The Best Director

"Will, the movie will be filmed in San Francisco, that's my place, at least you don't have to worry about me getting the crew lost." Looking at the letter paper in his hand, Will Smith smiled and continued to read the paper The flying and beautiful text on it: "But, the reason why I can make this movie is not only for this reason. I know, everyone said that kid is too young, he should go back to school movies, he can't make biopics. But I have to say that some emotions have nothing to do with age, at least 19 years old can already understand "I am not a child anymore, I know what starvation is, what is attachment..."

There was a small pile of letter paper on the desk, with a full dozen pages. The long letter was full of sincerity, and the content and analysis were well-organized and convincing. Although in recent days "Will Smith has read this long letter many times, but every time he reads it, he will be very moved. Now he is like a street mouse in the eyes of the producer, but the magic Yang Believe in him terribly.” His sincerity is also unprecedented.

Although Wang Yang didn’t come to visit in person,” Will Smith has no doubts about his sincerity, and his sincerity is fully revealed in these letters. Yes, “it’s not a letter.” He will send a new one every few days, I have already written several letters. This is the first time Will Smith has encountered such a situation. After reading the last paragraph of the letter: "Trust me" "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" will be a movie!" Will put down the letter paper , and looked at the thick script next to him

What moved Will Smith's heart was not only the sincerity, but also the script. This is a very attractive script, and the story is warm and touching." The lines are also full of meaning. Dasheng’s excellent script. He opened the script and looked at the passages with sub-camera design on the pages. Chris Gardner held his son in the toilet of the subway station overnight. The floor was covered with paper towels. Chris fell asleep with his hands The middle son's ear, with one foot propped on the door of the toilet that was knocked, wept silently...

This scene is amazing! Will Smith took a deep breath, and when he saw "" for the first time, he was moved. This picture has been entangled in his mind, constantly reappearing in front of his eyes, and even appeared in his dreams. .

"Excellent script and full sincerity" made him unable to refuse the invitation without hesitation, but he has been thinking about it for almost two weeks, and his concern is still that magical Yang can direct this movie? In "Ghost Shadow" Fantastic Yang has shown his directing ability in "Record" and "High School Musical", but now it is a biographical film "This is a story of a middle-aged man, can Magical Young be filmed? He couldn't make up his mind.

Broker opinion? Will Smith shook his head self-deprecatingly. The wrong choice of "The Matrix" and "Wild Wild West" was due to his personal liking, but also due to his agent's misjudgment. But the current situation is different from the past. There were no examples and templates for the young director's incident this year, making it impossible for people to make comparative judgments.

In fact, he tentatively asked his friend Denzel Washington for his opinion, and Denzel said "if it was me" I would not act, he is too young. "

A few knocks on the door interrupted Will Smith's contemplation,

He turned his head to look at the door of the room, only to see his wife Jia Da holding her arms crossed by the door and said: "Will, are you reading that script again? Will Smith nodded with a smile, flipped through the script and said: "Its story is very attractive, this is a very good script." Jia Da..." He frowned and asked, "Do you think I should agree to Miracle Yang? "

Jada shrugged and said, "I don't know, Will, I asked you to play The Matrix, but you chose Wild Storm. "

"Please!" Will Smith was dissatisfied, she was stingy and jealous, he shook his head and said, "Jada, I admit it was a mistake" so I don't want to do it again. "

"Make up your own mind, Will, and I can't tell." Jada said, then turned and left.

Seeing his wife's back disappear, Will Smith's eyes returned to the table." He looked at the latest letter from Wang Yang, and the phone number of Chris Gardner was attached at the end of the letter: "Will" You can communicate with Mr. Gardner, maybe you will be more interested in this story." Will Smith pondered for a while, then took the letter paper, got up and walked to the phone "Dial the number on the paper " said: "Hi, Mr. Chris Gardner? You, I'm Will Smith..."

Next, Will Smith listened to Chris Gardner tell his story, and some opinions on "When Happiness Comes Knocking", etc. Chris Gardner said: "I talked to Jan that day. I watched it for a long time, and I can see that he has also experienced a lot. He understands my mood and feelings very well. He is a wonderful young man. I don’t know much about movies, but I think he can film my story..."

The two talked for a long time before ending the call. Will-Smith looked at the script in his hand, and he was indeed more interested in this story. "The urge to act in the role has also become stronger. This is a real and touching story." He was moved, and so were others. Will Smith picked up the few letters on the desk again, and stood silently reading them for a while," slowly making a decision in his heart.

"Come on, amazing Jan!" Will Smith nodded to himself, "He took out his phone and dialed a number" and said with a brisk smile, "Hi, Jan? Dude, you convinced me, I'm going to play Chris One Gardner."

"Oh, my God! Ye!" In a hotel in New York, Wang Yang couldn't help but raised his fist and waved it excitedly: "Will, this is really news" I'm so happy!" What could be better than finding a movie Is the leading actor even happier? There may be many, many" But at this moment, Wang Yang was so happy that he wanted to dance, he smiled and said: "This will definitely be a pleasant cooperation" Ha! But Will "You need to grow more beards, and when the time comes, you need to ask the makeup artist Get some gray hair for you, so it looks a little bit old.

From the moment he made up his mind, Will Smith "became very moody, and laughed like he was singing R: "yy, then I won't shave from today onwards, and I will grow white hair..."

When Wang Yang put down his mobile phone and looked at the beautiful flowers and plants on the balcony, he waved his fist excitedly again, trying to imitate Will Smith's impromptu R just now, but found that it was indeed a black talent, anyway he In the end, there were only a few ghost screams to end.

In fact, "Wang Yang is also trying. He didn't go to interview with Will Smith in person. First, because there is no need for an audition. Second, sometimes interviews, it is not clear, and it is easy to make the other party lose patience. It is better A long letter written by himself was touching. Now it seems that his attempt has succeeded this time.

The most important actor has been confirmed, and the filming of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" can basically be put on the schedule, but there is still an important role that needs time to find, and that is the actor who plays Chris Gardner's son. Originally, in the original version, the actor was Will's son Jaden Smith, but now Jaden is just a baby of one year and two months. Although in reality Chris-Gardner's son was almost a year old when he quit his job and came to New York: but in the movie, little Chris should look like a year-old.

"That's a problem." Wang Yang frowned and thought. Originally, Will-Smith's father and son partnership was a highlight, and it was also very helpful for them to interpret the warm feeling between father and son. He suddenly thought of something: "Will Smith You seem to have a son? And now is the right age? I don’t know if I have any interest and know how to act...,

Next, Flame Films quickly started contract negotiations with Will Smith's agent, and after a few days of discussions, Will Smith finally signed a contract with a salary of 15 million, plus 5 bonuses for the box office in North America. This contract can be said to be very generous for his current situation. For first-line superstars, box office dividends are a common practice; Yang stopped it, he didn't want to hurt his feelings for one million or two million, and he didn't want to make trouble.

The most important point is that he feels that the actor's mood is very important. Only when the actor is truly satisfied and fully committed can he perform at his best. Everything is based on the effect of the movie." As long as the actors are in high spirits, he will not care about increasing the production cost. Besides, the cost of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" is estimated at 40 million, which is enough to include Will Smith's 15 million salary up.

Will Smith starred in "When Happiness Comes Knocking" as the leading actor! ? When the media and movie fans saw the news on the official website of Flame Movie, they looked at the calendar suspiciously, oh, it's not the month, number? So, this isn't April Fool's news!

Then, everyone was in an uproar. The fans of Will-Smith's fans were happy and worried. The happy ones were some die-hard fans. They didn't think "Wild Wild" was so bad. With Will around, they watched it with gusto. Now Wilga is amazing Yang, this combination is so attractive! But some movie fans are throwing cold water on Will, is he insane? Didn't the fiasco of "Wild Wild" teach him a lesson? Turn around and join a 19-year-old director's biographical film? Shit!

Now Wang Yang's die-hard fans and female fans are fighting back. Will Smith is about to win the worst actor of Razzie Plum, and now he wants to play the leading actor. They are not happy! Yang, don't be dragged into the water by him up!

And the attitude of the media almost represents the attitude of the film industry. Miracle Yang is crazy, "Will Smith is also crazy! Of course, no one said it clearly, but the comments on the Internet revealed it." The official website of "Film News" reported this The news commented: "Magic Yang is crazy, he invited an action superstar to act in a drama biopic." What's even more funny is that the hero of this biography is a stockbroker, not boxing champion Tyson or Ali. Will we see a quiet, non-funny Will? Are you kidding? "

"Will Smith is also crazy. It seems that "Wild Boys" has hurt him too much, so that he no longer wants to fight and be funny, but try acting. But did he choose the wrong movie again? Can't say that "Happiness Knocks" is an improvisation by Miracle Young, just maybe, but looking at his age, it's too ingenious. Good luck, Will!"

Facing a sea of ​​doubts, neither Will Smith nor Wang Yang could have responded, nor did they need to respond. When the movie starts shooting," the crew will conduct exclusive interviews with the media for pre-publicity. By then, fans will have already accepted the reality and started to look forward to it. The most important thing is to make the movie! Because doubts are doubts, as long as the publicity is proper, it will still be true. A large number of people walked into the cinema first.

Wang Yang is still in New York. During this time, he is completing the storyboard script of "When Happiness Comes Knocking on the Door" every day; at the same time, he is involved in the acquisition of Blue Sky Studio. As early as more than two weeks ago, "Flame Films" contacted Blue Sky Studios and proposed the first acquisition plan, with a capital injection of 80 million yuan and 85% of the shares. The 68 million yuan belonging to Flame Films will also be used for the production of "Ice Age": In addition, no employees of the original company will be cut; "Ice Age" will not interfere with Chris Wakey's creation.

This acquisition plan is much more lenient than that of Fox." As long as Chris Wakey nods, his shares will become 10, and his net worth will suddenly increase by 8 million: and Gill's shares are concentrated in the technical director Mike Alin Keith "And several technical backbones and senior management.

But Chris Wakey did not nod in agreement. "Compared to 20th Century Fox, Flame Films is just a small company, and a small company means instability. If Flame Films has to lay off employees and sell Blue Sky due to serious losses in two years, It must be a very messy situation” and he doesn’t want to see it: more importantly, if Blue Sky is acquired by Fox, they can get some technology sharing from Fox’s animation department, and if they are acquired by Flame Films, they won’t make any progress .

After learning about his concerns, Max Langt followed Wang Yang's wishes and increased the purchase price to 90 million. The money will be credited to the account at one time and stored in the account of Blue Sky Studios to ensure the completion of the entire production of "Ice Age": And the paper promises that before the completion of "Ice Age", "no one will be cut from the production team. In addition to the production of "Ice Age", they are allowed to carry out multiple technical research and development, and if necessary, they can also recruit employees.

This plan made Chris Wakey heartbroken, and now, the negotiations have entered a decisive stage.

Chapter 72 This is a crazy young man!

In White Plains, New York, Blue Sky Studio is located in a small city in the northeast of Manhattan. At Blue Sky’s headquarters, the animators are working in front of the computer as usual. They are talking and laughing from time to time. They are now working on an advertising animation project. , although the full length of the ad animation is only about a minute long, they've been working on it for weeks.

The production of animation is very hard and cumbersome” can be said to be very boring, every animator! Generally, only 5 seconds of animation screens can be completed every week. Before the modeler had to model, after that, he had to do rendering and special effects Wait. These tasks are consuming the patience of the producers." If they are not properly adjusted, it will not only affect the efficiency, but may even cause depression to go berserk.

So Blue Sky is like Pixar, the headquarters does not have entertainment facilities such as video game rooms and gyms, so that employees can relax.

"Hey, is there any result? Phil, who was sweating in the gym, returned to his desk. He looked at his colleague Austin next to him and asked. Austin shrugged and stared at the computer motionlessly. screen, Phil muttered, "I really don't want to do this damn ad. I'm going to make a movie. *..." But after all, he sat down and continued to complete his three-second-a-week task.

The result Phil said naturally refers to the acquisition of Blue Sky Studios, which has been going on for a long time." In the past two weeks, the regular guests in the conference room were the acquisition team of Flame Films, and their boss, Magic Yang; It was 20th Century Fox. In fact, everyone has been used to it for a long time. As employees, their biggest wish now is to settle the dust and start making movies without layoffs.

On both sides of the meeting round table in the conference room are the negotiation teams of Blue Sky and Flame. On the side of Blue Sky sits the founder and CE Chris Wakey. , is the technical core and soul of this company; technical director Mike Elinkes, animation director Carlos Saldanha, technical director Karl Ludhivi, Tom Ma Bisuglu and other co-workers.

On the side of Flame Company, Max Langchi, lawyers, appraisers and others, as well as Wang Yang wearing a gray trench coat.

After two weeks and multiple revisions to the acquisition plan, the negotiations have reached the decision stage. Now Karl Ludhivi and others have basically agreed, and only Chris-Wicky, Mike Erinkis, and Carlos-Sardan Ha still had concerns, especially Chris-Wicky.

"Chris, in fact, you don't have to worry so much." Max Langt spread his hands "and said confidently: "You know, our fire movies are thriving." The profits brought by "High School Musical" are still increasing; while "High School Musical" 2", the popularity of the previous work and its cost, how much do you think it is possible to lose money? And "When Happiness Knocks on the Door"..." He glanced at Wang Yang, Wang Yang smiled and said: ... Oh, I Think it won't lose money. "

Everyone in the conference room smiled." Max Langt showed his body language, and said: "And" the money we purchased is a lump sum. Once the money is credited to Lantian's account, it will not be transferred out again , you are an independent subsidiary! There is nothing to worry about*..."

"Hmm..." Chris Wakey frowned slightly, "I wanted to say "Yes" several times, but I swallowed it back, the purchase price of 40 million is very high." The original employee's resignation is even more satisfying. He wasn't too worried about the bankruptcy of Flame Films, but technically, he was more inclined to Fox" even though Fox's acquisition price was 65 million. He looked at Mike Alin Keith, and Mike silently gave him a "agree" , the eyes.

"Everyone, I decided to increase the purchase price to 100 million." Wang Yang said seriously, "For a while, Chris Wakey and the others across from him were stunned, and Max Langt looked at Wang Yang pretending to be suspicious. "Wang Yang nodded, and reiterated: "100 million." In fact, 100 million was originally the purchase price he expected at first, and now that he said it at this time, it might be a final decision. He smiled and said: "Chris" you have to believe in my intentions. I love moths, you can tell from the flame movie logo, so I absolutely love Bonnie Rabbit, especially the last shot, wow! There is a very similar scene in the opening animation of our fire movie, Mark, did we ask Lan Tian to do that animation? "

Mark Slant shrugged and said: "No, it's just an unknown animation company in Luoyang." Wang Yang muttered softly: "I knew I would find Lan Tian as a son. "

Chris, Wakey and the others all laughed, and they were faintly excited, "Although the difference between 100 million and 90 million is only 10 million, the psychological senses brought by the two are completely different. They also fully feel the The value of the flame movie, in the acquisition, a large part of the value is the price.

"I know that Blue Sky Studio needs technological advancement." Wang Yang's expression became serious, and he looked at Chris Wakey, who was opposite him, and said, "...Chris" 65 million of the "85 million" in the purchase price will be used Production of "Ice Age"; 20 million R \u0026 D technology "You can perfect the little demon guessing system as much as you want... You can do everything you like.\

,"It is the proprietary rendering system of Blue Sky Studios" just like Pixar's housekeeping skills, one of the company's most valuable things; and the goblin system can make complex models look like the images on the card, Combined with multiple light sources, translucent objects and surrounding shadows; in addition, there are hair generation systems, water wave generation systems, and more.

These things are what "Wang Yang figured out in the blue sky studio in the past two weeks, and there are too many technologies behind it to make an animated film". He doesn't understand the technical aspects, but he knows that when he spends money on technical development, the ultimate benefit will be Blue Sky Studios, that is, himself. So he won't be stingy in this regard; and he doesn't want to go any further, As long as Lantian "does the movie" and makes excellent animations, it will be fine.

"I absolutely support technology research and development. Today's IT technology is different every day. If you want not to be eliminated by others, you must keep improving." Wang Yang smiled slightly and said his plan seriously: "In addition, if the financial Allowed, I will continue to gradually invest in Lantian, and I hope that Lantian can develop in film special effects.”

Hearing what he said, even though it was just a blank promise, Chris Wakey and Mike Elinkes looked at each other, and they could feel each other's eagerness to try. After these two weeks of contact, they all know that this 19-year-old young man is not a kid. Although he likes to joke and is a little careless, when it comes to serious things, he is very calm and mature, with a mind beyond his age. This is also One of the reasons why they dispelled the concern that ... the flame movie will go out of business soon".

Wang Yang said again: "But apart from the technology... I think the most important thing in an animated film is the story and characters*..." Seeing that Mike Elinkes nodded in agreement, Wang Yang continued: "Because it It is a movie, what is the most important thing about a movie? I think if the audience looks at it, laughs and cries, is completely affected by it, and then they will think about it and experience it afterwards, then it is a movie. The same is true for animated movies, the difference is only in the way of expression and Express the theme, but if it wants to have vitality, it depends on the story and characters, this is my understanding of animated films."

Animation director Carlos Aldanha clapped his palms and said with a smile: "That's right! This is what I have always advocated." Mike Elinkis also clapped his palms and praised: "Technology is for expressing animation better. Content; and content, always go to the first goal of cartoons*..."

When they said this, they actually meant that they agreed to the acquisition. Immediately, everyone in the conference room looked at Chris Wakey quietly. He owns more than 60 shares of this company." The creator and director of "Ice Age" "If he doesn't nod," the takeover won't work either.

Chris Wakey looked at his companions, then at Wang Yang, he took a deep breath, made up his mind" nodded and said: "Yang, we agree! "After that, there was a surge of excitement in his heart just now, and he finally settled down, and he could sleep peacefully.

Before he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause in the conference room, and everyone smiled happily. Max Langte took off his black-rimmed glasses with a smile, wiped his eyes wearily, and followed this young old man to complete an acquisition, a big acquisition of 100 million yuan!

"Chris, happy cooperation!" Wang Yang is also very excited. As long as he signs the contract, he will own this excellent animation production company and produce a series of outstanding animations in the future. They will become the children's dolls on the bedside, and it is so happy to grow up with them! He stood up with a smile, stretched out his hand to the leaning body, and said with a smile: "The flame and the blue sky will be a beautiful marriage. "

Everyone laughed, Chris Wakey also stood up, shook hands with Wang Yang with a smile on his face, and said: "Yang, this marriage is very exciting. ,

Preliminary negotiations have been made, and the specific contract still needs to be drafted. "Everyone walked out of the meeting room talking and laughing." When they came to the outside office, seeing their expressions and atmosphere, the employees realized what had happened, and couldn't help whispering excitedly. Chris Wakey clapped his hands and shouted with a smile: "Guys" I want to announce something! "Phil, Austin and other employees all stood up. Chris Wakey looked at Wang Yang next to him and said with a smile: "Yes." . But it was a beautiful start, because we got 100 million to make Ice Age! "

"Wow!" Phil yelled excitedly, "Oh my god, really?! Can we start making movies?" His voice was drowned in the applause and cheers." Hundreds of employees kept shouting "keep applauding" and they all knew the promise of Flame Movie not to lay off staff, and "Ice Age" would take at least 2 years.

... Yes, "I'm going to make a movie soon!" I vaguely heard that voice." Wang Yang responded with a smile and shouted, looking at the boiling office, this scene reminded him of the scene when he acquired the company a year ago, It is also so exciting and happy.

The next day, Flame Films and Blue Sky Studio completed the signing of the contract. Flame Films injected 100 million US dollars and got 85 shares of Blue Sky, Chris Wakey 10, and other partners 5. Then "Flame Films announced this to the outside world. A message, and announced that "Blue Sky Studios will start to produce the animation "Ice Age", which is expected to be released in the summer of 2002.

The media and the industry were shocked. They had always heard that Fox was acquiring Blue Sky. Why did the acquisition of Flame Films suddenly succeed? But the reason for their surprise is not this, but everyone knows what Blue Sky Studios is "Although it won the best short film Oscar this year, so what? They have been doing it for a year! And short films and feature films are different. , the short film is less than 10 minutes, and there are no lines: the feature film is 90 minutes, it needs a story and characters, and the experience of Blue Sky Studio is zero; in terms of technology, "it looks so rough" even animal hair is unrealistic, smooth and smooth One piece, the eyes look like a black and white ball, without a sense of agility and cuteness.

One thing to know is that "Ice Age" is said to be an animal movie. Didn't animals in the Ice Age grow fur? So what's up with the mammoth?

Of course, no one would be surprised if it was a big company, like Fox, or Warner Bros. bought Blue Sky for 100 million; but now it's Flame Movie, which was established less than a year ago, is Fantastic Yang! That’s right, that 19-year-old is the youngest billionaire.” But his net worth will not exceed 200 million. It's 40 million. It is said that there will be a "Juno" next year, and now another 100 million is thrown out... Is he really crazy?

The Times commented: "Undoubtedly, Blue Sky Studios and Chris Wakey deserve to be happy. They have received great help. I have thought about the behavior of Magic Yang for a long time." I can only say that the courage of this young man Very amazing! With such a drastic investment, is he risking everything or is he really full of confidence? Anyway "He's a crazy guy! He's running around in business with tons of money, he's a crazy guy."

There is also a lot of discussion on the Internet. Fans of Flame Movie and Wang Yang are very excited, as if they have won a big victory; and more people are sighing again and again, just like this editor commented on the entertainment version of Yahoo Forum: "Recently, , Fantastic Yang is always in front of us "seriously" I am a little tired of seeing him in the entertainment version" but today he even occupied the commercial version, it is unforgivable! But what he did, he had to Surprising and intriguing" I agree with Huaerjie Daily's assessment of "crazy."

Regarding the flame movie's... "Shooting love with a knife" "20th Century Fox seems to be very indifferent. When interviewed by the media, James Finn, the company spokesperson, said: "This is indeed a very regrettable thing. We used to have high hopes for Blue Sky Studios, hoping to absorb its outstanding talents and technology, but now everything is different. But our county has an excellent animation department ""Frozen Planet" will be launched next year..."

Chris Wakey, the founder of Blue Sky Studios, said in an exclusive interview with The Times: "We chose Flame Films because of its sincerity. Sufficient funds, no layoffs, and technology research and development." Are there more conditions? I disagree with the outside world's evaluation of Fantastic Young, he is a wonderful young man, he is not crazy, and he did not spend 100 million yuan to buy a toy. He understands animated films and the concept of Blue Sky Studios very well." I know his acquisition is well thought out, and I agree, it will be the right decision.

Knowing that Wang Yang... bought a toy for 100 million U.S. dollars." His lovers and friends were all very surprised.

"Dude, you are so speechless,...Wow!" Joshua's voice was full of excitement, and he shouted, "100 million!? Oh" Oh my god, if you change it into coins, it can cover the entire Hollywood Avenue, right? , Wang Yang felt speechless, and said: "Why did you think of this?" Joshua also felt a little strange, and said with a smile: "I don't know" just thought of it. "

Natalie-Portman sent a text message, "Congratulations on your successful acquisition, and don't forget the storyboard design of "Juno"." Seeing the text message on his phone, Wang Yang shrugged helplessly. Tali develops some displeasure with his latest "crazy behavior".

"Can I do the voice of Ice Age? Dude I've loved animation since I was a kid..." Zachary babbled as soon as his call picked up. He waited for his breath Only then did Wang Yang have a chance to say: ... Zachary, I will recommend you to Chris Wakey when the time comes, but I am not the one to make the decision. The purchase contract states that Flame Films will not intervene and interfere with the production of "Ice Age" , Blue Sky Studio gets the greatest degree of freedom.

Seeing Jessica's name displayed on the phone screen" Wang Yang walked to the balcony while connecting, and said: "Hi! Jessica, got it? "

"Yan, is this the surprise you said?" Jessica's tone sounded very unbelievable. Wang Yang leaned against the railing, looked at the dark night sky, and said warmly, "Yes, do you like it? The animation of Blue Sky Studio will accompany our child's growth and let her have a beautiful childhood. "Jessica sighed softly, said: ... Jan, I ..., she laughed" and said: "I don't know how to say, you are a good father?"

"Yes!" Wang Yang also smiled." He frowned again and asked, "Jessie, what's wrong with you? The voice sounds a little different, very nasal. Jessica groaned and explained, "I have a cold, just a small one." , she said with some embarrassment: "Rachel was also infected by me." She joked and said: "We all have to wear masks to film." The director said that special effects were used to change the face back later. "

Although he was a little worried, Wang Yang was amused by her and laughed, "That's right, this is the best way to deal with slugs." M