Nicole and Pai Kingsley came out of a restaurant after lunch, and received a call from Paula Wagner.
Although the sound quality of the Motorola microtac, which relies on analog signal transmission, is not very good, when Nicole and Paula Wagner talked, they could still hear the other party's tone of helplessness and loneliness.
Seeing Nicole hang up the phone, Pai Kingsley, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, asked, "Paula refused?"
Nicole hummed. Paula Wagner still chose Cruise this time, but Nicole was not discouraged. Although Paula Wagner gave up "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" for Cruise's production company, the relationship between the two parties has already A rift has arisen. If the next Cruise movie is a big success, everything is okay, but if things develop in the opposite direction, then the two sides will break up sooner or later.
"It's easy to understand. After all, Paula has worked with Tom for so many years, and between them..." Pai Kingsley shrugged and did not continue, but Nicole also knew that it was nothing more than the relationship between the agent and the actor. But based on Nicole's understanding of Cruise's character, Paula Wagner must have been accommodating Cruise between the two of them.
Nicole was also not interested in talking about these gossips with Pai Jinsili. She was about to call Eric to inform Eric of this matter, when Pai Jinsi + ∴, Li's cell phone rang.
"Hello, I'm Pai Kingsley... Paula," Pai Kingsley raised her eyebrows, glanced at Nicole beside her, and continued, "What can I do for you..."
After a few minutes, Pai Jinsili hung up the phone with a complicated expression, and stood there blankly. Paula Wagner called. Inform her that Tom Cruise is going to terminate her agent contract with her.
Nicole heard this too. Looking at Pai Kingsley's hair, she said, "Sorry, Pat, I didn't expect this to happen."
"It's not your fault, Nicole," Pai Kingsley quickly smiled with relief: "Actually, that's fine, I've always hoped to represent a few more artists, but I just signed you one more. He just In this way, it will be sooner or later that we part ways."
Nicole stepped forward to hold Pai Kingsley, and whispered, "How about I treat you to dinner again?"
"Okay, I don't blame you for this incident," said Pai Kingsley, who was several years older than Nicole. Seeing Nicole's appearance like a little girl, the original grudge in her heart disappeared: " Also, let me remind you that you have eaten enough just now. For the sake of your figure, I suggest you exercise for at least half an hour at night. Don’t pay attention to these things, many actresses do not pay attention to these things It’s the little details that make the figure slowly lose its shape.”
"I know, I know," Nicole nodded obediently: "So, what are you going to do this afternoon?"
"The contract between me and Cruise is still one and a half years away. He wants to terminate the contract unilaterally. Of course I have to discuss compensation with him," Pai Kingsley replied: "Also, I have already taken my fancy. I have hired a few good actors, since I am going to terminate the contract with Cruise, I just need to talk to them about the signing, hey, you won’t sign someone else like Cruise again, right?”
Of course Nicole didn't care. After Cruise left, she was Pai Kingsley's biggest trump card. Even if she signed someone else now, Pai Kingsley would put most of her energy into it for a long time to come. On myself: "Although you have signed the contract, if their acting skills are good, I can help you talk to Eric and get a few audition spots for roles, but it's just an audition, I'm not sure if they will succeed, It depends on their strength."
The audition quota obtained directly from Eric must involve large-scale production films directly operated by Eric Kuang. Although those commercial films limit the space for the actors to play, they are definitely an excellent opportunity to gain popularity. Therefore, Even the supporting roles in these movies have made many lesser-known second- and third-tier actors scratch their heads.
Hearing what Nicole said, Pai Kingsley would certainly not be polite: "Then it's settled."
"Of course," Nicole smiled, and leaned into Pai Kingsley's ear and said, "I'll tell you something secretly, but don't say it outside, you know about Jurassic Park, right?"
Pai Kingsley nodded, of course she couldn't have known about it.
"Eric said that all the actors in this movie can only get the minimum salary stipulated by the union, so, do you understand?"
Pai Kingsley's eyes flashed, and she quickly understood that actors can only get the union's minimum salary. This is a measure often taken by many well-known big directors in order to save the production budget, but there are very few directors in Hollywood who dare to make such a condition Not much, Eric is certainly qualified for this now.
However, since such a condition has been put forward, unless it is an Olympic film, those popular Hollywood first-line stars will not easily consider joining the film, so the opportunity is reserved for those second- and third-line actors.
Most of the popular stars in Hollywood already have a stable team of agents, and Pai Kingsley plans to sign those actors who are in the second and third tiers but have great potential. Nicole told her the inside story of this matter in advance, and Pai Kingsley could prepare ahead of her agency, and maybe get a few roles in "Jurassic Park".
"Thank you, Nicole," Pai Kingsley almost wanted to hug Nicole and kiss her hard. She had even made up her mind to temporarily put aside the wrangling of claiming compensation from Cruise. As soon as it's released, get the agent contracts of those actors as soon as possible, and concentrate on deploying for the role of "Jurassic Park".
Separated from Pai Kingsley, Nicole got into the car and sat in the driver's seat, feeling a little excited. The three women of tg film company formed a small circle around Eric, of course she was not willing to be alone like this. Now, that's a good first step, isn't it
…
"Since Paula Wagner gave up this position, I'll come in person," Eric said after getting the news from Nicole.
When Catherine Bigelow was filming "Point Scary", Eric had already served as a producer once. In fact, the work of a producer is not as mysterious as ordinary people think, most of the time. A producer is like a silk thread. It perfectly connects all aspects involved in film production. Apart from being cumbersome and requiring strong control, this job will not involve too profound things.
Moreover, unlike those independent producers in Hollywood who need to do everything by themselves, in Eric's position, he only needs to move his mouth for many things, and someone will get things done.
When Disney and Columbia, which co-developed "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", learned that Eric would be the producer himself, of course they also supported it. There is no long incubation period at all. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" soon entered the stage where the script had already been fully funded, and several teams also started the pre-screening of the film according to the requirements of the script.
As for the director, the invitation conveyed by Firefly through Golden Harvest was quickly passed on to Wu Baige. Although it was not a big deal for Hollywood, the news that Wu Baige accepted Hollywood's invitation to direct the film caused a sensation throughout Southeast Asia. The relevant news was reported on the front page for several days.
Hollywood has always been a dream destination for Hong Kong filmmakers or world filmmakers. Because of their racial advantages, it is much easier for filmmakers from Western countries to join Hollywood than Eastern filmmakers. Therefore, every oriental filmmaker who can make a name for himself in Hollywood will be favored by the locals.
therefore. This matter became surprisingly smooth. After Wu Baige accepted the invitation, he rushed to Los Angeles in mid-March. Because he attached great importance to this opportunity, although there were not many fist scenes in the movie, Wu Baige still He brought a martial arts team at his own expense.
The firefly photography base in Playa Vista is very close to Los Angeles International Airport. After Wu Baige got off the plane, Eric had someone bring him here directly.
"Hello, Mr. Wu, welcome to Los Angeles," Eric shook hands with Wu Baige at the gate of the studio base, and greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Mr. Williams, it's an honor to meet you too. I like your movies very much," Wu Baige said politely. Hong Kong is still a British colony, and many Hong Kong people don't even speak Mandarin. But most people speak English without any problem.
"Thank you, let me introduce. This is Mr. Stan Winston. He is an excellent special effects artist and the CEO of a digital special effects company. This is Robert Hudgens, the vice president of Columbia Pictures. This is the heroine of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Ms. Nicole Kidman, and this is my assistant, Alan Fishman..." Eric introduced them one by one, and Wu Baige shook hands with each other one by one.
After the introduction here, Wu Baige thought about it, but he still didn't introduce his followers. Compared with these Hollywood tycoons, he himself can only be regarded as a small person. Although the martial arts instructor he brought came from the Yuan family class in Hong Kong, But he couldn't get it out.
It was Eric who thoughtfully took the initiative to ask, and Wu Baige gave a brief introduction.
After exchanging pleasantries, Eric took Wu Baige and others into the studio base. Just after entering the park, everyone including Wu Baige showed surprise in their eyes. Compared with Hong Kong's simple The studio here can only be described as spectacular.
At the beginning, Eric set aside a full 100 hectares of land in Playa Vista. In addition to the studio, there are also a large number of supporting building facilities. Now the number of permanent employees in the studio base has exceeded 200 people. Count employees in the digital space.
"These we see are just regular studios. In addition, there are two virtual digital studios dedicated to shooting special effects scenes that are under construction and are expected to be put into use next year," said Eric himself. Watching Wu Baige and the others circle around, they walked into the office in the administrative building together.
At this time, only Nicole, Wu Baige, and the two assistant producers of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" were left by his side. After the Columbia vice president showed up, he left directly.
Stan Winston was simply a coincidence. After saying hello, he also returned to the office in the digital field to continue working. Although the special effects work of "Tornado" has ended, and the project of "Jurassic Park" has not started, but since last year's "End From the beginning of "The Man 2", he has been busy with the special effects film projects received by the digital field. Several assistants brought by Wu Baige were taken to the resettlement residence by Allen in advance.
"Mr. Wu, I still have a vacant villa in Beverly Hills. During the filming period, you can live there temporarily. If you need anything else, you can call my assistant. Of course, you can also contact me directly. .”
Wu Baige was obviously flattered. Before he came, he had obtained some information about Eric from Mr. Jiahe Zou, and he had also heard of some cases of discrimination against future generations in Hollywood. The courtesy to Eric , Wu Baige even felt a little uneasy: "Thank you, Mr. Williams, but let's talk about the movie, shall we?"
"Of course no problem," Eric nodded with a smile. He also felt Wu Baige's personal emotions. However, after a few years, he finally met a colleague from the other side. That's great, but it doesn't hinder his natural intimacy.
A complete script of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was handed over to Wu Baige. Because of the need for confidentiality, Wu Baige only read a simple story outline when he was in Hong Kong. Watching Wu Baige open the script, Eric said again: "Mr. Wu, you can read the script slowly in private, let's talk about the production idea of this movie first, you have read the outline of the story, you can Shall I tell you what you think first?"
"Okay," Wu Baige said, took out some documents that he had prepared a long time ago from his briefcase, handed a copy to Eric, and said, "Here are some of my thoughts, Williams Sir, you can take a look first."
Eric looked through and found that there were not many words in the document, and most of them were just sketches of shots. However, because of the ready-made movies in his mind, Eric quickly recognized the scenes involved in these sketches.
"According to my humble opinion, although this "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is an action movie, it is actually a metaphor for the marriage of men and women. Therefore, during the shooting process, I hope to use some external settings to imply that This point, for example, the villa where the two lived, I hope to focus on a simple and cold style, which symbolizes the estrangement between the hero and heroine, and the villa was eventually blown up, which is tantamount to the estrangement between the man and the woman. Disappeared, the emotional transition between the male and female protagonists in the movie also started from the scene where the villa was blown up.” (To be continued..)