After his two-day trip to Silicon Valley and returning to Los Angeles, Simon's first focus was on movies.
Entering March, several films scheduled for Valentine's Day in February have basically been finalized. Two films have exceeded 100 million, a new version of "Crazy About Mary" starring Jennifer Aniston and "Butterfly" starring Meg Ryan. The new film "Embrace the Dawn", one with 110 million yuan, the other with 130 million yuan, and a 70 million-level B-level action movie "The Last Strike" starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, three movies, temporarily occupy the 2000 box office list.
The past is past, after all, there is no choice but more people still look forward.
In addition to the upcoming Oscar ceremony at the end of the month, one of the hottest news exposed in the Hollywood film circle in March is the official launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe plan.
The first-hand news was exposed by the Yigrit portal, after all, it is its own platform.
The exact time is March 7, portal headlines, Daenerys Entertainment officially established the Marvel Cinematic Universe preparatory team, which is affiliated with Marvel Entertainment and takes into account both Marvel Studios and Marvel TV. In other words, the Marvel Cinematic Universe , and may also be connected through TV series.
At the same time, through Ygritte's press release, the Marvel Cinematic Universe preparatory team also openly recruited talents from the industry.
Anyone who knows a little bit about recruiting troops will understand that the tendency is more to hype and build momentum. However, in just a few days after the news was released, the email address published online still received millions of emails, among which A large part of them hope to find a job in this big Marvel plan, even serving tea and water. Therefore, it can be seen that Marvel's influence is no less extensive than that of DC.
The outside world is bustling, but inside Daenerys, the planning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is orderly.
As for the main creative, Simon started making plans very early.
Such as Jon Favreau, such as Robert Downey Jr., such as the selection of Black Widow this time, such as the comic series planned to be reset in advance for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and so on. Including the 27-year-old Kevin Feige, once the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Simon has quietly taken Daenerys under his wing.
What's more, this time it's just a publicity announcement, which can be regarded as a definite reassurance to countless comic fans who have been looking forward to the Marvel superhero movie for a long time. This time it is real!
However, the actual release of the first film will definitely come after the completion of the two "Justice League" films.
Not only that, even if it is completely for his own benefit, this time, just like the DC movie universe plan that Simon continues to stretch, Simon also hopes to slow down the Marvel movie universe and not be too dense to affect the diversity of Hollywood movies. change.
After all, if only superhero movies are left in Hollywood, it may seem prosperous, but it will inevitably be simmering in flames, and decline is not far away.
The end of March is quickly approaching amid all the hubbub surrounding plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Daenerys Studios.
In the blink of an eye, March 24th came.
Friday.
The following Sunday will be the official day of the 72nd Oscars.
Regarding this Oscar, there is almost no suspense about "Chicago", which has recently exceeded US$240 million in domestic box office. Whether it is box office or word-of-mouth, or even the theme of the film itself, a musical, this is the mainstream Oscar-winning group of old white men. One of the best genre memories of the golden age, coupled with the strong public relations of Daenerys Entertainment, and the public expectation that there were no competitors at the same time, therefore, even if Daenerys has been too strong for several years in a row, this time, it is still Can't run.
Exclusive is exclusive. Even if Oscar wants to strike a balance, it cannot go against the trend.
What's more, both Hollywood and the majority of movie fans have gradually become accustomed to the strength of Daenerys Entertainment. Just like that long, long time ago, in the golden age, Hollywood was MGM, and the Oscars were also MGM.
Now, Hollywood is Daenerys, and Oscar is Daenerys.
it's common!
Malibu, Daenerys Studios.
Simon still has a busy schedule that is timed by the minute. In the same small conference room, starting at one o'clock in the afternoon, there are more than a dozen meetings in a row, including several remote video conferences, covering everything from movies, television, technology, politics, etc.
This went on until around six o'clock in the evening, the last production meeting.
Regarding the latest sequel in the "Alien" series, this is the sixth one, once titled "Prometheus", Simon has always preferred some consistency, so he added a prefix, "Alien: Prometheus". There were five people in the meeting, including Simon, producer David Giller, director Ridley Scott and two screenwriters who had already signed on.
This time we discuss the script.
Simon followed the story framework given by his memory of "Prometheus" in 2012. However, there are really many areas for improvement in the original story.
For example, in the overly lengthy opening chapter, the engineer alien drank black water and created humans after his body disintegrated. This plot can be retained as a wedge, but several protagonists such as Elizabeth, played by Noomi Rapace, explore ancient human ruins in search of aliens. The plot of human traces can be completely ignored. It is only connected in the main film through some pictures and other background introductions. The specific details can also be included in an extended version in the future.
There is also Meredith, played by Charlize Theron. Her aura in the opening scene makes people think that this is either the hero who saves the team at a critical moment or the ultimate villain of the film. However, , but the result was that he was crushed to death by an alien spacecraft in a rather anticlimactic manner. He died...
Likewise, Meredith's father, who pursues immortality, was slapped to death by an alien as a joke, completely failing to support the plot that the character should have.
Ordinary viewers may only find these awkward at first glance, but in Simon's opinion, in the script of "Prometheus", there should be proper arrangements for Meredith and his daughter. , movies from scripts to images have always meant too many changes, or insufficient budget, or insufficient creative skills, or in order to compress the time. In short, the final result is some plots that make people feel very awkward.
In the brand new script, Simon has made a lot of adjustments, directly combining the roles of the two former actresses, The Diamond and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, into one.
With the funding from her father, Meredith led the team to discover alien ruins on the earth, so she went a step further and set out to explore alien civilizations. But what she didn't know was that this was her father's desperate attempt to pursue immortality. Before reaching the final target, the planet where the Engineers are located, the team received a special signal and landed in advance on another planet where the Engineers' spaceship crashed.
So the story unfolds.
In the final ending, Meredith's father, who pursues immortality, was misled by surviving aliens into drinking black water, transforming into the ultimate alien villain. Meredith led the team to fight the villain, and finally seemed to win. Before hibernating, Suddenly, I realized that behind all this, there was another game, the biochemical man who had always been respectful and obedient, David.
But, it was too late.
With such changes, some seemingly redundant branch plots can be directly tied up. Moreover, deleting branches can also give more room for the action-thriller tone of this series to be used. In the end, David's darkening, just like before, planted the seeds for further sequels.
Not only that, it also gives the audience room to interpret why the Engineers created humans and why they destroyed humans, as well as the relationship between Meredith and her father, and the common patricide plot in Western classical stories. No matter how it is interpreted, compared to the pure horror and horror of the previous "Alien" series, it can be regarded as injecting some connotation into this IP and improving the style. This is also the goal that Simon has been pursuing from the beginning.
Busy until seven o'clock, return to Dumeijiao Manor, there are guests today.
Chen Qing brought Xiao Fuji to North America. They had dinner together in the evening and stayed here on weekends.
In fact, not only Chen Qing, but also several Chinese creatives from the "Everest" team came together today to attend Sunday's Oscars ceremony.
It’s just that the global box office reached 243 million U.S. dollars, which basically confirmed that "Everest" will win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature this time. Therefore, not only Zhang Guoshi, as a producer, took advantage of the "Chu and Han" trilogy in his busy schedule Taking time out from the filming, even Mr. Wang from Vanke, who participated in the original performance, came to join in the fun this time.
In addition, as an interlude of "Everest", "Life is Like a Summer Flower" has become one of the most widely sung Chinese songs in the West together with "Those Flowers" from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year. This time it also received an Oscar nomination. Of course, the live performance invitation is still the result of a little effort from the producer, but the fact that the Oscar organizing committee was able to agree to it also shows its affirmation of this documentary.
Therefore, although it feels a bit strange to win an award based on a documentary, and it is not purely domestically produced in China, there is still a big battle prepared on the other side of the ocean this time.
Beside the glass curtain wall of the Shell Villa, before dinner, Chen Qing, who was holding the little one in her arms, talked about the incident in general, and also mentioned a series of projects being prepared in China.
The first is the "Chu-Han" trilogy.
The project started shooting three parts in a row last year, and it has been more than half a year. Although there were some twists and turns, such as the crew having two accidents while filming the grand cavalry hedging scene, overall everything went smoothly.
Chen Qing also mentioned Zhang Guoshi. Because of this series, Zhang Guoshi has lost more than ten kilograms in the past six months and looks more like an old northwest farmer.
This time he came to North America to attend the Oscars. Zhang Guoshi originally planned to come back on Sunday due to time constraints, but he was persuaded by various parties to just relax a little and come on Friday in advance. Otherwise, many people would be a little worried about whether the other party's health would be able to Hold on until all projects are completed.
Then there are the several major projects that Jinshu Series is preparing. The first one, "My Motherland and Me" has started filming and is expected to be released by the end of the year. However, this one is more of a test of the waters. The core is the other three films, "Painted Skin", "Detective Chinatown" and "Detective Detective Dee: Dragon King".
Among them, "Detective Chinatown" is expected to start filming the earliest. The script has been basically completed and has entered the casting and location planning stage.
The other two films, because they are costume dramas and also involve special effects, will take longer to prepare, and the shooting start time is uncertain.
In addition to these blockbusters, there is also a new documentary project "Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon" following "Everest". The project is also in the preparation stage. Jiang Mi, the big goblin vase next to Simon, and other members who are expected to participate in the filming have recently begun to For training on this project, the team also invited a professional geological exploration team to enter the canyon to prepare for the filming of the documentary.
After all, this documentary is just a show, not something you just jump in with a blind eye.
Having said that these are in preparation, next is Zhou Xingxing's "Kung Fu".
The later stages of this project have also been progressing steadily. Simon is personally paying attention to it. Needless to say, it will definitely not delay the release this summer. Moreover, in China, considering the summer vacation time, it will be released earlier. The reason why North America releases In the latter part of the summer season, it is also to avoid competition from mainstream Hollywood blockbusters.
Finally, I also talked about the Lunar New Year stalls in China that have been completed for a long time.
"That movie "Ruyi", boss, still remembers it?" Chen Qing asked, seeing her boss nodding, he continued: "It will be released on January 28th. It has been postponed for a month. It happens to be released in the next few days. Boss Guess what the final box office was?”
During the conversation, a certain little one had been transferred from Chen Qing's hands to Simon's arms.
The little girl who is less than five months old does not recognize her birth. She is sitting on the lap of her father, whom she has never seen before. Her beautiful eyes even take the initiative to look up at the person holding her, although she clearly shows that Simon wanted to return to his mother's arms, but he didn't let go, but he didn't cry or make trouble.
While teasing the little guy in his arms, Simon said casually: "260 million?"
Chen Qing paused and said, "Old Bian, do you know?"
"yes."
Simon has always been paying attention to China, not to mention this unexpectedly super-selling New Year's film. These days, Simon has taken the time to watch both sides.
I have to say that the biggest reason for the film's success, in Simon's opinion, is that it is a truly outstanding film with a fairly complete and dramatic story. For example, in the main plot conflict, both the male and female protagonists are named 'As one wishes'.
On this basis, the participation of Zhao Heitu and Uncle Feng is the icing on the cake.
When Chen Qing saw her boss nodding, she probably understood, and didn't say anything more. She just said, "Anyway, China Film Group is very happy during this time, and we are also happy too. Everyone is relieved."
There was a smile in Chen Qing's tone, and of course Simon understood it.
The biological child is still the eldest son. If he is not promising enough, the parents may complain, but more likely, they will be angry.
Now, everyone is happy.