Made in Hollywood

Ask for a recommendation! Ask for collection!

In the conference room of the Fox Building in Century City, the monthly meeting of Twentieth Century Fox has come to an end. After these big figures with a pivotal position in Hollywood, after discussing film projects one by one, they turned the topic to Lucasfilm.

"I have scheduled the demo session of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" for tomorrow morning."

The director of distribution, Townsend Rothman, is the person in charge of contacting Lucasfilm and the person who advocated the introduction of the film, "George himself will participate in the preview, this is our opportunity, I suggest a moderate expression of " The importance of Speed ​​of Life and Death, to further win George's favor, and let him restart the Star Wars series as soon as possible."

"Rosie..."

CEO Jeff Giannopoulos, who was sitting at the top of the conference table, said to his secretary, "Put off tomorrow morning's schedule and I'll host George in person."

The person opposite Townsend Rothman is Tim Fisher. The relationship between the two is like sitting. Tim Fisher's brows have been frowning. Although he didn't care about it before, he After hearing the name "Speed ​​of Life and Death" one after another, some memories gradually came up. He opened the file in front of him, quickly browsed the relevant information at a glance, and finally remembered the script that he casually threw to his assistant.

The outcast from CAA actually pulled in the investment and directed his own script?

Tim Fisher's brows furrowed. As someone who had rejected the script, he would never want Twentieth Century Fox to sign the film, but the company has a request for the Star Wars series of major interests. For Lucasfilm, speaking out against it would be very stupid.

After thinking for a while, he tapped the table lightly, attracting everyone's attention, "Jeff, there is a situation for you to pay attention to. Duke Rosenberg, the director of "Speed ​​of Life", was terminated by CAA last year. , we now have a close cooperation with CAA, CAA has just packaged and produced Alien 3 for us, and also helped us grab the adaptation rights of "Interview with the Vampire" from the competition of Warner Bros. CAA and Fox will soon have A new packaging cooperation. Will this affect the good cooperation between Fox and CAA, we should consider..."

George Lucas is an important partner, and the weight of CAA is not light. Jeff Giannopoulos, as CEO, must measure it. He thought about it for about half a minute, "Let's look at the sample first, if the quality of the film is too bad , directly to the video tape market, if the quality of the film is guaranteed, then arrange a test screening to observe the market's reaction."

"That's it for today's meeting." He announced the end of the meeting.

No one disputes Jeff Giannopoulos' decision, which is the most normal course of action. If the film can't generate revenue, Fox will naturally not invest resources; if the film can generate revenue, they will not struggle with profits.

This has satisfied Tim Fisher. Is a new director's work worth the many resources Fox has put into it? In his view, even if Fox signed the film for George Lucas' sake, it would have arranged for a week-long tour of the theater circuit in several theaters in remote areas, and then pushed it directly to the video tape market.

Back in his office, he made a special call with CAA magnate Martin Bob.

"Life and Death? Duke?"

Martin Bob's voice on the phone clearly told him that the other party didn't remember such a small person at all. After a long pause, Martin Bob over there remembered, "That incompetent kid from the Rosenberg family? No need. I care about him, it's just a small role!"

It's really just a small character! Tim Fisher put this matter aside for the time being. There is no need to waste too much energy on such a small person. I will try it tomorrow and see the sample film to know the result.

…………

Walking into the Fox Building again, Duke enjoys a completely different treatment. Several high-level executives of Twentieth Century Fox have been waiting in the lobby early. Of course, these people will not be waiting for him, but walking in front. George Lucas, an obscure man who has yet to attract the attention of Fox management.

Even shaking hands with Duke was routine among several Fox executives.

No one paid attention to it, and Duke would not be stupid enough to say anything. He knew that he was not the protagonist of the audition meeting. Together with the staff who brought the demos, they silently followed behind George Lucas and Robin Grande. , took the elevator to the top floor of the Fox Building, and entered a small pull room.

"Hello, George..."

Duke knew the person who came up to shake hands with Lucas. That was Jeff Gianopoulos, CEO of Twentieth Century Fox. When George Lucas introduced him, the other party just nodded.

It was probably because of George Lucas’s presence. Many high-level executives of Twentieth Century Fox attended the preview. Duke could vaguely recognize Jeff Gianopoulos, CEO, and Townsend Rothman, head of distribution. , Tim Fisher who has dealt with, and some unfamiliar faces, who should be Fox's film selection staff.

These people will decide the release treatment of "Speed ​​of Life"!

Different announcements will bring about completely different market responses. If 20th Century Fox did not invest the corresponding resources in "Speed ​​of Life", the film would have only one way to go to the theater. Although Duke is a newcomer to Hollywood, he has not yet. Stupid enough to think a movie is good enough to sell.

If you want Fox to invest resources, you must let them see the selling point of the film and let them see the possible profit prospects. For commercial companies chasing profits, even George Lucas’s name is not profitable. more convincing.

Fortunately, the selling point of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" is very, very obvious.

Sitting in the back row near the left corner, Duke patiently observed and waited. Twentieth Century Fox is one of Hollywood's largest companies, and the professionals' vision for film selection must be far above the pass line. He pulled George again. The tiger skin of Lucas as a banner can also minimize the contempt for the works of newcomers that must exist in the hearts of these people.

With Lucas by his side, Townsend Rothman suppressed the impatience in his heart. This impatience was definitely not for George Lucas, but for the movie he was about to try.

Frankly speaking, he urged 20th Century Fox to release "Speed ​​of Life", more from a strategic perspective. As the director of the distribution department, Townsend Rothman was bent on promoting the restart of Star Wars, so that he would have the capital to be successful in the next year. After his husband left office, he competed for the position of CEO, and he was also a smart man. From the film that was highly recommended by Lucasfilm, he smelled something unusual.

Then, he asked people to investigate a little, and the matter became clear at a glance. The director of the film is the son of Leah Rosenberg, who has experienced Hollywood in the 1970s. Who does not know that the two are very close.

Townsend Rothman also came to the conclusion in his mind that this is just the work of a young man like Sofia Coppola who wants to be on the top of the relationship.

Such people and works are not uncommon in Hollywood, and often have little value at all, but he still strongly pushed Fox to sign a distribution contract for the simple reason that he wanted to have a better relationship with George Lucas. The CEO is about to step down. If he can push the restart of Star Wars, he is definitely the most powerful contender for this position.

Despite his eyes on the big screen in the pull room, most of Townsend Rothman's energies were on George Lucas, but that changed immediately when the film opened.

He has watched countless movies, but he has never seen such a fast-paced movie with such a strong sense of urgency. From the moment the security guard in the building fell, he felt as if his heart was clenched, and the movie was so short. The continuous and rapid switching of the camera lens brings a rare freshness to Hollywood films in recent years!

In particular, the camera quickly switches between the police, criminals and elevator passengers, placing their emotions and expressions on the screen continuously. Although it can be guessed that the passengers will inevitably be rescued in the end, they are still worried about their fate.

The opening scene of less than 20 minutes completely changed Townsend Rothman's view of "Speed ​​of Life", and the film far exceeded his highest expectations...

This is an A-level commercial! The thought surged strongly in his mind.

Colette Singer, who sits in the back row of Townsend Rothman, is one of 20th Century Fox's selection experts and has some say in the releases the company wants to bring in. He's a true professional. , not only have to watch a large number of new films every year, select the objects worthy of release and recommend them to the company, but also keep abreast of market dynamics, rather than criticizing in short, like a professional film critic, he needs to analyze what kind of films the market needs most. .

At the beginning, he thought that this was a human trial meeting, a movie directed by a rookie who was less than 22 years old, and it was worth dispatching the top experts in the industry to check it out?

Therefore, he and two other colleagues who have the same understanding have been whispering about the latest developments in Hollywood, and have no interest in the movies being shown.

It was not until the harsh rubbing sound of the elevator slipping out of control on the screen that they cast a little attention, and their eyes were immediately glued to the screen, and they could no longer leave.

The film can easily mobilize people's emotions from the beginning. The tense and dense drum-style soundtrack, the crazy to the extreme car chase and collision, and the huge explosion that covers the entire screen, these are the effects of top commercial films.

"Potential?" Colette Singer asked his companion.

He used a questioning tone that included confirmation.

"with potential!"

The voices of the two colleagues were not loud, but they were extremely sure.

"This is not an action movie in the traditional sense." The person on the left couldn't help but sigh, "This dazzling and thrilling picture is simply frightening."

"And..." The person on the right also said, "The explosions, car chases, and collision shots that appear in it seem to be new shooting techniques, and they are full of fresh excitement!"

"How did he do it! This looks like footage from inside the explosion and the crash."

Turning his head, Colette Singer looked at the calm young man sitting in the corner, and he was inspired, "Could he have placed an expensive wireless high-speed camera inside the explosion and car accident scene? This is just crazy. !"