"The biggest difficulty in the adaptation of "Batman" is how to show how strong Bruce Wayne is. In the comic book, the superhero's intelligence and force have reached the limit of what a human can reach, and he is backed by deep pockets and various high-tech equipment. If it's a manga, anime, or TV series, of course, these can be shown little by little through the plot, but in a movie that is usually only about two hours, it is often very difficult to highlight this, and a little carelessness can make Batman very mediocre. ”

Inheriting the memories of more than a dozen people, Simon's mind is also very detailed about the various versions of the "Batman" movie.

Since Tim Burton's first "Batman", Bruce Wayne has almost habitually been stealing the limelight from villains, and even in the later "Justice League", Batman, who was supposed to be the leader of the team, was completely reduced to a marginalized passerby role, and did not show any charm that this enduring superhero should have.

The character of Batman has been born for half a century since 1939, and there are some live-action versions during the period, but they basically did not leave any impression on the audience, which is actually the main reason why Warner is hesitant to start the movie version, Superman can also show various superpowers in the sky, but Batman is just a mortal after all, and no one knows what style to use to put the superhero on the big screen.

In the cafeteria, Dressemel listened to Simon's analysis and said, "Simon, do you think you can solve these problems?"

Simon took a sip of the mineral water next to him, put down the cup, and said, "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be interested in the movie adaptation of "Batman". ”

Trisemel showed a curious expression: "Tell me carefully." ”

Simon's plan is to start the DC Super Hero Universe plan in advance and link up characters such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Compared with the higher technical requirements of Marvel superheroes, it is not too difficult for the current technical conditions to meet the DC universe.

However, these must not be explained to Trissemel and Pan, and he has prepared another statement in advance.

"In half a century of comic book creation, Batman has been given too many skills, and it is definitely a trade-off. Therefore, I intend to focus on Batman's personal force and the high-tech equipment he has, such as the Batmobile, Batfighter, etc., which are most likely to amaze the audience compared to Bruce Wayne's intelligence and strategy. If Warner were willing to hand over the project to Daenerys Pictures, I would patent a special effects and technical team to solve those problems. ”

Tressemel shook his head and said, "Simon, your narrative is too general. ”

Simon said: "Take the personal display of force, Terry, in my opinion, Hollywood basically doesn't have a commendable action movie now, I plan to learn some experience from martial arts movies on the other side of the ocean, martial arts movies, you know?"

Trisemel nodded, "Probably, I know something." ”

Simon smiled and said, "If you are interested, I can recommend a few films to you, Oriental martial arts have a history of thousands of years, and their martial arts are similar to superhero comics, telling the story of some people punishing rape and eliminating evil in order to maintain justice." Moreover, compared to techniques such as boxing and fighting, which are almost non-existent, the impact of Oriental kung fu on the screen will be very shocking. ”

Terry Semel said suddenly, "I remember, Bruce Lee. ”

"That's right, it's Bruce Lee's kind of kung fu. ”

Tressemel hesitated a little: "I still have some impressions of Bruce Lee's films, Simon, you think his kind of action skills can be used on Batman." ”

Simon said: "According to the setting in the comics, Batman has mastered more than 100 fighting skills, and a large part of them are oriental kung fu. And, of course, I won't copy the martial arts movies of the East, I will tailor a set of action design for Bruce Wayne. ”

Terrysemel looked at Simon, "You?"

Simon lifted the cutlery and flexibly pulled a knife in his hand, and said to Terry Semel with a smile: "Terry, I know some fighting skills." And, if necessary, I'll hire a more professional action director. ”

There are too many classic action scenes in my head.

Simon's approach to Batman's fighting style is straightforward, and it's a breeze to tailor an action design for Bruce Wayne from the movies, television, and video games he remembers, without even having an action director.

In fact, there is no professional action director in Hollywood at all, and this profession only flourished in the second half of the 90s with the entry of filmmakers from across the ocean, and it was only after that that Hollywood action movies began to gain traction.

Right now, the action scenes in Hollywood movies are basically the level of a drunk street fight.

Terrysemel remembered that Simon broke the leg bones of five young people with one enemy at the end of the previous year, and suddenly no longer doubted that this young man could design special action shots for Batman. It's just that he couldn't help but feel a little emotional again in his heart, what else would this little guy who suddenly broke into Hollywood not do.

"Simon, if I'm not mistaken, what you just meant was that you wanted to fully undertake the production of "Batman"?"

"That's right, I'll write the script and direct the film myself. Terry, you know, I've always been used to being in complete control of my projects. The few films I've made so far have also been very successful. ”

Terrysemel asked, "What about the film contract you owe Disney?"

"I recently wanted to redeem my directing contract with Disney, and if Disney doesn't agree, it's going to be second to Batman, and it doesn't say that I have to fulfill my contract with Disney before I can make any other films. ”

Due to the success of "Lola Run", Disney signed a very lenient contract with Simon.

This is actually the treatment of many first-line directors in Hollywood. Like Spielberg, whose four-part contract with Universal after Jaws has not yet been completed, he has worked frequently with Paramount and Warner over the years.

"Now that you've got so many ideas, Simon, what about the budget, how much money are you going to spend on this movie?"

Simon blurted out, "$50 million." ”

Trisemel was visibly taken aback: "One?"

"Of course. ”

Simon nodded, and he understood why Terrysemel would ask that.

Ten years ago, Superman had a production budget of $55 million, the highest at the time.

But in fact, the investment of $55 million in the first part of "Superman" was a one-time shooting of the material for the trilogy, and even, until the original time and space, "Superman Returns" in 2006 was still using the footage shot by Marlon Brando.

Hollywood movie budgets are exploding, but there are still very few that can reach $50 million.

Simon's plan is to spend the next half of the year perfecting all aspects of "Batman" technically, and Daenerys Films will set up its own special effects studio just like Lucas did when he made "Star Wars", which will require huge investment.

On the other hand, Simon's budget of $50 million is actually to force Warner out of the project as much as possible.

In the original time and space, Tim Burton's "Batman" production budget was only $35 million, and it was the result of Warner's introduction of British record giant Polygram Co-investment, which also led to the success of the first part of "Batman", and many subsequent sequels, Warner had to continue to take Polygram as an investor.

Even, in order to save the budget, Warner also signed Jack Nicholson, who played the Joker, to one of the most unjust omnichannel profit-sharing contracts in Hollywood history. After the success of "Batman", Jack Nicholson earned more than $50 million at the box office, video tape sales, and merchandise, a record that was not broken until 2000.

After the success of the film, the Batman IP became a big gold mine, and it was difficult for outsiders to understand why Warner would make such a series of stupid decisions. But the reason is actually very simple, at the end of the day, Warner doesn't have any confidence in the big movie "Batman" at all.

In all fairness, Simon actually felt that Tim Burton's version of "Batman" had few highlights at all, and even very badly. Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne without any Batman temperament at all, and the heroine Kim Basinger's acting skills are off the line throughout the whole process, even if she is a well-known clown, it is completely just the average level of Jack Nicholson. To put it a little meaner, the reason why Jack Nicholson's Joker is so good is simply because the protagonist is too bad.

So, why was Burton's "The Batman" so successful again?

The reason is actually quite simple.

As a superhero character that has lasted for half a century, "Batman" is very similar to "Journey to the West" on the other side of the ocean in the hearts of Americans. Everyone knows that Bruce Wayne embarked on the path of punishment and evil because he witnessed his parents being killed by gangsters as a child, just like knowing that a certain monkey jumped out of a rock.

Thereupon.

For the first time, the superhero, who has existed in the hearts of generations in the United States, has been brought to the big screen in a serious way in a high-budget live-action format, and many people are not interested in comics at all, just because they have heard the name of Batman too many times since they were young, they are likely to walk into the movie theater. Not to mention those fans who grew up with comics.

Therefore, for the first time to put "Batman" on the big screen, as long as the film is not too bad, it is destined to be a big hit.

Tim Burton's films always have a very eccentric naivety that is simply not suitable for making superhero movies. The success of "Batman" is completely just a coincidence.

Later facts also proved this, the sequel "Batman Returns" that Burton continued to direct, the budget cost more than doubled, but the box office fell sharply compared to the first part, and the later sequels of "Batman" that continued Burton's style were also inferior to one another, and finally completely rotted after "Batman and Robin". The Batman IP was not resurrected by Nolan until many years later, and then, without incident, DC was taken to another big pit by Nolan.

At this time.

In a restaurant near Warner Studios in Burbank, it was confirmed that Simon planned to invest $50 million in the filming of "Batman", Terry Semel really showed a hesitant look, Simon noticed Trisnemel's expression, and did not show too eagerness, and the two quietly began to eat.

After two or three minutes like this, Trissemel said, "Simon, Warners are looking forward to you directing 'Batman,' but we're not going to let go of the project entirely. At the very least, we're definitely going to have to be part of the investment, so a $50 million production budget would be too high. ”

Simon shook his head and said, "Terry, a superhero like "Batman", we can only gain the recognition of the audience if we are willing to invest more. Just like "Superman", the first "Superman" was produced with a budget of $55 million and reached 300 million at the global box office. In last year's "Superman 4", Canon Pictures cut the budget cost to $17 million, and the North American box office immediately fell to more than 15 million, and there was no splash overseas. ”

Trisemel obviously knew the situation better than Simon, and was silent for a while when he heard this, and said: "In this way, Simon, why don't you write the script first, and we will evaluate it together, maybe it doesn't cost $50 million." ”

"According to my plan, $50 million, it will only be higher, definitely not lower," Simon shook his head and said, "Terry, I know that Warner can't afford to risk $50 million, so I plan to come myself." Give me "Batman", perhaps, I can make another annual box office champion like "Lola Run", of course, the distribution rights must be Warner's, which is a win-win thing. ”

Trisemel thought about it again for a moment and said, "Simon, if you plan to make "Batman" alone, you can, but Warner will only give Daenerys Pictures the filming rights, and the copyright will still belong to us. ”

Simon asked, "Is it like Canon Pictures and Sarkinder's Superman 4?"

In last summer's "Superman 4", Canon Pictures only got the filming rights of Superman, and the copyright is still in the hands of British producer Alexander Salkind.

Trisemel nodded, "That's right. ”

Simon shook his head and said, "Terry, there's no way I'm going to make a movie and get kicked away by Warner." ”

Trisemel shook his head and said, "We're definitely not going to do that." ”

Simon said: "It's better to sign a five-year licensing contract, and within five years, Daenerys Pictures failed to start a sequel, and the copyright returned to DC." ”

Trisemel thought for a moment and said again: "Five years is too long, three years at most, and besides, Warner needs to retain the investment rights in the sequel." ”

Simon insisted: "Three years is too short, it has to be five years. Moreover, if Warner wants the investment rights for the sequel, Daenerys Pictures must also retain certain distribution rights. ”

The two of them bargained back and forth for more than ten minutes, and finally roughly finalized a cooperation plan.

Daenerys Pictures acquires the rights to "Batman" for the customary five-year cycle. Within five years, Daenerys Films could not start a sequel, and the rights automatically returned to DC. However, Simon and Trisemel have not yet negotiated a specific agreement on the sequel investment rights and distribution rights, as well as future peripheral products, and the two sides need to continue to discuss, but this result has made Simon very satisfied.