"Tom, what do you think of these two characters?"

Sitting in the reception room of the Cruise mansion, Pat Kingsley didn't bother with the coffee brought by Nicole Kidman, "Fox also wants a star actor with box office appeal like you to appear in "Independence Day". ”

"One of them is a black character." Tom Cruise didn't hide his disgust, "And the role of the president, there are too few scenes, I can't do a supporting role." ”

"And, it's a Duke Rosenberg film!" This last sentence represents his truest thoughts.

""Interview with the Vampire" and "Brave Island" are just normal business competitions!"

Pat Kingsley has a headache, and although Cruise is her biggest benefactor, he is also the least worrying character, "There are no personal conflicts between you!" Tom, Duke Rosenberg is clearly on the rise and is now Hollywood's hottest director, Paramount and Walt Disney once wanted to join the Independence Day investment bandwagon, and Warner and Fox expect $200 million at the North American box office! ”

"Don't tell me, you don't understand the benefits that such a movie can bring you!" "You don't have a movie that has grossed $200 million in North America right now!" It took me a lot of effort to get the character script and some support from Twentieth Century Fox! ”

"Maybe he's going to miss ......," Tom Cruise seemed to think.

Ignoring the muttering Cruise, Pat Kingsley turned to look at the other side, "Mary, what about you?" What are your thoughts on the script and the characters? ”

"This ...... This White House spokesman," Nicole Kidman said after a moment's thought, "has a lot of scenes, but it's basically a vase role." ”

"Mary, even though you managed to get into Hollywood, you didn't have a work that you could get your hands on." Pat Kingsley simply said, "You need a blockbuster movie to back you up and establish your standing in Hollywood." ”

"I understand."

This clever woman knows how to make trade-offs, "Pat, try your best." ”

"Tom, what do you mean?" Pat Kingsley turned her head again, and Cruise nodded reluctantly, "Do what you want." ”

Although this guy is blind and arrogant, and sometimes stupid, he has not yet reached the point of incorrigibility! As she left Tom Cruise's mansion, Pat Kingsley thought.

At the beginning of September, with the establishment of Independence Day Studios in Burbank, which is the shell company of the project, the preparatory work for "Independence Day" officially kicked off, although Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, as producers, used the media of their subsidiaries and even the group companies behind them to carry out a certain amount of hype coverage of the $100 million supermasterpiece, but Duke politely refused many public media activities, and instead devoted all his energy to the preparation of the film.

He now has the capital to bargain with the producer, although he can't always start the film quietly like James Cameron, but he doesn't want to be distracted by too many outside forces, the director is not a star, and there is no situation where the works are bad but popular, and he has to rely on excellent producers to speak.

"A very interesting piece of news."

Walking down the hallway of Independence Day Studios, accompanied by the sound of clucking heels, it was Sofia Coppola who said in a monotonous nasal voice, "Twentieth Century Fox recommended Tom Cruise and his wife to star in this movie." ”

"What?" Duke didn't stop and turned his head to look at Sophia, "CAA wants to pack again?" ”

"No...... Sophia kept following, "it's just Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman." ”

With that, she handed the newly received text to Duke, who slowed down slightly, and after a general glance, pushed open the door to the conference room and walked in.

This is the preliminary preparation meeting of the crew, and most of the people who have walked into the conference room are acquaintances, such as Jeff Robinoff, the representative of Warner Bros., Tim Fisher of Twentieth Century Fox, and the financial supervisor of AIA of the United States.

Then there are the main architects of the crew, the first production manager is still Charles Rowan, the second production manager Robin Grande, the executive producer Jon Landau, the assistant director Zack Schneider, the director of photography John Schwartzman, the art director Hannah Serena, the pyrotechnic team leader Joss Williams, and the head of the special effects team from Industrial Light & Magic......

Especially from the special effects team of Industrial Light & Magic, Duke personally hung up the phone with George Lucas, and invited Stan Winston, the leading model master in Hollywood, to make alien spaceships and alien models for the film, and it was not easy to invite him, not only the salary, but also some favors.

As for why he was invited, just look at Stan Winston's first two special effects models, "Terminator 2" and "Jurassic Park," and you can see what Duke meant.

Special effects will be the bulk of the investment, but also the biggest cost of the film, Duke shouted 100 million US dollars, although the two companies only gave a budget of 90 million US dollars for the time being, but it is also more than 10 million US dollars higher than before, this part of Qian Duke just wants to invest in special effects, he has seen the "Independence Day", because the investment is somewhat low, the use of models and in-camera special effects, did not use enough computer CG technology to retouch, some scenes look really average.

If you talk about special effects alone, "Independence Day", which appeared a few years later, is obviously a notch worse than "Jurassic Park".

So, Duke didn't plan to spend much money on actors at all.

"I don't agree to invite Tom Cruise."

When the discussion shifted to actors, Duke directly objected to Fox's proposal, "One, I don't have that much of an actor budget, second, Cruise is not suitable for a mature and wise presidential role, and third, the other protagonist is a black ......."

"You can change your character settings." Tim Fisher's assistant suddenly interjected.

"The other actors in the crew can be adjusted appropriately." Duke glanced at him coldly, "But skin color and ethnicity are by no means within the scope of modification!" ”

Needless to say, in the setting of "Independence Day", it is the Jews who found the alien signal, the Latino who died with the alien spacecraft, the Air Force hero is a black man, the president is the most orthodox white man, and there are other Asians, Slavs, etc., Duke does not believe that these senior industry insiders cannot see the reasons and benefits of such a setting.

"Of course, if Tom Cruise can accept a salary of less than $5 million, I have no opinion." Duke added.

If Liang Tang is really willing to give up his high salary, Duke will definitely raise his hands to welcome it, and the funds he has worked hard to win are to strengthen the special effects system, not to pay some people.

"Duke," said Tim Fisher with a frown, "Tom Cruise's box office appeal is unquestionable. ”

"Tim, I think everyone knows very well that the biggest selling point of the film is the special effects and big scenes like explosions." Duke slowed down his voice slightly, and he didn't want to get too stiff with investors, "The appeal of celebrities will actually be cut to the minimum!" And ......"

After thinking for a moment, Duke continued, "Nicole Kidman was also interested in this film, and the two of them are definitely not suitable for the same film. ”

It may not be obvious yet, but there is a consensus in Hollywood in the future that producers will try to prevent couples and even couples from appearing in the same film, and such films often become box office poison.

To be precise, Duke Nicole Kidman also wanted to refuse outright, he knew that North American audiences had not bought the Australian woman's account, except for the sympathy caused by that special time period, she could be said to be the biggest box office cancer among female movie stars of the same level.

However, since he strongly rejected Tom Cruise, Duke didn't want Fox to be too ugly, so it was a big deal to temporarily send out an audition invitation and just brush off Nicole Kidman at that time.

Although Fox did not explicitly withdraw Tom Cruise's proposal, Warner Bros. has always stood in Duke's position, and the matter has to be closed.

Next, the preliminary work such as sets, props, special effects production and intended shooting locations were discussed, and the people who had the right to speak in the crew also put forward some favorite actors to audition.

Duke specifically emphasized Will Smith, a black man who, despite being a Grammy Award-winning rapper, is a fledgling in the film industry, and he himself is interested in developing in this area, and a six-figure salary is enough to solve the problem, even if his acting skills are bad enough, it is enough for a film like "Independence Day".

In addition to the fact that a White House spokesman recommended a temporary bed. Except for Naomi Watts, Duke basically did not speak again, as long as the actor's acting skills reach the baseline, or even not too bad, it will not have much impact.

"One last point."

At the end of the meeting, Duke realized that he had almost overlooked an important aspect, "I need the support of the Pentagon!" Please contact the Department of Defense and the White House! ”

This type of film, without the sponsorship and support of the White House and the Pentagon, would definitely be a lot of money, and Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox naturally have no reason to refuse.

"Duke, after the signing ceremony tomorrow, there will be a pie."

When he walked out of the conference room, Charles Rowan chased after him, "This is an important part of the pre-promotion of the film, I believe you will not be absent." ”

He kept his eyes on Duke, as if waiting for a promise.

Although the director's contract was officially signed the day before yesterday, the producers are still preparing to hold a signing ceremony similar to a press conference in order to promote the film.

"Don't worry." Duke nodded slightly, "After the signing is over, I will participate in the pie on time!" ”

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