On the first day of 2008, Burbank Disney Studios was crowded with reporters to witness the birth of another super-production in Hollywood's history with a budget of more than $250 million, and the first non-sequel film with a budget of more than $250 million.

If nothing else, the figure of $250 million alone is enough to shock the eyeballs.

Moreover, this project is co-produced by Disney Pictures and Plan B Studios, produced and directed by the famous Andrew Stanton of Pixar Studios, and the male and female protagonists are also luxurious - Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman.

"Over the past 80 years, many people have tried to translate this story into a more vivid and lively way into a world of images, and Andrew has spent 10 years waiting to bring him to the big screen......

In the office of David Ellison of Sky Dance Pictures, Matthew watched Brad Pitt on the TV sitting in front of hundreds of reporters and talking, and at this moment the super idol of middle-aged and elderly housewives seemed to have been reborn and seemed to be in high spirits.

"I, Mr. Andrew Stanton, and I, will be telling the audience a new and good story and creating a never-before-seen fantasy world. ”

There was thunderous applause on the television, representing Disney Pictures' top management, Andrew Stanton and Natalie Portman, as well as reporters.

Matthew and David Ellison sat quietly in their offices, neither spoke, just watched the press conference continue.

Later, the representative of Disney Studios and Natalie Portman, who played the heroine, also said something to the camera, but the representative of Disney Pictures spoke briefly and seemed to coincide with their investment in the film.

Andrew Stanton's speech wasn't too long, and the Pixar studio bigwig was better at doing things than talking about them.

So, Brad Pitt ended up with a confident tirade.

"I feel incredibly excited to be able to change this film, because what we are conveying with this film is not just a perfectly framed original material, but also a journey into an unexplored realm of cinema with it. ”

Hollywood stars are all good players, and Brad Pitt is no exception, "That's the belief and dream I've had since I was a little boy." ”

"My ultimate goal is to leave a real aftertaste with this film, to convince them that it's really possible, and to look forward to it," he declared...... It's a lot like the illusion you have when you're reading science fiction, and when you immerse yourself in such a world, you naturally have a bizarre sense of trance. ”

The television burst into applause again, and Brad Pitt was back on center stage in Hollywood.

At the end of the press conference, David Ellison picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.

"Matthew, Brad Pitt and Andrew Stanton worked together, but we made it happen. David Ellison is still a little worried, "If "Alien Battlefield" ends up surpassing a billion dollars at the global box office, the two of us can go to the Pacific Jump." ”

"It looks like I'm going to have to get my life jacket ready in advance. Matthew said deliberately.

David Ellison added, "Now that the pit has been dug and Brad Pitt has jumped, all that's left is to wait for the final result." ”

Matthew nodded, "Hopefully a miracle doesn't happen." ”

As far as he has observed over the years, the failed movies that were once on the list continue to fail without exception, will "Alien Battlefield" be an exception?

David Ellison took a sip of water from his cup and said, ""Cloud Atlas will start filming in February, and it will be released in the summer next year, gathering many famous actors. ”

"I know. "Matthew has been informed for a long time.

"The film "Alien Battlefield" will be later. "David Ellison has reliable sources on the side of Plan B," Pixar Studios' "WALL-E" still has some finishing touches to do, and after Andrew Stanton finishes, the pre-production of "Alien Battlefield" will begin in full swing, but filming will not be until after the release of "WALL-E." ”

Matthew slowly tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair, "Once the film starts, the chances of Brad Pitt quitting are slim. ”

"I have more news here, I think you'll be interested. David Ellison suddenly laughed, "Most of the interior scenes of "Cloud Atlas" and "Alien Battlefield" will be filmed at Disney studios, and the studios determined by these two crews are not very far from us. ”

Matthew smiled too, "Right under our noses." ”

Due to the cooperation agreement reached with Walt Disney, the interior scenes of "Twilight" and "Fast and Furious 4" were also placed in Disney studios, and since the signing of the distribution agreement with Disney, some staff of the crew have determined the studio and are busy with scene design and construction.

The next two auditions to be conducted by the crew were also held in Disney studios.

"If both of their projects succeeded, ours failed. David Ellison shook his head and said, "Matthew, we're going to make people watch a big joke." ”

Matthew said indifferently, "It's okay, we're thick-skinned." ”

Film Studio 13 has been tied to Sky Dance Pictures, which can be said to be a community of interests.

"That's right. Matthew thought of the key question and asked, "David, do you know the specific investment situation over there in Alien Battlefield?"

David Ellison nodded, "I was just about to say that." He went on to elaborate, "With a $250 million production budget for this project, the main reason Disney Studios was able to give Andrew Stanton the green light was that they weren't responsible for much of the investment. ”

He cleared his throat and continued, "Disney Studios is now fully promoting your good friend Johnny Depp's two projects - "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" and "Alice in Wonderland", which itself has limited funds, so it will only inject $30 million into the project of "Alien Battlefield". ”

Matthew continued, "Hollywood's big six companies have always been shrewd, and if this project is a big success, they will benefit greatly as producers and distributors, and if it fails, it will basically be someone else's money." ”

"yes. David Ellison sighed, "The strategy of a big Hollywood studio to raise money and borrow someone else's chicken to lay eggs for itself is really clever." ”

He returned to the topic just now, "In the plan of the crew of "Alien Battlefield", in addition to Disney's $30 million, $70 million will be solved by pre-sales, platters and advertising sponsorships, and the remaining $150 million will be solved by Brad Pitt and Plan B Studio, which is the main reason why Andrew Stanton abandoned us and switched to Brad Pitt's arms. ”

"Brad Pitt was able to solve the most critical funding problem for him. Matthew is well aware of this, "and we can't." ”

David Ellison said, "I don't know what Brad Pitt is going to do now, running the two projects of "Cloud Atlas" and "Alien Battlefield" at the same time, even if he can solve part of it through financing, I am afraid he will have to pay a lot of money himself, it is said that part of the source of funding for "Cloud Atlas" is that he mortgaged the equity loan of Plan B, and "Alien Battlefield" is estimated to need more loans. ”

Matthew laughed, "Obviously, he wasn't as lucky as me to meet David Ellison. ”

"Come on. David Ellison shrugged, "It's my luck that you met me." If it weren't for you, I'd still be throwing money around to pave the way. ”

Matthew didn't take his word again, and frankly, without David Ellison's funding and the professionals Skydance had already recruited with high salaries, he wouldn't have been able to try to run both "Twilight" and "Fast and Furious 4" at the same time.

The financial problem alone will make him more stressed.

As a relatively cautious person, it is impossible for him to smash all the liquidity in his hands.

The two then discussed the two projects of "Twilight" and "Fast and Furious 4", the scripts of the two crews have been finalized, the director and the recruitment of behind-the-scenes work are basically in place, the studio layout and location inspection are also in progress, and the focus of the next stage of work is undoubtedly the actor audition.

The starring actors of "Fast and Furious 4" are basically finalized, and there are also potential first choices for Jewish female roles and Asian male leads.

All the main characters on the Twilight side have to be solved through the auditions later.

Near noon, Matthew was about to say goodbye and leave, when David Ellison called out to him again before he left.

"One more thing, you can help me refer to it. He took out a stack of comics from the drawer and said, "Some time ago, the Warners came to see me, aren't they filming the Batman series of movies? ”

"Oh?" Matthew didn't leave, grabbed a comic and flipped through it, "When will filming start?"

David Ellison shook his head, "For the time being, it's just intention, there's no time to prepare." He asked, "Can this series be invested?"

Matthew hadn't watched much American dramas at all, thought about it, and said, "I don't know much about TV episodes." ”

He opened the comics in his hand and looked through them, the characters in it were very familiar, and when David told him that Nolan was interested in inviting him to play the Joker, he had read the comics about Batman.

"I'll take this comic and take a look. Matthew stood up and took his leave, "I have an appointment at noon, so I'll go first." ”

David Ellison was curious and gossiped, "Which beauty is dating you?"

"Lily Collins, you don't know. ”