Chapter 154 of the text volume The heroine (ask for subscription)

Next chapter

Ask for a commuter pass! Ask for a referral ticket! Ask for a subscription!

"Business?" Robert Downey Jr. pulled up his seat belt and adjusted to a more comfortable position, "Are you going to ask me to go to the movie?" ”

Murphy didn't turn his head, "Can't you?" ”

Robert Downey Jr. smiled disdainfully, "You're making a small-budget indie film, right?" ”

"What happened to indie films?" Murphy's tone turned cold, and he said mercilessly, "It's good to have a film shot now!" ”

The current Robert Downey Jr. is not the Robert Downey Jr. in the future, his capital has been squandered in recent years, even if Robert Downey Sr. is there, if he wants to get the role of a heavyweight project, he can only think about it.

Robert Downey Jr., who once became a top superstar after becoming popular, has made remarks that independent films are useless, but the slap in the face is that he himself also starred in a large number of small-budget independent films before becoming Iron Man.

When he was on the other side of the ocean, Murphy liked Robert Downey Jr. very much, and he knew a little bit about his resume, the situation he faced after being released from prison could not be described as difficult, Robert Downey Sr. did accumulate a network of relationships for many years, but when it came to a huge investment in film projects, no one dared to rashly use a drug addict to play an important role.

It's not that Hollywood discriminates against drug addicts, but no one knows if a guy like Robert Downey Jr. can actually get the job done.

The relationship between Robert Downey Sr. and the risks that need to be taken are not at all proportional.

After being released from prison, Robert Downey Jr. simply found any role with a slight weight, and for a time he could only go to the TV series to play soy sauce, until Mel Gibson, who had not been marginalized by Hollywood, made a move, which changed the situation.

"What do you want to express, Donnie?" Murphy turned his head to look at him and sneered, "Or did you get an invitation to make a film appointment while you were in prison?" ”

These words immediately reminded Robert Downey Jr. of his own situation, and he coughed unnaturally.

Although he is a little arrogant, he has no show in his head, how could he not think that the next days will not be easy.

"All the pyramid characters who stand at the top of the film industry chain start from the grassroots level, and most of the first shots are some small-budget films." Murphy said unhurriedly, "No studio or big investor would be idiotic enough to hire someone in a situation like ours to operate or star in a big-budget movie." ”

He snorted, "So there's no reason why you shouldn't love small-budget films, and your best way out now is to prove yourself with independent films and then return to the mainstream film industry." ”

The cynical smile on Robert Downey Jr.'s face is completely gone, perhaps because he has encountered far more difficulties in prison than he once did, and now he seems to understand that it is not easy to climb to a relatively prominent position in this world, and he also knows that there are things to think about, not to do it on the spur of the moment.

If you continue to be impulsive, it may not be long before you return to the prison in the back.

One thing he knew was that as time went on, Murphy and Rose's reputation for staying in prison was gradually dissipating, and if he entered prison again, would he be able to protect himself like before?

A lot of people are still very interested in movie stars, even if they are outdated.

Thinking of this, Robert Downey Jr.'s face was a little gloomy, and he knew in his heart that he was already angry.

"Downey, my last film cost $800,000 in exchange for more than $60 million at the North American box office." Murphy boasted unblushing, "My new project is fully run by CAA, and five studios have already expressed strong interest. ”

Robert Downey Jr. scratched his head and finally said, "I'm going to have to read the script, right?" ”

"No problem," Murphy smiled slightly, "and you'll see it when you get back." ”

He glanced at Robert Downey Jr. again, this guy is not stubborn, if he can't figure out his own situation, if he really doesn't mean to cooperate, Murphy won't force it.

After returning to Los Angeles, Murphy found that Robert Downey Jr. was in a worse situation than he had imagined, the man who had been in prison for a far longer period of time, who had been forcibly repossessed by the bank for the original loan to buy the residence, and who was sentenced to prison and was fined hefty when he was sentenced to prison, and the original brokerage company waited for a year and did not renew the economic contract between the two parties after it expired.

To be exact, Robert Downey Jr. is a lonely ghost who has no residence, not much money, and no agency.

The best place to go after getting out of prison is to go home to Robert Downey Sr.

But he's almost forty years old, and if he goes home to Robert Downey Sr., it's time for Hollywood jokes to circulate again.

So, after arriving at Stanton Studios, Robert Downey Jr. chose to stay here for the time being, waiting for the bank to activate his account before moving to the hotel.

Throwing the script to Robert Downey Jr., Murphy tells Rosa Rodriguez to take proper care of him and keep herself busy.

There is good news from the CAA, Bill Rothes has successfully poached, James Franco has signed a formal brokerage contract with him, plus Murphy, Carey Mulligan, Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan, who have signed with CAA, the main creators of this project are basically CAA customers.

This is also the policy that CAA one-stop packaging services have always implemented.

After Murphy made the phone call on the original business card, Bill Rothes went to the San Fernando Valley again and talked to Jenna Jameson in person, maybe the amazing success of "Saw Horror" was very impressive, maybe the CAA's name was loud enough, or maybe the other party also wanted to try whether he could transfer to Hollywood, Jenna Jameson did not refuse the offer, and basically agreed to play the heroine of the film, just waiting for her new agent to be in place and the project was approved.

She changed her agency, and she won't talk about specific cooperation until the new agent arrives.

The most important piece of good news is that there are indeed several studios interested in Murphy's new project.

Harbor Entertainment, DreamWorks, Morris Entertainment and many other companies have been in contact with CAA, and Murphy has mostly left it to Bill Rothes, who is far more experienced in running this kind of packaging project.

Murphy's real personal contact was with Miramax, and although he had not had a very pleasant experience before, Harvey Weinstein called him personally, and the negotiations for Saw were purely commercial and had nothing to do with personal conflicts, and in the face of sufficient commercial interests, these were nothing at all.

Originally, Murphy thought that he could continue to cooperate with Fox Searchlight, but the other party focused more on the overseas release of "Saw" and the sequel to this series, and was not particularly interested in the new project, and after CAA contacted them several times, there was no substantial progress.

After being personally invited by Harvey Weinstein, Murphy also came to Miramax's branch in Burbank.

"I couldn't work with you last time,"

In a huge reception room, Harvey Weinstein had a genuine smile on his face, "It's a shame. ”

Murphy took the coffee from a female assistant, said thank you, and looked at the chubby face opposite, "Mr. Weinstein......"

"Harvey!" Harvey Weinstein emphasized, "Murphy, call me Harvey. ”

The big Jewish fat man stopped going around in circles, took Murphy's script and project plan, and said bluntly, "I'm very interested in your new project." ”

Murphy smiled modestly, "It's my pleasure. ”

"However, there are a few doubts about the project." Harvey Weinstein flipped through the project proposal and found those places where he was standard, "I needed a reasonable explanation. ”

"Please." Murphy said.

This is a situation that almost every project faces before it is actually established, and the executives of film companies will not listen to someone's words and decide on a huge investment, nor will they just read a proposal and make a hasty decision.

No company or anyone's money is blown by the wind, and everyone knows that investment is bound to be accompanied by risks.

"Your first two films were typically noir, more brutally realistic." Harvey Weinstein pointed to the script, "This project is also in the black cult genre, but it's more comedic in it. ”

Hearing this, Murphy organized his language slightly, "I think movies are always affected by the social environment, what happened in September has a profound impact on the whole United States, too cruel and realistic films, for audiences who have just been traumatized, it must not be a good choice, and the appropriate comedy can dilute the blood and violence of the film." ”

In fact, the scale of the gore of the films he planned would not be as exaggerated as they once were.

Harvey Weinstein nodded lightly and glanced at Murphy again, the young director was even smarter than he thought.

It seems to be a very simple truth that movies are deeply affected by the social environment, but some people just ignore it, and only know how to shoot movies indiscriminately, but they don't know that even if some movies are made with good quality, if they are contrary to the whole society, they can only end in failure.

It's really rare to be able to understand such a truth at such a young age.

From this point of view, the interest rate for the success of him and his project could be higher.

"And the investment in the film,"

Although there is some admiration for this young man, where it should be suppressed, Harvey Weinstein will not relax in the slightest, "The $12 million you proposed is too high. ”

Murphy didn't say much, the $12 million was meant to leave enough room for the two sides to bargain.

"If the film is filmed in Australia, you can apply for a tax rebate," Harvey Weinstein said, adding, adding, "$6 million is enough." ”

This was a little higher than Murphy's psychological expectations, but he didn't say much, and instead pushed it to the agency, "Harvey, it's better to talk to the CAA." ”

Harvey Weinstein nodded, after all, it was the CAA that was packing the project.

He changed the subject and talked about some of Murphy's choices, "I don't understand, what do you think about the heroine?" (To be continued.) )