"My script is complete. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info "Lance decided to strike first.

"Oh?" Barry seemed a little surprised, but his reaction was funny, "Didn't Percy tell you?" Barry's focus was not on the script that Lance had already finished, but on Percy's message, "It seems that you should be very busy today, and you haven't had time to communicate with Percy yet." ”

"After a busy all-nighter, I finally finished the script." Lance hit the snake with the stick, and then deliberately let out a long breath, as if very relieved, and said with a smile, "After all, I'm already seriously behind, haven't I?" ”

Barry raised an eyebrow, Lance was deliberately blocking his words, how could he not hear it, "Oh, it's really hard for you, Percy should have told you earlier." After internal discussions, we finally decided to go with Aziva's script, which is more complete and more in line with our positioning for the film. "The subtext is, you have worked hard in vain, but the responsibility is not with me.

"I thought we were waiting for the script to come out and then we would have a meeting together to decide." Lance was not bypassed by Barry, but took the position of producer, emphasizing his initiative: if he wanted to work with "I Am Legend", he had to have absolute control over the crew. "Is there anything going on in Los Angeles that I don't know about?"

In the face of Lance's direct questioning, Barry did not panic at all, "Relax, relax, Lance, everything is fine." Instead, he smiled and comforted Lance, "You should know that we want to make a great commercial film, an 'Independence Day', not a 'Water World of the Future'." "Independence Day" is by far the highest-grossing disaster movie in film history, and "The Day After Tomorrow" temporarily ranks second in film history. "Your script is excellent and has a lot of potential to be tapped, but ......"

"I thought you wanted to make a Star Wars, but I didn't think you just wanted an Independence Day." Lance interrupts Barry, and "Star Wars" not only grossed $460 million, but also created a cultural trend that will go down in history.

In fact, the story of "Star Wars" is not complicated, and even a little cliché, but the success of this work lies in the construction of the grand structure of the entire galaxy, and the real life of each alien character. That's what Lance injected into the "I'm Legend" script – something more that stands up to digging.

Barry laughed dumbly, Lance's confidence was so strong, he was definitely prepared, "So, you're writing a script that rivals 'Star Wars'?" ”

"Why not? You haven't seen the full script yet, have you? Lance didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in Barry's words, and said it in a dignified manner.

In fact, if the script of "I Am Legend" can be completed according to Lance's conception, it is very promising that it can become a classic, especially the humanized discussion and in-depth study of "humans infected with viruses and zombies" and "humans who survive virus infection", which elevates the popular elements of the original novel to a philosophical level, which is indeed worth looking forward to. That's why Lance never managed to write the finale, he needed to keep the commercial element and wanted to dig deeper.

"However, I don't think we have enough time." Barry was unhurried and took it in stride, "We need to finalize the script by October and then start the pre-production. You know, we can't afford to lose time, the whole project has been running for so long, we need schedule. ”

"But my script is done...... Lance opened his eyes and said nonsense, but his real purpose was to test Barry's bottom line. If Barry is willing to cooperate, now let him hand in the script, and he will hand over two-thirds of the script, and then explain to them the idea of the whole ending; But if Barry doesn't want to......

"Lance, you know, we all like you, and that's why Warner Bros. has come to you again and again." Hearing Barry's opening, Lance knew the result, and there must have been a "but" after that, "However, we didn't have time to discuss, let alone sort it out slowly." Most importantly, don't forget that what we need is a work that is a commercial box office success, as if it were 'acquired'. ”

"George Lucas will be disappointed when he hears it." Lance said with a smile and a hint of sarcasm.

"But you're not George Lucas." Barry didn't back down, and fought back, and then without waiting for Lance to continue arguing, he continued, "At least not yet." This soft sentence still gave Lance a little face, "Lance, our goals are the same, we all want to create a successful work, we are not enemies, we are in the same camp." Not long ago, the sequel to 'Pirates of the Caribbean' had a huge controversy because of the script, which delayed the crew's progress and made Disney lose a lot of money, and we don't want that to happen, do we? ”

Barry finally showed his fangs, who can understand the cattiness of the sequel script of "Pirates of the Caribbean" better than Lance? Barry didn't mention Lance by name, but the hint couldn't be more obvious. To sum it up simply: Warner Bros. is not stupid, there is no room for maneuver in the script, so make a decision like this, otherwise it will be shot in two.

Actually, it's not surprising, is Aziva's script excellent? Excellent, as a commercial film, except for the slightly lackluster high/high tide, it is indeed commendable, and as for the problems that Lance is worried about, they actually have an impact on commercial films, but none of them are fatal. Even if Warner Bros. did adopt Lance's script, would it be guaranteed to outperform Aziva's version of the script at the box office? No, not even Lance himself.

What's more, the use of Lance's script also means that Lance's control over the entire crew is not just as simple as Chaos Pictures' dividends will increase the screenwriter, but that other producers' control over the filming process will be loosened. So, at the beginning, Warner Bros. promised that the entire crew of "I Am Legend" would be under Lance's control, a promise that was never intended to be fulfilled - among the potential cooperation projects between Warner Bros. and Chaos Pictures, it will always be Warner Bros. who will take the initiative, not Chaos Pictures.

Consistent style of a large company. Even if Lance didn't put all his hopes here, he was inevitably disappointed, and after the success of "Killing with a Knife" and "Sin City", things seemed to have changed a lot, but not much. It's no surprise to think of Mel Gibson, though.

"Of course, we don't want any." Lance chuckled, but more relaxed than before, as if Barry was not the target of his at all, "So, does this mean that I can get into the work of character figuring out and directing first?" As far as I know, Aziva's version of Robert is a character with a lot of inner drama. ”

"Of course, if you have time now, you can start." Barry's smile also bloomed, and the one who knew the times was Junjie. Lance is a smart guy who knows exactly when to be strong and when to back down. The same was clearly true of the previous "Superman Returns" project, where Lance's tough refusal was for the sake of the huge benefits that the DC Universe would induce; The same is true of the current "I Am Legend", and Lance's submissive compromise is just as much for the potential cooperation of the DC Universe.

Barry had the confidence to keep Lance in control. The one who understands the rules of the game is the real winner.

"Oh, that's good, Will called me two days ago and asked me about the progress of the 'I Am Legend' script, and I thought you were going to change actors." Lance still smiled, casually chatting about anecdotes.

Barry paused for a little while, but then he was relieved, he had his sources, and Lance naturally had Lance's, "Haha, no, of course not, we all believe in your ability, you are a very good actor, no one will deny that." There aren't many people who have won an Oscar nomination for their first film, and the most recent one in my memory is Edward Norton. ”

"So, you're asking Will if you'd like to star in 'I'm a Legend,' it's just...... Uh, hype news? There was always a smile in Lance's voice, but the words began to tighten in and out.

Barry didn't panic, Lance was a tricky thorn, and he knew it very well, "No, just to prepare for the second hand." You know, big companies are always in need of alternatives. Barry casually spoke, as if this were the case, "You've been busy lately, and you're going to continue to be busy anytime soon, and given the sheer size of 'I'm a Legend,' we're worried that you might be too busy, so we're getting ready for the second hand." ”

"But I thought that when this project was first handed over to me, it was to hand over an investment of 150 million yuan to me to create a work with my personal characteristics." Lance's tone was slow and distinct, and although he didn't say it explicitly, it hinted at the possibility of a follow-up to the DC universe, "Now it seems that things are starting to change. ”

"Things are really different, and we need you to be more focused, not only because of the time constraints, but also because of the heavy workload, but also because of the huge investment." Barry didn't back down, saying in a tough tone, "You're still the producer, director, actor and screenwriter of this project, nothing has changed." We just need you to be more focused. Both inside and outside the words were accusing Lance of being distracted by the Gawain incident.

So, there's no end to missing that Sunday meeting? More precisely, shock education has just begun?

"Really? Why do I see things from a different perspective than yours? The smile on Lance's lips outlined, but the words became more and more aggressive, "First the screenwriter, then the actor, so what's next?" Producer? Director? I'm not so sure, I've been hearing the name Francis Lawrence a lot lately. (To be continued.) )