The morning sun in Los Angeles always has a hint of lazy smell, and the warmth shines on people, making people sleepy. John, the caretaker of the underground parking lot at MGM's headquarters, dozed off in his place, but his head was tilted to the side, and before the horn could hang down, he was woken up by a crisp horn.

A cool black supercar with a streamlined gloss was stopped by a barred bar at the parking lot door, and John yawned and poked his head out of the sentry box, and then was stopped by the luxurious sports car in front of him.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, making sure that he was not dreaming, the black supercar in front of him was indeed the legendary Bugatti Veair 16.4, and this car was still a little familiar, but John had just been woken up, and his head was still a little dizzy, and he didn't remember it for a while.

The window of the black supercar slowly fell, and the face exposed inside made John's heart suddenly lift.

"Mr. Felix... How are you? ”

Lin Mingyang, who was sitting in the car, smiled at him in a friendly manner. The other party's face looked obviously not awake, if it was usually a bad impression for Lin Mingyang to sleep at work, but at this time he was a little sympathetic to the other party, it seemed that it was not only he who was woken up early in the morning.

"Hey man, is the parking space full?"

John slapped his head when he heard this, hurriedly retracted his head, and then raised the falling bar. When he drove in, Lin Mingyang nodded at him, and the faint smile on his face somewhat soothed the other party's nervousness. Although this was just Lin Mingyang's subconscious action, there was no special meaning in it, but it still made John feel a lot more at ease.

Lin Mingyang didn't have the heart to figure out what a little person would think at this time, after finding a vacant seat and parking the car, he wanted to go directly to his office through the employee elevator in the underground parking lot, but this elevator needed identity card verification, Lin Mingyang didn't have anything on him, so he could only scold at the elevator door.

Just as he was looking at the elevator and sighing, about to find another passage, a voice suddenly sounded behind him: "Mr. Felix? ”

As soon as Lin Mingyang turned around, he found that it was Cod, Ex's assistant, who was holding the car keys and a document in his hand, apparently just returning from outside.

found that the grinning man in pajamas and slippers at the elevator door was really the boss of his boss, Cod was stunned for a moment, speechless for a long time, Lin Mingyang ran to the company wearing this, this is too "weird"!

Lin Mingyang subconsciously looked at himself, and then understood why Cord was staring at him with such strange eyes, he shrugged and explained: "Ex woke me up from bed, he told me to be here within ten minutes, saying that an important person would come over, and I didn't have time to change clothes in a hurry..."

He touched his chin with some embarrassment: "And he didn't even shave his beard... Can you get this elevator out of the way? ”

"Of course!" Kede, who came back to his senses, nodded hurriedly, Lin Mingyang turned sideways, and let him use his work card to scratch on the detector, and the elevator door opened automatically.

The elevator directly sent the two to the executive office area on the top floor, and Lin Mingyang was wearing pajamas and slippers floating in front of everyone like this, attracting surprised eyes everywhere he went. Lin Mingyang didn't care about himself, but Kede who was following him was like a man, and it wasn't until he walked into Ackes's office that Kede breathed a long sigh of relief.

Ex was busy reviewing a document on the computer, and without looking up, he said, "You're rare on time this time, but our guests will have to wait half an hour to come." ”

"How do you know I'm here?" Lin Mingyang asked curiously, he stared at Ex from the moment he came in, but the other party didn't look up at him at all.

"Only you, this guy, would walk in without knocking..."After dealing with the work at hand, Ex was stunned as soon as he looked up: "Why did you come here wearing this?" ”

Lin Mingyang had an innocent expression: "You asked me to come over immediately." ”

"Well, I admit that I was defeated by you!" In front of Lin Mingyang's "scoundrel", Ex could only "raise his hand and surrender", and he asked Cord to go outside immediately to help Lin Mingyang buy a suitable outfit.

Kede was about to go, but Lin Mingyang stopped him again and added, "Don't forget to buy another razor... I haven't shaved my beard today! ”

Codd took the initiative to remind, "Then do you still need breakfast?" ”

Lin Mingyang felt a little hungry at this time, "Oh, I almost forgot, then you can buy me some more food by the way, thank you!" ”

When Cod left, Ex stood up angrily and asked, "What do you think of me here?" ”

"Don't get excited, I promise it's definitely just an accident today!" Lin Mingyang had a wicked smile on his face, but Acks didn't take him seriously.

He took out a folder from his drawer and threw it to Lin Mingyang, "This is the script sent by Marvel Company, saying that it is for you, the big screenwriter, to take a look at it." ”

Lin Mingyang took the script in his hand, but he didn't rush to open it: "You should have already read this script, I want to hear your opinion first." ”

"In terms of story surname, this "Iron Man" should be regarded as the best among similar films. If Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" is a realistic biography of Howard Hughes, then "Iron Man" is Howard DeHughes, which is exaggerated by comics. The film's protagonist, Tony Stark, is a manufacturing tycoon who is a dashing man who has played countless games in the world, and is also a leader in the arms manufacturing industry, with a reputation at the top of society, with the same wealth as Batman, and a spacious residence that is his own research and development headquarters. ”

"From the perspective of comic book fans, the adaptation of "Iron Man" can be regarded as the most complete restoration of the essence of the comics so far, in which the birth journey of the hero and the psychological changes of the hero are described very well, and the changes from Playboy, King of War to Super Iron Hero are clearly explained and convincing."

"In addition to the characterization, I also saw reflections on weapons, violence, terrorist activities... For the indiscriminate killing of innocent people with self-made weapons, and even endangering one's own lives in turn, such a plot arrangement has to be said to be a great irony to reality. ”

Ex used at least three or more superlatives in his evaluation, and it is not easy for a script to get such an evaluation from him.

Lin Mingyang shrugged: "Is this script really as good as you say?" ”

"In fact, it's only modest compared to the scripts you've written." Ex patted his office chair lightly with his hand, "In the past, when I evaluated a movie, it was only based on personal preferences, and whether I made money or not was a matter for the producer... Sitting in this position, business interests must be the first criterion for me to consider the problem. ”

"The ass decides the head?"

Lin Mingyang's words made Ex stunned for a moment, and then reacted, he nodded: "That's pretty much what it means... All in all, I think it's a script that makes money! ”

"For such a film that is based on a comic, the director and the lead actor are the main pillars of the film... I've already promised Stan Lee to be the lead actor in this film, so who is the director? Lin Mingyang, who was reading the script, suddenly thought of such a question.

Ex replied: "The director is on his way... He is the important guest I spoke of to you. ”

Lin Mingyang couldn't help but complain: "When filming "Spider-Man", Sam Raimi went to my house in person... Now I'm woken up early in the morning, and I didn't even have time to change my clothes to rush over, but to see the director, how do I feel like I'm going back more and more? ”

"In the past, it was people who needed you to help them make money, but now you want people to help you make money... Don't you have an idiom in China called 'Corporal Lixian'? You should know better than I do. ”

Regarding Ex's bitter persuasion, Lin Mingyang scratched his head, "Okay, I accept your opinion, but who is the director found by Marvel Company?" ”

"Jon Favreau."

Lin Mingyang Ex heard a very unfamiliar name in his mouth, and seeing the puzzled expression on his face, Ex went on to explain: "Jon Favreau is a third-tier actor in Hollywood, and now he has been acting in comedies. You must have a hard time believing that this somewhat crappy actor is actually a director. Writing, directing, acting, and producing, he can wear four hats in one film, even in Hollywood, where geniuses are running everywhere. To paraphrase a popular saying, the director may not do as well as he can act; People who can direct dramas better than him may not have as good acting skills as him. ”

"So he's a second-rate actor and a first-class director?"

Ex shrugged, "Not a first-class director at the moment, he made a successful comedy four years ago, and the success of the comedy "Christmas Elves" he directed four years ago should be considered the most brilliant moment of his directorial career." ”

Lin Mingyang was a little puzzled, "What he carries is the trust of Marvel Company in him as high as '150 million US dollars', isn't there anything special about this guy?" ”

Ex also has no positive conclusions about the director. Perhaps, the reason why Marvel is optimistic about Jon Favreau is because he has not been smoked by many Hollywood blockbusters, and because of his humble and sincere attitude. Jon Favreau himself is said to have an incomparable love for the comics themselves. And he also participated in "Daredevil", so he naturally has his own unique understanding of filming a high-cost comic book adaptation. ”

After changing clothes in Aix's office, Lin Mingyang took a razor and was about to go to the bathroom to shave, and just went out to meet a middle-aged man with a burly figure but a slightly fat face.

The other party glanced at him curiously, but Lin Mingyang didn't care at first, and when he passed by, the man suddenly shouted.

"Mr. Felix?"

Lin Mingyang stopped and turned around suspiciously, "Are you?" ”

The fat-faced middle-aged man smiled, "Jon Favreau, it's a pleasure to meet you!" ”

The corners of Lin Mingyang's mouth immediately raised a smile, and he walked up enthusiastically to shake hands with the other party, but he was complaining in his heart, "Why did you meet in the place?" ”

Facing Lin Mingyang's enthusiastic outstretched hand, the smile on Jon Favreau's face suddenly became a little embarrassed.

Finding that his expression was wrong, Lin Mingyang looked down and found that he still had a razor in his hand, he smiled apologetically, and hurriedly changed one hand, so that Jon Favreau could only shake hands with him with the other hand, which was indescribably awkward.

After shaking hands, Jon Favreau cautiously asked, "Mr. Felix, are you going to shave your beard?" ”

Lin Mingyang nodded: "I got up in too much hurry this morning, I forgot..."

Jon Favreau stopped Lin Mingyang: "Don't shave, I think you look good with your beard now... This feeling of decadence is exactly what is needed to play Iron Man Tony Stark. ”

Lin Mingyang touched the stubble on his chin, "So you're going to let me play an uncle in this film?" ”

Jon Favreau waved his hand: "I just think the superheroes in the comics don't have to be young and handsome... Don't you think you have a deeper taste for a beard? ”

"As you wish!" Lin Mingyang shrugged, then threw the razor in his hand into the trash can next to him. Lin Mingyang patted Jon Favreau on the shoulder and ushered him into Aix's office.

As soon as Lin Mingyang came up, he asked a little "aggressively": "Mr. Jon, I heard that you recommended me to Stan Lee, the old man, to play the protagonist of "Iron Man"... Can I see why? ”

Ex gave him a look, but it didn't work, Lin Mingyang still stared at Jon Favreau, looking like he had to know the answer.

"Regarding the actor of Iron Man, in fact, at the beginning, I thought that the person recommended by Marvel Company was not you... I used to work on Daredevil. In the Comics of Marvel, the character Daredevil is no worse than Spider-Man in popularity, but "Spider-Man" was a great success, and "Daredevil" failed completely. I think the main reason is that the film spends too much dollar on inviting big stars, and neglects the dedication and heavy money to the film itself. ”

Jon Favreau's analysis of the reason for the failure of "Daredevil" is not to divert the topic, he is paving the way for his next analysis:

"Obviously, the trait of Iron Man is that he is first and foremost a charismatic 'man', not a masked 'superman'. As an ordinary human without any superpowers of his own, all his abilities come from his armor. ”

"So that mechanical armor will be the focus of the film?" Lin Mingyang suddenly interjected at this time.

Jon Favreau shook his head: "I can't say that, I think the 'human' factor is the most important thing to create the character of 'Iron Man', and the performance of his armor is not just a visual gimmick." For those unfamiliar with the Iron Man comics, Warframe may be the biggest selling point, but for fans familiar with the Marvel Co. comic series, Warframe is an inseparable item from Tony Stark's surname. ”

"Although on the surface, there is a strong contrast between a normal ordinary human and an all-powerful armor, there seems to be an insurmountable space in between, and if it is not performed well, the armor may dominate; But in fact, the Warframe is a part of Tony Stark, because he invented and created the Warframe, and the Warframe is just the externalization of his own wisdom and will. ”

Lin Mingyang was obviously satisfied with this answer, so he nodded, made a gesture, and motioned for Jon Favreaus to continue the topic just now.

"Then let's go back to the role of 'Iron Man' Tony Stark... To be precise, the essence of Iron Man is an inventor who has both money and intelligence, both grace and grace, and then awakens to 'great power and responsibility'. ”

"For the actor who plays this role, he must first be able to play the 'human' side behind the Iron Man mask, and Tony Stark belongs to the kind of charismatic playboy. In terms of the sharp and humorous dialogue of his most characteristic protagonist in the script, this is very similar to you in reality. That mode of intercepting the other person's next sentence with a little bit of cleverness and conceit is a good trick when dealing with reporters' questions. It is estimated that you can play this role relatively easily, and you don't need to save up energy to show any acting skills, just think about how to relax and perform your charm. ”

Jon Favreau looked at Lin Mingyang and said sincerely: "No matter from that point of view, you are the best choice to play Tony Stark, but if you are invited to act in this movie, the salary must definitely be more than 20 million US dollars, which is difficult for the film to afford." So in the beginning, I was looking for a good and inexpensive actor... But in the end, Marvel Comics decided to work with MGM, so I didn't have to bother looking for other actors! ”

"The investment in this film is made by Marvel, and MGM is only responsible for the production and distribution..."Lin Mingyang smiled "cunningly", "so the salary still has to be paid!" ”

Hearing Lin Mingyang speak to himself in such a joking tone, Jon Favreau's heart suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. He is just a director recommended by Marvel to MGM, and whether he can take office or not depends on Lin Mingyang's mood in the end.

Lin Mingyang's pass Jon Favreau should be regarded as passing, but Ex on the side has not yet expressed his position.

"Iron Man seems to have a shrewd and capable female assistant with a charming surname... This role should be regarded as the female number one in the film, does Mr. Jon have any suitable candidates in mind? ”

Eckes's question looks like a consultation with Jon Favreau, but it's actually a question about the school.

Jon Favreau smiled slightly, "Since the role of Tony is confirmed to be played by Mr. Felix, the heroine naturally needs an actress of the same level as him... I recommend inviting Miss Kate Beckinsale to play the role. ”

(To be continued)