The famous movie "Brokeback Mountain" helped Ang Lee get his first Oscar statuette, but how many people know that it was actually adapted from Anne Plough's short story of the same name?

If the flawless goddess Audrey Hepburn's classic masterpiece "Breakfast at Tiffany's" hadn't been specifically inquired, then who would have known that it was actually a novella?

"The Shawshank Redemption", "Gone with the Wind", "The Godfather", "The Dream of the Covered Bridge" and other film history classics are also adapted, and Hollywood has always had a tradition of adapting literary works into movies.

A brilliant screenwriter, an inexhaustible director, and an actor who takes charge of his own work, condenses the story, fleshes out the characters, and abandons all kinds of cumbersomeness.

Why are book-based movies so popular?

Because it is the most secure and safe way when the capital market is mature!

There are two main sources of Hollywood stories, one is based on classic works and best-selling adaptations, the other is the idea of the director or producer, find a screenwriter or write a synopsis himself, and the third is the original script, the real screenwriter writes it and puts it into the market to sell for a good price.

According to the data released by the Hollywood Writers Guild, Hollywood screenwriters produce as many as 350,000 scripts every year, but among these works, the chance of becoming a movie is far less than that of material outside of Hollywood!

Data shows that in the more than ten years from 1995 to 2017, a total of 13,518 movies were released in Hollywood, of which 6,913 were adapted from other sources, accounting for more than 50% of the total market share!

If you choose, comics, animation, dolls and other channels, there are original readers as the mass base, and books and movies and TV series pull each other.

When investors choose to invest in a movie, do they believe in something completely unfamiliar or in something that has been successful in other fields?

Between high risk and low risk, people who spend money will definitely choose the one with less risk.

Of course, it is undeniable that these adaptations are actually much more interesting than many screenwriters, both in terms of the novelty of the ideas and the proximity to the reader.

The story of "Life of Pi" is not like Robinson, who is always accompanied by a tiger and is highly symbolic.

The beautiful ocean rafting scenes are difficult and easy to shine at the same time, and this spectacular, unparalleled adventure is sure to be a success if it's shot well!

……

There are no impermeable walls, and there are few secrets between Hollywood's studios, except for the most classified things.

So when Lionsgate set its sights on "Life of Pi", well-informed people in the film and television industry also paid attention to Zhang Chu himself.

Warner Bros., the most successful film company of the 20th and 21st centuries, has produced and released countless classics, and more movies are released each year than Hollywood.

Affectionately called by Chinese fans as selling discs and bad movies, all kinds of director's cuts have countless money, and their strength is quite strong!

"Lionsgate seems to be following up on a film from China, but the specific conditions have not been released, only that Patrick is a little good at this work, and thinks that it will have a good income in the Chinese market. ”

As the CEO of Lionsgate, Patrick's every move is watched by the rest of the company, and no movement can escape the attention of others.

David Nate is a producer at Warner Bros., and the whole of Hollywood is centered around the producer, and film projects must be in the producer's office to really start running, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the soul of the film.

He recently finished the film "Weakness", and helped actress Sandra Bullock win the Oscar at the beginning of the year.

As a gold medal producer, David has handled countless projects, some of which are commercial blockbusters, and some are literary masterpieces of the Olympic Games, and his status within Warner Bros. is very high!

"Now that Patrick has his eye on that work, you have to find time for someone to analyze the prospects, and if the quality is okay, take it and be a substitute. ”

The beautiful assistant in the suit and skirt immediately nodded and agreed: "Okay, I'll arrange it right away." In addition, this film has topped the sales charts in China and the United Kingdom, and the New York Times bestseller list in North America has also entered the top 10, and it has also been nominated for the Booker Prize. ”

This made David interested, "It's selling very well? When you ask people to analyze it, just bring me a copy by the way, and I'll see what kind of story it is." ”

"As you wish, Mr. Nate. ”

The female assistant quickly turned away and gently closed the office door.

Warner Bros. has a dedicated person within the program to evaluate a project, and since David Nate has spoken, the rest of them can only step aside and must prioritize the supply of resources to the gold medal producers!

"Life of Pi" began to spread in Hollywood producers and directors' circles, and professional book reviews for various parts were also collected.

At the same time, the praise and disapproval of it are not the same, some people think that the whole article is about religion, and the story of a teenager and a Bengal tiger is difficult to film, and it is very difficult to shoot the main theme of it!

And some people think that if this story can be filmed well, it will not be difficult to hit the awards season or the global box office.

After all, Life of Pi has a very good readership, and millions of copies have been sold in the Chinese market.

As the world's second largest film market, the Chinese film market has a higher and higher status among Hollywood studios, and the original author is Chinese, which can undoubtedly be used as a major publicity point!

At the same time, the protagonist is Indian, and there are various religious discussions in the story, perhaps in India, a populous country, it can also achieve a very high box office and popularity, after all, now the "Life of Pi" book has begun to detonate in India.

More and more people want to contact Random House, they don't have Zhang Chu's contact information, only through the book publishing company.

However, Random House is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and has been working closely with Hollywood for a long time, on the one hand, they will launch Menglong Culture Media, and on the other hand, they will quietly spread the news in Hollywood to attract more potential buyers!

Every year, a large number of book adaptation rights are sold to Hollywood, and the news of the adaptation rights of Youth Pi has spread among industry insiders, and it has vaguely become a hot item.

I don't know if it's a rumor or the real situation, it seems that Twentieth Century Fox has also joined the warband, and there are rumors of Sony Pictures, Focus, Weinstein, New Line, and Legend.

"That's all I can do for you. ”

When the city of Hollywood was stirred, Chris hid his fame and fame, silently waiting for the final result!