Chapter 234 War of Words

"60th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor!"

"The event that changed the destiny of the world - the attack on Pearl Harbor!"

"Don't forget the sorrow of history!"

Wu Yuchen looked at the title in the newspaper and couldn't help but smile. Starting from the previous paragraph, we can see similar news almost every day. Although it is not the front page headline, it is continuous.

The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in 1941, and this year is indeed the 60th anniversary. However, in fact, the Pearl Harbor incident occurred on December 7. It is not even May yet, and the anniversary is still more than half a year away. It is natural that Disney has started to keep releasing these news so early. Because this is part of the propaganda of "Pearl Harbor"!

From the moment the Oscars ended in March and entered April, Disney has already started promoting "Pearl Harbor". The reason for continuing to promote the Pearl Harbor incident is to arouse people's interest in the "Pearl Harbor" movie!

Thinking of this, Wu Yuchen also called Spielberg:

"Hey, Steven, I have already seen the massive promotion of "Pearl Harbor". Where is our "Pirate King"?"

"Wu, of course we have started. Advertisements in subway stations and posters in shopping malls are already in progress. It's just that you stay on the set filming every day and can't see it at all." Spielberg explained.

"Steven, you can't blame me. Besides, I see news about "Pearl Harbor" every day on the set, but rarely see "Pirate King."

"Oh, Wu. You can't let us compete with Disney for our wealth, right? Do you know how much the publicity and distribution fee Disney approved for "Pearl Harbor" this time?"

"How much?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"100 million! 100 million in North America alone! That's crazy!"

After Wu Yuchen heard this figure, he couldn't help but take a breath. Although it is no longer uncommon for major Hollywood productions to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on promotion, in these days, a promotion fee of 100 million US dollars is still very explosive.

100 million U.S. dollars has almost caught up with the production cost. You must know that the production cost of "Pearl Harbor" was only 140 million U.S. dollars! This is enough to witness Disney's ambitions for "Pearl Harbor"!

The next moment, Wu Yuchen asked: "Steven, what about us? What is the budget for the announcement?"

"It is tentatively set at 50 million. If the box office is good, we will increase the promotional expenses." Spielberg said.

Good guy, this is only half of the other party. No wonder he saw news about "Pearl Harbor" coming every day on the set, but there was very little news about "Pirate King", so his innate ability was half weaker.

Spielberg then said: "Wu, 50 million is not low. It is enough to ensure that the promotion and distribution of "Pirate King" will not be weaker than any previous large-scale production."

Wu Yuchen nodded, understanding the truth, but he thought about it and said, "Steven, where is the plan we made before?"

Since the cost of publicity and distribution is not comparable, it is natural to have to get involved with "Pearl Harbor". We had a verbal war with the other party before when the film was launched, and now we can continue to encounter it. When people mention "Pearl Harbor", they think of "Pirates" King", turning the other party's propaganda into his own use.

"We have made arrangements, but aren't you still filming "Beautiful Mind"?"

Wu Yuchen heard this and said: "Beautiful Mind can be finished in a week at most!"

"Beautiful Mind" has been filmed for more than February to now. In order to maintain the emotional coherence of the actors and enhance the film's realism and emotional appeal, this time it was shot according to the story timeline, so it took a lot of time. More than two months. If I had used jump shooting, I would have finished shooting by now.

Spielberg laughed when he heard this and said: "That's good. When it comes to May, there will be a promotional schedule for you and the starring actors of "Pirate King". I'm still worried about whether there will be conflicts."

"Don't worry, Steven, it won't delay the arrangements and plans of "Pirate King"."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen looked at Pearl Harbor in the newspaper and thought of the movie "Pearl Harbor" in his previous life.

In a previous life, Hollywood listed "Pearl Harbor" as a failed project, and many domestic movie fans didn't understand it. Because based on the box office alone, "Pearl Harbor" has a global box office of 440 million U.S. dollars compared to its cost of 140 million U.S. dollars. Not to mention making a huge profit, at least it should not lose much. If you include the disc, it will definitely make a profit.

But this is because the publicity expenses of hundreds of millions of dollars are not included. If the publicity expenses are included, it will be a cost of 250 million, which will turn the profit and loss around in one go.

Moreover, as the main project promoted by Disney this year, it is also the highest-invested film in its history. As a result, it not only failed at the box office, but also encountered a lot of criticism from critics. It was equivalent to losing both box office and reputation, and naturally became a failed project.

But Wu Yuchen smiled. In his previous life, because "Pearl Harbor" was so popular, no big production dared to be on the same schedule as it. It was equivalent to it occupying a schedule, and finally achieved a box office of 180 million in North America.

But this time, Wu Yuchen wanted to see how successful "Pearl Harbor" would be after meeting his "Pirate King"!

…

Michael Eisner has been a little troubled recently. At the shareholder meeting held more than a month ago, many people expressed dissatisfaction with Disney's falling stock price in the past year.

There is also that old guy Roy Disney. He usually causes trouble for him within the company. He even took the lead in criticizing him at the shareholders' meeting, accusing him of incompetent leadership in all aspects. If he hadn't represented the Disney family, Ai Sna kicked him out a long time ago.

Fortunately, Eisner has a deep background in Disney, and he blocked these voices forcefully. However, he also made a promise at the shareholders' meeting, and Disney will make results to prove to shareholders.

Thinking of this, Eisner called Miles and asked, "How was the preview of "Pearl Harbor" going?"

The movie "Pearl Harbor" is a key project that Disney began to prepare for two years ago. After the success of "Titanic", Disney set its sights on "Pearl Harbor."

On the one hand, it coincides with the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, which is a good gimmick; on the other hand, "Titanic", a big ship and a catastrophic love story at sea, can collect so much box office, then "Pearl Harbor" is shot in the air Romance, coupled with many big scenes of war dramas, disasters and love, so the box office is not the same as being easy to get?

In order to film "Pearl Harbor", Disney attracted strong support from the American military. Disney's fantasy is very good. Even if it cannot achieve the results of "Titanic" and only gets half of its box office, that is, if it reaches 1 billion US dollars, it will be a huge profit!

And this time Eisner has great hopes for "Pearl Harbor". Not only does he expect it to be a box office hit, but he also wants to see it sweep the Oscars next year, just like "Titanic" did a few years ago. In this case, this "Pearl Harbor" will be a masterpiece that boosts his Eisner prestige!

Miles organized his words, and then said: "The test screening was very good..."

The preview screening of "Pearl Harbor" was specially organized with people from all walks of life in order to initially test the market feedback. .

Michael Eisner nodded with satisfaction, but the next moment he only heard Miles say: "There are just some different voices, and I think I need to report to you."

Eisner immediately frowned and asked with concern: "What's going on?"

Miles said: "The chairman of the Japanese American Citizens Association, Mr. Tateishi, protested against our "Pearl Harbor". He believed that the film too ugly the neon people and was a stereotype of the neon people. He hoped... "

"What?"

"He wanted us to cut out 40 minutes of the bombing."

"Fuck! He's thinking shit!" Eisner couldn't help but yelled after hearing this.

"Pearl Harbor" invited Michael Bay to be the director, wasn't it because he took a fancy to his skills in shooting explosion scenes? If the bombing scene was cut out, it would be a waste for the audience to watch!

After Eisner cursed a few words, he began to think again. Although Neon is their younger brother in the United States, they still have to consider the opinions of Neon people. This is because Neon's film market is now a major vote bank in Hollywood. Take "Titanic" as an example. Neon contributed 250 million U.S. dollars to the box office, more than any other country outside North America, and people have to pay attention to it.

He then said to Miles: "Don't move the bombing scene. Let Michael Bay make some trims in other sections to appease the Neon Man's emotions."

"Okay, Mr. Eisner!"

Then Eisner thought of something and asked: "By the way, what about the "Pirate King" who claimed to be our opponent last year? What's the situation now?"

“‘The Pirate King’ is scheduled to be released on the same day as us, May 25, which is Memorial Day.”

"Haha, what an arrogant guy, they really dare to do this!"

Eisner couldn't help showing a contemptuous smile, and then said: "Let's get started, just use them to attract everyone's attention!"

"Okay, Mr. Eisner!"

…

"Pass!"

After Wu Yuchen watched it back and forth several times, he stood up and shouted to the crew: ""Beautiful Mind" is finished!"

As he said these words, the crew breathed a sigh of relief.

At the closing banquet that night, Wu Yuchen said to Russell Crowe:

"Russell, I really want to wish you another Oscar for this movie, but I think you also know that the hope is slim..."

Russell Crowe just won the Best Actor this year for "Gladiator", so his chances of winning the Best Actor again next year are slim, even if he performed well in the movie.

It is very difficult to win the Oscar for Best Actor for two consecutive years. Only two actors have done it in history. One is the Oscar in the ancient times. In 1937 and 1938, Spencer Tracy won the Oscar for Best Actor twice in a row and became a Hollywood star. The first consecutive Best Actor in history.

The other one is Tom Hanks, known as Big Tom. He won the best actor title in 1993 and 1994. The reason why he was able to win the title again was because the movie "Forrest Gump" was so right. , all-around correct, it would be a crime if you didn’t award him an award!

Justin Wu knows very well that there is no comparison between "A Beautiful Mind" and "Forrest Gump", so no matter how good Russell Crowe's performance in this movie is, it will be difficult to win the best actor again.

Russell Crowe was also clear about this, and laughed and said: "Director Wu, it is already an honor for me to be able to participate in such an excellent movie!"

Wu Yuchen patted him on the shoulder, and then added with a smile: "Although it is a bit difficult to win the Oscar for the leading actor, I guarantee that when the movie is released, you will become a member of the 20 million club!"

Russell Crowe's eyes lit up: "Thank you, then this will be the best gift for me!"

Now that he has won the Oscar for Best Actor, his biggest goal is naturally to increase his net worth and status. Now his salary is 15 million, which is not yet at the top of Hollywood. Entering the 20 million club means becoming a top star in Hollywood.

…

The next day, Wu Yuchen got up and looked at Jennifer Connelly on the bed and smiled. Although she played the leading actor's wife in the movie, she climbed into his director's bed every night. After this filming was completed, she had to catch up on other work, so she would be separated from him for a while, so naturally she had a crazy night.

Although the filming of "Beautiful Mind" has been completed, he will not be idle for a while. The promotion of "Pirate King", the production of "Spider-Man" and the post-production of "Beautiful Mind" are all going on.

When Wu Yuchen walked to the door of DreamWorks, he was caught by several reporters waiting here. They immediately came forward to interview him: "Wu, what do you think of "Pearl Harbor"?"

Wu Yuchen thought this was arranged by DreamWorks, so he smiled and said: "The 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor incident is a very memorable event, but this does not mean that the "Pearl Harbor" movie will be that good..."

However, before he could finish speaking, another reporter next to him shouted and asked: "Wu, did you know? Just this morning, Peter Schreider, the chairman of Disney Production Company, said that you are far worse than Michael Bay!"

Um? Wu Yuchen narrowed his eyes when he heard this. It seemed to be different from what he thought. Did Disney also start to suppress "Pirate King"? That's just right!

Wu Yuchen smiled: "Peter Schreider? I know him, he is just Eisner's mouthpiece. I dealt with him on "The Sixth Sense" the year before last, and he didn't understand movies at all. Except for me "The Sixth Sense", Disney's film performance has not improved in recent years, which is proof!"

Upon hearing Wu Yuchen's rant, several reporters were extremely excited and hurriedly recorded it. And also asked:

"Wu, do you think "Pearl Harbor" is not as good as your "Pirate King"?"

If most people answer, they will be more modest because they haven't seen the other party's movie. But this time Wu Yuchen wanted to provoke a dispute and compete with "Pearl Harbor".

"Of course, "Pearl Harbor" will definitely be defeated by "Pirate King", and I am not optimistic about the box office of "Pearl Harbor"."

"Wow! Wu, do you think "Pearl Harbor" will fail? Are you saying that because you think Michael Bay's abilities are not good enough?" The reporter also watched the excitement and did not think it was a big deal, and tried his best to provoke.

Wu Yuchen shrugged and said: "Michael Bay, his explosions are not bad, but compared to Cameron, I think there is still a big gap."

The implication of Wu Yuchen's words is that "Pearl Harbor" has been comparing itself to "Titanic", but in fact it is not inferior at all.

"Wu, how do you think Michael Bay compares to you?"

"Wu, where do you think Pearl Harbor failed?"

Although the reporter was still asking questions, Wu Yuchen did not answer any more. He said that he had almost finished what he said today. He could not say it all at once. He had to do it bit by bit to bring the atmosphere to a climax.

DreamWorks, when Spielberg heard Wu Yuchen say this, he was a little helpless: "Wu, I wanted to remind you originally, but since you have already started, let's continue. But we still have to Pay attention to the scale, pay attention to some aspects, and don’t go over the line when it comes to words!”

Wu Yuchen smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Steven, I haven't been in Hollywood these past few years in vain. I know what can and cannot be said."

Spielberg nodded.

…

Wu Yuchen's interview was quickly reported, and the response from "Pearl Harbor" soon came.

The person who responded this time was none other than the director himself: Michael Bay:

"Wu is a pretty good director. He has some talent in telling stories, but I think he is too arrogant. Yes, he is arrogant. No director dares to praise other people's works before watching them. Haikou, flaunting that its works are stronger than others.

Moreover, the works he directed in the past were all small scenes and small productions. Everyone knows that small production and large production are different concepts. Suddenly going from tens of millions to 140 million is not so easy to control. I doubt whether he can make good use of so much money.

His grades have been good in the past, but this time he will pay tuition for his arrogance~"

Michael Bay had a relaxed tone, and it seemed like a senior was teaching a junior.

Here, Wu Yuchen looked at the contents of the newspaper and smiled. Next to him, Spielberg said: "Wu, I have said hello to Michael Bay. After this incident, no matter what the outcome, I will host you two to my house for dinner."

Spielberg and Michael Bay are both Jewish, so they contacted Michael Bay this time and said that this was a publicity strategy for both parties and hoped that he and Wu Yuchen would not really have conflicts over this.

Wu Yuchen naturally understood this meaning and said with a smile:

"Of course it's no problem. Don't worry, Steven, I won't act arrogantly towards losers~"

Spielberg was also used to Wu Yuchen's confident attitude, and then he heard the other party ask: "Steven, how effective is the two of us shouting through the air this time?"

Spielberg smiled and said: "It's very good. Many media have spontaneously reported on the two of you and compared you two together. The number of times "Pirate King" has been mentioned has increased significantly."

Wu Yuchen nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "It can't be limited to just us two directors. The most exposed actors in the crew are the leading actors. Next, let Depp and Hugh get ready to start the next round of scolding. !”

…

"Pearl Harbor" cast.

"Does this speech have to be removed?" Michael Bay asked.

"No way, in order to cope with those troublesome little days, their market is an important ticket warehouse." Producer Bruckheimer replied.

To appease the protestors, this time they cut out a speech by Bexnall at the end of the film.

Michael Bay shrugged: "Well, actually, I think it has no impact at all whether or not this section is removed. It can't change the fact that the Neon Man is the villain in the movie."

Bruckheimer didn't want to discuss it further, so he changed the subject and asked, "Michael, I heard that Spielberg called you?"

Michael Bay nodded: "Haha, Steven wants to mediate."

"Did you agree?"

"Why not? Steven's face still needs to be given, and besides, I really want to see what that guy's face looks like after he fails!" Michael Bay said with a smile.

What he released to the outside world was true. Although he admitted that Wu Yuchen's past few works had proved his ability, it was obvious that they were all small productions. Big productions are not so easy to master!

And he, Michael Bay, started his career filming big scenes. The cost of a film called "Bravely Entering the Island of Death" was 75 million, and the cost of a film called "The Ultimate Tribulation" was 140 million. The big scene of "Pearl Harbor" is not a problem at all for him, but it may not be for others!

At this moment, the assistant trotted over to the two of them and handed them a newspaper.

Michael Bay and Bruckheimer immediately looked at each other: "Wu Yuchen accused the casting failure of "Pearl Harbor"!"

"Josh Hartnett is an idol actor. He is a typical young student with no military temperament... In contrast, we in "Pirate King" are all powerful..."

Michael Bay and Bruckheimer frowned after reading it, and then said: "This Wu is really going to make "Pirate King" go to war with us!"

Bruckheimer shook his head: "I thought it was just an ordinary hype, but I didn't expect it to work so hard. It seems like this time it's going to be really hot!"

With Wu Yuchen’s comments, it’s strange that Josh Hartnett doesn’t mind.

"Let Josh Hartnett respond tomorrow."

…

The next day, Josh Hartnett responded to Wu Yuchen’s remarks:

"I know that coming from an American TV series and youth movie may have caused many people to have a stereotype of me, but in the past few years, I have been constantly improving my acting skills through my personal efforts. This time I was selected for "Pearl Harbor", It is a good affirmation for me. As for saying that I am not suitable to play a soldier, I think I will let the audience judge it at that time. By the way, I would also like to say that I am in the new movie "Black Hawk Down" directed by Ridley Scott. In it, he plays a soldier."

Josh Hartnett is considered to be from an idol school. When faced with an influential director like Wu Yuchen, he still dared not directly scold him, but only dared to defend himself.

He didn’t dare to say it, but some people dared to say it, such as Peter Schreider, the chairman of Disney Production Company who shouted before:

"Josh Hartnett was the absolute best choice for Pearl Harbor and we spent months scouting him!

And what I want to say is that Wu is absolutely blind to choose Johnny Depp, a weirdo, as the leading actor in a 140 million big production! "