Chapter 44 44 They Are Coming (Please Collect, Please Read, Please Read
Chapter 44 They are coming (please collect, please read, please don't support the book)
MGM Building.
Eric quietly drank the coffee in front of him, waiting for the other party to finish reading the script.
Sitting opposite him was Frank Darabont, the director who was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars twice and the Best Picture once, the director of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile". He was reading the script of "The Walking Dead".
This script took more than two months to polish from the outline given by Eric, which was longer than the polishing time of the script of "Transformers". Finally, it felt that it was almost done, and the company also contacted Darabont. Today, the bald director came as scheduled.
After a long breath, Darabont first took a big sip of coffee. He didn't like to add sugar, and the bitter taste made the bald director look even more twisted.
"This is a good script. I like the struggle of humanity in the end of the world, but it seems not perfect enough."
"Frank, what do you want to do?"
"Are there any shooting plans? How about the start time? I want to know if MGM is in a hurry to shoot."
"The sooner the better. This project has been delayed for a long time, and I don't want to miss the Emmy Awards next year."
If the Oscars are the highest awards for movies, then the Emmy Awards are the highest awards for TV series.
Although the Emmy Awards ceremony is generally held in September, the works that can be selected are excerpts from June 1 of the previous year to May 31 of this year.
In other words, if "The Walking Dead" wants to participate in the Emmy Awards, it must be broadcast at least before May 31 next year.
It is now early November, and MGM has only 7 months left. During this period, it will also go through casting, shooting, post-production and the most important link of selling to TV stations, so time is still very tight.
Darabont pondered for a moment: "Then give me another week, I want to revise the script! No, to enrich the script! It's already great, all I can do is polish it."
Eric nodded: "Okay."
"Also, how much say do I have in casting?"
"Except for the role of Maggie Greene, you have the final say on other roles, I believe in your vision."
Trust people, don't trust them!
Darabont smiled, who wouldn't like this kind of investor and producer, it's perfect!
The two shook hands, looking at Eric's young face, Darabont couldn't help but sigh: "What a courageous young man!"
Looking back at himself, he invited Jim Carrey to shoot the movie "Forget Who I Am" last year, and he originally planned to rely on it to impact the Oscars, and Jim Carrey also hoped to transform into a serious drama with this movie.
But unfortunately, Jim Carrey did have enough of his acting addiction, but the movie's reputation and box office both failed, not to mention the Oscars, his face was almost thickened by the critics' scolding.
This failure also cast a shadow on Darabont's resume, and some jobs were cancelled. Hollywood is such a realistic place.
"Maybe it's not bad to try TV series. I hope it can help me open up a new world!"
It was late November, and "Red Dragon" had been taken off the screen, and the final global box office was less than 310 million.
The "Silence of the Lambs" trilogy ended with a total box office of 950 million US dollars. Although it did not reach 1 billion, it was a bit regrettable, but it was also a perfect ending.
The crew held a celebration party, and Eric also attended. During the period, they wanted to invite Anthony Hopkins to play the Secretary of Defense in "Transformers".
However, the old man was worried that the audience would not be able to adapt to the sudden change from an ogre to the Secretary of Defense, so he refused.
Eric really wanted to work with him, but Hopkins insisted on his own opinion.
There is no way, I can only look for opportunities later. Anyway, this old man is an evergreen, and he will still be in good health in 2023. There is still a long time.
"Barbershop" has been released for a week. Movies starring all black people naturally have no worries about box office. Although the political correctness trend is not as fierce as it will be more than a decade later, and not as exaggerated as "Black Panther 2", black guys still go to the cinema with their friends. Black movies are rare.
With the help of black guys, "Barbershop" has a box office of nearly 30 million US dollars in the first weekend, and the production cost is more than 8 million US dollars, which has already made money.
And this movie has been minimally affected by the impact of blockbusters. Following this trend, it is not difficult to collect 70 or 80 million box office worldwide. It is a typical example of taking a small risk for a big gain.
"007 Die Another Day" also completed its first weekend release. Eric attended the premiere on behalf of MGM.
This is the twentieth movie in the 007 series and the last one of Pierce Brosnan. Black Pearl Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike, who is well-known to Chinese audiences because of "Gone Girl", are all involved.
I have become familiar with these three, especially Rosamund Pike. She is only 23 years old now, the age of an apple that has just ripened.
Eric exchanged contact information with them and agreed to work together if there was an opportunity.
On the Transformers side, the Ministry of Defense was very satisfied with the proposal given by MGM, and his father also gave a lot, so after only one discussion, the military gave the green light.
MGM was allowed to enter the military base for actual filming, and could borrow the current US military's main battle tanks, fighter jets, gunboats and other necessary weapons and equipment to help with filming.
At the same time, the internal training videos of the army will be handed over to MGM to facilitate the post-production synthesis of the film. After all, you can't really fight a war for the sake of making a movie.
MGM only needs to pay 10 million US dollars for this, which can be said to be very cheap. It can't even buy a few parts of the F22.
The only requirement of the Ministry of Defense is that they need to review before the film is completed, and they must ensure the positive image of the US military and there must be no stains.
Several sponsors have signed contracts. For example, the mobile phone implantation was won by Nokia. MGM promised to build a Transformer specifically for Nokia, and the appearance time will not be less than 5 minutes.
Nokia will pay 7.5 million US dollars for advertising for this. It looks very expensive, but this is because Nokia will launch a new smart phone next year, and the two will be combined to create a hit.
The price of Vita Digital has also been negotiated. Peter Jackson agreed to reduce the price by 50,000 US dollars per second. The price is that the release time of "Transformers" must not conflict with "Lord of the Rings 3", and the two will be released at least three weeks apart.
At the same time, the special effects of the subsequent works of the "Transformers" series will also be handed over to Weta Digital. Everyone will benefit from each other and make money together.
Peter Jackson's requirements are not excessive, and Eric does not want to compete head-on with the monster "Lord of the Rings 3". After the foreshadowing of the first two parts, everyone knows that "Lord of the Rings 3" will be a big hit.
Facing the Hobbits, to be honest, Eric has no confidence in the Autobots.
While various preparations are being carried out rapidly, the long-awaited audition of the male lead has also begun.
In the MGM building, the receptionist has begun to be dazzled. Countless handsome guys, both familiar and unfamiliar, passed by her. All kinds of types simply satisfied all her fantasies on the ship.
I looked at the registration board: James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Chris Evans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Foster, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Tom Hardy