Ex's "killer move" really worked, and after learning that Jolie had joined that film, Lin Mingyang's attitude immediately took a 180-degree turn. Previously, he also declared that he was not interested in this kind of subject, but now he has shown a strong "interest" in the film.

"You really have a leg with Angelina!" Ex's "annihilation plan" succeeded, and a smug smile couldn't help but appear on his face, "No wonder she took the trouble to adopt children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and other places, but she refused to remarry herself, it turned out that this is why." ”

Seeing that the expression on Lin Mingyang's face was a little unnatural, Ex stopped his joke at the right time. American society is very open to the issue of the relationship between the two surnames, but after marriage, both husband and wife must abide by loyalty, because marriage is a contract, and Western capitalist civilization is built on the basis of a contract society.

And before marriage, as long as they are not devout Catholics, everyone is very "tolerant" in the relationship between the two surnames, especially between two tacit men.

The speculation about Lin Mingyang's girlfriend has always been a topic of great interest to the media, but no one can say how many women he has a relationship with, and there are too many female stars who have scandals with him, and it is difficult for everyone to distinguish the true from the fake. And as his agent, Ex is actually not very clear in his heart.

"During the period from 2003 to 2004, Topcow Comics Publishing House released 6 issues of the comic "Wanted", the story content is a bit similar to the popular movie "The Matrix" a few years ago, and it is also the framework of an ordinary white-collar worker who is suddenly brought into a virtual world to start stimulating life."

The appearance of "The Matrix" is a milestone in the history of Hollywood films, this film has opened up a whole new field in terms of shooting techniques and subject matter, and has also profoundly influenced many subsequent films, of course, including the comic book that Ex is now mentioning.

The assassins created by the comic "Wanted" are, of course, on the mission of killing, but they do not kill for the sake of creating a new society, nor for the so-called national righteousness, and have nothing to do with all moral things. The reason why they kill people is for only one purpose, and that is profit. The comic shows the story of a group of superbad guys, which is completely contrary to the superhero model that is common in American comics.

"The comic was favored by Jimmy Jeff, the chairman of Universal Pictures. Jeff was looking for a subject that would make a 'hard R' movie, and this "Wanted", which was quite dark in style and tone, met his needs. They bought the film rights to the comics, and both authors were happy that their comics would be made into a movie, but the screenwriter they hired adapted the script to make Jeff very unhappy. ”

Jeff brought up the incident on a call yesterday, and Ex deliberately mimicked the tone of the other party's speech and relayed his exact words: "I expect to see this movie preferably the exact opposite of the Spider-Man movie, and "Wanted" should be about a man who suddenly gets some kind of magical power, with the help of which he can do whatever he wants, and in the end he chooses to go down the so-called crooked path instead of the right path." I think this version of the script is still too mild, and the flavor of American-style heroism still lingers in it. ”

Because Jeff has always been dissatisfied with the script, the filming of this film has been repeatedly delayed. But at the beginning of this year, because of the determination of the director, this problem was finally resolved.

Jeff needed a filmmaker with enough innovation to direct the film, and producer Pratt agreed that after "Wanted" was adapted into a movie, it needed a helmsman with the courage and talent to break the conventional limits.

This candidate, who came to the fore immediately after Pratt saw "The Night Watch," naturally assumed that with a meagre budget like "The Night Watch," Timo Beckmanbetov could create action movies full of gorgeous visual pleasures, and that he would certainly be more comfortable with his dynamic perspective as a filmmaker and his unique sense of darkness when he had more budget at his disposal.

Russian director Tim Bekman Betov was invited to be the director of this film, after he achieved high box office and good reputation with two small-budget magic dramas "Night Watch" and "The Watchman", and his fame also spread from Russia to the United States, becoming the object of competition for many American film companies. Pratt, a producer owned by Universal, approached Tim with the story of "Wanted", which successfully attracted the interest of the Russian director, which led him to decide to make his first Hollywood film in the United States. ”

When it comes to Russian cinema, most people's minds are still stuck in the body of academic directors like Tarkovsky or Alexander Sokolov. But just as the recovering Russian economy is brewing a huge, courageous and ambitious change in the Russian film industry.

In a certain industry, the emergence of a kind of person actually means that the entire industry is quietly rising. Tim Beckmanbetov is exactly such a person. He filmed two blockbuster films in succession, "The Night Watchman" and "The Watchman", which surpassed other Hollywood blockbusters at the domestic box office in Russia. At least Tim's appearance makes people realize that Russian directors are not all about making boring films.

"Tim started revising the script as soon as he was in place, and his changes made the pretty American story quite crazy, and when he added his Eastern European madness to the story, the whole script really became quite dark, and Jeff was very happy with that change because it was very much in line with the idea he had been holding."

"I remember that there didn't seem to be a female character in that comic." Since Ax began to introduce the film, Lin Mingyang has been quietly playing the role of a listener, and this is the first time he has taken the initiative to ask.

"How else to say that Julie's energy is amazing?" Ex chuckled, "The producers specially invited Chris Morgan to be the script doctor, and his task was to tailor the role for Julie. The heroine in the script is called Fox, and I've read the script, and Chris seems to have combined Lola from "Lola the Tomb Robber" with Trinity from "The Matrix", and finally created the character of a dangerous woman full of mystery, and I heard that she likes this character very much. ”

After Angelina Jolie confirmed her participation in the film, the problem of finding other actors became a big problem for Universal. The already small production cost became more and more stretched after hiring a big name like Julie. And the $10 million salary is still only the price of Jolie starring in small literary films such as "Strong Heart" and "The Good Shepherd", and her salary when she played "Sister and Brother Agent" was 15 million US dollars. But even if Julie's salary has dropped very low, about a quarter to one-fifth of the filming cost of this "Wanted" is still divided by her.

If Lin Mingyang joins this film, the salary will definitely not be lower than Julie, just when he was worried about the lack of filming costs for the film, Ex came to say.

"So it's still your face that is the biggest, Jeff not only offered you $20 million on the phone, but also promised to increase the production cost of the film to $100 million!" He looked at Lin Mingyang very seriously, "After deducting your salary, director Tim can have at least $15 million more production costs out of thin air." I didn't reply directly to Jeff on yesterday's phone call, so the director and producer of the film will definitely come and lobby you. ”

-- Ex's prophecy soon came true, Lin Mingyang had just finished filming "Transformers", and Pratt, the producer of "Wanted", visited with director Tim Beckmanbetov, and they were accompanied by a Russian translator.

Tim now only has a very simple English conversation, and although he has an interpreter, it is still a little inconvenient for the two sides to communicate. The only advantage of the language barrier is that it saves a lot of cumbersome polite words when meeting. In the ensuing conversation, the main problem is expressed by the producer Pratt, who slows down his speech as much as possible to ensure that the translator can tell Tim what he meant.

At the beginning, Pratt mentioned that he was a big fan of Tim Beckmanbetov, and now that he finally has the opportunity to join "Wanted" as a producer, he looks very emotional and emotional.

"From the completion of the first version of the script to the start of filming, it took us almost two years. In our opinion, adaptations need to have a starting point in the right direction, that is, how to perfectly extract the story point of view from the original book that is in line with the big screen, and then raise the picture to a comfortable level through the film's unique photoelectric effect - because even if the original comic has described the grotesque and bizarre style, no one can guarantee that the same thing will produce the same effect in the movie! ”

"Watching Timo Bekmmanbetov's films is a unique experience that has never been seen before, and the visual language he uses is so bizarre and remarkable that it is jaw-dropping and exciting at the same time."

...... "Beckman Betov instills in his work a cinematic sound that you can't ignore, and I hope that this rare ability of his can make the original comic book series burst with a new brilliance and energy on the big screen, and we all look forward to him to bring us an excellent work that is exciting, meaningful and easy for the audience to understand." ”

Pratt has shown full trust in the unique visual stunts that Tim Beckmanbetov has already shown in his previous work, even joking: "If you put three people, including Beckmanbetov, in the same room and give them the same camera to shoot the same picture... Only Beckman Betov can bring you a unique kind of amazement and shock! ”

Pratt said all this in order to prove to Lin Mingyang that Tim Beckmanbetov is a trustworthy director, and that "Wanted" is such a special movie. He knows very well that an actor of Lin Mingyang's level, it is difficult for ordinary characters to arouse his interest, and the sword will have unexpected effects.

If Tim hadn't been Russian, but from other countries in Europe, Pratt probably wouldn't have spent so much tongue to explain. Although the Cold War has ended and the Soviet Union no longer exists, the Cold War mentality still exists in the minds of many Americans. Russia's economy, despite its decay, retains the ability to pose a great military threat to the United States. This faintly antagonistic posture between the two sides has hindered cultural exchanges between the two countries, and even open Hollywood has many taboos on this issue.

It was Tim Bekmandbetov's unbelievable imagination that allowed the Kazakh Guryeh to shoot his first English-language film in the United States. He was joined by the shrewd and resourceful producer Pratt, all under the patronage of Universal, a major Hollywood company.

Lin Mingyang has no taboos in this regard, so Pratt's explanation seems very "redundant". When the producer finished speaking, he asked directly: "When will this film start shooting?" Does the director already have a complete idea for filming? ”

The first question Pratt could answer on his own, but the second he had to consult director Tim through a translator.

The translator relayed the question to Tim Bekmandbetov, and the Russian director excitedly muttered to Lin Mingyang, and then found that Lin Mingyang had a blank expression on his face, and the translator next to him was also sitting there dumbfounded, and he realized the difference in language between the two sides.

He was so excited that he forgot about it, the key was that he spoke too fast, and the translator next to him didn't have time to paraphrase it, this time he said it sentence by sentence, and through translation, Lin Mingyang understood what he meant.

Tim believes that every gorgeous, fantasy-based action movie should start from the foundations of realism. As a director, he pays special attention to refining the elements of the story that he can grasp, because he has to make sure that his strong beliefs are integrated into every scene of the film.

"Although 'Wanted' was my first work in English, it wasn't much different from the previous films I'd directed, just thinking about how to connect with the audience. I'm going to try to find out what they like and make a really good piece for them to let them know that I'm really good at storytelling. ”

(To be continued)