The general direction of the Secret Agent movie universe was finalized, and then came the details.
The first is the creative team.
Among the five major IPs, the one with the oldest qualification and the highest gold content is currently the 007 series. The leading actor in the two recent 007 films is Pierce Brosnan, and both films were quite successful at the box office. However, in order to ensure that there will be no changes in the huge movie universe plan that will last at least ten years, even if Brosnan's salary has increased due to the success of the two films, a long-term contract still has to be renegotiated.
The negotiations did not go well.
This is also the reason why Pierce Brosnan was not invited to this meeting.
In previous successive contacts, Brosnan not only demanded a maximum salary of US$15 million for each subsequent film, but also created a generous share clause. Not only that, the other party also demanded considerable creative leadership. This This is something Simon cannot accept at all.
The main creator's request for creative leadership often means that the entire series will inevitably have the other party as the absolute core in the future. Any character who threatens the other party's status in the series may be excluded and eliminated. The main creator may even become the entire series. An obstacle to plans for a major cinematic universe.
The most typical one is, of course, a certain 'familyman'.
When Paul was still alive, the family man wanted to break his head with him. Paul died in a car accident. Inexplicably, "for Paul" became his mantra. He shouted "we are family" every day, and then added any one of the words "family" to the winner. Characters who pose a threat to him are squeezed out, and the result is that the entire Fast and Furious series becomes increasingly boring.
Simon would never allow this kind of shit to happen in his own movie series.
Therefore, when Barbara Broccoli said that there was still no progress in negotiations with Pierce Brosnan, Simon made a decisive decision and replaced him.
It is conceivable that this decision will inevitably face opposition from movie fans, but this is often the case in Hollywood. Whether it is Batman or James Bond, they object before the replacement, but after the replacement, they are often 'really good', and then firmly oppose it. One substitution.
Of course, it was not the brain that made this decision.
First of all, Pierce Brosnan is about to turn 50. In terms of physical strength, it is somewhat doubtful whether he can sustain himself for another 10 years. Therefore, Simon hopes to change to an actor who is in his prime between 30 and 40 years old and can sign a 10-year contract at one time.
Furthermore, after the replacement, it happens to be able to cooperate with the entire Agent Cinematic Universe plan and carry out a completely new reboot, so that the subsequent new series will be more in line with the storyline of the entire cinematic universe.
Of course, considering Brosnan's high popularity, this decision is not without risks, but it is also a risk that must be taken.
Not only the 007 series, but also several other series such as Charlie’s Angels and Mission: Impossible. In addition to the Fast and Furious series that is still in the pipeline, the main creative agreements of various other IPs will be renegotiated to a certain extent.
The angel trio is less of a problem, because starting from the bottom part, Simon plans to introduce a new angel alternative.
Therefore, if you are unwilling to sign a long-term contract, the result will only be that you will be replaced.
Nicolas Cage has been suppressed by Simon intentionally or unintentionally in recent years. The Mission: Impossible series, which is his signature series, has been delayed again. In order to turn around, this time a follow-up agreement has been finalized.
For Matt Damon, signing a long-term contract is directly the condition for participating in The Bourne Supremacy last year, and there is no problem.
Vin Diesel simply ignored the final Fast and Furious movie.
This thing is so noisy, not only the various Fast and Furious series, but also after the success of Xx, they also set various conditions for the sequel, and if they failed, they would just give up.
Of course Simon can easily crush the opponent, but there is no need to bring changes to the entire plan.
So Dwayne Johnson is being approached.
Speaking of which, Dwayne Johnson, who has become famous in the sports world very early, was actually born in 1972 and is only 28 years old this year.
Ten years later, he was only 38 years old.
Just the right age.
Of course, it doesn't matter if the negotiation can't work out, Hollywood is in no shortage of big men.
In addition, Paul Walker can be used again.
The actor is also currently working in Hollywood and is not very famous. Moreover, interestingly speaking, Paul was born in 1973, only one year younger than Johnson, and is twenty-seven this year. However, due to different personal images, one is destined to be a tough guy, while the other is still involved in campus horror movies, and is the kind of brainless quarterback of the school football team who is often killed first.
In the plan, the Fast and Furious series will still be dominated by two male protagonists in the early stage, and new characters will be continuously introduced during this period. What is different from the past is that the new characters introduced this time can intersect with other major IPs, such as the young character in 007 Versions of Dr. Q, such as Ethan Hunt’s partners, or the professional killers who were sent to hunt down Jason Bourne.
Of course, characters from the Fast and Furious series can also make guest appearances on each other.
Until the end, the major protagonists intersect, forming a grand fusion of the spy movie universe.
Just like the superhero universe, the biggest benefit of this crossover strategy is that it can not only increase the interest of the film and bury various easter eggs, but also reduce to a large extent the risks caused by possible changes in the series' creators to the movie universe plan. .
After all, once the entire series unfolds, there will be a situation where no one is indispensable. Even if it is the core of the five major IPs, if it does not cooperate with the advancement of the entire movie universe, it will be replaced.
The meeting at Fox Studios lasted from one o'clock in the afternoon to four o'clock in the afternoon, three hours.
The meeting ended and most of the others left, but Simon stayed on.
The rest of the afternoon will be spent looking at the Bourne Identity dailies that are in post-production here.
Shirley Lansing accompanied Simon to the post-production operation center of the studio before leaving to continue her work. Simon was surrounded by several girls in addition to the Bourne Identity director Paul Greengrass who had just attended the meeting.
Lena Kane brought Amy Acker, and one of the angel trio, Meichen Amic.
Lina and the two followed, and the reason was quite legitimate.
Lena is Paul Greengrass' agent, and Amy Acker is one of the heroines of The Bourne Supremacy, playing the role of Nicole, the former trainee female agent of Julia Stiles.
Another Bourne girlfriend, Mary, was also handed over by Lena to another actress under her own name, Jessica Chastain.
The model worker was originally positioned as a strong woman. She had previously worked well with Harrison Ford in Public Enemies. However, she chose this role just to avoid being stereotyped on the screen.
Meichen Amick looked like she wanted to contact Simon.
As long as the girls don't affect their work, Simon has no problem with it.