Made in Hollywood

"Duke, this is Nancy Collins' 1994 novel "Monster's Love", the story I'm talking about comes from this, it elaborates on the origins of werewolves and vampires, and tells about their thousands of years of grievances hatred."

Listening to Wallace Lee's words, Duke's eyes quickly glanced over the short stories on the table, and a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart, especially when a female vampire fell in love with a special human being. The plot seems to be very similar to a certain movie I have seen.

Wallace Lee added, "I've met the original author, but he offered a price I couldn't afford personally, and a guy named Len Wiseman from Lakeshore Entertainment was also approaching Nancy Wiseman. Collins, wants to fight for the rights to adapt."

Duke closed the text that Wallace Lee had brought, and after some thought he said, "Lee, you know, the script doesn't mean anything to Hollywood."

Just like when he hit a wall, trying to impress Hollywood with a script or a story is just an illusion.

Many people think that as long as there is talent, they will shine in Hollywood, and that good stories and good movies will definitely kill Hollywood and the world, but Duke has been in Hollywood for ten years, and at first he was smashed, and now he has gradually climbed up to this level. The higher-ups in the circle have a deep understanding of this.

Hollywood is indeed a place about the creation of art and talent, but the truth is, making movies is a business and definitely not an art.

Therefore, the Hollywood-related industry is called "show business", and it has never been "show art".

Maybe some people always think that Hollywood is looking for talent. In many TV shows, Hollywood agencies and film companies can always be seen telling the audience in front of the camera that we are looking for talent in movies. This is the biggest lie in Hollywood. one.

In fact, if someone believed what they said and called some of Hollywood's biggest agencies and told them it was the talent they were looking for, they wouldn't react. Even hang up the phone directly.

In fact, what Hollywood needs is not a genius mind, but a brand with marketing potential, such as James? Cameron, Duke? Rosenberg, Tom? Cruise and Tom? Hanks and so on.

Whether it is a producer, author, actor or director, what Hollywood values ​​is not talent, but the potential to make money, many times. It's not the artistry of his work that strikes a Hollywood company as an aspiring young man in the film industry—such as Duke's journey—but the money his work can earn.

When a person's name has the ability to attract audiences, or to attract money in audiences' pockets, then he is the so-called "genius" that Hollywood is looking for.

Not all people who can enter Hollywood are talented, but they must know or know how to package themselves and make their name a brand, to some extent. It is also a talent.

In this commercial paradise, creativity and stories are very much needed, but everyone knows that creativity and stories are the least valuable, Hollywood's best-selling movies. The stories are very simple, similar to "Independence Day", "Titanic" and many other works. The storytelling of the script alone is at most the level of second-rate or even third-rate screenwriters.

without any exaggeration. There is no creativity in such a story. If a new person takes this kind of story to the film company. No one cares at all.

Hollywood thirsty for talent? Is Hollywood a place where talent is valued and shines? Do not be silly.

Just like many people hear Hollywood, the first reaction is that this is a place to make movies.

Indeed, a large number of movies are produced here every year, directors and investors from major Hollywood companies and even Duke. I also hope that the public only sees Hollywood as a place to make great movies.

But the fact is that film production only occupies a very small part of Hollywood. This is an industrial area for film marketing, not a production paradise for creativity.

Just like those so-called big-budget movies, are they really cheap?

They cost only a dozen or two hundred thousand dollars to make, but how much is spent on marketing?

In Hollywood, people spend more time marketing a movie, about twice to three times as long or more than making a movie.

A movie in the Hollywood sense is not something that the director shoots and edits in his own camera. Movies shown in cinemas.

The biggest difference between these two concepts is that movies do not make money, while movies can make money.

When a film can be advertised in the media and publicized to the public, it realizes the transformation from "film" to "movie".

Just like Duke's films, which always create a huge wave of publicity and marketing, stories, creativity, art... are all very cheap in this process.

Of course, many artistic and idealized directors will choose to take the path of film festivals.

But in fact, most of the film festivals, including the three major film festivals in Europe, if you want to participate, you can not only have works and art, but also need to prepare a lot of money!

If a film wants to participate in the film festival, the producer needs to submit an admission fee to the film festival, which is often expensive, and then there are various expenses submitted, such as the cost of printing promotional materials, transportation costs, and staff expenses. Salary, expenses at screenings, expenses for PR activities...

If you are lucky, the film meets a distributor who is willing to buy it at the film festival. At this time, the film has nothing to do with art. All discussions will only revolve around "profit", "sales" and "distribution". conduct.

Doesn't this sound particularly "artistic"?

To put it bluntly, whether it is a person or a film, if you want to be valued in Hollywood, you must first prove that you are valuable and can bring benefits.

Otherwise, no matter how much you say, you will be like Duke, being rejected, rejected, rejected again...

Can a story and an idea attract investment? Talent will be valued? This dream is really beautiful.

Before proving yourself, all stories and ideas are illusory.

So Duke closed the script and shook his head slowly at Wallace Lee.

Just when Wallace Lee thought Duke was going to reject it outright, Duke said again, "I will let someone buy the adaptation rights, but Lee, you need to prove to me that you have the ability to direct this film."

"I will!"

After all, Wallace Lee is not those idealized young people. "I will make a detailed plan after I finish my current job."

"I'm waiting for you." Duke handed the novel to Tina Fey.

It is never easy for a person to change from an assistant director to a director.

It was getting late, and Duke left Anna Prinz and Wallace Lee to have dinner together, and a few people threw away the topic of the afternoon, mostly discussing the later stages of "The Two Towers".

Due to the fact that some of the post-production work of the trilogy is progressing at the same time, "The Two Towers" is obviously progressing faster than "The Fellowship of the Ring". According to Duke's expectations, around the New Year, all post-production work for the second part of the series will be completed. can be completed.

Although there is bound to be a long holiday for everyone in the middle, Duke will not wait until after the release of "The Two Towers" to start the post-production of the third part, and plans to officially start editing "The Return of the King" from February and other work.

After dinner, Wallace Lee and Anna Prinz quickly said their goodbyes and left.

"Tina, when will mom come over?"

Back in the living room, Duke first asked about his mother's itinerary, and Tina Fey immediately replied, "No later than next Monday at the latest, Mrs. Leah will meet Miss Johnson in Tokyo and fly to Los Angeles together."

Duke calculated the time, and he was relieved that there should be no collision.

Walking to the sofa and sitting down, he saw Tina Fey reading the novel, and he warned again, "Let Duke Studio win the film adaptation rights as soon as possible."

"Well." Tina Fey nodded.

Ivanka walked over curiously, looked beside Tina Fey for a while, and asked Duke, "You seem to take it seriously?"

"Important?" Duke shook his head, but did not explain.

When he saw this novel, he naturally remembered the Werewolf and Vampire movies that he had not seen a few times. He still had a vague impression. The film investment was small and the box office was not high. Fei's profit would have been abandoned by the production company long ago.

If Wallace Lee proves that he has the ability to direct commercial films, Duke will choose to invest, if he can't, then leave it to someone else, such as Anna Prinz.

Unlike Sofia Coppola, the female director is somewhat resistant to the sheer pressure of directing a film alone.

Duke wouldn't give the green light to a business decision just because Wallace Lee was his former classmate, and his three Duke studios would end up going bankrupt.

The lights in the Duke's Manor were brilliant, but the night sky above gradually became dark. Under the bright starry sky of Beverly Hills, a yellow Chevrolet turned to the auxiliary road, parked lightly in the parking space, pushed the door and walked out of a seemingly A somewhat burly woman.

This is obviously a Latino, she closed the car door, strode to the cafe on the side of the road, pushed open the glass door and walked in, swept through the restaurant with a bit of sharp eyes, the high partition blocked her. look.

"I'm looking for Miss Jessica."

She said something to the waiter who came over, and the waiter immediately led her to a partition.

"Hi, Jesse." She gave a big smile.

"Hi, Michelle."

Like best sisters, Jessica Alba stood up and hugged Michelle Rodriguez.

It's just that the disgust on Michelle Rodriguez's face flickered where she couldn't see it. (To be continued ~^~)