"The Farrelly brothers who provided the script idea are professional screenwriters. They have participated in the development of many series such as "Seinfeld" and have a considerable professional foundation. This is also what we like. As for the project itself, Lina and I both feel , "Crazy About Mary" can be made into an adult version of "American Pie". We believe that every adult has his own first love worth remembering. This script presents the story in a somewhat absurd and funny mode. At the same time, adults are also the most important audience for comedy movies."
The small conference room in Building 1 of the administrative area.
After all, Annika Settle, who is ostensibly the head of the production company, is giving a presentation on "Crazy About Mary," but when facing a certain man, her expression is inevitably nervous, and somehow there is a bit of shame and expectation in her nervousness. .
Because I learned from Lina in advance that the man was free tonight.
Looking at the timetable for the project presentation, it's about to get off work... just right.
Also, Lena said, she couldn't run away.
In fact, I didn't want to run away.
So my voice felt a little trembling.
Simon seemed unaware of the gaffe of the girl across the small conference table. After listening to her simple words, he followed up: "Also, the two of them asked to be the director themselves?"
Annika nodded quickly, but felt that she was overreacting, so she smiled sheepishly, and then said: "This is the prerequisite for us to sign the script. The Farrelly brothers have been promoting their scripts. It's not that no production company is interested. Just because of their request, most people refused.”
The screenwriter demands the power of the director, which is a binding condition that many Hollywood filmmakers will put forward when they try to go further.
For example, James Cameron's "Terminator" back then.
However, many people wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to jump through the dragon's gate, but in the end, many carps failed at the dragon's gate. This not only brought a blow to their own careers, but also caused the studio to suffer huge losses.
For example, two years ago, a certain idea similar to "The Hangover" was scrambled by everyone but failed, and the result was the silent "Bad Stuff".
Therefore, giving power to writers and directors is generally a risk in Hollywood that definitely outweighs the benefits.
It was obviously impossible for the two girls to know Simon's subtle thoughts at this time. Seeing that Annika did not explain clearly, Lina next to her added: "The Farrelly brothers are both insiders. They started to enter the film and television industry in the 1980s and are very familiar with film and television. For the production process of the work, all the two of them need is an opportunity. In addition, the comedy type of the script itself focuses on the performance of actors, and the requirements for the director are not demanding, and Anne and I are watching together .”
After Lina finished speaking, Annika next to her nodded subconsciously, and then she felt embarrassed and avoided someone's gaze.
Simon was also satisfied and followed up: "In that case, as for the protagonist, do you have any preference for the protagonist?"
"Several male protagonists are still considering it. Moreover, I think the core of this story is the heroine Mary, and the focus of casting should also be on her. Since it is the first love in the heart of an adult man, she definitely needs an image of America's sweetheart," Lena said , pulled out a photo from the folder in front of him and pushed it over: "Jennifer Aniston, there is no more suitable sweetheart than her at this stage. "Friends" has entered the final stage, and Aniston is also looking to develop to the big screen. We’ve had several phone calls and she was very interested in the script.”
The Farrelly brothers initially discussed the role with Lena, hoping to invite a supermodel to play Mary, but Lena did not agree.
The final result of the discussion between the two parties was the plan given by Lina at this time.
Simon picked up the photo and took a look at it. Compared with the Cameron Diaz in his memory, Aniston, who was the most outstanding screen sweetheart in the United States in the 1990s, was undoubtedly more suitable.
He nodded, thinking about the hero's problem.
The story of "Crazy About Mary" has one woman and many men. Even though Ben Stiller is the leading actor, he is not the absolute core. Not only that, but Simon felt that the scene where Stiller pretended to be a middle school student at the beginning of the story was really inconsistent.
Because no matter how you look at it, he doesn’t look like a middle school student.
Since Jennifer Aniston supports the heroine, changing the male lead will not have much impact.
In fact, during the "Crazy About Mary" period, Ben Stiller was just an ordinary second-tier actor who switched from the TV industry to the film industry and kept groping and failed to find his own position.
It's different now.
The popularity of "The Hangover" in the summer of just past year has greatly increased the popularity of Ben Stiller and other bad guys, and they have successfully entered the front line. Furthermore, Stiller and others are currently preparing for "The Hangover 2" and will definitely not have time to participate in "Crazy About Mary" at least this year.
As for another Adam Sandler with a similar style, "Tea Boy" later ended its packaging contract with Daenerys, and is currently more inclined to break away from Daenerys Entertainment and cooperate with other studios.
The first is of course the pay.
Other studios, in addition to loose budgets, will not only offer high-dollar projects in order to win over Sandler, but will also come with generous sharing terms.
Daenerys obviously won't give it.
Then there are the publicity and distribution resources.
Because Daenerys Entertainment's projects are too dense, even if its platform is large enough, Adam still cannot get sufficient resources to participate in the film.
Just like "Tea Boy", if it can have a looser schedule and stronger publicity, it is very promising to break 100 million, but on Daenerys' side, she has to compete with "Collision" and "Gangs of New York" , "The Mummy 2" and other films gathered together.
Actually, some things are conceivable.
As Daenerys Entertainment continues to be strong, such as Adam Sandler's attempts to obtain better schedules and stronger publicity through other studios, it is still inevitable to be impacted.
Moreover, it is almost inevitable that other studios will continue to decline under the squeeze of Daenerys. Without this, Sandler's new film may not get as much resources as Daenerys, and may even be affected by Dany. Liz's targeted sniping, not Daenerys's side, although crowded, at least they will not deliberately target each other.
When it comes to business competition, Simon will not show mercy.
Of course, these things can only be understood by people themselves. Simon will not force it, and he has no time to force it.
On the other hand, it is not so easy to come back and continue cooperation after leaving. After all, Daenerys' resources are limited.
Simon thought this, and quickly said to the two women in the conference room: "Aniston is very good. In addition, Lena, you just said to create an adult "American Pie", and you can definitely use this gimmick for promotion next." "American Pie" is our own project and will not involve any infringement issues."
"Mary Mary" is really similar to "American Pie", such as all kinds of embarrassing things about sex, but one focuses on the adult world, and the other is the first taste of forbidden fruit for high school students. The joint promotion of the two, coupled with the popularity of Jennifer Aniston, will definitely achieve unexpected results.
We continued chatting like this for more than ten minutes, and the project was basically finalized.
It was past seven o'clock in the afternoon, and dusk outside the window had begun to fall. According to the prior arrangement, Simon naturally took the two girls to a mansion in Brentwood.
have dinner together.
Then, there are some arrangements that can be considered work in the evening.
Simon wants to watch the finished American version of Call Forward, which will be released on Valentine's Day.
This non-mainstream romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks, Rob Reiner and a group of Hollywood actresses began preparations at the beginning of last year. It was officially completed some time ago and has received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA.
Simon was just making final confirmation this time.
Speaking of which, similar to Adam Sandler, it is conceivable that Tom Hanks will not be too satisfied with the schedule of "Love Call Transfer" arranged by Simon. After all, the Valentine's Day schedule is not even as good as Easter, let alone Popular summer or year-end sales.
Fortunately, Simon has already given enough.
The final budget of this project reached 40 million US dollars, of which Hanks directly received 15 million US dollars in maximum salary without any share, plus another 5 million from Rob Reiner who also received no share, leaving the rest for other actors and actresses. The specific production cost of the project is also US$20 million.
Therefore, all the beauties in the film, no matter how big or small they are, receive only basic salary. However, during last year's casting stage, considering Simon's emphasis on this project, there were still many people flocking to it.
Anyway, if the two main creators have enough money, they will not consider accommodation in the schedule.
When watching the movie in the evening, compared with the Chinese version, the tone of the Hollywood version was obviously different, but it basically reached the level of style that Simon originally considered for the original "When Harry Met Sally". While the language was humorous, It makes people laugh and think at the same time.
In addition, some highlights of the Chinese version have also been retained. For example, the male protagonist was repeatedly sent to the hospital, and there was also a female doctor who saw through the world and emphasized, "You don't need to explain to me."
The female doctor here is also one Simon likes very much, Sheila Ward.
Finally, there is the theme song.
Simon directly asked people to write the lyrics based on the Chinese version of the original song "Love Transfer". The lyrics are also based on the Chinese version. Of course, they are not scripted. There are literal translations and intentional translations. Of course, there are some changes. The biggest change is that the male voice in the Chinese version is replaced by A new version of the female voice.
All in all, a perfect viewing for Simon.
So much so that the aftertaste lingers.
After a quiet explanation, after spending a wonderful night with Lena and Annika in Brentwood, after a busy Friday, they quietly flew to the seaside estate in San Lucas, Mexico in the evening.
Several heroines who watched the movie the night before, including 'Wonder Woman' Famke Janssen, Mexican girl Salma Hayek, Catherine Zeta-Jones who has signed a contract for "Chicago", good-looking Several actresses such as Jennifer Connelly, who was incredibly beautiful in her prime, had already arrived early.
Of course not.
For example, Sandra Bullock, who also participated in the film, has become more like a buddy after so many years, so it is definitely difficult to start with.
However, Sheila Ward, who once had wonderful memories, also appeared.
The woman has been married and divorced over the years, and although she is the mother of two children, she is still single.
As a result, Simon felt a bit hollowed out when he flew to the East Coast on Saturday morning.
So I decided to abstain from sex for a week.
After arriving on the East Coast, I got back to work on Sunday the next day, and of course, spending time with my woman and children.
The stock swap plan is moving forward quickly.
When Simon came to the East Coast this time, he personally participated in the signing ceremony of the first batch of large-scale replacement transactions, totaling US$7 billion. At this rate, it would be more than enough to complete the replacement share of US$100 billion in one year.
Furthermore, another major event in January is undoubtedly the official issuance of the euro on January 1.
For ordinary people, this matter seems to have no impact, but with the current size of the Westeros system, it is impossible to be calm. The teams at the Westeros corporate headquarters and Cersei Capital have recently been focusing on The euro is making some arrangements while quietly paying attention to the advancement of some major events.
For example, OPEC is negotiating with Russia on production cuts.
Of course Simon knew the outcome.
Or, someone who is a little more sensitive to current events can probably judge the outcome of the matter.
This negotiation will definitely end in breakdown.
In addition, there is the final review of the three countries Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary joining NATO.
The results are also predictable.
There is also the renewed tension in Kosovo.
All of these, on the surface, seem to have little connection, but upon closer inspection, they all have only one goal: to attack the euro.
After such a busy week, a new weekend arrived. Simon moved from Boston to Princefield, the city where the large-scale tokamak device involved in the 3G project is built, and then to New York. It was already January 17th.
It's another Sunday.
This time in previous years would have been the time for the Sundance Film Festival to be held. This year's Sundance is later, opening on January 21st, lasting for 11 days, and ending on January 31st. The planned Westeros villa party is still there, Simon will rush there on January 23, but this time he can only stay at Sundance for one day and one night.
East Hampton, Long Island.
In Linhai Manor in the southwest of the city, Chen Qing arrived by car, got off the car in front of the main villa, and ran into the villa in a hurry.
I couldn't help but think in my heart that I had given the woman in this manor the right gift.
My boss really liked it.
And there won't be any feeling of threat. After all, the eight women here, for obvious reasons, will not be able to stay with their boss for a long time, let alone go further.
There is a warm and comfortable living room on the first floor of the main villa.
When Chen Qing entered the door, she saw her boss reading a book, but she was surrounded by a hugging posture. On one left and one right were two of the tenderest little scallions, the two Xiangxiang Ruanruan sisters, and outside was the bank. Zhi Tinglan, the largest mulberry-picking brocade, was kneeling on the carpet at her feet, holding fruit snacks in her hands. Finally, the two Zhao Xi and Sixue were hugging each other on the coffee table, their postures were quite intimate and pleasing to the eye.
After glaring at the two sisters Zhao Xi and Sixue who wanted to make a move after seeing her, Chen Qing smiled and squeezed directly into her boss's arms. She curled up with her slender body, then grabbed the man's big hand and looked at the book. It turned out to be "Journey to the West" 》.
Just as he was about to say something, he saw a red mark on the shoulder of Hu Xiangxiang who was wearing a thin gauze dress next to him. He grabbed the little girl and took a look. It was a seal: Tianxiangnu.
I suddenly became interested.
Turning to the one on the other side, Hu Ruanruan also had a seal on his shoulder: Book-turning maid.
Two very charming little chapters.
I habitually flattered my boss, then I remembered and kicked the mulberry tree next to my feet: "Where's yours? Let me take a look?"
Facing Chen Qing's inquiry, the woman's eyes dodged, looking very embarrassed. However, this only made Chen Qing more interested. He forcefully pulled her over, forced her to explore, and finally found the target somewhere in the woman. This time, the seal These were the four words that made Chen Qing laugh and at the same time feel that her boss was too talented: It’s not early.