Steven didn't expect Hugo to say such a thing, not that Hugo didn't have this wisdom, but that Hugo didn't care much about this management level and management level, which is well known.

However, if you think about it carefully, Hugo's grasp of the market context has always had a unique opinion, not only from the selection of works, but also from the past year, Hugo's attitude towards commercial films and art films can also be found. Not to mention the important role of the work "Truman's World".

Steven realized that Hugo was certainly not untargeted, but he found it incredible to let Steven think about it. It is true that he is a businessman who wants his films to be commercially successful, but at the same time he is also a man of integrity, and what he pursues is to win by strength, and the small actions behind it are the most abhorrent.

To give the simplest example, why did Steven choose Hugo to play "Schindler's List" in the first place, because Joseph is capable? No, obviously not, but because Hugo's absolute strength won Steven's trust, he rejected a large number of actors, and only selected Hugo, who was still in the turmoil of the Golden Globe celebration banquet at that time.

So, even though Steven felt that Hugo's words made sense, he still had a pimple in his heart and was reluctant to talk about it, "Let's talk about today's business, I almost forgot what I was looking for you for." ”

Hugo opened his mouth and wanted to persuade Steven that if "Saving Private Ryan" still took the cold route and was unwilling to lower his posture to communicate with the judges, then the absurd and speechless history of "Shakespeare's Love History" winning the Oscar for Best Picture would be repeated again.

But looking at the firmness on Steven's face, Hugo knew that even if he persuaded him further, it would be useless. Hugo could only sigh lightly, and then smiled again, "If you don't tell me today's important events, I can't know, I don't have the ability to read minds." ”

Steven was obviously satisfied with Hugo's advance and retreat, and he was slightly relieved. If he quarrels with the current Hugo, it will definitely be a lose-lose situation, and he doesn't want to clean up such a mess. What's more, there is indeed something important today.

"I heard Rick say, you kept two scripts down, do you really plan to take the film?" Steven smashed Huanglong directly, with almost no politeness, and accurately said the core issue.

Hugo smiled dumbly, then shook his head, but his words did not affirm or deny, "One of the works is from your dream factory, why do you say that?" ”

"It's our dream factory." Steven corrected Hugo's speech, "You mean 'Desert Island Afterlife', what do you think of the project?" Robert wanted a $100 million investment, and David and I both thought it was a bit outrageous. "Hugo's current job at DreamWorks is really to evaluate each project, give feedback to Steven, David, and Jeffrey, and then they will position the project.

"It's because you're looking for a suitable island to shoot on-site, right?" Hugo now has enough understanding of the producer position, he knows how drastic the cost of pulling a whole crew to a desert island for filming, "Actually, I think you shouldn't judge purely from the cost, you should let Robert do a project plan, see where you need to spend money, and then you make an assessment yourself, you will know how much the project needs to cost if you want to shoot perfectly." ”

Steven pondered for a moment, didn't respond, but looked up and said, "Have you read the script?" Hugo nodded, "Do you want to act?" ”

Hugo shook his head, "I think Tom is suitable, at least more than me." In fact, after reading the two scripts of "60 Seconds" and "The Rest of the Desert Island", Hugo was not very interested.

The former is because the script is too simple and crude, and there is no challenge, and Robert is tempting. Confuse. The words of force are enough to make the film appealing to the audience, but not enough to attract Hugo; The latter is because Hugo does think that Tom is more suitable, family bonds are one of the most important factors for the survival of the actor, Tom's image has an innate advantage over Hugo, Hugo has never played the role of a soul bound by the family, which is a lack of his life experience, and it is difficult to make up for it with acting skills.

Of course, Hugo must admit that almost all of his current mind is maintained on the "beautiful mind", which also affects his judgment, and the script of "The Rest of the Desert Island" did not let Hugo shoot the case.

Steven nodded his chin and didn't make any judgments, because he knew that as long as Hugo nodded, there would definitely be a steady stream of works coming to the door, and Hugo didn't need to be modest at all. "And what about the project you prepared yourself? Why didn't you think of our Dream Factory? ”

This is the real reason why Steven found Hugo today.

"I didn't think we had enough money or people right now to shoot a new production." Hugo said it as a matter of course, leaving Steven speechless for a while.

"Hugo, you should know that this is a critical period for us, we need your appeal, we need to make a work that you provoke, so that people have more confidence in DreamWorks, which is positive for future strategies. Just like my 'Saving Private Ryan', Jeffrey's 'Prince of Egypt', you have to hand in an answer sheet as soon as possible. ”

Steven's words made Hugo dumbfounded, he didn't expect Steven to really put him in such an important position. But Steven continued, "David and I looked at the list of works for next year, and several works looked very good, but the shock was still not enough. We all felt that maybe next year there would be a work that you produced or starred in, and it was necessary. ”

Hugo had a lot of words in his mind that he wanted to say, but for a moment he was actually stuck - because he didn't think that his significance to DreamWorks had risen to strategic significance - which made Hugo laugh dumbly, and he chuckled a few times, Hugo collected his emotions again and sorted out his thoughts again, "Steven, I know what you mean, if I can, I am also very willing to give this project to DreamWorks to say, Alan and I both think so, but the company doesn't have enough resources at the moment, doesn't it?" ”

If it weren't for DreamWorks, Hugo would prefer to cooperate with Sony Columbia Pictures, in fact, Sony Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. have sufficient conditions, and at the same time give Hugo enough power space. Choosing one of the two is really a difficult choice, and if one is not handled well, it is very likely to offend the given side, which is also a headache for Hugo. The choice of Sony Columbia Pictures is just an emotional inclination - Mark Canton's long foreshadowing over the past four years has clearly not been in vain.

Steven also knew that Hugo was telling the truth, "I came to you today for this matter, you know that our company has signed a project called 'American.'" Beauty)'? ”

Of course you know, how can you not know!

This "American Beauty" is considered to be a film noir that truly and brutally reflects the real life of the American middle class, and many people think that this work is an analysis and interpretation of the perfect life fiction of the TV station in "Truman's World", thus mocking the fragility and perversion of the so-called "good life" in the United States. From acting to cinematography, from editing to soundtrack, it's all remarkable!

"American Beauty" was almost unanimously praised after its release, and won five important trophies at the Oscars the following year, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, becoming the biggest winner of the year. Mendes), who not only became the sixth director in Oscar history to win the statuette for his debut, but also became the second-youngest director in Oscar history.

At the same time, it also made Kevin Spacey and won him the first actor in his career!

It can be said that "American Beauty" is one of the most important films in Hollywood at the turn of the century. If Hugo is not mistaken, the film was released in 1999 and became the biggest winner of the 57th Oscars.

Hugo was silent on the surface, shook his head, and said that he had not seen the script for the time being, and Steven then explained, "Actually, we have already set up the project, but because the subject matter is too heavy and profound, especially after 'Truman's World', the pressure on this script is even greater, so the preparation process is not smooth." Terry Gilliam, Robert Zemeckis refused to direct the production, Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman all turned down the position of female lead, Tom Cruise, Jeff Daniels, Chevy Chase (Chevy). Chase) all declined the lead actor's offer, saying they wanted Tom Hanks or you to be the lead actor, but ...... We all know that the schedule can't be scheduled......"

Steven's words completely shocked Hugo, and the "American Beauty", who was later enthusiastically sought after by the entire academy, was actually disliked by so many people. Should this mean that they have no vision, or is it fate?

"I've been working on this project for almost four months, and there's still no progress......," Steven paused, "so I discussed it with David, and we decided to postpone this project for the time being and put it on next year, so that we can make the project you currently have in advance, so that resources can be reallocated." This is in line with our expectations for the company's growth plans for the next year. ”

Hugo was completely shocked, is this how history came back on track? "A Beautiful Mind" was brought forward to 1998, while "American Beauty" was pushed back. But is there really nothing wrong with that? These are two completely different works, and "Beautiful Mind" will definitely not replace the position of "American Beauty", so what unknown changes will happen to the film market, public opinion and award ceremonies in the future?

By mistake, the trajectory of history is gradually moving away from the position that Hugo knew well.