly doesn't trust him.

Having received Tang Wen's hint, Nolan felt relieved and looked at the Warner executives.

The latter and producer Charles exchanged a glance, knowing they had to give Tang Wen face, so they nodded in agreement.

Tang Wen turned around: "I'll stay on set for the next couple of days and have a good chat with everyone."

Charles immediately ordered, "Prepare an office for Mr. Tang right away!"

"No need, I'll just work with director Nolan."

They got right to work without even having a meal.

Tang Wen and Nolan talked for a whole morning and reached a consensus.

In the afternoon, he called the photography team, the post-production manager, Charles, and Warner executives to a meeting in the conference room.

"I have a basic understanding of the problem," Tang Wen said, taking control of the meeting.

"The first question is whether to use CG effects or live-action shooting. In this regard, since 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was quite successful, I can share some experience with everyone."

Upon hearing this, everyone leaned forward slightly and became serious.

No one can ignore the $9 million worth of experience.

Actually, the first Batman movie could have been filmed using either a lot of special effects or real locations.

"...The ships from Pirates of the Caribbean are difficult to transport to land for exhibition, but Batman's car can. Just imagine the sensation that would be if Batman drove the cool Batmobile around North America for promotional purposes?"

“This?” The Warner executive and Charles exchanged a glance.

There was a practical problem: "Batman's car needed to balance the agility of a Lamborghini with the power of a Hummer, and the production team consulted professional vehicle experts, who said it was unrealistic."

"I know this, so we need to manufacture vehicles with different shapes and functions for filming."

As for the fully-fledged Batmobile, a vehicle that looks very similar, can start internally, but cannot be driven on public roads, could be displayed in a movie theater.

This is how it was done in the original timeline, Tang Wen answered effortlessly.

He continued, expanding on the topic: "Audiences don't understand those fancy technologies. If we don't show them a real car, how can we entice them to buy Batman merchandise? Although I don't get a share of the profits from merchandise."

Everyone laughed.

Warner executives were already interested.

It boosted sales in the surrounding area.

It can generate high profits.

Tang Wen introduced the Oriental Factory, whose products were of excellent quality and much cheaper than Warner's previous suppliers.

The Warner executive pressed further, saying, "Mr. Tang is right. You're undoubtedly an expert in film promotion. We'll need your help with the promotion of 'The Batman'!"

When you need someone's help and there's something to gain from it.

These Hollywood executives all have mouths that seem to be coated with honey.

Seeing how quickly his attitude changed, Nolan felt inexplicably heartbroken: what Tang Wen said was almost identical to the reasons he used to persuade Warner.

But no matter how many times he spoke, the other person simply wouldn't listen.

They were focused on making CG technology cheaper and more economical in terms of manpower and resources.

Tang Wen only asked once, and they agreed.

Judging from his behavior, he genuinely felt that Tang was right.

This discrimination is too obvious!
Nolan looked at Tang Wen with a burning passion in his eyes: I must become a true great director and producer like Tang!

Tang Wen noticed Nolan's gaze and nodded at him: "I support you so much, why would I plagiarize you again... No, that's not right."

It means creating two more stories that you haven't yet come up with in your mind.

Not too much, right?

Tang Wen revealed a self-satisfied smile.

Nolan quickly smiled apologetically, but for some reason, he suddenly felt a little panicked: Hmm, it must be that Warner Bros. is putting too much pressure on me.

The production crew had more than one problem.

There are also issues such as safety during filming and whether the actors are willing to make sacrifices.

Tang Wen solved each problem one by one, following Nolan's previous life's plan.

It's worth mentioning that the male lead, Christian Bale, does indeed have a bit of a "drama fanatic" vibe.

He would be very willing to gain 20 pounds and learn close combat for Batman.

The filming issues have been largely resolved.

Warner executives, however, were not yet confident in convincing the entire management team.

He voiced his concerns and looked at Tang Wen.

In fact, director Nolan, who had been pondering this question for many days, already had a plan in mind: I have prepared a trilogy!

It could absolutely create a perfect Batman world.

Generate huge profits!

If you brought in a different director, you absolutely couldn't do it...

In short, he had prepared a series of statements in his mind.

Nolan looked at Tang Wen, and if Tang Wen couldn't say anything, he would tell him about the trilogy plan.

However, Tang Wen smiled confidently and held up three fingers:

"Three parts! The Batman story is going to be made into three parts!"
If the first film doesn't perform as well as expected at the box office, I will personally get involved and conduct a long-term promotional campaign.

This is a powerful guarantee!

The Warner executives' eyes lit up, and they couldn't help but smile.

Everyone knows what's been happening lately: Tang Wen helped promote "Tomb Raider 2," and the resulting increase in box office revenue is obvious to everyone.

"With President Tang's words, there will absolutely be no more dissenting voices within the company!"

Everyone present was genuinely delighted.

Nolan smiled outwardly, but inwardly he felt a sense of loss.

Why is it that the things I painstakingly come up with are always brought up by Tang Wen so casually?
Moreover, his words were more concise and powerful.

I'm in my early thirties, and I've gotten to where I am today step by step.

He's already a genius that countless people in Hollywood envy!

but--

In the evening, I saw Tang Wen off.

With only his wife and team by his side, Nolan could not hide his disappointment and sat silently in his chair.

"What's wrong?" Nolan's wife came over.

Nolan is handsome and talented, but his wife is not known for her beauty.

But when it comes to caring for her husband and being a producer, she's impeccable.

Nolan is smart; he doesn't just look at looks when choosing a life partner.

He held his wife's hand: "I feel like I've been living in Don's shadow ever since I took over Batman."

His wife knew Nolan very well and had heard many of his inner thoughts: "You mean? Your ideas always clash with his?"

"Ah."

“Honey, I think this just proves how amazing you are.”

"Ok?"

"Don used your idea to convince Warner Bros., which proves your idea was correct. It's just that we haven't achieved enough success yet! If you had a movie with a box office of 900 million, no, just a few hundred million, then today..."

Here, the words stopped abruptly.

Nolan understood his wife's meaning: "Then there's no need for Tang Wen to come today! I can persuade the Warner executives myself!"

"That's right! What you lack isn't talent, but an opportunity to showcase it."

“Batman is that opportunity.” Nolan took a deep breath and rallied his spirits. “Thank you, honey. It’s still early; I need to get back to work!”

So he began working even more actively for Tang Wen and Warner.

Inside the Rolls-Royce armored vehicle, Tang Wen lightly tapped his thigh, pondering Nolan's classic work.

It's not a lot, really.

Besides the Batman trilogy.

It's nothing more than Inception and Interstellar.

The subsequent film, Dunkirk, did not perform very well at the box office.

Moreover, portraying the great retreat as a great victory is simply...

Forget it, let Nolan, who is British, direct this movie himself.

However, they readily accepted the roles in "Inception" and "Interstellar".

The former, in particular, required starting creation before 05.

According to later interviews with Nolan, he first conceived the dream story around 05.

The cast and crew of "King Kong".

There are no scenes featuring the female lead these past two days.

The lead actress, Naomi Watts, used the excuse of her family coming to Hollywood to ask the crew for two days off.

The producer from Universal Pictures argues with the director every day.

Consequently, I also found Naomi, the actress recommended by the director, somewhat disagreeable.

I thought it wouldn't go smoothly if I asked for leave.

Unexpectedly, I saw a smile on their face: "Is two days enough?"

“That’s about it.” Naomi looked suspicious, unsure of what the other person meant.

The producer chatted with him for a few moments, then said, "You and Director Tang Wen seem to know each other quite well?"

Naomi immediately understood that it was to give Tang Wen face.

She smiled and said, "Yes, Director Tang's 'Saw 3' is about to be released, and he'd like to invite you to the premiere. I wonder if you have time?"

The producer's smile widened: "Yes, Naomi, you invited me, of course I have time."

"Great! I'll have Galaxy Entertainment send you an invitation later, how about we send it to Universal?"

The producer laughed even louder and went out to see Naomi off.

Once Tang Wen's invitation arrived at the company, it wouldn't take half a day for everyone in the company to know that they had a relationship with Tang Wen, the director of Galaxy Entertainment.

Face should be given to each other, after Naomi left.

The producer approached the logistics manager of the "King Kong" crew: "Change the female lead's RV to a more upscale one."

"Hey, honey, I have time now. The casting call can start anytime." Naomi called Tang Wen with a smile after getting into the car.

Everyone else except her had time.

As an Oscar-winning actress, Nicole Kidman wields considerable influence within the film crew.

I can take a two-day break anytime.

Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, and Charlize Theron were not even part of the cast.

Actually, Tang Wen didn't need to hold any casting competition.

After a series of auditions, it was announced that "Theron" had been chosen as the lead actress.

But wouldn't that mean life would lose a lot of its fun?
Tang Wen asked Lin Zhiling to send messages to the candidates:

The casting call for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" will be held tomorrow night at the villa's heated swimming pool. We hope everyone will prepare accordingly.

"Lin, we're best friends, do you have any inside information to share?" X5
The five candidates sent Lin Chih-ling similar messages within minutes.

Lin Chih-ling was speechless, but she had to save face, so she replied to the exact same message five times:
At the beginning, you must give it your all!

(End of this chapter)