It's been more than ten days since the release of "Hellboy", and the reason why Guillermo del Toro didn't come to Ronan until now is to complete the preliminary design of "men's romance".

"Sometimes, when I look up at the starry sky, I always feel small and lonely, and wonder if there is other life in the universe. ”

In the reception room of the Relativity Building, Guillermo del Toro handed Ronan several sketches: "But after finishing this preliminary design, I realized that I was completely looking in the wrong direction. ”

Ronan listened to Guillermo del Toro's words, and his eyes fell on the sketch in his hand, which were several sketches, the painting was very average, but it was enough to make people see what was drawn.

The first one is supposed to be an undersea volcano erupting, with Godzilla-like monsters emerging from the ground.

Ronan has an inexplicable sense of familiarity in this picture.

In the next one, a mecha that looks a bit like Megatron stands tall in the city.

Ronan thought of Guillermo del Toro's once-widely circulated work.

Sure enough, in the third sketch, the huge mecha arm appears to be a cannon, aiming not far away, fighting a monster that resembles Godzilla.

Mecha, Monsters, Under the Sea, Great War......

Ronan nodded secretly, this should be "Atlantic Rim"...... No, it should be the preliminary design of Pacific Rim.

The "Atlantic Rim" I once watched, like "Titanic 2", is all about selling dog meat on the head of a sheep.

"Is this a robot vs. monster?" asked Ronan.

Guillermo del Toro corrected: "It's a mecha and a giant beast. ”

Ronan put down his sketch and looked at Guillermo del Toro, who explained: "These concepts all come from island nations. ”

"I've heard of it. Ronan nodded slowly: "For example, Ultraman who fights little monsters." ”

There used to be a saying that cats eat fish, dogs eat meat, and Ultraman little monsters.

Seeing that Ronan understood this, Guillermo del Toro relieved himself, picked up the first sketch drawing, pointed to the bottom of the sea above, and said: "The section of the ocean floor has cracked, and the alien monsters that have sprung out of this passage are larger, more ferocious and more brutal than any threat we have seen before, I call them monsters." To combat them, humanity has pooled all its resources to create the largest, most advanced, and most versatile weapon ever created. They created Project Hunter, creating a series of robots up to 25 stories high, which is the last hope for humanity's survival. ”

Ronan frowned: "Gilmour, isn't there a problem with this setting?" He pointed to the mech's cannon, "Why don't you use a long-range weapon or an airplane or something like that to load this weapon and launch it, instead of using a giant robot to go up to hand-to-hand combat?"

"This ......" Guillermo del Toro didn't think about any of this at all, and he couldn't say that "mechs are the ultimate romance for men", right?

Ronan is cautious about these things that are too strong in island elements, after all, the reality of the North American film market is here.

For example, "The Grudge" and "Midnight Bell", according to his point of view, it is obvious that the original version of the island country is better, but the original version was released in North America without exception, and the American version of the remake with worse quality was a box office hit.

North America has a certain island audience, but it is not mass culture.

For example, the famous "Spirited Away" has made various best lists, including mainstream media in North America, but the commercial response in North America is far less than that of its fame.

It has been released in North American theaters twice, and the box office in North America is not even a fraction of that overseas.

Ronan is a film company, not an art institution, and the first thing to consider must be the market, and market differences must be taken seriously.

"Mecha is a concept and cultural product from the island nation. Ronan is very cautious, after all, if this project is really going to be carried out, the investment is not ordinarily large: "Gilmour, you should have heard of this concept, North America is the world's largest media, culture and entertainment insulator. ”

This was not expected by Guillermo del Toro, who had always expected Ronan to support the project, just as he did for Hellboy.

After all, Shahai Entertainment is also running a similar giant robot project.

"Ronan, there are quite a few people like me in North America who like island cultures such as mecha and monsters. Guillermo del Toro didn't want to give up easily: "There are also overseas markets, which are also conducive to peripheral operations. ”

He said tentatively: "It is said that Sand Sea Entertainment is cooperating with Hasbro in Transformers, so there is no essential difference between it and mechas, right?"

Ronan couldn't help laughing: "How do you compare the two? Gilmour, Transformers have been on the market in North America for more than 20 years, and related toys were once popular in North America, for more than 20 years, how many people have played with Transformers toys? How many people's childhood memories are Transformers? I don't know much about other places, but in North America, mecha belong to a niche cultural group, right?"

Maybe in the future, with the further opening of the Internet, there will be more and more mecha audiences, but that is also in the future.

Ronan further said: "The culture of the island nation has a lot of audiences in North America, such as you, such as James Cameron, but Relativity Entertainment has always done business with the island country, and also owns the copyright of many island cultural products, and has conducted market research on this. ”

This is not a lie, but it has actually been done: "Island culture is a minority group in North America, which determines that if the investment is not high, the possibility of recovering the cost is greater, but if the investment is high, the audience is too narrow, how to generate profits?"

Guillermo del Toro suddenly realizes that Ronan is not only a filmmaker, but also a film businessman!

Even the identity of the latter is above the former!

Ronan simply asked, "Gilmour, you know a lot about special effects production, and now how much production budget do you need to achieve the effect you planned?"

In this era, although CG special effects are a lot cheaper, they can't be compared with after 2010.

None of them are laymen, and it is impossible for Guillermo del Toro to tell nonsense with his eyes open, and he has also considered it on the ground: "About 200 million US dollars." ”

Ronan continued: "This kind of production investment, plus publicity and distribution, is at least 300 million US dollars, and the investment risk is too great for such a theme." ”

Guillermo del Toro didn't know what to say, he had only been a director and a self-interest, and he had no corresponding commercial considerations at all.

"I suggest that this project be put on hold for the time being. Ronan was very frank: "Gilmour, wait until we see the changes in technological development and cultural market, and it is not too late to make a decision in five or six years." ”

Guillermo del Toro was a little disappointed, but felt that what Ronan said made sense, but he didn't give up, the three film directorship contracts he signed with Shahai Entertainment have expired, and Hollywood is so big, it doesn't have to be Relativity Entertainment.

"Well, this project is a bit ahead of its time. "Guillermo del Toro found himself a step down.

Ronan smiled and said, "There are some ideas and ideas, and there is no need to rush them. ”

"That's true. Guillermo del Toro had other plans, pulling out the script from his briefcase: "Mecha and monsters are long-term plans, and this is the next movie I want to make." ”

Ronan didn't say anything, took the script and took a quick look at the part, the script was a photocopied manuscript, not a complete version, and what was nailed together behind was the project plan.

At the same time, the title page of this first draft of the script is also marked with the name - "Pan's Labyrinth".

"It's a fairy tale for children, and I wanted to make a Spanish-language film that would be magical realism. "Set in Spain during World War II in 1944, it tells the story of a 12-year-old heroine who is bored when she accidentally opens another magical door and has to complete three tests," said Guillermo del Toro. ”

Ronan was ready to find the most crucial part of the statement for the production company: "Gilmour, you just said that you want to make a movie in Spanish?"

Guillermo del Toro is Mexican: "yes, shoot this in my native language. ”

Ronan put down the script and asked, "Have you made a budget?"

"About $30 million. Guillermo del Toro had a not-so-good feeling: "With less, I can't guarantee completion." ”

Today's Guillermo del Toro is also well-known in Hollywood, not the mentality of a small Mexican director, just like the mecha and monsters that we talked about before, of course, we must strive for the best results.

These collaborations, Guillermo del Toro left a good impression on Ronan, although "Hellboy" went through several post-production edits, but the result was good.

In general, Guillermo del Toro is a more reliable director.

Ronan thought for a while and said, "Shahai Entertainment can invest in your project. Without waiting for Guillermo del Toro to be pleased, he added: "But there is a premise, this must be an English-language film." ”

With such a large investment, to shoot a foreign language film, Ronan had to consider the risks and benefits.

"English movies?" Guillermo del Toro shook his head and said very seriously: "Ronan, I am a Mexican, Spanish is my mother tongue, and it has always been my wish to shoot a Spanish-language film in Hollywood. ”

Many directors have their own wishes, such as Spielberg and Schindler's List, but studios don't pay for every director's wishes.

Ronan asked again, "Gilmour, are you sure you want to make a Spanish movie?"

Guillermo del Toro sighed secretly, there was no way to do it if the ideas did not agree: "Yes, I have always planned it this way. ”

"All I can say is sorry. Ronan politely refused.

"It doesn't matter. Guillermo del Toro put away the script and shook Ronan's hand: "No matter what, I have to say thank you to you." ”

Ronan understood what he meant, and said sincerely, "Good luck, Gilmour. ”