"John Woo declined the invitation..." Michelle Cannold came to report to Ronald with a formal reply from the Hong Kong director.
"I don't know how to flatter..." Ronald muttered in his stomach, and the other party wrote a letter to refuse, using many false names to praise the 007 series of movies, and how he was flattered by the invitation, etc...
But the whole letter kept coming back to the same meaning: I didn’t want to direct it.
Hollywood is a place of free competition. If others don't want to come, Ronald can't force it. This 007 movie does have factors that seem to be negative comments from insiders.
For example, the last 007 film was played by Timothy Dalton in 1989, and the box office was average. The 007 series has been considered to be behind the times. This time the new film is still a half-dead distribution company like MGM, which has long been
The big-budget espionage genre movies no longer have the glory of the past.
After the end of the Cold War, some people also believe that spy movies have lost their audience. Instead of making up some plots that no one believes in, 007 should completely restart and remake the original 007 works, Dr. No or Love from the Northern Powerhouse. In this way, at least it will still be good.
There's a contrast between old and new James Bond, and nostalgia for the gimmick to appeal to older audiences.
Coupled with the rising tide of feminism since the 1980s, James Bond, a character who has been more or less discriminatory against women in the past series of movies, will not be able to gain much support from the female audience.
a question.
In addition to these factors, there is another big problem:
Just like the "advice" Cameron encountered when he took over the sequel of "Alien" when he debuted, if the film is successful, then the credit goes to his predecessor Ridley Scott, and if the film fails, the responsibility lies with him.
Mellon's.
There were 16 original 007 series before, and one was when Sean Connery, the first 007 actor, remade a Roger Moore movie to make money. These movies basically made money, if
If the seventeenth film, the new 007 movie "Golden Eye", fails at the box office, then the director will definitely be criticized verbally and verbally.
This is a high-risk project that a director like John Woo, who has just emerged in Hollywood and brings a different style of action movies, is unwilling to try.
Several other directors who contacted MGM by Daydream also had similar concerns and politely but firmly declined the invitation.
Ronald had no choice but to find suitable candidates from some new directors. That morning, a director from New Zealand, Martin Campbell, came to the office for an interview.
"Mr. Campbell, I see you are well prepared..."
After listening to his presentation, Ronald was quite satisfied with this director who has been shooting soft erotic films, action films, TV movies and TV miniseries in Britain.
For the dramas he filmed in the past, he also cut a very short version. Judging from the camera scheduling and narrative ability, 007 is essentially a human pornographic film and an action film.
Comprehensive, plus a world-famous big character, and some recurring characters...
Martin Campbell seems to have done a lot of homework. Although he doesn't know the entire content of the new 007 script, he has heard about the casting of Pierce Brosnan. The actor has appeared in several TV series and commercials in America.
They are all consistent, polite and gentlemanly, coupled with a certain degree of elegant movement ability.
Therefore, when he elaborated on his directing concept, he put forward the key point of maintaining the meticulous calmness in the intense espionage activities as the key point of image creation, which Ronald liked very much.
The audience's current aesthetics generally favor more handsome male protagonists. Muscular male protagonists like Stallone and Schwarzenegger also have to put on their shirts and mix in some gentlemanly demeanor to sell their films. Even the latest
In "True Lies", Schwarzenegger will also show off his tango dancing skills.
This transformation of James Bond's image is in the right direction. Among the two most famous 007 actors, Sean Connery and Roger Moore, the new movie will undoubtedly be closer to Roger Moore.
"Very good, I'm very satisfied with your work. However, I don't have the right to decide whether you will direct it. I still need 007 producer Barbara Broccoli to be satisfied. You still have a very heavy workload to do."
It needs to be done, and it needs to be liked by everyone in this project... Can you understand what I say?"
Ronald said to Martin Campbell. He didn’t want him to be too confident and lose his humility and hard-working style. For this kind of popular series of movies, the director often has to reflect the will of many parties instead of showing his own style.
.
"Thank you very much..." Martin Campbell clearly heard the implication. Isn't it the most important thing for you to say something about other people's approval and Barbara Broccoli's satisfaction?
"Mr. Li, I'm very curious. I'm just an unknown TV drama director. Can you tell me what you think my advantages are?"
Ronald Yile, this guy is really interesting. Although he is a New Zealander, he has lived in Britain for a long time, and he also has some of the roundabout accents unique to people there. He is more than ten years older than me, so in this way,
What he said would have been uncomfortable for another person, but what he said was natural and accurate.
"It's very simple, Martin..." Ronald changed his posture and deliberately moved his body closer to Martin Campbell. "We have also considered other directors. You don't want to share a few names. They are all new styles.
Veterans of action movies... But they all have a common idea, 007 needs a director who is from the Commonwealth and immersed in British culture to make a good movie..."
"Thank you, I will try my best..." Martin Campbell feels that his fortune has indeed turned around. Many people have an old childhood dream, the suave 007 James Bond, and often one good and one bad sexy and seductive Bond girl.
, the majestic boss M, the playful secretary Moneypenny, and the Q who can modify all kinds of unexpected high-tech props... this time they will all perform according to his wishes..."
"By the way, I forgot to tell you that in order to dilute some of the old-fashioned 007's disrespect for women, we decided to introduce more self-reliant and distinctive female characters in this film. We also decided to choose a British female character as 007's boss M.
actor……"
"ah?"
"Mr. David Simkins will discuss the specific details with you and then arrange a joint meeting with Ms. Barbara Broccoli. I will see the report then..." Ronald hummed to his side.
Second General Simkins and Cannold winked, and he stood up to say goodbye...
"Why, don't you go and talk to Barbara?" Yang Yanzi, as Ronald's senior assistant, followed Ronald out of the office and quickly kept up with Ronald's fast pace.
"I don't care about these details, I just want to set a general direction..." Ronald waved to little Bud who was watching the portable TV in the lounge, and Bud drove over to pick them up.
"Where are we going next? There are several documents here that you need to read on the way. These are the ones you need to sign..." Yang Yanzi organized the documents and handed them to Ronald.
"I'm going to meet an old friend...you go with me..."
After Ronald got in the car, he corrected the documents there. The New York Knicks' playoff performance was frustrating. After passing the first round, they met the Chicago Bulls without Michael Jordan in the second round.
After winning the first two games at home, in the third game at the Chicago Center, the Bulls' new aid Kukoc won the third game at the buzzer. In the fourth game, Pippen scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The performance was defeated and turned into a draw. The Knicks' performance in the away game was even more ugly, and the ratings fell instead of rising...
Charles Dolan took the opportunity to complain during an interview, saying that Ronald, the major shareholder, did not appear at home or cheer in away games, so that the players did not feel the support from the big boss. Maybe in the next game, if Ronald can
Being there in person will give them some encouragement…
As a result, Ronald had no choice but to arrange the next on-site viewing of the battle and fly there for no reason, wasting time.
Fortunately, the client he picked up immediately had the idea of going to New York. With the mentality of killing three birds with one stone, he readily accepted Dolan's challenge. He stated in the media that although he did not attend every game, the most important thing was
The game will definitely be in... and chew victory pizza with the fans on site...
…
"Jackie, long time no see..."
"Luo Sheng, hello, hello, you are still so energetic..."
This time, Jackie Chan took Ronald's special plane and came to Los Angeles specially to explore new projects.
Jackie Chan, who originally wanted to stay in Hong Kong and make a fortune in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the most important Japanese market, could no longer sit still after Spielberg's Invasion of the Dinosaur.
This movie not only swept the box office of all action movies in Hong Kong, but also created a box office miracle in Japan, the most important foreign market where Jackie is proud of Hong Kong, crushing all local movies along the way and winning the box office championship.
This has made the East Asian film market panic, and they don’t know how to deal with it. Especially in Japan, the audience there has always been fond of this kind of monster movies, and they have been filming movies like Godzilla and Ultraman since the 1950s.
Special photo monster.
The upgraded version of giant monsters like Jurassic Park happened to hit the aesthetic taste of Japanese audiences, which was a double surprise.
The reason why Jackie Chan was able to obtain the only high filming budget of 30 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong is inseparable from his status as the only Hong Kong male star who can sell in Japan. Relying on this strength, Japan
Mitsubishi Motors also sponsors his movies at a high price, providing many new cars for him to hit in each movie...
However, the intimidating power of Jurassic was so great that Jackie Chan also felt that the crisis was so big that he had to pick up the old idea and try his luck in Hollywood again. He wanted to learn why Hollywood can produce such sophisticated special effects blockbusters.
, and also wants to open up a new foreign distribution market outside of Japan that is exclusive to him.
Hong Kong audiences have watched too many action movies. Occasionally, a big special effects production will open their eyes. However, American audiences have watched mostly such movies. Will they be interested in Jackie Chan’s special acrobatic kung fu comedy?
Would you like to watch interesting movies that are new to you?
In addition, Ronald urged him to come over the phone, saying that many filmmakers here were his fans and hoped to communicate with him in person and treat him as a master. Jackie Chan's interest was piqued.
, came here with the idea of coming to the New York metropolis to compete with the gangsters and bad guys from a kung fu boy from Xiangjiang.
Anyway, their team in Xiangjiang starts from one idea, then merges many scenes, and finally combines them into one script. Xiangjiang's scripts are also much simpler than those in Hollywood. Many action scenes and literary scenes are
It is much better to improvise based on the on-site situation than to write it down in a script.
Ronald first took Jackie Chan back to his home. On the way, Yang Yanzi admired this Xiangjiang Kung Fu superstar. He had a personal charm that was different from many big stars in Hollywood.
Yang Yanzi, who has had many interactions with big superstars, has become Jackie's fan girl. She even said that such an approachable superstar would not be produced in Hollywood.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "My name is Uncle Jackie..." Ronald took his son Roger to meet Uncle Jackie. Uncle Jackie smiled so happily that he pulled his hair from his neck on the spot.
Pulled off a piece of jadeite of good quality and hung it around little Roger's neck.
Little Roger happily hugged Uncle Jackie and thanked him, and then started to bite the strange jelly-like thing with his teeth, causing another burst of excitement.
"By the way, where's your son Jaycee?" Ronald thought of Jackie's son who was studying in Los Angeles.
"Hey, he's very naughty. His mother doesn't listen to anything she says. I'm here to discipline him well this time. This kid is like me, a double-headed kid. He's been naughty since he was a kid. I've been naughty since I was a kid..."
Jackie Chan was complaining that her son was naughty before, but later she became proud again.
"Which school he is in, I will accompany you to pick him up. Dinner will be at my house. You can have Chinese food, Italian food, or Japanese food. I have a chef who can prepare it..."
"Okay... the little guy has been in Los Angeles for a long time, so he still cooks Italian food..." Jackie reported an address, and Ronald drove over with him to pick him up.
"Why is it that school is over and you haven't seen anyone yet?" Ronald and Jackie waited at the door for more than ten minutes. The bodyguard Daniel asked an assistant to go in and ask if there was a child named Jaycee...
As a result, the teacher came out with me and said that this person was not on the roster. Maybe they had made a mistake.
"I have his phone number. I'll call and ask..." Jackie Chan originally wanted to give her son a surprise, but the surprise turned into a shock.
"Hey, son, why does the school say it doesn't have your name? That's right, I'm right at the door of your school..."
"Daddy, I've already graduated. Of course you can't go to my old school..."
"Forehead……"
Jackie Chan rarely made a big splash. She cared so little about her son that she didn't even know that he had entered higher education.
"This is a gift from Uncle Ronald..." After Ronald brought little Jaycee home, he gave her a lot of toys as usual. It turned out to be Jackie's child. Not only did she look similar, but she also liked those gifts.
For fighting. I chose a Star Wars lightsaber and started dancing on the spot, breaking some of Ronald's tableware.
"This is going to be filmed in Vancouver? Why?"
After dinner, Ronald and Jackie talked about the idea of his new movie. The story of a Hong Kong boy whose uncle defected to New York and fought against black and Italian gangs in the Bronx. He wanted Jackie Chan from Hong Kong to score
The Bronx…
"I heard it saves money there..."
"That was the old days, and now the cost of shooting in Vancouver is also very high. And your movie has a lot of outdoor fighting scenes. Vancouver and New York are two completely different urban styles. For example, the Bronx has a lot of outdoor walls with
It's graffiti, and there's nothing like it in Vancouver.
I still recommend you to shoot on location in New York..."
"Don't I understand these things? I heard that applying for filming in New York is very troublesome..."
"What's the trouble? It's no trouble at all. I know the mayor of New York very well. How about I invest part of your movie and then hand it over to my distribution partner, TriStar Pictures, for distribution?"
Jackie Chan didn't expect that Ronald would actively ask to cooperate with him as soon as they met. There are many legends in Hong Kong about Hollywood's emphasis on procedures, business is business, and friendship is friendship. Why does Ronald seem not to be particular at all here?
"It's settled. Let's go to New York together to watch the NBA playoff games. It's my team. We can watch it from the box or from the sidelines. It's up to you... If it gets to the seventh game
, maybe the mayor will come to see it too."
"Okay, it's brother... If you have any use for me, just say..." Jackie Chan was very moved when she saw Ronald accepting such a generous offer.
"You may not know, brother, your reputation in New York may be greater than mine, especially among the black people. They are more familiar with your movies than I am..."