Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 76 Jerry's Dilemma

There's a small refrigerator in the hotel. 💢♣ 🐺👍

Everything was set up perfectly, including ice and wine glasses.

Chen An picked up a round wine glass commonly seen in movies, put in a few ice cubes, and poured in the amber liquid from the wine on the table.

I took a small bite and thought it was pretty good, with a hint of oak flavor.

Chen An had ordered a pizza using the hotel's phone, and it had just been delivered. He picked it up and placed it on the table by the window.

He then pulled out the script he had brought with him from the box; it was in English.

"I don't know if it will work out," Chen An said with some worry, looking at the script in his hand.

I was aware of the other person's success, but the story was indeed rather bland.

Moreover, it was hidden away for five years in his previous life before it was finally brought out. I just don't know if Jerry will support him like Han Sanping did.

Other scripts are also available, but the production budget will definitely have to go up. In that case, even if it's self-written and self-directed, Chen An will become just a tool in the filming process.

Little Miss Sunshine is undoubtedly a low-budget but hugely successful film.

With a production budget of eight million, a global box office of over one hundred million, and four Oscar nominations, it is also an excellent road comedy.

Even so, the script was shelved for more than five years before Fox Searchlight finally dug it out for production.

It's hard to say whether this life will be handed over to Warner Bros., the Hollywood giant that loves to stir up trouble.

Chen An looked out the window at the scenery, so different from that during the day: the neon lights flashing in the night sky and the crowds coming and going.

It's practically a city that never sleeps, with even more people at night than during the day.

If safety weren't the top priority, Chen An would really like to go down and explore, but besides the safety issues, even finding his way around would be a hassle.

They could get lost.

"I should have brought Zhao Xiong with me." Chen An thought to himself as he ate his pizza.

The other party has agreed, but it will be a while before they can come to Chen An's place. Although Lin Dajiang did not stop them, the other party has been very kind to him.

I wanted to finish things with Lin Dajiang first before coming over.

The man from the Northwest is quite sentimental.

Chen An, who had slept for several hours on the plane, was now unable to sleep at all and felt a bit bored.

Finally, he could only take advantage of his drunkenness and hurriedly fall asleep.

The next day, Chen An was woken up by knocking on the door.

It was Jerry knocking on the door from the outside. When he opened it, he was carrying a bag of food.

"Chen, have something to eat. It's time to leave. Have you chosen a script?" Jerry asked, handing Chen An the bag of food he was carrying.

Chen An rubbed his eyes as he took the food. "It's almost ready. Once it's adjusted, I'll put it on the table so you can take a look." He then pointed to the script he had left on the table the night before.

Then he closed the door, put down the food, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Jerry had already walked to the table, picked up the script, and started examining it.

After washing up, Chen An came out of the bathroom, picked up the bag, took out the hamburger inside, and started eating without disturbing Jerry, who was reading a script.

The other party had heard of the name beforehand, but had not read the details.

"Chen, is this script really okay? It's quite different from your previous style." As a producer, Jerry is very capable and has seen countless scripts.

Indeed, the script is rather bland compared to current Hollywood movies, and it's a typical well-made family comedy. One can't help but feel that Chen An's range is quite large.

"That depends on you. You're the producer, so at least the cost won't be too high, right?" Chen An didn't explain further.

He was just a director he brought in; if the director wanted a low-budget film, he'd give him a low-budget film.

Even if I pulled out a script for a big-budget A-list production, you still wouldn't hire me to direct it.

Jerry nodded in agreement. In terms of the script, the production budget wouldn't be too high, but finding child actors would be difficult.

He could decide to produce a film with a small budget, but as a producer, he honestly didn't have high hopes for the script, and failure could very well affect his future career.

"Aren't there any other scripts? I remember you registered more than one script, Chen." Jerry still didn't have much confidence in this script.

Although I admire Chen An, and he has a good track record, and I know a lot about him, I'm still not quite sure.

Chen An nodded: "Of course there is, but I don't think Warner, your company, would agree to a production budget of tens of millions."

He didn't hide anything about the other scripts either, and explained why he hadn't shown them.

Jerry sighed as well. He understood that although he admired Chen An, he knew his company's group of older white men well enough that they wouldn't be able to provide a large sum of money to support this 22-year-old Asian boy.

In the world of film, a Cannes Best Director award isn't that valuable, unless you're an Oscar Best Director, then they might consider it.

It was just a consideration; although it was a film company, it was primarily a business.

Otherwise, people wouldn't say that Warner Bros. only looks at the books and not the scripts.

"Hey Chen, will you bring another victory this time?" After thinking for a while, Jerry decided to take a gamble. Rather than continuing to run around the world, he might as well take a chance.

At worst, it's just a matter of continuing to source films from all over the world, making the path to becoming a producer a little more difficult.

The DVD sales of "Run Lola Run" were very good in North America, exceeding 20 million in revenue. Although it was not released in theaters, it still made a lot of money.

I would find it hard to find another young and talented director like Chen An who can direct and write his own films and succeed every time.

Age is a stumbling block when it comes to awards, but it's a powerful tool for publicity; even renowned director Steven Spielberg has used it for promotion.

A 20-year-old Cannes Best Director has more room for publicity, and he is only 22 years old now.

After changing his clothes, Chen An smiled and said, "Of course! As long as you're willing to believe it, I've never failed, and I believe it will be the same in Hollywood!"

He spoke with great certainty, demonstrating Chen An's confidence.

"Let's go, my genius director, let's find those damn corporate parasites and get the funding for my movie." Jerry said in a vicious tone, though to be honest, he still wanted to change the script.

However, those damned parasites he was talking about wouldn't be spending large sums of money, so they could only choose this movie that they didn't really think much of.

Chen An, who was already prepared, chuckled and said, "No problem, I don't think you'll regret your decision later."

"Oh, I hope so."

With the script in hand, Chen An got into the car and set off with Jerry, leaving their luggage at the hotel, where they would likely stay for quite some time.

I got back into the other person's Ford Mustang, and the car slowly moved forward, gradually accelerating only after we got onto the wide road.

Warner has many subsidiaries and two headquarters.

One is in New York, the world's economic capital, and the other is in Burbank, a place a dozen kilometers north of Los Angeles, known as the "Media Capital of the World".

The famous Disney headquarters is also located here.

The car slowly stopped in front of Warner Bros. building, and Chen An looked up at the somewhat old building.

This is the Warner headquarters, which has always stood firm in Hollywood. From the initial Big Eight to the later Big Five, it has become a world giant with a dominant position.

Warner Bros., despite its various questionable practices, such as changing directors and even crashing the market, has always managed to rise again, which truly shows its deep financial foundation.

"Let's go, Chen, let's meet those big capitalists." Jerry, who had parked the car, walked up to Chen An and led the dazed Chen An into the building.

Chen An followed behind. This would be his first battle in Hollywood, and he didn't know if he would succeed.

Jerry led the way, and Chen An followed behind. After many twists and turns, they finally arrived at their destination.

Jerry encountered many people on the way, and quite a few greeted him, so he seemed to be someone of importance here.

Jerry took the script, knocked on the door, and went inside.

Chen An waited outside for news from Jerry and for the decision of Warner Vice President Barry Mayer.

(End of this chapter)