Ever since receiving a call from the Firefly Group yesterday evening, Ted Elliott has been in an uncontrollable state of excitement.
When I woke up early in the morning, I just confessed to my wife, then hurriedly cleaned up, and drove to a coffee shop near my home.
Terry Rossio and their agent, Matt Gilson, are already waiting here. Ted Elliott just walked into the coffee shop and sat down opposite the two. Matt Gilson said: "Ted, things have changed."
Ted Elliott's heart skipped a beat, but before he had time to show his worried expression, Matt Gilson quickly added: "It's not what you think, it's just that I just received a call from Firefly. Our meeting place has been changed to Culver City, and the time has been postponed to eleven o'clock in the morning."
Ted Elliott breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it was confirmed that Eric Williams wanted to see them, let alone Culver City, it would be fine to let them fly to the east coast.
Without asking why the meeting place was temporarily changed, Ted Elliott ordered a breakfast from the waiter who came over, and then said to the two people in front of him: "Terry, Matt, I thought about it last night. All night long, I felt like, no matter what, we should have gotten this chance to work with Eric Williams instead of just looking at how much this script would sell for."
Terry Rossio and Matt Gilson are not short-sighted people, otherwise, they would not be able to resist the money offensive of major Hollywood film companies during this period.
Hearing what his friend said, Terry Rossio nodded and said, "Ted, I was talking about this issue with Matt just now. Since Eric Williams liked this script, although I don't want to admit it, But how to make this film, whether the script needs to be revised, which directors and actors should be selected, these ideas are all in Eric Williams' mind. We may sell the script to other film companies, and we may be able to make a lot of money immediately. A lot of money, but if the movie ends up doing mediocre at the box office, it won't help our cause."
Matt Gilson also interjected: "Also, we'd better ask Eric Williams to direct the script himself. If "Pirates of the Caribbean" can become a movie with a global box office of 1 billion US dollars, you two will immediately You can be promoted to the top screenwriter in Hollywood."
The words of the two made Ted Elliott relax, nodded, and made a joke following Matt Gilson's words: "You can also become the agent of two gold medal screenwriters."
…
In the first half of the 20th century, there were two famous "Hoovers" in American politics.
Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was unlucky. During his tenure, he happened to encounter the most famous era of the Great Depression in American history.
John Edgar Hoover, the founder of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), compared with Herbert Clark Hoover, John Edgar Hoover's life can be called a master.
The first director of the FBI, who founded the FBI by himself, was in office for 48 years. During this period, the United States changed eight presidents. Fears that the inhumane privacy might be exposed, none of the eight presidents dared to ask for the removal of the FBI director of the other side, some people who jumped out against John Edgar Hoover, without exception, would be ruined , or be imprisoned.
It can be said that John Edgar Hoover has been a powerful and uncrowned king in the United States for 48 years by using the huge intelligence monitoring network in his hands to monitor the entire United States and the world.
It was not until John Edgar Hoover died in the position of FBI director in 1972 that someone finally dared to say, "A sad and dangerous era has finally left us."
After John Edgar Hoover, the U.S. Congress immediately enacted a bill limiting the term of the FBI director to no more than 10 years, and then the heads of other U.S. intelligence agencies were basically limited to this period.
However, although John Edgar Hoover, the uncrowned king, passed away, he left a political legacy to the entire American political circle that made it difficult for everyone to resist the temptation-surveillance.
John Edgar Hoover used the powerful intelligence network built by the FBI to make all the later American politicians have lingering fears. At the same time, he also realized that if he had such an intelligence network, if he could monitor his competitors and even cooperate with him at any time. If they don't make every move of their partners, they will be absolutely invincible in the political struggle.
So, in the following many years, we saw the 'Watergate Incident', saw the 'zipper door', saw the 'prism door'.
And much more, the eyes that peek at the whole world in the dark that ordinary people will never know.
Although everyone knows that the federal government is conducting intelligence monitoring work all the time, almost all federal government departments will become secretive when talking about related topics. However, Hollywood has no scruples about this subject matter.
"Public Enemy" is a film that explores the impact of the pervasive surveillance network in the United States on society.
Robert Dean, a successful lawyer in Los Angeles, is currently working on a gangster extortion case while preparing for the upcoming Christmas.
He bought the candid videotape of the gang leader from a friend and former lover of his, and successfully forced the other party to compromise on the case in his hands. But while shopping for Christmas presents for his wife, he ran into an old friend who slipped a videotape into his handbag and hurried off.
Robert Dean didn't know the old man's small actions, but later saw the old man die suddenly on the road.
However, as soon as he felt sorry for the deceased, Robert Dean found that his life suddenly fell into endless trouble.
His residence was ransacked by 'thieves', and the photos of meeting his 'ex-lover' were inexplicably exposed by the media. His family was on the verge of collapse, he was expelled from the company, his credit card was cancelled, and a group of unknown people launched a hunt for him.
When there is no way to go to the sky and no way to go to the ground, he is even more horrified to find that the watches, pens, shoes and even the buttons of his coat that he used to carry with him have all been bugged, and his every move is hidden in a certain place. under the surveillance of some people.
All of this stems from the video tape that inadvertently recorded another shocking assassination scandal.
Eric planned to rest at home for a day on Saturday, but when he learned that the crew of "Public Enemy" would still be filming in Culver City today, he decided to come to visit the set temporarily and learn about the filming progress of the film.
"Public Enemy" is filming some exterior chase scenes, and the crew needs to close two streets in Culver City for three days, and today happens to be the third day. Shooting on the closed streets of Los Angeles is by no means an easy task. Therefore, even though it was Saturday, the crew of "Public Enemy" continued to work without hesitation to pay high overtime pay.
In the rest area of the production team at the exit of the street, Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of "Public Enemy", is introducing the filming status of the film to Eric: "It is about half completed now. According to the current filming progress, this film is 10 It can be finished at the end of the month, plus three months of post-production, although the time is a bit rushed, but it will not delay the Easter schedule next year, and the post-production will be crossed with marketing, and there is enough time for publicity."
Since it is planned to be released on Easter next year, "Public Enemy" is completely a super green light project of the Firefly Group. In addition, a lot of work has been prepared for several years in advance, and the filming progress of the film is also very fast.
Speaking of it, Eric is not satisfied with this script, the story has too many branches, and it is even more suitable for making into a TV series, which does not conform to the pattern of conventional Hollywood blockbuster high-concept movies.
However, on the other hand, the story completion of this script is very high. Although the plot branches are a bit messy, they are interlocking, and there are not many redundant details. In Hollywood, there are not many such perfect scripts, so Eric agreed to this project at the beginning.
Although Jerry Bruckheimer's filmmaking is a bit too expensive, the quality is still guaranteed under the circumstances of the big duty.
Eric looked at the shooting scene on the street ahead, and after listening to Bruckheimer's brief introduction, he said, "Next year's Easter schedule is a very important warm-up for the Firefly Group, so if you have any questions, you can Contact me anytime, including Jeffrey. Also, Jerry, did you read the script for the pirate movie I sent you?"
"Of course, I've actually seen it before you passed it on to me." Jerry Bruckheimer laughed and said, "It's so lively recently, how could I not pay attention to it, I just wanted to ask you what happened It does. Still, the stakes for a costume pirate flick seem a bit high to me."
"Don't talk about risks," Eric sat sideways on the backrest folding chair, looked at Bruckheimer, and said, "Are you interested in this project?"
Jerry Bruckheimer did not answer, but asked instead: "Have you got the script?"
"The screenwriter will come over later," Eric said, "It's not difficult to get this script, but I want you to be in charge of this movie."
Jerry Bruckheimer's expression became serious, and he recalled the script he had read, saying: "Although there are some bright spots, overall, this script still seems a bit mediocre."
Eric said: "I just pay more attention to the fantasy plot setting. In terms of the script, I will personally be responsible for the overhaul."
Jerry Bruckheimer crossed his legs, twitched his fingers on his knees for a while, and said, "In this case, what should Michael do? If his next project and this movie come together, I'm worried that he won't be able to take care of it." .”
"It won't be so early," Eric shook his head, and said, "It will take about a year to prepare for this project, and the official launch will have to wait until at least the next year. The time should be staggered."
Jerry Bruckheimer nodded with a smile: "Then I'm fine. By the way, Michael is discussing an idea with a few screenwriters recently, probably about a comet hitting the earth."
Eric knew that this should be Michael Bay's "Peerless Catastrophe".
After all kinds of heroes, American oil workers are finally going to save the world.
Noticing the odd look on Eric's face, Jerry Bruckheimer explained: "I know the idea overlaps with Firefly's Clash a few years ago, but Michael said he's going to use some other movie. Style and shooting ideas. In fact, we have provided Michael with a bunch of scripts to choose from, and he didn’t like them, so, Eric, if you don’t like this script, he may have to take this project to other movie company."
After "The Day After Tomorrow", Michael Bay has completed the three film contracts he signed with Firefly, and he himself has also been promoted to a top Hollywood director. The cooperation between the two parties at this time is basically based on the tacit understanding and inertia brought about by the previous films. If Firefly rejects the project in the hands of Michael Bay, with the momentum brought by Michael Bay's consecutive successful commercial films, several other major Hollywood film companies will definitely rush to take over.
"If the script is suitable, let's shoot it," Eric said after thinking for a moment, "It's impossible for Hollywood to only have one disaster movie about a comet hitting the earth."
"I think so too," Bruckheimer nodded and said, "Also, it has been five years since "Clash of Heaven and Earth". For Hollywood, five years is enough to offset the impact of a movie with overlapping genres. Speaking of it , Eric, there is another thing, recently a German film company contacted me to help matchmaking, asking if it is possible to get the production rights of the sequel of the "Terminator" series."
Eric did not refuse immediately, but asked, "Do they have any ideas for the script?"
"Not yet," Bruckheimer said: "They may not have any expectations. After all, Cameron has publicly stated that the "Terminator" series is over, and, even if it is a restart, such a project, I want to come to you You won’t allow outsiders to invest in the market, will you?”
For Hollywood hits at the box office, series endings are basically a joke, and Hollywood doesn't mind making a hundred sequels in a row as long as it's profitable.
However, unless there is a script that can make Eric feel refreshed, otherwise, Eric really has no idea of restarting the "Terminator" series in a short time.
The former "Terminator" series, after the first and second films directed by Cameron himself, basically fell into a circle of thinking, that is, repeatedly traveling through time and space to save people, and saved Sarah Connor. John Connor, after saving the childhood John Connor came to save the adult John Connor, the first two films that Cameron was in charge of were okay, but the sequel continued Cameron’s routine, but the director Without Cameron's skill, it is destined to become more and more mediocre
At the same time, cost is also a big problem.
In memory, Schwarzenegger's fixed salary in "Terminator 3" took 30 million US dollars, and it is said that there will be follow-up dividends. The total cost of the film has also reached a terrifying 200 million US dollars. "Terminator 3" The global box office of the movie is only a little over 400 million US dollars, and the producer is absolutely at a huge loss at the box office, and can only barely recover some of the cost through the follow-up video tapes and peripherals, which is a hard-earned money.
It can be said that "Terminator 3" is completely a typical film company's "working" for Hollywood big names.
Firefly's own high-quality projects can't be developed, and Eric is naturally not willing to be taken advantage of.