Lance looked at the fifteen-inch screen of the powerbook produced by Apple in front of him, and the picture on the screen was motionless, as if it was stuck, which made Lance couldn't help but raise his left hand, touched the tail of his eyebrows intentionally or unintentionally, and then gently rubbed it at the position of the sun, and the slightly irritable feelings slowly precipitated.

Storyboard scripting is a habit that Lance developed in college, and it plays a crucial role in conceiving the entire shot, controlling the film landscape, and controlling the cost of the film. However, in his previous life, he was accustomed to using a computer to complete his drawings, and the computers produced by Apple were very convenient to use; But it's only 2003, Apple's laptop processors are still too slow, and the MacBook series has not yet come out, Lance only feels stumbling when using it, and the depressed mood is really indescribable.

Previously, the storyboard script for "City of God" was relatively simple, because all the shots were based on real life; But "the day after tomorrow" is different, almost more than 80% of the footage comes from fiction, and it is definitely not a simple matter to outline the end of the ice and snow.

What's more, as a director, Lance needs to present his concept art of the end times, and then work with the special effects company team to create the magnificent post-apocalyptic scene. The success or failure of special effects maintains 50% of the success or failure of the "day after tomorrow"; The remaining 50 percent is the rhythm of the control and the brewing of **.

Pulling teeth from Roland Emmerich and taking over the "day after tomorrow" is just the beginning, and the real trouble is only now coming.

"What? You don't like a new computer? A low teasing voice came from behind him, Lance turned his head, and saw Ian and Theo walking in one after another, Ian had a relaxed smile on his face, tugged at his tie, sat down relaxedly, and then turned back to the waiter who followed him, and whispered, "Please open a bottle of '86 Pettisila first, thank you." ”

Theo sat down across from Lance and looked left and right, "What about Gawain?" ”

He ...... Uh, saw a couple of old friends and went out to say hello. Lance looked at the computer, finally came to his senses, clicked Save, closed the laptop, and set it aside. Raising his head and seeing Ian's inquiring gaze, he relieved himself, "This is already the best on the market right now." The subtext is that he's still not satisfied.

Theo opened his briefcase, took out a copy of the paper, and handed it over. Lance took it, and his fingertips could clearly feel the temperature of the printer, but Lance was not interested in the legal provisions at all, so he skipped the previous nonsense and flipped back aimlessly.

Ian thoughtfully explained, "Twentieth Century Fox shoulders the cost of making a film, but the crew will be covered by Chaos Pictures, and their cost budget is about $100 million, not more than 100 million and 5 million at most." At this point, Lance raised his head and showed a speechless expression - the fluctuation value of five million dollars may be just a thirty-second shot for a special effects blockbuster like "The Day After Tomorrow", and Twentieth Century Fox is really stingy.

Ian shrugged, "I've heard that they do have some financial problems, if you're interested, I can inquire in detail." Lance directly ignored Ian, lowered his head and continued to read the script, "Then they made a list of actors, I don't know any of them, you can see for yourself." In the end, the final editing rights can belong to you, but the clapping rights still belong to them; At the same time, the price is that we have to give away 10 percent of the box office dividends, when the North American box office is more than 100 million US dollars, we can get 18 percent dividends, 150 million US dollars is 20 percent, 200 million US dollars can get 23 percent, and only when it reaches 300 million US dollars can we get 25 percent. ”

Today, Theo and Ian are representatives of Chaos Pictures, negotiating with Twentieth Century Fox for the details of the "acquired day" collaboration. Unlike the previous "City of God", which was only a transaction for the distribution of copyrights, this time it is a cooperation between two production companies, and the distribution of power and interests is naturally more complicated. Compared to the layman of Lance, Theo and Ian are obviously more suitable.

Lance sued Ian about his bottom line, and then left it to Ian and Theo to take full responsibility.

"What is this final editing right, and it costs so much?" Ian took a sip of the boiled water in front of him and said with some uncertainty, "Although I don't know much about movies or anything, I also know how difficult it is to have a box office of 300 million, and you actually spend so much money to exchange." "The bottom line given by Lance is that 20% of the box office dividends will be paid, but the final editing rights must be obtained. Now Ian has won twenty-five percent - although the conditions are very harsh, and he has lost almost half of the profits that belong to Chaos Pictures, but he still lives up to Lance's expectations.

Lance didn't find this information in the dense contract details, but just looked up at Ian in surprise, "To put it simply, my movies are in my hands." I thought that today's negotiations could not be successful, how could these old foxes be willing to let go lightly, how did you negotiate it? ”

The final editing rights are crucial for production companies, especially for commercial films like "The Day After Tomorrow", which has a huge investment. As a fledgling rookie director, Lance has not yet fully proven himself, and the production company will not take risks lightly. That's why Lance prepared for the worst.

Theo said coldly next to him, "Ian directly threatened the other party, if you don't want 'Acquire' to become 'Alien 3', you don't mind using this movie to practice your skills." ”

Lance couldn't hold back for a moment, and burst out laughing. Imagine Mark Gordon's face when he heard this, it was probably worse than the bottom of the pot.

Whenever people mention the failure of the sequel, "Alien 3" is bound to be on the list, this film is David Fincher's directorial debut, and the production company naturally didn't believe David at the time - even though he took over the guide of "Alien 3" under the introduction of George Lucas, so David only had the rights to the first cut, but not the final editing. In the end, the film was edited by the production company in a mess and fragments, and after its release, it was not only ridiculed and ridiculed, but also directly ruined the classic series of "Alien", and David refused to admit that this was his work.

The production company does not know how to pretend to understand, and the film editing is unrecognizable, which is a typical case. And the production company of "Alien 3" is precisely - Twentieth Century Fox.

"Hey, Theo, I was negotiating, not threatening." Ian looked righteous, then looked at Lance innocently, and explained, "I'm just telling them very thoughtfully based on the information you said, the success of 'City of God' comes from your overall control of the movie, if you lose control of the movie, you can't guarantee the quality of the finished product, maybe it can become another 'City of God', and it is also possible to become 'Alien 3'." Ian raised his hands with an innocent expression of "I'll think about you" on his face, "Look, I'm not wrong, right?" ”

"Yes, you're absolutely right." Lance couldn't help but chuckle as well. The task of filming "The Day After Tomorrow" was daunting, but now that the editing rights were finally in the hands of Lance, at least Lance could have taken the initiative in his hands, and it was a great start.

Working with a large company like Twentieth Century Fox has huge benefits, but there are also many obstacles. Lance was still worried that if he only had the right to cut the initial cut, it would be very difficult to mediate later, but he really didn't have many chips in his hand, so he could only trade with more box office dividends. Unexpectedly, Theo and Ian surprised him.

This is just the second film for Chaos Pictures, which lost nearly 20 percent of the huge box office dividends, but in exchange for quality assurance, Lance thinks the deal is a good deal. Those who achieve great things are not informal, and Lance's choice is very clear and clear in the decisive killing.

"By the way, the special effects company has signed on, Digital Domain, and they said they had a concept meeting next Monday." Ian continued, "How's this company going? Need us to inquire? ”

In the digital field, this is the second largest film special effects studio in the industry after ILM, founded by Scott-Ross (ISM), who rose to prominence after winning a stake in James Cameron in 1993. The technological advantage in the digital realm lies in particle effects, which have long been leaders in the creation of atmospheric and marine effects.

However, because of James's strong temper and star aura, the development of the digital field has never been able to go further, and it is more often regarded as James' personal special effects team. Most commercial special effects blockbusters are still more willing to choose the industrial light and magic cooperation led by George Lucas.

Twentieth Century Fox chose the digital realm this time, which can be said to be a wise decision. James aside, the rendering and production of tsunami hurricanes in the digital realm is second to none in the industry, and it is indeed the best team to make zuò behind the scenes of the "day after tomorrow".

"No, I know the company." After finally winning the editing rights, now we have to face the digital field, and in the production of commercial blockbusters, the sense of powerlessness that emerges from time to time is simply everywhere, especially for a new director like Lance, the pressure is unimaginable.

I don't know if I will meet James in the process of making zuò behind the scenes. With James' egoistic temper, cooperation will be very difficult, and Lance will be at an absolute disadvantage. However, then again, James is not an "acquired" producer, nor is he a special effects producer in the digital realm, so Lance may not be directly face-to-face with James.

As he spoke, Gawain's energetic voice came, "Are you back?" How's the cooperation going? 一qiē都回顺lì? Gawain walked over to the table and found that only the seat next to Theo was vacant, and he couldn't help but point to the place next to Lance, "That'...... That's where I am. ”

Theo turned his head to look at Gawain, "It's not the same to sit here. Gawain suddenly froze, and replied listlessly, "Oh", and then sat down obediently.

Lance and Ian both lowered their heads and curled the corners of their mouths to stifle a smile.