"Simon, Willem Dafoe is really good, but don't you think he's better suited to play the Joker than the Black Mask?"

In the conference room of Daenerys Entertainment HQ, the morning audition has ended, and Simon and several creators of "Batman" are discussing the final selection of Roman Siannis in the Black Mask.

Speaking at this time was Joe Silvo, another producer of "Batman".

Joe Sylvie is also one of Hollywood's top producers, and in the original time and space, the "Matrix" series was the pinnacle of Joe Silvo's production. At just 36 years old, Joe Sylvo has already made a name for himself with "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon."

Simon is the first producer of "Batman," but he also needs a deputy to coordinate the film's personnel, finances, and venues. Joe Sylvao, who had just formed a good relationship with Warner with the Lethal Weapons series, was introduced.

"Joe, it's enough for William to play Black Mask. As for the Joker, I would rather find an actor who can show the evil temperament of the character in his bones, not just the bad face of a natural villain like William. ”

Willem Dafoe's most famous character is probably the villain 'Green Goblin' in the Spider-Man series. But now, Dafoe is just 33 years old, and he is not the appearance of a wrinkled uncle many years later, and he can even be said to be a little handsome. Over the years since his debut, Willem Dafoe has worked with great directors such as William Friedkin, Tony Scott, and Oliver Stone, and his acting skills and qualifications meet the requirements of Black Mask.

Moreover, if you don't count a small role that was cut out in "Heaven's Gate", Willem Dafoe's first feature film is called "Ruthless", and the director is Catherine, and "Ruthless" is also Catherine's first feature film.

That's why Hollywood is so small.

Simon's choice of Willem Dafoe to play the Black Mask actually has a reason for Catherine.

A big production involving an investment of $50 million, the casting is not just suitable, but also must ensure that the actors do not have vices, do not play big names, and can get along well with other main creators in terms of personality, etc., which is why many directors are used to using actors they are familiar with.

Simon had previously called Catherine to ask about some situations outside of Willem Dafoe's performance, and only after the woman's confirmation did he rank the other party as the first choice for Black Mask.

The discussion continued for a moment, and since Simon insisted, the role was completely decided.

The afternoon was Director Gordon's final audition, which began at two o'clock.

After the meeting was dismissed, everyone left for lunch, Simon and Joe Sylvou whispered about some of the details of the preparation of the film, and walked out of the conference room together, where Jennifer happened to come over with another small white man with black-rimmed glasses.

Simon saw Jennifer and the two and stopped and said to Joe Silver, "So, Joe, we'll see you in the afternoon." ”

Joe Silverie knew that Simon had other things to do, smiled and nodded, and didn't forget to say hello to Jennifer before walking away.

When Joe Silvo walked away, the man with glasses stepped forward, held out his hand to Simon, and said, "Hello, Mr. Westeros, I'm Ella Deutchman." ”

"Just call me Simon," Simon shook hands with the other party, and seeing that he was still carrying his briefcase, he said, "If there is nothing important, let Jenny keep it for you, let's go to lunch." ”

"Oh, of course," said Ella Deutchman, handing her briefcase to Jennifer, "I'm sorry, Miss Raybould." ”

Jennifer smiled and took the other party's briefcase, but leaned over and whispered to Simon, "Mr. Rem is online." ”

Simon made a gesture of invitation to Ella Deutchman and said to the female assistant, "Turn to the car phone, I'll talk to him on the way." ”

Jennifer nodded, Simon took Ella Deutchman downstairs, and Neil Bennett had the car ready.

The two got into the car, and without Simon's instructions, Neil Bennett headed for his destination, and Simon gave Ella Deutchman a waiting look, picked up the car phone and talked to Robert Rem about the results of his contact with MGM.

After a morning of haggling, MGM finally agreed to give up the North American distribution rights to "Rain Man" for $5 million, with the demand that he get his check by Friday. Amy and Rem both expected $5 million to redeem the rights to Rain Man, but Simon was overjoyed by the price, and he immediately agreed.

On the phone, Robert Rehm also asked if he wanted to postpone the release of "Rain Man", and the circle is now very unoptimistic about "Rain Man", and it is not easy to raise the screen temporarily. Daenerys Entertainment's distribution department is running full swing on Scream, Steel Magnolia, and Dead Poets, and the temporary addition of Rain Man is sure to disrupt the team's established work rhythm. Moreover, postponing "Rain Man" can also avoid it from competing with "Dead Poets Society", which also belongs to the Christmas file.

Simon didn't agree to Robert Rehm's suggestion this time.

The trend of public opinion about "Rain Man" in the media is not satisfactory, and if Daenerys Entertainment announces the postponement of the film, the film's 'bad movie' image in the hearts of the media and the audience will be completely confirmed. Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment not only could not postpone, but also spared no effort to launch a promotional offensive for the film.

When Simon put down the phone, the Range Rover was already parked in front of a restaurant.

Simon led Ella Deutchman into the dining room, and the two sat down, and he began to look at each other.

Ira Deutschman is 35 years old, but she looks young and has a bookish air. His name sounds somewhat feminine, but in reality, this Ella is 'Ira' instead of 'Elle', and while 'Ira' is equally unisex, in Hebrew, 'Ira' is more of a boy's name. Deutchman, apparently another Jewish surname.

Ella Deutchman is exactly what Simon is looking for these days for Gordon Pictures.

Ira Deutschman, a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, has a deep connection with Hollywood, and has been involved in the distribution of a film by Hollywood's famous lone director John Kasowitz as early as her college students.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Ira Deutchman joined Luen Mei Pictures, a classic subsidiary of Luen Mei Pictures, which focuses on literary films.

Luen Mei Pictures was acquired by MGM due to the box office fiasco of "Heaven's Gate", and the United Artists classic was disbanded, and Ella Deutchman founded New Film Company in 1983 with several other partners, also focusing on the field of literary films.

Released three years ago, "A Room with a View," starring Daniel Day Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter, earned more than $20 million at the North American box office at a production cost of $3 million and won three out of eight at the Oscars that year.

The company is still in operation, but Ella Deutchman has recently been ostracized by several partners and forced to quit the company she founded.

In the original time and space, Ira Deutchman joined Jiaxian Pictures, a subsidiary of New Line in the field of literary films, in the following years. It's just that New Line Pictures hasn't invested too many resources in this area, and Good Line Pictures is far from being able to compare with Miramax. However, Ella Deutchman was also active in Hollywood for many years to come.

The two ordered a meal, and when the waiter left, Simon asked Ella Deutchman, "Have you seen Michael Hoffman's "Sisters", how do you feel?"

Although Simon is many years younger than him, Ella Deutchman is inevitably a little nervous. It was an interview, he knew it, and he really wanted to get the job.

Because he was recently kicked out of the company, which is somewhat of a loser stain, Ella Deutchman originally thought that Simon would be the first to ask this question, but he didn't expect him to mention it.

According to the appointment, Ella Deutschman had arrived at Daenerys Entertainment headquarters at nine o'clock in the morning, but did not see Simon for the first time, but was arranged to go to the screening room to watch a film, which is the new film of Michael Hoffman, a literary film director who has emerged in Hollywood in recent years, called "Sisters".

Since Simon asked about this, Ella Deutchman also cheered up and said, "Very good movie." Through a festive journey of the male protagonist, the director shows his perception of life, love and desire. At the beginning and end of the film, Sandro Botticelli's famous painting "Spring" is very cleverly arranged, and the three goddesses of beauty in the picture are part of "Spring", they represent all the good things in the world, and hint at human desires. ”

After listening to Deutschman's explanation, Simon asked, "So, how much do you think this film will get at the box office?"

This was another surprising question, and Ella Deutchman was stunned, he didn't expect Simon to be so blunt. After a moment's deliberation, Ella Deutchman replied, "If you leave it to me, you should be able to get about $5 million." ”

Simon was noncommittal and asked, "Tell me about your marketing ideas." ”

"It's a niche film, but it's not boring, and the target audience should be young people between the ages of 16 and 22," Ella Deutchman said, thinking, "As a first step in distribution, I'm going to send this film to next year's Sundance Film Festival. If I can have a publicity budget of $500,000, I can arrange about 20 screens, and put advertisements on some literary and artistic print media, and then adjust the scale of the screening according to the box office. One of the heroines in the film, Jennifer Connelly, will become an important promotional point for it, Connelly's image of Deborah as a teenager in "Once Upon a Time in America" has left a very deep impression on many people, and she will definitely be able to attract a part of the audience to the theater. ”

Simon patiently listened to Ella Deutchman's words, shook his head unceremoniously, and said: "This is a very orthodox and conservative method of literary film distribution. I'm sure you're doing this by sheer luck, and there's a good chance you'll not get the $5 million you're predicting at the box office, and you'll be lucky if you have $1 or two. ”

Ella Deutschman's expression flashed with some sneer, and he didn't think the film would get $5 million either.

Seeing that Ella Deutschman didn't speak, Simon paused for a moment and suddenly asked again, "Ella, do you like movies?"

"Of course," Ella Deutchman nodded without hesitation this time, "Simon, I've been involved in film distribution since I was 19 years old, and if I didn't like movies, I wouldn't have been in this industry for so many years." ”

Simon nodded and said, "You must already know the purpose of our meeting this time. But actually, I would rather find someone who doesn't like movies that much. ”

Ella Deutchman was surprised again: "Simon, I don't quite understand. ”

"It's very simple," Simon said, "if you like movies, you will instinctively judge the quality of a film in your heart, and you will have more obvious personal tendencies." For example, if you don't like a film, you may become negative because of it. If you don't think this movie will sell too well at the box office, then you may not have enough motivation to release this movie again. ”

Ella Deutchman subconsciously said: "Simon, I won't be like this"

Simon raised his hand towards Ella Deutchman and continued, "Conversely, if you don't like movies that much, movies can become very pure commodities in your eyes. When you get a film, the first thing you think about is how to sell it, how to sell it at a higher box office. ”

Ella Deutschman argued: "Simon, of course I love movies, but at the same time, as you just said, I will do whatever it takes to sell a movie, and my thirteen years in Hollywood are proof of that. ”

Simon looked at Ella Deutchman and said, "In that case, if you give you a minute and come up with a plan, how can you make "Sisters" get a higher box office?"

Ella Deutchman thought about it for a moment and quickly said: "Aside from the literary nature of this movie, we can market it as a youth comedy." A boy is torn between three girls, maintaining an ambiguous relationship with them at the same time, and what is even more tempting is that these three girls are still sisters, just this gimmick is enough to attract many audiences into the theater. ”

Simon raised his hand and snapped his fingers, "Look, you've always been very aware of this in your heart, but because of your inner morality, business ethics, or out of respect for the movie, you didn't express it just now." But that's what the audience wants to see. We all know that Michael wants to express a lot of things through this film, about life, about love, about desire, and so on and so forth. But if you want to sell it, if you want to attract more people to the cinema, in the promotion process, you have to sell it with what the audience wants to see, not what the director wants to express. Most viewers are not interested in exploring the meaning of love, they just want to see a woman's boobs, it's as simple as that. Sometimes, this is even a little cruel, but it is a reality that filmmakers have to face. ”