Madonna's pursuit of Hollywood can only be described as a series of repeated failures.
Golden raspberries, it doesn’t matter.
It failed miserably at the box office, and it was the producers who lost anyway.
There are only a few positive reviews, such as a cameo in "Pulp Fiction", and the McQueen is not the key among them.
All in all, Queen McQueen, whose singing career has reached its peak, has always been obsessed with Hollywood.
The singer has recently been looking for a very large-scale project, "Naked and Shocked". The script tells the story of a woman who was accused of murder when her lover died during their love affair, and then was exonerated in court step by step.
Generally speaking, "Naked" is a mixture of "Basic Instinct" and "Presumed Innocent".
Needless to say "Basic Instinct", "Presumed Innocent" is a crime drama starring Harrison Ford two years ago: a prosecutor is accused of murdering his lover, and after going through ups and downs in court to exonerate himself , but eventually discovered that the murderer was actually his wife.
"Presumed Innocent" has a total North American box office of more than 86 million U.S. dollars. Compared with the production cost of 22 million U.S. dollars, it is also considered a dark horse at the box office.
Daenerys and MGM collaborated on "A Few Good Men" last year, which was roughly a follow-up to "Presumed Innocent".
"Naked" captures the femme fatale setting of "Basic Instinct" and the courtroom confrontation elements of "Presumed Innocent".
In the original time and space, there was a lot of movement in "Naked and Shocked", and Simon had a lot of memories because of it.
The selling point of this film is basically Madonna's passionate scene.
However, it turns out that the audience is not actually that interested in McQueen's nudity. The film, which had a budget of US$30 million, only recovered more than US$13 million at the box office.
"Maggie, I've read the script, but I don't quite understand. Apart from your personal large-scale participation, what else does this movie plan to use to attract the audience?"
Madonna noticed Simon's obviously not too interested tone and immediately said: "Simon, don't you think this script is very similar to "Basic Instinct"? Moreover, the film type is also a court crime film that has been very popular in the past two years."
"Okay, let's analyze it." Simon saw Madonna subconsciously leaning in front of him, raising her face as if she was going to get close to her. He took a step back and said, "The success of "Basic Instinct" lies largely in The controversy caused by the film, the highly intelligent heroine who manipulates the police, and this strong plot conflict are also a major selling point. "Presumed Innocent" was a hit because of the interlocking exciting plot and the final big twist of the film. Inversion. So, you see, these two movies, well, may have passionate scenes, but the audience did not buy tickets for the passionate scenes."
Seeing Simon's retreat, Madonna moved closer.
After divorcing Sean Penn and falling out with Warren Beatty, the Queen is now single.
"But, Simon, what you're talking about is all in Naked."
"Unfortunately, Maggie, some elements or existence are not obvious," Simon shook his head and said: "What I saw was that the heroine slept with all the key characters in the film, and finally asked them to help her escape the crime. , compared to Catherine in "Instinct", this is very inferior. Catherine is using her high IQ, desire is just desire, she is even using desire to put herself into a more dangerous situation, and confidently plays a heartbeat game with the male protagonist .”
"How about, Simon, you help me revise the script, or you can direct it yourself."
As Madonna said, she reached over with a small hand, hooked her index finger into Simon's suit pocket, and looked at her with obvious provocation.
Simon stopped retreating, watched Madonna's movements with interest, and said with a smile: "Maggie, I have a female companion tonight."
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who had been carefully holding Simon's arm, raised her chin slightly when she saw the man mentioning her, and looked at Madonna, who was also not very tall.
But Madonna just glanced at the girl and said directly: "Little guy, can you please leave Simon and me alone for a while?"
McQueen's aura was too strong, and her natural tone immediately made Sarah Michelle Gellar feel guilty, and she subconsciously looked at Simon.
Simon shook his head slightly at the girl, turned to Madonna, gestured to Sidney Pollack who was not far away, and said: "Maggie, Sidney and I still have something to talk about, and Daenerys doesn't intend to." You can talk to other people about the Naked and Shocked project.”
"What a pity." Seeing Simon's direct refusal, Madonna's tone became much colder and she stopped pestering her, but she still said with a resentful look in her eyes: "Besides, men are really unreliable. I didn't expect your taste to change so quickly."
After Madonna walked away, Simon led Sarah towards Robert Redford, Sidney Pollack and Barbra Streisand who were chatting.
The three old Hollywood stars all rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. The trio collaborated on "Days of Our Lives", one of the classic films of the 1970s. Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand also had a romance.
In addition, the three of them are also artists under CAA at this time.
After saying hello, Simon talked to Sidney Pollack about "Sugar-Coated Trap".
Sidney Pollack is the original director of "Sugar-Coated Trap". To be honest, Simon does not think Pollack is suitable for this kind of lawyer-themed suspense thriller. Pollack is famous for his famous movies "Out of Africa" and "My Lady". They all tend to be romantic films, especially "Days of Our Lives".
However, considering the veteran director's directing skills and original factors, Simon still extended an invitation to Pollack.
"Simon, I can serve as the director of "Sugar-Coated Trap", but I have one condition," Sidney Pollack also said simply and directly: "I must make the decision on the casting of the film."
Redford and Streisand are both human beings. When Pollack mentioned this, they both found an excuse and walked away.
Simon was equally cheerful and said: "Of course, West Germany, but the male lead has been decided. Apart from this, you can choose the others as you like, as long as they are within the budget."
"I know Daenerys has reached out to Keanu Reeves," Sidney Pollack said, "but, Simon, I don't think Keanu is a good fit."
Simon raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why?"
"Keanu is more suitable for comedy, but "Sugar-Coated Trap" is a very serious drama."
"Perhaps you should watch Keanu's "Point" last year. In this crime drama, Keanu plays a police officer. His performance has been widely recognized by critics."
"Okay, Simon, let's be honest, I want Tom Cruise to be the leading man in Sugar Trap."
Simon narrowed his eyes slightly, and the figure of Michael Ovitz suddenly appeared in his mind.
Sidney Pollack was one of the first veteran filmmakers to join CAA during its rise to prominence. In the 1980s, the two films "My Fair Lady" and "My Fair Lady" pushed Sidney Pollack's directorial career to its peak. "Out of Africa" are all packaged projects of CAA.
For this reason, Sidney Pollack was Michael Ovitz's biggest supporter.
During the 'Infantry' incident where Michael Ovitz clashed with the famous screenwriter Joe Ezzethas two years ago, Sidney Pollack was one of the few people who publicly expressed firm support for Ovitz in the media. One of the Hollywood filmmakers.
This time, Sidney Pollack obviously hopes to use the opportunity of "Sugar-Coated Trap" to get CAA's Tom Cruise out of the dilemma of being banned by Daenerys Entertainment.
Although CAA terminated its agency contracts with several filmmakers, in fact, probably out of compensation, Michael Ovitz has maintained very close contact with several people, and Simon just turned a blind eye to this.
After "Rain Man", the two commercial films "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Thunder" that Tom Cruise starred in in recent years have achieved box office success. However, because of the influence of Daenerys Entertainment in Hollywood With their strength further strengthened, major studios will inevitably have more scruples when cooperating with Barry Levinson, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.
Barry Levinson's "Bugsy," which should have been a favorite for Oscar nomination in 1992, disappeared directly. After Daenerys reached a cooperation with Paramount last year, this major studio that was originally closely linked to Cruise also Abandoning each other resulted in Cruise not having any movies released in 1991.
In fact, Simon hasn't said anything about not letting other studios work with the trio. Dustin Hoffman also participated in last year's "Captain Hawke" and Tom Cruise left Paramount. In partnership with Columbia Pictures, "Turbo" will also be released this summer.
On the surface, the careers of these filmmakers are actually quite normal.
Last year Dustin Hoffman participated in "Captain Hawke", and Peter Cooper also persuaded Terry Semel to come forward to speak out.
Simon was somewhat relieved at the time, but did not change a fundamental attitude: Daenerys Entertainment still would not cooperate with the three filmmakers.
Meg Ryan's "unlocking" also started with signing a film contract with Daenerys Entertainment. This is probably the reason for Sidney Pollack's request today.
Michael Ovitz should hope that Tom Cruise and Daenerys Entertainment will reach a cooperation, so as to send a signal to the outside world that Cruise and Daenerys Entertainment have completely reconciled, and to avoid the popular young actor from being involved in the system. The studio's concerns led to a decline in his career.
Simon did not show any dissatisfaction with Sidney Pollack's straightforward request. He just shook his head and said: "Sid, if you insist on this, I can only say that I am sorry. I hope we will have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future." .”
Seeing Simon's statement, Sidney Pollack suddenly became angry and said: "Simon, that incident has passed a long time ago. I don't understand why you are still holding on to it. You are already a big shot and you shouldn't be dealing with these things." Care about small things."
"West Germany, I have always believed that those who think that some people are 'big shots' and should be generous and proactively forgive is simply a kind of blackmail, a kind of blackmail of public opinion by the weak against the strong. For those who I don't want to forgive, it's very difficult for me to forgive them. I'm sorry, I don't forgive any of them. Also, I think I've been generous enough and I didn't target them directly. Until now, they are actually doing very well, right? So don't ask me for more. many."
After Simon finished speaking, he no longer waited for Sidney Pollack's response, raised his glass to the other party, and walked away.
Sarah Michelle Gellar has always been with Simon, from Madonna to Sidney Pollack, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford and many others at the party. They were all just elusive big shots. During the more than two hours of party time, the girl seemed to have entered another world.
It’s a bit incredible to think about.
Sarah's mother is a low-level actress. Because she has never been able to get ahead, she can only pin her hopes on her daughter. From the age of four, girls have been participating in various auditions. Being exposed to the vanity fair circle too early made Sarah appear more precocious than girls of the same age.
The role of Susan's daughter Julie in "Desperate Housewives" is Sarah's first significant regular role in a TV series in more than ten years. In addition, this project is said to be created by Westeros herself. Mother and daughter Both thought this would be Sarah's breakthrough.
Then, this afternoon, news suddenly came from the agency that the mother and daughter thought it was a joke at first. Westeros wanted to meet Sarah.
After repeatedly confirming that it was not a joke, Sarah clearly felt her mother's excitement and almost cried.
After Rosellen Gellar had a heart-to-heart talk with her daughter, WMA made some arrangements, and Sarah was sent to Simon this evening.
Simon left a party at Barbra Streisand's house shortly before ten o'clock, taking Sarah Michelle Gellar with him.
I originally felt that "Sugar-Coated Trap" did not completely match the style of Sidney Pollack. In the original time and space, the reason why this project was directed by Sidney Pollack was, in Simon's opinion, obviously another one from CAA. Package the project.
Michael Ovitz often cited diversity as a reason for letting directors accustomed to one style direct where the other had never ventured.
Many directors have their own style, so doing this seemed a bit random to Simon.
Moreover, what Michael Ovitz forcibly puts together is often a big-budget movie with a large budget, which inevitably leads to the failure of some blockbusters.
Because it can save studios a lot of energy, the project packaging mechanism is still popular in Hollywood, but Daenerys Entertainment is a very strong exception.
Unless Simon thinks it is really suitable, neither CAA, nor WMA nor ICM can force an entire team's package project into the hands of Daenerys Entertainment.
Since Sidney Pollack failed to negotiate, Simon decisively decided to choose another director.
It wasn't until he returned to Dume Point Manor that Simon, who had been thinking about something on the way, realized what was happening with the girl next to him.
Although she is young, Sarah Michelle Gellar obviously knew what was about to happen. Not only did the girl not show much stage fright, she even clumsily tried to tease the man next to her.