If you can, it's best to be happy. For Lan Li's appearance in the sequel and sequel of "Fast and Thrilling", Andy is in favor of raising his hands and feet, starring in a series of movies that is becoming more and more profitable, and starring in a role that has won countless support, which is a deal that no one will refuse, but judging from the current posture of Universal Pictures, they are also not giving an inch, and they are still exerting pressure in all directions, trying to force Lan Li to comply.

Thinking about what happened to Andy when he visited Universal Pictures in person, it is not difficult to come to a conclusion: Universal Pictures has never taken Blue Gifts seriously. Whatever Vin Diesel's role in this, that's the way it is.

Whether it is successfully starring in "Fast and Exciting/Emotional" and winning more benefits in terms of salary and crew status, or giving up the sequel to "Fast and Exciting/Emotional" and starring in another commercial work to seek more remuneration and additional benefits, or giving the "Fast and Thrilling/Emotional" crew a knife to create conditions for Paul Walker and Lan Li's successor to increase their salaries, the six major film companies are the best choice.

Of course, the premise of everything is that the new work must also be sure enough, otherwise it will give up "speed and excitement/emotion", but star in a bad movie that hits the street at the box office, and it is also deadlocked with Universal Pictures, which is the real gain outweighs the loss.

It is precisely because of this that the much-valued "black shadow" is more and more worth looking forward to. In comparison, the "Ring Messenger" does not have many advantages.

The production company of "Ring Messenger" is the final stage entertainment company, which was founded less than seven years ago, starting with "Hotel Rwanda" and subsequently producing "Lord of War", "I'm Not There", "Growing Up Education" and other works.

Overall, this is still an independent art film production company, with the largest investment in "Lord of War" at a cost of only $45 million, and their resources and capabilities are limited, and almost every production has sought cooperation and co-production from other independent film companies.

In a word, in front of Universal Pictures, there is no right to speak, and there is no deterrent.

"Have you read all those scripts?" Not only Andy, but Roy also cast his gaze. This was Roy's first test after taking over as manager, and they had thought that Lan Li had been on vacation for the past few weeks and had completely forgotten about the existence of the script, but now it seemed that they were wrong.

Lan Li shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, "I'm on vacation, not recuperating. In free time, reading is a great pastime. Unfortunately, the only script I was interested in was not the best choice right now. ”

"I didn't expect you to be interested in science fiction scripts. Andy naturally read all of those scripts, some to disrupt Universal's vision, some to test Roy, and some to choose from the bottom of his heart.

The script of "Ring Messenger", Andy remembers. This book, plus "Django Rescued" and "Alien Battlefield", this is a project he is quite optimistic about, but he is not too satisfied with "Alien Battlefield", the whole project lacks a dazzling and decisive feature, and the role is not satisfactory, which is why he continues to negotiate with Warner Bros.

At such a point in time and under such a background, it is not easy to find a project with a good script, a suitable role, a suitable salary, and a huge investment. If Warner Bros. doesn't work, Andy will continue to find Twentieth Century Fox, and if not, he's ready to choose a sci-fi work like "The Ringer."

The sci-fi genre is a special case in commercial blockbusters, and the investment can be very low, with Blade Runner costing as little as 28 million, or the investment being huge, with Avatar officially costing 250 million. But this kind of work has always occupied a place in the film market, and the box office and word-of-mouth cannot be calculated according to common sense, even if the box office fails, excellent word-of-mouth can still include a large number of supporters.

"It's the script that matters, not the subject matter. Lan Li replied simply, but Roy nodded involuntarily in agreement.

"The 'Ring Messenger' is an option. Andy didn't directly deny this possibility, but the meaning of the subtext couldn't be more obvious: in the current situation, the "ring messenger" is indeed not the first choice, but it can be used as an alternative.

Andy's eyes fell on Roy and he apologized - none of the nine scripts submitted last time could be used, and Roy was working for nothing.

Roy didn't panic at all, Lan Li's choice was in line with his judgment, which was a good thing, and the cooperation between the two took a solid first step. As for Andy, there is a long way to go, and they can still slowly run in, "Since you said so, does that mean that you have a better alternative?"

Roy's gaze fell on the second script in Lan Li's hand, but Lan Li didn't open it for the time being.

"Replacement?" Andy chuckled, "I wouldn't use that word." But ......," Andy paused, as if to think about how to describe it more accurately, "if you're a fan of the 'Ring Messenger,' this project is a better choice." ”

Andy's tone was a little hesitant, not as affirmative and positive as the "Black Shadow" mentioned just now, and Lan Li didn't guess, and said directly jokingly, "Your tone doesn't sound very convincing. ”

Andy didn't go around in circles, and said honestly, "The current project is just a project, and I have been in contact with Warner Bros. three times about this project, and each time it was a different producer. It can be seen that Warner Bros. itself has not sorted out a single idea at present, they just bought the filming rights of the script, and everything else is still in a pending state. ”

It sounds fantastical, but in reality it's quite normal. Film companies are establishing new projects almost every day, not to mention a whole year, even if it is a month, each company may have thirty or forty projects established every month, from the determination of the project to the official start of filming, the process may be three months, or ten years, it needs someone to push behind it, it can be a producer, it can be a director, it can be an actor, it can be a screenwriter, in short, it is a promoter, otherwise it will be drowned in countless projects.

Not only that, but even if a project facilitator is identified, the speed at which the project moves forward depends on the ability and connections of that facilitator.

Taking "Black Shadow" as an example, after the project identified Tim Burton, Tim had just contributed a work with a global box office of one billion, which naturally received enough attention, plus Tim has been rolling in the industry for nearly 30 years, and his connections are extraordinary, as long as he is called, Johnny is willing to respond, and naturally, the project has received strong support from Warner Bros.

The project Andy just talked about is obviously the kind that no one cares about.

"I took a closer look, and it seems that Warner Bros. has a budget of around $100 million, because it's a typical sci-fi script with strict requirements for VFX. Andy went on to explain that it can be seen that this is still a commercial blockbuster project, at least more confident than the "ring messenger", "At the moment, the project has not found a director, no screenwriter for further adjustments, and the producer, Tim-Leis (Tim-Leis) is promoting." ”

"Tim Lewis. Roy repeated the name, "Co-producers of later episodes of 'Harry Potter'?" Andy nodded in affirmation.

Tim Lewis is an assistant director-turned-director, and his first work was Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun", and after fifteen years in the industry, he developed a good relationship with Warner Bros., starting with "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and making it to the list of co-producers.

He can be regarded as a direct producer of Warner Bros., not affiliated with Warner Bros., but he has a very close relationship. But the connections outside Warner Bros. are relatively weak, and the voice is not enough. With such a producer to promote the project, he can set up a project, he can win a cost of 100 million, and he can even win some convenience, but the ability to quickly promote it is seriously insufficient.

It can be regarded as a situation with pros and cons.

No wonder Andy is so hesitant, compared to "Dark Shadow", this project seems to be a bit cold. To use it against Universal Pictures, after all, it still lacks a little weight, and in addition to Warner Bros., more powerful producers and directors are needed.

"But?" Lan Li motioned to Andy to continue, Andy would definitely not be untargeted, even after considering so many complicated situations, Andy still brought the script to Lan Li, certainly not just because Warner Bros. was backing him.

Andy's hands tapped his belly lightly, "But it was a script on the 2010 blacklist, and it got a total of forty-five votes, ranking third." Just one sentence is enough.

"I've read the script carefully, and it's excellent, both as a commercial film and as a science fiction film. I think it's a bit similar to the combination of 'Groundhog Day' and 'Butterfly Effect', and it's similar to 'Ring Messenger'. The most important thing is that the actor is simply tailor-made for you, not only is the weight sufficient, but the character also has some inner drama, which is a test of the actor's acting skills. ”

However, in two simple sentences, Andy has sent enough praise, not even inferior to "Black Shadow", it can be seen that he is really satisfied with the script.

"But the script is just the foundation. Director, actor, producer, everything is unknown. Andy continued, "I'm bullish on its potential, but there's too much to unsure. So, if I had to choose between these two scripts, I would still prefer 'Black Shadow'. ”

Not because of how good the "Dark Shadow" is, but because there are more known factors, and it is easier to judge. This is crucial for commercial films.

"It's a script blacklist!" Roy repeated, "it's so rare for a commercial work to appear on the blacklist." ”

Andy chuckled and nodded, "So, I have no way to refuse, after all, I still asked for the script, hoping that Lan Li can make a decision." ”

"Script blacklist?" Lan Li said meaningfully.