America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 747 Hollywood Blacklists Depp

Disney Studios, La La Land Studios.

Damian Chazelle sat at the long conference table, like a criminal about to go to court, anxiously awaiting his fate.

The conference room door opened, and four people walked in.

Damien Chazelle recognized the first two: one was producer Louise Mayer, whom he had met before, and the other was Hollywood star Martin Davis.

The two women behind him were completely unfamiliar to him.

Louise introduced Martin, Mia, and Mandy Moore to Damian Chazelle.

Martin said directly, "Director Chazelle, I watched your short film about the drummer; it's a very insightful film."

Damien, who had been seeking investment, asked directly, "Mr. Davis, would you be willing to invest in this project? My original idea was to make a feature film, but I couldn't find funding, so I had to make short films and send them to various companies and film festival committees..."

He glanced at Martin, knowing this was a golden opportunity: "Three million dollars, just three million dollars, and I can finish this film!"

Mia and Mandy Moore looked at Damien Chazelle with curiosity. They came here to audition for the director of "La La Land," so why did they switch to another film project?

Damien added, "I'm willing to transfer the copyright to this project for $1..."

Martin raised his hand to interrupt him, asking, "Did you bring the script?"

Damien opened his bag and handed the script he was carrying to Martin: "The script was finished a long time ago."

Martin took the script and said to Louise and the other two, "You can talk to him about the rest. Don't worry about me. Let's begin."

Louise brought up the idea of ​​having Damien film a scene based on La La Land.

Martin's energy was completely focused on the script, which was titled "Whiplash" on the cover.

He read the first third and then flipped to the end to see the ending. The script was very well-made, and the main conflict in the story was between the drummer student and the teacher.

After reading the script, Martin was absolutely certain that this was the movie "Whiplash".

After Louise and her two companions finished interviewing Damien Charezer and discussing the filming of the scenes, Martin returned the script to him.

Damien looked at Martin expectantly: "Mr. Davis, is it possible for us to collaborate on this project?"

Martin glanced at his watch: "Wait here for a moment, someone will come over to discuss the transfer of the copyright for this project with you."

"Okay, I'll be waiting." Damien didn't forget the most crucial point: "There's a condition for the copyright transfer: I have to direct it."

He didn't want to be a screenwriter with no status.

Martin nodded: "This is your story, so of course you're the director."

Damien was relieved.

Davis Studios is located diagonally opposite Disney Studios, and Jessica arrived shortly afterward.

After a short wait, Damien's agent arrived.

The two sides officially began negotiations on the copyright of the "Whiplash" project.

Martin, Louise, and the others left the meeting room and discussed the matter briefly.

After interviewing Damien Chazelle, including screenwriter Mia, all three agreed that he was a perfect fit to direct La La Land.

Mia told Martin, "I have a wonderful feeling that this young director's ideas are very much in sync with mine. His filming concepts and his opinions on the script and musical choreography are exactly what I want."

Martin nodded slightly: "We'll make a decision after he finishes filming the footage."

Before noon, Jessica and Damien's agent finalized the project transfer, with Jessica purchasing the script rights to "Whiplash" for $50,000.

Although Damian Chazelle said he only wanted a symbolic fee of $1, his agent naturally included a share of the profits in the later stages of the negotiations.

Jessica disagreed, and the script was ultimately sold as a one-time buyout of the rights.

Martin and Harris met quietly during lunch.

Depp's side urgently needed money and completed the transaction of the Malibu seaside villa with Harris as quickly as possible. Currently, the two sides are negotiating the penthouse in Columbia Tower.

"It's mainly the price. They're too greedy and asking for way too much," Harris said while eating. "A house with a market value of $1800 million and an asking price of $1600 million is being refused a $1200 million discount. That's outrageous."

Martin asked, "What's the minimum you think they'd accept?"

Harris said, "According to the latest news, Depp has been in arrears with the salaries of his staff and the legal fees of his contracted law firm. He is about to face a divorce and domestic violence lawsuit from Amber Heard and needs a large sum of money to keep his staff on the case. I am confident that I can reduce the settlement price to below $1000 million."

This is the person who turned Martin's idea of ​​selling stars into reality, earning enough to cover his entire college tuition by selling stars. Martin believed in Harris's abilities: "You can handle the specifics yourself."

Harris smiled and said, "We've got that two-masted antique yacht. Shall we put it on the market now to raise some cash?"

"Sell it slowly, no rush." ​​Martin recalled a news article he had read and said, "Send someone to London, England, to contact J.K. Rowling. Before she went into seclusion last year to write her new book, she was reportedly very interested in Depp's two-masted antique yacht. Depp had no intention of selling the yacht at the time, and in the end, nothing came of it."

Harris said, "I'll have someone make a special trip to England later."

Martin said, "It's mostly about personal taste. For people who like it, price isn't an issue."

It is said that thanks to the huge income generated by the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling is among the top five richest women in Britain.

Martin received a call from Saoirse Ronan as he left the restaurant.

"Teacher, are you free tonight?" Knowing that Elizabeth Olsen wasn't in Los Angeles, she said directly, "Since you couldn't come to my 18th birthday party, I'll have to treat you alone."

Martin asked, "Where do we go when we have time?"

"I'll send you the location in a bit," Saoirse said, hanging up the phone.

Not long after, Martin received a screenshot of an electronic map and discovered that it wasn't a restaurant, but a small villa area on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

He replied: "I'll arrive around 6:30."

Bruce, who was driving, saw Martin hang up the phone and said, "While you were eating, I heard that several companies that were originally interested in working with Depp on film projects have all given up on the idea."

Martin said, "That's normal. If it were just about domestic violence and divorce, Depp would still have film crews willing to use him. But after messing up two films in a row with abysmal box office results, who would want to use Depp except for a film company with a screw loose?"

Bruce said, "Depp cannot rely on his salary to escape the current economic crisis."

Martin said with a smile, "That's good news too."

The more assets Depp sells, the more money he loses.

…………

Santa Monica, Lionsgate headquarters.

McCormick, the company's business president, glanced at his deputy Andrew and said to director David Koepp, "You strongly recommended Johnny Depp for the lead role, but as things stand, he's not a good choice."

Lionsgate has launched a comedy project called "The Noble Thief," with David Koepp serving as the director.

Nowadays, which Hollywood production team with even a modicum of ambition would still want to cast Johnny Depp as the lead actor?

David Koepp wasn't annoyed at all; on the contrary, he felt lucky that Depp had already revealed these rotten things before the production team even really got in touch with him.

He said, "If I insist on casting Depp as the male lead, wouldn't that be deliberately pushing the film into a minefield?"

McCormick stated, "Depp will not be used in any future Lionsgate film projects."

Andrew chimed in, "Boss, you've made a brilliant decision!"

Transcendence has been taken off the screens in North American theaters this week, with a cumulative box office of $2154 million.

The Lone Ranger had a poor start and an even worse box office performance. The $3000 million mark seemed within reach, and the difference of a few million dollars seemed within reach, but in reality, it was far away. It couldn't cross that threshold even after it was taken off the screens in North America.

…………

Burbank, Warner Bros.

When faced with the project "Black Mass" submitted by renowned producer Brian Oliver, Jon Berg, who is always full of brilliant ideas, finally became an ordinary person for once.

That brilliant mind didn't let itself go when faced with Depp's name.

Jon Berg glanced at the names of the four nominees for the lead role—Guy Pearce, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, and Johnny Depp—and crossed out Depp's name. He then addressed everyone in the meeting room, saying, "From now on, Warner Bros. is prohibited from working with Johnny Depp on any project, not even for a supporting role."

Assistant McDonald immediately wrote it down.

Brian Oliver tentatively asked, "Is the male lead Christian Bale?"

"Bell?" Jon Berg didn't have a good impression of Bell either; that guy messed up "Pharaohs and Gods".

However, after being persuaded by Brian Oliver, Jon Berg agreed to let Bale audition for the male lead in "Black Mass".

That afternoon, Warner Bros.' various divisions, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and New Line Cinema, reached an agreement not to work with Johnny Depp anymore.

Companies such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment have also reached the same understanding.

An actor embroiled in scandals, disliked by the public and media, and whose commercial appeal has waned, is destined for a predictable fate.

These news items seemed to have wings, flying out of various Hollywood production companies, reaching the ears of media reporters, and even into Johnny Depp's home.

Hollywood doesn't have a formal "blacklist," but this is tantamount to a de facto blacklist of Depp.

Johnny Depp's collection of acoustic guitars was smashed into pieces that night.

It is said that Johnny Depp, who had overdosed on alcohol and drugs that night, was rushed to the hospital by his bodyguards.

But few people sympathized with him. In the eyes of the media and the public, the loser Depp was not a fighter who bravely battled alcoholism and drugs.

Instead, they were drunkards and drug addicts.

(End of this chapter)