"I was very surprised to receive an invitation from Relativity Entertainment. ”

In the reception room of the Relativity Building, Ridley Scott looked at Ronan and said, "I'm already on Hollywood's blacklist, and I can't believe that there are still big companies willing to invite me to cooperate." ”

Ronan said very seriously: "Relativity Entertainment does not have a blacklist of directors. ”

Ridley Scott is still puzzled: "I carefully studied the script of The Martian, from the setting to the characters to the storyline, it is very interesting, there will be a lot of directors who will be interested, why me?"

He was worried that Ronan would misunderstand, and then explained: "In recent years, my 'Heavenly Dynasty' and 'Pharaoh and the Gods' have not received a good response in the market, and Twentieth Century Fox even vetoed my proposal for a sequel to 'Alien', and I even considered retiring during this time. ”

Speaking of this, Ridley Scott smiled helplessly: "The two first-line productions failed miserably, if I mess up the third part, I don't want to stop filming." ”

Ronan understood the meaning of this, and did not go around in circles, and said directly: "Director Scott, you are talking about two costume epic film projects, and "The Martian" is a science fiction film project. ”

Ridley Scott's heart moved, and he suddenly had a vague consciousness, could it be that the failure of "Heavenly Dynasty" and "Pharaohs and the Gods" has something to do with the genre of the film?

Ronan knows what Ridley Scott is worried about, even if he messes up three first-line big productions in a row with Ray's qualifications, the future is extremely worrying, and it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that he will stop filming, but he can only go to small productions or independent film circles to find opportunities to turn over.

"Directed by Scott, "The Martian" is expected to cost $100 million to produce. Ronan said solemnly: "It is impossible for Relativity Entertainment to mess around with such a project. ”

Ridley Scott has a serious face, such a point in time, such a project, will directly determine his future directorial career.

"I read the script carefully, and I also had some considerations, and there were a few requirements. The importance of this project cannot be overstated by Ridley Scott: "In the script, there are nearly 50 pages of content, all of which are directly related to NASA, and many of them also involve details of space and sky technology, in order to present an astronaut image and actions that are in line with the truth." These specialized knowledge require professional personnel to guide, and the crew must be supported by NASA, otherwise this film will not be filmed. ”

This is the most basic fact, and Ronan is also very clear, and immediately said: "In the script creation stage, Relativity Entertainment has been supported by NASA, and Shahai Entertainment has been in close contact with NASA, and has basically reached a cooperation intention, and the crew will receive strong support from NASA in the future." ”

Hearing these words, Ridley Scott dispelled most of his doubts: "I don't have a problem anymore. Mr. Anderson, please contact my agent to discuss the specific contract. ”

Ronan nodded slightly: "I will inform Shahai Entertainment." ”

In the following time, the two had a related discussion about the project "The Martian", and based on the previous movie, Ronan and Ridley Scott basically agreed on most of the views.

For example, the spirit of optimism runs through the whole film, and self-rescue and rescue are carried out with scientific ideas.

For example, there is no villain in the film, and no one will prevent the male protagonist from surviving and returning to Earth, except for the natural environment of Mars.

For example, combined with the style of some westerns, one person faces countless difficulties, and one person fights against nature.

This can be regarded as finalizing the contract with Ridley Scott, and the rest is a matter of negotiation, just messed up "Heavenly Dynasty" and "Pharaohs and the Gods", Ridley Scott's salary can be done with only $5 million.

At the same time, Ronan also asked Sandsea Entertainment to contact Matt Damon.

This is a one-man show that requires an actor with strong appeal and good acting skills.

However, Matt Damon is no longer the second-tier star when he collaborated with Relativity Entertainment on the "Spy" trilogy, and his agent offered a $20 million plus 10% share of the North American box office.

There are talks between the two sides.

I really can't do it, so I can only change to other actors.

After all, this is a brand new work, not a sequel to "Spy Shadow".

As the saying goes, make a fortune and grow potatoes, and the project has just begun.

In addition, although the script of "Doomsday Collapse" has not yet been completed, Shahai Entertainment has made initial contact with Roland Emmerich according to Ronan's proposal.

Compared to Ridley Scott, Roland Emmerich is a very pure commercial film director, as long as the money is in place, everything else is not a problem, and disaster movies are also the type of film he is best at.

After screwing up an ancient epic, Roland Emmerich is also much more conservative and cautious, and is itself deliberately returning to the disaster genre.

And he also had a preliminary idea of the earthquake project, but after receiving the invitation from Shahai Entertainment, he basically decided to cooperate with Shahai Entertainment in "Doomsday Collapse" first, and then carefully consider his own disaster theme idea.

Ronan also took the time to meet with Roland Emmerich, during which Roland Emmerich also talked about his initial idea, which is also an earthquake disaster type.

The German director is best at destroying the world, and Ronan also said that as long as the project is suitable, the two sides can continue to work together.

Roland Emmerich, a man who once made the world panic under the storm of film company publicity and hype.

Those people of the past, under the spread of rumors of the extinction crisis, can they still store rice and noodles that they can't eat for a year, piles of compressed biscuits and canned luncheon meat, bandages, medicines, purified water, salt......

At that time, there were not many people who were crazy about storing things at home.

And all the roots come from the hype of Roland Emmerich's disaster movie.

Compared with Warner Bros.'s Heath Ledger god plan, the publicity that once revolved around that disaster movie had a lower ceiling.

For the sake of the commercial benefits of the film, Hollywood film companies, including Relativity Entertainment, do not mind causing panic in the whole society.

This week, Relativity Entertainment has two major productions that have completed all the productions and held internal test screenings.

The first is Alice in Wonderland, directed by Robert Zemeckis.

This live-action film adapted from a fairy tale, although it was also filmed and produced in 3D, was completed before "Avatar", and a test screening was held within Relativity Entertainment, which was unanimously approved.

Although the special effects and 3D effects of "Alice in Wonderland" are not as good as "Avatar", they are still at the top level in Hollywood and even the world's film industry in this era.

However, the film will not be released immediately, but will have to wait until next year, and the premiere schedule will definitely be placed behind "Avatar".

Borrowing the 3D east wind triggered by "Avatar" is undoubtedly the wisest distribution strategy.

Another fairy tale adaptation, "Beauty and the Beast", will soon enter the start-up filming stage, which will also be produced in 3D format.

In fact, there is nothing else, 3D can make the special effects and those things that can be sold around have a better display on the screen, and the ticket price is also higher.

Shahai Entertainment has hired professional teen fashion designers to design clothes like Bell's skirts.

These actresses are fairy tale movies, and the movies are not as good as the dresses are sold.

Regarding the online and offline peripheral derivatives of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Beauty and the Beast", Embassy Pictures has begun to operate in advance.

This includes everything from movie DVDs, books, princess doll toys, princess dresses, character development, games, beauty apparel, and more.

It can be said that they are interlocking, and it is bound to create two complete commercial derivative industrial chains.

Ronan roughly remembers that in a certain animated feature film that sold dresses and merchandise to the point of madness, the Queen's dress sold for as much as $150 each, and sold more than 3 million in North America in the first year alone.

Embassy Pictures' goal is much lower, with the initial goal of Alice and Bell's skirt being 1 million in North America within a year of release.

This also means up to nearly $200 million in sales revenue.

Later, you can also shoot some short films for Alice and Bale, and the costumes and looks in the short films must be completely redesigned, and then continue to sell dresses and goods.

Well, that's walking the path of what once Walt Disney was.

Anyway, Disney can't go down this road now, so let Relativity Entertainment continue to walk instead of them.

From online to offline, from content to industry, Relativity Entertainment's derivative creation of animation and live-action fairy tale movies is all-round.

After all, the life cycle of movies is only two to three months, and Hollywood's DVD sales are slowly shrinking, so consumers have to rely on derivatives to make them consume at any time.

Relativity Entertainment has basically formed a mature and healthy movie distribution model.

Cinema screenings are advertisements, the box office comes and goes, and the profit depends on the periphery.

Another big production that has been completed is Fast & Furious 4, where Jessica Filton was a producer.

This pure popcorn action movie, which can be called the destruction of half of Rio de Janeiro's main road, is absolutely popular.

Similarly, due to the expiration of this year's schedule, "Fast and Furious 4" can only be released by Embassy Pictures in next year's summer file.

Pure popcorn movies are also the most suitable for summer files.

After completing all the production of "Fast and Furious 4", Jessica Filton immediately began preparations for "Spicy Hand Police Flower", striving to start filming before the New Year.

Sandra Bullock, who is better at playing the American silly big sister, has signed a contract with the crew to serve as the heroine of the film.

Under Ronan's instructions, Shahai Entertainment signed a three-film contract with Sandra Bullock, who has been in an average situation for the past two years.

Robert Lee has won the rights to the film and television adaptation of "Weakness", and Sandra Bullock once won the Oscar for Best Actress with this film.

In addition, Ronan is also preparing to let Shahai Entertainment plan another space-themed project.

Shahai Entertainment is currently the most stable producer in Hollywood, and in addition to promoting live-action film projects, animated feature films have also made new progress.