The simple polite words on social occasions made Michael chuckle, as if he didn't understand the deep meaning of Andy's words at all, and nodded his head again and again in affirmation, "We are also very much looking forward to continuing to cooperate with Lan Li." Then he looked at Neil, who was sitting next to him, and said in a vague manner, "This good news, do you say?

Neil didn't tear down the stage this time, smiled and reached out to gesture, handing over the right to announce the big news to Michael.

Michael smiled brightly and looked back at Andy, "Neil mentioned just now that we're working on the script and enriching the characters at the same time. We've always found Luke Hobbs to be an interesting character and we're always looking forward to seeing him play an even bigger role. ”

"You've probably heard that before Lan Li, we considered Dwayne Johnson for this role, and the reason is simple, not because Dwayne was able to give the character charisma, but because we believed that there was more to the character to dig into, and that Dwayne was able to carry the weight of the character and the story behind it. Michael's confident and confident look made his words full of personal charm, "But unfortunately, in the end, that cooperation did not work, but luckily, we found Lan Li, and he completed an incredible mission." Now, the weight of the entire role is pressed on Lan Li. ”

Speaking of this, Michael deliberately paused for a moment, his mysterious expression revealed a trace of excitement, deliberately creating suspense, and invisibly, the weight of these words increased a little, "We are discussing, with Blue Rite as the core, to create a movie that belongs to Luke Hobbs!"

Blockbuster news. It seems that Andy's inside information is not groundless, and Universal Pictures is indeed considering this matter.

"To be precise, this is not the first time that a proposal has appeared on the table, and we are always looking for the right moment. Now it seems that maybe the time has come. Michael always maintained a confident smile on his face, and his words were subdued and loud, "We believe that Lan Li can give this Gaiden film more personality charm to make it a success." The only question now is, is Lan Li ready?"

On the face of it, this is good news. But there are a lot of dry goods hidden in it -

Michael said that Luke Hobbs's biography has been considered for a long time, not because of the success of recent films, but because of the idea from the very beginning; Michael said that if it was Dwayne Johnson, the biography movie might have entered the production process, and the reason for the hesitation was because the weight of Blue Rite was still not as important as that of Dawn; Michael said that now that Gaiden is on the agenda again, Universal Pictures is optimistic about the prospects of Blue Rite.

To put it simply, Michael's meaning is that the Gaiden is not the credit of Lan Li, and Universal Pictures is willing to hand over the responsibility of Gaiden to Lan Li, which is a rare trust. Even Dawn didn't get that kind of treatment. Digging deeper, it can also be understood that even if Lan Li is unwilling to act, they can get Daun back at any time.

When it comes to the ability to open his eyes and tell nonsense, Andy feels that he is still slightly inferior to Michael. Right and wrong are reversed, if there is no Lan Li, whether "Fast and Exciting / Love 5" can achieve a box office of 300 million in North America, these are still two theories, but it is certain that if it is not Lan Li, the character of Hobbs will definitely not have the current popularity and momentum, and it is impossible to have a biography.

Hollywood's film industry has been very mature, and it is not uncommon to make movie biography, when "X-Men" was released, Magneto and Professor X were the absolute core protagonists, but unexpectedly became popular Wolverine, so there was a series of "Wolverine" Gaiden;

In addition, the "Conjuring" series has a gaiden "Annabelle", the "Chainsaw" series has also considered launching a special "jigsaw" Gaiden, the "Despicable Me" series of Gaiden "Minions with Big Eyes" has even achieved a better box office than this series, the "Star Wars" Gaiden "Rogue One" is also highly acclaimed, and even the TV series "Breaking Bad", which has a win-win reputation and awards, has also released a biography "Wind/Show/Lawyer", and so on.

But what is certain is that the difficulty of creating a gaiden movie has increased exponentially.

First, most of the side stories are centered on supporting roles, and whether the appeal of supporting roles can support a movie and attract audiences to the cinema is a huge unknown; second, the original role of supporting roles is not enough, how to derive from the original work, and interact with the original work, this is a severe test for the screenwriter; third, most of the actors in the supporting roles are second-tier and third-tier, and they do not have box office appeal, so the production cost and box office expectations are even more difficult to measure.

Any film company must be cautious and cautious when making a biography, not to mention that "Deadpool" has been grinding for seven years to make the trip, the popular Black Widow and Hulk in the "Avengers", but the Gaiden movies have always been difficult to deliver, and the Gaiden of Catwoman, Shapeshifting Girl, and Phoenix Girl in the "X-Men" series is also a second consideration.

In other words, even if "Fast & Furious 5" made 300 million grossed in North America, Luke Hobbs's Gaiden movie is still an unknown, and Universal Pictures couldn't have decided to set up the project so hastily, let alone finalize the Gaiden before the movie was released. Michael made it clear that he was talking nonsense, and put on a condescending posture.

So, is this Michael's personal attitude, or is it the attitude of Universal Pictures?

Andy thought about it seriously, and this was in line with Ron Meyer's style of doing things, and it was also in line with the style of acting at Universal Pictures over the past few years.

In 2004, DreamWorks was not doing well and announced a breakup, and the film division and animation division were separated, and the film division led by Steven Spielberg at that time was widely expected to sign a cooperation agreement with Universal Pictures, because Steven and Lang had a very close personal relationship and could be called close friends. But the deal didn't go through, and rumor has it that Lang refused to compromise because of the small distribution rights dividend ratio, and finally pushed his friend to Paramount.

Later, in 2009, the partnership between DreamWorks and Paramount ended, Steven once again led the film department out, and Universal Pictures once again became the first choice. As a result, Lang and Steven fell apart directly, and it can even be said that they turned against each other, and in the end, Disney opened its arms and accepted the DreamWorks film department led by Steven.

This is Universal Pictures, which ranks among the six major Hollywood studios, but it has always been self-contained, does not seek progress, and gradually declines, but it still holds the posture of a top large company.

Andy suddenly understood something: Neil mentioned the reason for Van several times in front of Michael, and apparently, Neil was also protesting in this way. It's not because Neil is on Lan Li's side, but because Neil is dissatisfied with Michael's style, and at the end of the day, Neil is still defending his interests as a producer.

"Fast & Excitement/Emotion 5" has just achieved a box office success, but I didn't expect internal problems to begin to appear. Andy laughed dumbly.

Following the curvature of the corners of his mouth, Andy laughed heartily, "Wow, it's a bit informative, so the topic of our discussion today is...... Gaiden?" he originally thought it was a sequel.

"No, no, no. Michael slowly leaned back in his chair and crossed Erlang's legs, the gesture of a master could not be more obvious, his right hand supporting the armrest erected, and gently swayed, expressing denial, "What we are discussing now is a packaging agreement for one side story, two sequels, and a total of three works. ”

Andy lifted his chin exaggeratedly, "I forgot, Neil just mentioned two sequels." ”

Andy's attitude pleased Michael, and he nodded contentedly, "Yes, the two sequels are the point. The idea now is to start filming a gaiden movie first, and then shoot two sequels in a row. It is better for the Gaiden to be released before the sixth part. ”

If it weren't for Andy's experience, he might have really believed it. However, now that Michael has made up his mind, has the initiative in the whole negotiation, and has shown such strong self-confidence, Andy has also pushed the boat and continued to wait for Universal Pictures to show his conditions, "So, what other details do I need to know about these three works?"

Michael adjusted his sitting position, coughed lightly twice, and then said with a smile, "This is Neil's job, so I won't interfere." ”

Cunning, at the most important moment, Michael instead took a step back and threw the tricky question to Neil. Of course, to be able to climb to such heights, Michael is certainly not stupid, perhaps, the arrogant posture just now was originally a play, a play for Andy, who can say for sure?

Neil obviously doesn't like this hot potato, but he has no room to refuse, "We are still discussing now, and at the meeting just now, the project of the Gaiden and the two sequels was preliminarily determined, and of course, the important position of Lan Li." However, in terms of details, there is no charter yet. We need to further determine Lan Li's position in the crew, and we also need to ask for the opinions of Fan and Paul, and the opinions of the two screenwriters cannot be ignored, and of course, the opinions of Lan Li. ”

If the external fax is successful, then in the two sequels, Lan Li will naturally not be the "third protagonist", but will be the core protagonist alongside Fan and Paul, just like Hugh Jackman's status in the "X-Men" series. In this way, the distribution of the roles of the three protagonists is bound to be a major problem.

However, in these flattering scenes, Andy is in and out of the left ear, and he can see that Neil is going around in circles, constantly wearing a top hat, avoiding the core topic, which makes Andy have some ominous premonitions.

But after going back and carefully reviewing all the details of today, Andy found that this sense of foreboding was there from the beginning, and it was not groundless.

Neil adjusted his sitting posture, seemed uncomfortable, and said a few more official words, "We hope to sign a cooperation agreement with Lan Li for three works, on the condition of a salary of $3.5 million for each work." ”