It's not early, and in the bar, a few friends are drinking with wine glasses in their hands, while listening to Levy, who is sitting in the middle, talking about his movie ideas. They all know that this is something that Levy has been preparing for a long time, and he has a lot to say about this movie.

The film "Eavesdropping Storm" that Levy wanted to shoot is a film about the secret eavesdropping of the cultural creation field in East Germany before the merger of the two Germanys, and the plot of this film is actually quite simple, that is, the minister of culture has taken a fancy to an actress, so he wants to frame her playwright boyfriend and let the secret agent listen to it, and the agent decides to help the playwright get away with the crime after the surveillance.

This story is not complicated, but it has a very good artistic quality. The three people in the movie, the agent, the playwright, and the actress, all have a gradual process. The agent from a ruthless special worker, the process of softening, the playwright from a literary and artistic author who is highly regarded by the prime minister, to the radical process, plus the heroine from the beginning of the compromise with the Minister of Culture for the opportunity to perform, to wake up, cut off contact with the Minister of Culture, and then to confess under pressure after being arrested, the changes of these three people are three different lines, if you use good enough contrast, dramatic production, and suspense creation techniques, to better show the psychological changes of the characters, The artistry and intellectual depth of this film are very high - it has been commented that if there are only three films left in the first decade of the 21st century, then this should definitely be one of them, which is not an exaggeration at all.

Of course, the premise of all this is to be able to show all the content of this movie in front of the audience. Without good enough actors, a good movie is unlikely to show the style it should be. In the original movie, the actor who played this role had a very deep understanding of this role because he was monitored by his wife during the GDR period, and he performed very well. But now, if Levy wants to make an American version of the movie, he can't go to a German actor, and it's not easy to find someone who can play the role well.

"The identity of this character is that of a secret police officer responsible for listening, interrogation, and covert work. For such a role, the first requirement is that he must be happy and angry, and unless he is particularly excited, he must have no expression at all times. However, while there is no requirement for expression, he also has to show the gradual change process of the character's mood. From the firmness at the beginning, to the confusion in the middle, and then to the final rebellion, this process cannot be unexpressed. This actor must be able to be expressionless and show all the psychology of the character. ”

Before the movie started filming, of course, Levy also had to talk to Clark about his thoughts on several characters, and his request for the leading actor made Clark frown when he heard it, and even shook his head a little, "This requirement is too high, and ordinary people can't play it well." ”

"So I said, I'll go find the actors. Actually, I've already figured out who I'm going to play this role. Levy took a sip of his wine and continued, "I want Kevin Spacey to play this role, do you think it's appropriate?" ”

"Kevin Spacey? Of course, there is nothing wrong with his words, but will he come? ”

Hearing Levy's chosen person, Clark was excited for a while, and then frowned.

Of course, there is no problem with this actor: Kevin Spacey has been in the golden age of acting in recent years, first the Seven Deadly Sins, and then the Extraordinary Suspect, and his comfortable performances in these movies have proved that he is a very good actor. Most of his roles are cunning and calm, his temperament and acting skills, it is not a problem to play the agent in this play, he will definitely be able to play it well.

It's just that the bigger question is: he just won the Oscar last year, and he is famous, and Levy's film company has just made a movie, so if he is invited to come, will he come?

"I don't think there's a reason why he shouldn't come. We are not short of money, the salary paid to him will not disappoint him, and he has to read the script when he chooses a movie, and I also asked Alexander to find a way to hand over the script to his agent, whether he can convince him or not, it depends on the script. ”

Levy said that he could afford to pay his salary, which is not false at all: although Spacey is recognized as a good actor in Hollywood, with outstanding acting skills and a lot of fame, but because his screen image is not too good, his salary is seriously restricted. Since his debut, Spacey has played impressive roles, basically all of them in a negative image. has played a lot of villains, and his screen image has been stereotyped into the image of a strange uncle, and the image damage is quite serious, which leads to his salary not being too high.

The American film industry may be far behind the television industry in other aspects, but when it comes to money, it is also very realistic. Actors have won awards, received praise, have a high status, can give speeches, can give lectures, can endorse, those movies can't be controlled, movies are just one thing: how much box office can you bring to the movie? If there is a box office, there will be a salary. has appeal, and any evaluation is deaf to the ear, such as Leonardo, even if Oscar and him have a feud, he still gets 20 million at the box office. Without box office appeal, no matter how good the acting is, it will be in vain. The most typical example is Sien Penn, who has won a lot of awards, but his salary rarely exceeds five million. An actor like Spacey is also relatively close to the latter, although he is famous, his salary is less than 10 million.

The only concern is that Kevin Spacey may not be able to watch Levy's movie because of his fame, and he is reluctant to act in this play. However, Elivid's memory and understanding of him should not be enough. In his memory, this person has the charm of some artists, and they act, not for money, but for what they like.

Levy had seen a lot of such people in his previous life. Some actors act for money, some things for fame, and some people who are truly worthy of respect, who can be called artists, pursue performance, and really regard acting as a career at that time. In the memory of my previous life, in China, some actors took the initiative to push their position as the deputy head of the drama troupe in order to have time to perform dramas every week, saving time for administration. And some actors, in addition to filming, whether it is endorsement or advertising, they will not accept anything, and even when it comes to artistic life interviews, they also directly refuse: people's pursuits are different, and what some people pursue is to act well and be a good actor for a lifetime.

This kind of pursuit, Levy himself asked himself if he couldn't do it, but he absolutely respected: people who know what they want are smart people. And Kevin Spacey is also such a person, he plays the plays he likes, and he can ask for less money if he likes them, and he doesn't act if he doesn't like them. In his memory, he can even participate in low-cost sci-fi films like the moon in the future, and "House of Cards" can also participate in TV series supplied by network cables, and his choice is not to look at money, but to watch happiness. Therefore, if Levy wants to impress him, what he needs is not money, but a good script - and Levy happens to have it now.

With a salary of less than 10 million, Levy can afford it. And Levy also believes that he has no reason to refuse his play after watching it.

What's more, he has other reasons to convince him.

It means a lot to be able to convince him. The acting skills of actors are one of the inevitable qualities for the success of a movie, and this aspect cannot be ignored in any case.

"Of course, if you really invite him, the salary will cost a lot, and other roles, if you can save a little. The role of playwright Deleman needs to be a more elegant and artistic, but he can't be the kind of weak artist, but should be a person who looks elegant and even a little naïve, but has a fire hidden in his heart, so that in the future, his transformation will not be too abrupt. Levy continued, he felt that the performances of the other characters, the actors in the original movie, were a little lacking, and he wanted to make up for them, "Then, Christina's character, this character must be beautiful, preferably with a weak temperament, so that the compromise in the front and the betrayal in the back can make people feel more sorry than hateful - we want to reflect an image that has suffered from injustice, and this character will be more controversial, if there is not enough charisma, It's easy to get disgusted. ”

"I'll pay attention, what about the other characters?"

"Jack wants to play, and I think it's okay to let him play the playwright's friend, the reporter, or the role can be set up to be more provocative, more imposing, so that he can have enough influence on the playwright. And then there's the minister, the director, the dead director, the editor-in-chief of the West Deutsche Spiegel, these tasks also have some scenes, but they are mainly symbols of artistic image. The minister represents the bureaucracy and the oppressor, the director represents the sycophants and the doglegs, and the dead director is the catalyst - these people can just find some distinctive actors. ”

"I'll do it." Clark nodded.

Again, time is not in a hurry. It's March, and if we can start shooting in May, finish in September, and release in December, it's pretty good. This is our first film, I don't ask for speed, I don't ask for money, I just make a good movie -- you know, this movie, for myself. ”

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ps: In order to participate in more performances, it is Pu Cunxin who refuses to take up administrative work, and he is only willing to act, not accept endorsements, and it is Li Baotian who does not appear on the show.