The preliminary work of "perfection" was carried out far more smoothly than expected, which made Hugo really feel the so-called "Hollywood power" for the first time.

Under Allen's push, the signing of "Perfect" with Sony Columbia Pictures was almost lightning fast, and the contract was officially signed before Paramount had time to make a corresponding policy. The "Perfect" crew not only got a super high budget of 50 million US dollars, but also Hugo will be the producer, and will get 10% of the box office dividends as producers and screenwriters - but at Mark's insistence, the bottom line of box office dividends is still set, and the North American box office is 100 million US dollars.

Because of the bottom line of box office dividends, Rick and Mark directly tore their faces and quarreled twice, "Perfect" As a literary comedy movie, the box office pull momentum is completely unpredictable. And without Hugo in charge, although Jack Nicholson has signed an early leading actor, the box office appeal is still worrying. Rick insisted that the bottom line of box office dividends should be 50 million cost line, but Mark didn't give an inch.

In such a situation, Alan also showed his true business qualities and personally came forward to negotiate with Hugo, which made Hugo make a compromise. On the one hand, there is the determination to "do it perfectly", even if it is not taken, Hugo hopes that this work can be completed with quality and quantity; On the one hand, because the investment of 50 million dollars is indeed inconceivable for "perfection", Hugo will inevitably have to make concessions. Of course, the most important thing is that Hugo has enough confidence in the box office.

Immediately afterwards, James L. Brooks signed as the director of the film, and at the beginning of this year, Cooper Gooding Jr., who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "Mr. Sweetheart", played the role of Simon's agent Frank, and then Kevin Bakken recommended Greg Kinnear (Greg. Kinnear) audition, and received unanimous approval from Hugo and James to take the role of neighbor Simon.

Although Hugo will not star in "Perfect", and his status as a producer does not intend to interfere with the director's filming work, I originally thought that Hugo would be relaxed after the crew was confirmed; But in fact, Hugo has been unprecedentedly busy lately, almost so busy that his feet don't touch the ground, not only auditioning actors, but Hugo has also had many meetings with James to discuss the script, and then Hugo revised the script twice, during which the details were revised even more.

"L.A. Confidential" did not have such a vivid feeling, this time the "perfection" is very obvious, the huge network and the power of friendship make Hugo's work very smooth, almost like a breakthrough. This also made the entire crew full of enthusiasm and quickly formed.

During this period, the military training camp of "Saving Private Ryan" was officially opened, and Hugo also went to Steven as a guest to cheer for Steven, and experienced the life of a soldier with Tom Hanks.

But Hugo still can't stop, because the heroine of "perfection" is still not finalized.

Originally, James was interested in Holly Hunter, the actress who won the Oscar for "Piano Don't Love", and collaborated with James on the "Radio News" movie a long time ago, and has also collaborated with the Coen brothers on several works, which can be said to have a booming reputation in the independent film industry.

Hugo and Hawley have met twice, the first time is to talk about the script, Hawley likes the script very much, and the thought of working with Jack, Hawley is also very positive; The second time was bad news, because Hawley had already been in love with "Living. Out。 Loud)" The crew signed a contract, and now the crew is ready to start filming in September, and the "Perfect" crew hopes to start filming in mid-August, and the schedule hits the schedule, which suddenly makes Hawley in a dilemma.

In order to work with Hawley, Hugo met twice with the producer of "Brave Say Love", but this is an independent production company, and even if they want to give Hugo face, they have very limited room to move - because there is almost no way to advance or retreat when the funds and preparations are in place, and once the schedule is rescheduled, the crew will lose a lot.

In fact, Hugo wants to use Helen Hunt, Helen can be said to be a very special actor in Hollywood, she has been appearing on TV since she was nine years old, but Hollywood producers have never been optimistic about her prospects, thinking that "to play the heroine, you are not beautiful enough", and the stubbornness of refusing the unspoken rules has made her lose countless opportunities to go on the big screen, which has always defined her as a stage and TV drama actor.

In fact, Helen's strength is very outstanding, she is not only a child star, she has rich acting experience, and has been polished in stage plays for many years. About。 You)" has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actress every year since it was launched. Even though she starred in "Tornado", which was a huge box office success last year, she still didn't knock on the door of the movie, and it can be said that she is one of the most overlooked actresses in Hollywood.

Hugo thought of Helen because of the recommendation of Tim Robbins, with whom Tim had worked with him when directing "Born to Winner", and after reading the script of "Perfect", he recommended this strange but familiar name to Hugo.

However, James was a little repulsed by Hugo's proposal, he thought that Carol in "Perfect" should be a woman with all kinds of amorous feelings, even if she was sloppy, even if she had to take care of the children, even if she was living in poverty, but that kind of gesture made it difficult to look away. James didn't think Helen would be up to the mark.

In the case of an argument, he had to prepare for two things, on the one hand, James tried to convince Hawley, and on the other hand, Hugo met and talked to Nicole Kidman.

Entering Tom Cruise's mansion in Beverly Hills, Nicole had already greeted him at the gate, and when she came up, she gave Hugo a big hug, and Hugo looked back at the crazy paparazzi at the door with palpitations, "God, isn't it painful for you to go in and out like this every day?" "Hugo just drove over, just stopped at the gate for a minute, asked the guards to open the door, and the paparazzi almost surrounded him and couldn't move.

Nicole chuckled, "Just get used to it." Then she winked at Hugo, "It will be much better if you walk through the side door when you leave." This immediately made Hugo stunned: then why did he just come in through the main entrance? Nicole smiled slyly, "So, you came to me today?" Tom didn't make it too clear last night, was it the project you mentioned to me last time? ”

Led by Nicole, Hugo walked through the empty hall and towards the small garden balcony at the back, "Where's Tom?" Isn't he home today? "Looking around, this is a real mansion, the area is estimated to be larger than Hugo's Malibu villa, comparable to Long Beach, but the problem is that one is in Long Beach and the other is in Beverly Hills, and the price is very different.

"Tom recently met a director and they're exchanging a new idea, you know this director, Paul Thomas Anderson." Nicole motioned for Hugo to sit down, and refreshments were already neatly placed on the coffee table, "Black tea?" Hugo nodded, and then Nicole began to make her own tea, "I heard that you almost starred in his work before. Tom also said that it would be a good idea to be able to shoot with you this time. ”

"PTA, yes, I know this director, he is very talented, the last time it was not successful, I still feel sorry." Hugo smiled and nodded, took the black tea handed by Nicole, "Thank you", and then he gently placed it on the coffee table, "However, I remember that you and Tom were not filming one of Kubrick's works?" Why does it seem like you're both idle? ”

When Hugo contacted Nicole, he asked her if the schedule was suitable, and he received a positive answer, which was really unexpected, which is why Hugo included Nicole in the "perfect" cast, but the specific details have not yet been asked.

"Halfway through the shoot, Stanley wasn't in good shape, and he felt a little confused and needed to reorganize, so he took a break. It is estimated that filming will not be restarted for nearly three months. Nicole's words made Hugo feel very magical.

Because Hugo had never experienced such a situation, it was hard for him to imagine stopping filming halfway through filming and then returning to filming a few months later, and it was even more unimaginable for the actors. However, it is not surprising that it took Stanley Kubrick three years to shoot "The Shining" in the first place.

"Wow, I can't imagine what that would be like." Hugo racked his brains and couldn't depict it, "No wonder they say that the opportunity to work with the master is so rare." ”

Nicole was also amused by Hugo's vivid expression, "If you're curious, you can try it yourself." Believe me, it's an ordeal for the actors. ”

Hugo spread his hands, "I don't think I have that kind of directorial talent, and I don't think Kubrick will want to work with me, so ...... I'd better think about it. This made Nicole laugh again, "So, does that mean you've been available for the latest schedule?" Would you like to shoot another film? ”

"You mean the script you wrote, right?" Nicole naturally knew about this, "But why didn't you give me the script all the time?" ”

"Because I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of Stanley Kubrick?" Hugo said teasingly, frowning. In fact, it was mainly because he didn't know the situation before, so Hugo never handed the script to Nicole's agent - Nicole and Tom are both actors under the innovative artist agency.

"However, in the past two days, my agent gave me another script, saying that you are very likely to become the leading actor, and asked me if I would like to spare a month to play the heroine." Nicole's words left Hugo completely confused, "What works?" Nicole smiled and said, "'Truman's world.'" ”