Life is like a box of chocolates, a few days ago, Ye Wei would not have known the contradiction at this time.

The behind-the-scenes team, Julia Roberts, DreamWorks, all parties wanted him to make initial contact with Paramount, and Hanks also said that the opportunity was rare and he should seize it.

A fantasy family film project with a budget of 100 million dollars.

If it is false not to be attracted, fame and fortune are on the one hand, on the other hand, Ye Wei does like this kind of huge challenge, who doesn't want to make blockbusters? Maybe Terrence Malick doesn't want to, but he thinks, science fiction, fantasy, special effects, imagination...... He loves these.

But the thing is not that Paramount and other filmmakers give him 100 million and a project, and then wait to receive the goods. He can't even get into the production team, at most he is a planner, unlike "Carrie the Witch", the kind that he didn't say. Just a hired director!

Although he has not tried it, some cases have been proven again and again.

Talent newcomer + commercial blockbuster, this is Hollywood's consistent style, the 28-year-old Spielberg was invited to direct the first "Superman" (1978) after "Rampage", but Warner wanted to wait for "Jaws" to be released to see the results before making a final decision, Spielberg collaborated with Columbia on "Contact of the Third Kind".

In recent years, a young director who has become famous for making independent films has been recruited by major studios, which is almost an inevitable development.

The 34-year-old Lin Yibin (Justin Lin) first made "Annapolis" for Disney (26 million production fee) after the success of "Good Luck Tomorrow" (2002, 250,000 production fees, 3.8 million box office, 81% freshness, 79% favorites, Paramount distribution), first for Disney "Annapolis" (26 million production fee), which will be released in January next year, and is now filming "Fast and Furious 3" (85 million budget) for Universal, which is scheduled for June 16 next year.

This is called the work is power, Ye Wei knows that his opportunity is not as exaggerated as Roberts's "Lifetime", if he is 27 years old, "The Wedding is Coming" can win him a project like "Furious 3", plus TET and LMS?

Why are young talented directors popular? Because they are cheap, passionate, responsible, and understand the needs of the main customers of blockbusters, "young audiences", and, importantly, easy to control.

If you take this job, you have to be mentally prepared.

The project is tentatively scheduled to be released in December 2007, and it will be two years from now, and there is no need to expect to do other projects until it is completed.

Of course, Alice Siebold will give the adaptation rights to TLB to Peter Jackson, SS should still be able to hold it, and W'sB will not have to.

Thinking about the creative differences, in a big studio project, it's not any one person who has the most power, but a huge production team, a whole bunch of incredibly sophisticated, and many times useless, except to keep the jobs of the people involved.

The way directors and big studios look at movies so differently, especially young directors who don't like compromise the most, is destined to have endless disagreements.

Script, preparation, casting, shooting, editing......

Like Murphy's Law, problems will always occur, and after repeated contradictions and disagreements, it is really hard to say what kind of movie will come out in the end.

It depends on how well the director and the producer get along, some good and some bad.

Ye Wei knows his character, or his attitude when making a movie, if he says yes to Paramount, the most likely ending is not that he makes a bad movie, but that he has not started preparations yet, and in the stage of developing the script, he quit because of "incompatible creative concepts".

And he wasted half a year, and he also lost the right to adapt TLB.

There is no regret medicine in the world, once he declares his intention to join the project, he will lose TLB, and no matter what changes in the future, TLB will never belong to him.

So, why don't you think about it? Why not lean towards rejection?

But Ye Wei did not refuse, because the TLB adaptation rights are not necessarily his, which is indeed a rare opportunity and a huge challenge. Despite all the questions about the inevitable and possible existence of zài, there is still a voice in my heart that instigates:

"They can do it because they think they can! But if you're someone who gets scared of difficult challenges, you haven't even done "Dance of the Angels"! Many young directors make big studio blockbusters and end up making a good movie, why can't it be you?

Unless you're going to never make a big film for the rest of your life, there's going to be one time, are you sure? What do you want?"

The louder the voice, the more confused he became, like standing in front of an intersection and not knowing which direction he wanted to go.

When people are caught in this whirlpool, it is natural to want to talk to someone and ask for advice.

Ye Wei asked his parents, they didn't give anything to say, only one request "Just be happy, don't delay your studies!", he asked Duoduo, she said "Skiing!", he asked Toto, Toto is like a Zen master, although he doesn't understand, but it definitely conveys a certain meaning, maybe "choose a dog!"

He asked Nina, and Nina's first reaction was to exclaim: "It's not going to be filmed next summer, right?" How is it possible, all of them will start shooting next fall, but if he takes it, the plan to travel around the world will be shortened by a month. Nina smiled wryly, "I'm influenced by our plans, I don't know, Yunik, all I can do is support you." ”

Ye Wei really wanted to talk to Lily, and vaguely felt that the answer was there, the last time I saw her was before the Thanksgiving holiday, and I hadn't met her for a while.

※※

On Tuesday, Harvard-Westlake High School, it's almost 2 p.m., and there is a five-minute activity time before the last class, because students generally choose this class as sports or arts, as if school has ended early, and various activities are about to begin, and a large number of students are leaving the academic building.

Three skinny junior students were laughing and talking about something, and one of the little ones, who was a little dancing, had just turned a corner out of the hallway, but he bumped into someone and almost bounced out. The three of them immediately panicked when they saw it, a tall boy wearing a school football team sports jacket, a legend in the school.

The little man stammered and apologized: "I'm sorry, VIY, I didn't mean to......"

The three of them were very nervous and a little scared, they were not students who had been promoted from junior high school, they had entered the high school from another school. I heard Ye Wei hear a lot, and I have seen it from a distance, so I hit it like this...... It's scary......

"But, did they mess with you?", "Kill them!" Some of the students passing by laughed, some girls smiled, and a few boys who also wore football team sports jackets walked fiercely, "You are dead!", "Look down on SOCCER?" The three students who looked like idiots became more and more uneasy.

"You fools!" Ye Wei's sudden scolding startled them, but they saw him kick at the group of football team boys, it turned out that he was not scolding them!

"Get out of here and warm up, I'll be right here. VIY laughed and scolded the boys, and when the three of them saw him turn their heads again, he smiled and said, "What can I do to you? I'm not a school bully, I've said it a thousand times, why do people think I'm a school bully? Guys, let's go." ”

Under the gaze of those football boys, the three of them hurriedly walked away with a smile, walked a way out of the building, and looked back one after another, only to see VIY laughing and talking with a group of beautiful girls.

"Hey girls, you're cheerleaders, aren't you?"

"Yes!", "We are!" was accosted by Ye Wei, the four girls were very excited, looking at each other, they all felt that he was coming for him, dating!"I'm free at night!"

"Will we be free? Our soccer team played the first game of the season at half past two against Palisades Charter High School. Ye Wei smiled, "Are you interested in coming to cheer us on?" The football boys who were standing behind him and hadn't left let out a coaxing laugh.

The girls couldn't agree, looking distressed, "The basketball team has a game at half past four, and we have to prepare." ”

"The basketball team also has a game today?" Ye Wei frowned and looked at his teammates, they shrugged or nodded, and he said helplessly: "What is the attraction of a bunch of freaks with a mutated pituitary gland who are busy stuffing a ball into an iron circle?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the students passing by looked curiously, and it was not strange to see VIY there.

"Annie Hall, because this is the body lì live, the body lì live never duplicity. Ye Wei smiled and shook his head, "I just don't understand, what is more attractive than another bunch of freaks busy kicking a round ball into a door frame?

He swung his strides and trotted outside, singing, "We-don't-want-no-cheerleading!" We-just-want-our-champion!"

The soccer boys also trotted out, singing in unison, "They'll see-our-big-guns!" But-they-can't-touch-anyone!"

“Why-football-boys-so-fucking-cool? Because-we-are-fucking-opponents!

“Yes，we-are。 (Yes, it's us.) ）”

“Not-the-Pigskin-or-the-Basketball-team。 (Not a football or basketball team.) ）”

“They-are-the-losers。 (They are losers.) ）”

“We-are-the-heroes。 (We are heroes.) ）”

"One-day-people-will-fucking-know, We-are-playing-football-totally-so!"

They ran out singing, and the students laughed and whistled along the way. This song has long been spread throughout the school, and it was written and sung by VIY when he led the team to train before, and it is said to be adapted from the military song of the movie "Full Metal Jacket". Because of this song, VIY was also severely criticized by the school and forbade him to sing it again in school.

The girls couldn't see Ye Wei anymore, so they retracted their gaze, and suddenly they all cheered excitedly, jumping and jumping!

......

The match between Harvard-Westlake and Palisades Charter High School ended 2-1, with HW winning by a narrow goal to get off to a flying start. Ye Wei, who represented the school team for the first time, lived up to expectations and scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute of the second half, and was selected as the MVP of the game after the game.

But Ye Wei's affection was not very high, and he was a little disappointed, and he paid attention to the audience on the sidelines whenever there was a gap in the whole game, but he never saw a figure appear at Teds Levine Stadium.

She is a cheerleader and prepares for a basketball game. It's just that this game is very meaningful, can't you just sneak over and watch it for a while? The basketball team doesn't start until half past four, and two hours apart, even if you watch the whole game. Best friend, he couldn't let go......

Ye Wei didn't know what was wrong with him, after leaving the locker room, he didn't go to watch the basketball game, and he didn't go home with his parents who came to watch the game. I went to the library to read until six o'clock, drove out of school, drove back to Brentwood, and drove in the direction of Lily's house.

On a winter evening, when the sky is already dark, this section of the road is quiet, and on both sides are vast but quiet mansions that seem to be uninhabited. He drove to the outside of Lily's house, parked on the side of the road, and looked at the castle-like mansion in the distance.

The trees were a little withered, the wide lawn had stagnant water from today's rain, and it was raining in Los Angeles in the winter, and he was almost covered in mud before.

Well, another reason for cheerleaders not to cheer the football team.

Ye Wei got out of the car, took his mobile phone and was about to call Lily, when he saw a Maserati coming, he immediately smiled and waved his hand! Soon, through the windshield of the car, I saw Lily's face full of surprise, she stopped the car, lowered the window, looked over and asked, "Wei, what are you doing here?"

"I have something to tell you. Ye Wei smiled, "Did you have fun during the holidays?"

"It's fine. Wait, I'll park the car first. Lily continued to drive the car back to the parking space in the front yard.

Ye Wei followed and walked over. Lily got out of the car, pulled her hair, and asked, "What's the matter?" and he laughed, "We won the race and took a big step towards the championship." I scored a goal, a long-range shot from the edge of the box, into the net from the right side, and I was called handsome. ”

"I've heard that. Lily smiled and nodded, "I lost the basketball game, I lost more than 20 ...... Is that all?"

"Not only. Before Ye Wei could say anything, he couldn't help but sigh regretfully: "You know that DreamWorks sold it to Paramount." ”

"Yes, I know. Lily looked left and right, a bunch of keys dangling in her hand.

It's always different to talk to her, so naturally she has no reservations, Ye Wei said: "Paramount asked me to talk about directing a big project "Fantasy Elf Incident Book", which is to adapt that set of fantasy novels with a budget of 100 million US dollars. ”

"Wow!" Lily exclaimed, slapping the car a few times excitedly, "Come into the house, a budget of 100 million dollars?

"I'm still thinking about it, and I don't know what to do. Ye Wei said as he followed Lily into the room.

Coming to the spacious living room, Ye Wei sat down on the sofa, Lily sat on the sub-sofa, and the home assistant Madeleine, who was cooking dinner, served tea, and he introduced the project first.

"The Book of Fantasy Elf Events" is a set of children's books co-authored by Tony Ditritz and Holly Black, a series of five books that tells the fantasy adventures of the three children of the Grace family, twin brothers Simon and Jared and their sister Marori.

This set of books is very popular with children, and because of the popularity of children's novels adapted from "Harry Potter" in recent years, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia", "The Golden Compass", etc., "The Book of Fantasy Elf Events" has been fancied, Paramount and Nickelodeon Channel Movies have taken the lead in buying the copyright of the movie, and are also preparing to launch PC games at the same time with game companies.

"Paramount is going to make the first part of the five-body body of the ontology, and if the results are good, they will cooperate with the original author for a sequel, and their goal is a trilogy series. Its story and character settings are much weaker than "Harry Potter" and "The Chronicles of Narnia", and more like "Jumanji 2", with an older sister and two younger brothers, around a manor......"

Ye Wei was devoted, but Lily seemed to be distracted, and was suddenly startled: "What? A sequel to "Game of the Brave"?"

"No...... The Fantasy Elf Event Book. Ye Wei was stunned for a moment, suddenly understood, and couldn't help laughing: "You are so mean, haha! There must be no sequel to "Game of Braves", and it is Sony's, not Paramount's, it can't die anymore." ”

"Huh. Lily smiled too, frowned, lifted her teacup and took a sip of tea, "Go on?"

Ye Wei continued: "This story is a bit thin, it revolves around a manor, the bad guys come to make trouble, they and the elves defeat the bad guys, like this. But it also has a lot of potential, it can't be as grand as "Harry Potter", a good family fantasy is enough, the key is how to adapt it. For me, the main problem is not these ......"

He took a sip of tea and said some pros and cons, "You know, Lily, 'Little Sunshine' is done, I feel like I've reached a fork in the road, next left or right, how should my movie dream go on? I'm confused...... It's a great opportunity, a big challenge, but as soon as I say YES, I'm going to lose a lot and I'm going to Hollywood ......."

"I don't like Hollywood, I really don't. He leaned back on the sofa, looked up with a wistful gaze, and said from the bottom of his heart: "I want to be an independent filmmaker forever like George Lucas, I don't want to make a film more and more complicated." I was carrying a lot of burdens when I was LMS, but now I'm finally a lot more relaxed, I hope that making movies is more and more pure, and I hope that I can get more and more pure happiness from it......"

He noticed something, and with a glance, Lily picked up the phone on the coffee table and pressed it. He gradually stopped talking, she looked at the phone, and smiled, as if she was talking to a text message, and pressed it for a while, before she suddenly looked at it in shock, "What?

I said...... I wish I could make a film more pure. Ye Weizheng continued, but when he saw Lily looking at the phone again, he couldn't help but feel upset and helpless, and whistled: "Hello, can you concentrate, I'm talking to you seriously." ”

"Why are you looking for me!?" Lily suddenly shouted angrily, grabbed her phone and stood up, "What can I tell you? Why don't you tell someone what are you looking for me!?"

Ye Wei was stunned, he had never seen her suddenly angry like this, "We are good friends...... Sharing the business ......"

"But. Lily walked back and forth on the couch, scratching at her hair, and suddenly shouted at him again, "I don't have time to care about you, don't bother me!"

The situation was too weird, Ye Wei was a little overwhelmed, and felt that something was wrong with her, "Lily, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Lily glared at him, took a deep breath, and lowered the decibel of her voice slightly: "I just don't want to pay attention to you, it's funny to suddenly run to someone else's door? What kind of movie project, what's the matter with me? You can shoot if you want, you don't shoot if you don't want to, who cares, I also have my busy, I don't have time to talk to you, don't bother me!"

"Oh......" Ye Wei didn't know what to feel in his heart, and he was a little embarrassed to laugh again, "I'm sorry, I'm presumptuous." I know, I'll go. He stood up and let out a long exhale, she was right, she was not his advisor, she often bothered her because of her own problems, it was he who was not good.

"Thank you for the hospitality, great tea. He smiled at Madeleine, who had heard the noise, and said "I'll see you later" to Lily, and went out of the house.

Lily frowned, panic flashing across her face.

"Miss. Madeleine looked at her suspiciously, "I have to sue Ms. Sù for your recent situation......"

"I'm fine, I'm fine......" Lily suddenly ran after her, "Wait, only!"

She ran all the way out of the house, ran across the lawn, and stopped Ye Wei, who was getting in the car and leaving, she quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was rude just now, I mean ......" She hesitated and said: "We all have our affairs, you should call me first, because I really ...... today"

"Not available? Have a date? Then I see. Ye Wei smiled with relief, and looked away from her face, "It's me who is rude, I should call first...... Next time I will, we'll be fine. So...... Have fun, goodbye!" He nodded to her and got into the car, closing the door, fastening his seatbelt, igniting the light, and pressing the accelerator.

Lily watched the Volkswagen drive away in the dark night, and couldn't say anything after all, she stomped her feet blankly, turned around and ran to the house, don't be like this! The recent situation is really not very good, facing him very strictly, and he can't control his attention and emotions at all, don't do this......

Running all the way to her room on the second floor, Lily rummaged everywhere, opened the table drawers one by one and looked for it, Ritalin, damn Ritalin, where ......!

"Damn!!!I need one, one !!" Annoyed, she couldn't help kicking at the desk, but she clearly remembered that two years ago, shortly after He Wei started dating, she threw away all the pills she needed for emergencies......

"Unbelievable! You're really inexplicable sometimes!"

"Eugene Levy. ”

"With one hand to pay and one hand to deliver, this batch of goods is of high purity. ”

"Can you concentrate?"

Did he get it? Lily walked around the room with a blank face, and some of his words kept ringing: Can you concentrate? Can you concentrate?

You lunatic! You neurotic! You freak with a lagging brain!

"Can't let Wei know...... No, I can't let my mom know that I'm having a relapse, she'll sue him, she can't...... His Lily is not like this, and must not be ......"

※※

London, England, 1993.

There was silence in the doctor's office, and Tavorman looked nervously at the doctor behind the doctor's desk.

"Ms. Taverman, I'm sorry to tell you that Lily does have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, she is a mixed patient, she is punching, impulsive, distracted, hyperactive...... These are all related to the condition. But don't be too nervous, ADHD is a common disease, as long as you take medication and treatment for a long time, it will not affect your normal life.

There is no cure for ADHD, and the brain is so complex that the medical community has not yet truly understood the cause of its disease. I'll prescribe some Ritalin to Lily first, it's the most therapeutic medicine out there, and you need to take it every day. Generally speaking, she can't interrupt the treatment until she is an adult, and then observe whether she can stop the drug when she is an adult, Ritalin has side effects and will affect physical development, and we can only hope that she can stop taking it at that time.

Madam, considering the tense situation in your family, which is one of the main causes of the disease, I recommend that Lily should be treated with psychotherapy in addition to medication.

Lily was a very smart child, and she felt perhaps more than we thought, and she said she hated you and Mr. Collins. This is not without reason. Lily needs a quiet and regular upbringing, she can't be stressed too early, and I think your conflict has already caused her psychological trauma.

Optimistically, her symptoms will slowly disappear and will not accompany her into adulthood...... Ma'am, don't worry too much, ADHD is a common disease, but you can't let it up. Forbidden laughed: "You're so mean, haha! There must be no sequel to Jumanji, and it's Sony, not Paramount, and it's too dead to die." ”

"Huh. Lily smiled too, frowned, lifted her teacup and took a sip of tea, "Go on?"

Ye Wei continued: "This story is a bit thin, it revolves around a manor, the bad guys come to make trouble, they and the elves defeat the bad guys, like this. But it also has a lot of potential, it can't be as grand as "Harry Potter", a good family fantasy is enough, the key is how to adapt it. For me, the main problem is not these ......"

He took a sip of tea and said some pros and cons, "You know, Lily, 'Little Sunshine' is done, I feel like I've reached a fork in the road, next left or right, how should my movie dream go on? I'm confused...... It's a great opportunity, a big challenge, but as soon as I say YES, I'm going to lose a lot and I'm going to Hollywood ......."

"I don't like Hollywood, I really don't. He leaned back on the sofa, looked up with a wistful gaze, and said from the bottom of his heart: "I want to be an independent filmmaker forever like George Lucas, I don't want to make a film more and more complicated." I was carrying a lot of burdens when I was LMS, but now I'm finally a lot more relaxed, I hope that making movies is more and more pure, and I hope that I can get more and more pure happiness from it......"

He noticed something, and with a glance, Lily picked up the phone on the coffee table and pressed it. He gradually stopped talking, she looked at the phone, and smiled, as if she was talking to a text message, and pressed it for a while, before she suddenly looked at it in shock, "What?

I said...... I wish I could make a film more pure. Ye Weizheng continued, but when he saw Lily looking at the phone again, he couldn't help but feel upset and helpless, and whistled: "Hello, can you concentrate, I'm talking to you seriously." ”

"Why are you looking for me!?" Lily suddenly shouted angrily, grabbed her phone and stood up, "What can I tell you? Why don't you tell someone what are you looking for me!?"

Ye Wei was stunned, he had never seen her suddenly angry like this, "We are good friends...... Sharing the business ......"

"But. Lily walked back and forth on the couch, scratching at her hair, and suddenly shouted at him again, "I don't have time to care about you, don't bother me!"

The situation was too weird, Ye Wei was a little overwhelmed, and felt that something was wrong with her, "Lily, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Lily glared at him, took a deep breath, and lowered the decibel of her voice slightly: "I just don't want to pay attention to you, it's funny to suddenly run to someone else's door? What kind of movie project, what's the matter with me? You can shoot if you want, you don't shoot if you don't want to, who cares, I also have my busy, I don't have time to talk to you, don't bother me!"

"Oh......" Ye Wei didn't know what to feel in his heart, and he was a little embarrassed to laugh again, "I'm sorry, I'm presumptuous." I know, I'll go. He stood up and let out a long exhale, she was right, she was not his advisor, she often bothered her because of her own problems, it was he who was not good.

"Thank you for the hospitality, great tea. He smiled at Madeleine, who had heard the noise, and said "I'll see you later" to Lily, and went out of the house.

Lily frowned, panic flashing across her face.

"Miss. Madeleine looked at her suspiciously, "I have to sue Ms. Sù for your recent situation......"

"I'm fine, I'm fine......" Lily suddenly ran after her, "Wait, only!"

She ran all the way out of the house, ran across the lawn, and stopped Ye Wei, who was getting in the car and leaving, she quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was rude just now, I mean ......" She hesitated and said: "We all have our affairs, you should call me first, because I really ...... today"

"Not available? Have a date? Then I see. Ye Wei smiled with relief, and looked away from her face, "It's me who is rude, I should call first...... Next time I will, we'll be fine. So...... Have fun, goodbye!" He nodded to her and got into the car, closing the door, fastening his seatbelt, igniting the light, and pressing the accelerator.

Lily watched the Volkswagen drive away in the dark night, and couldn't say anything after all, she stomped her feet blankly, turned around and ran to the house, don't be like this! The recent situation is really not very good, facing him very strictly, and he can't control his attention and emotions at all, don't do this......

Running all the way to her room on the second floor, Lily rummaged everywhere, opened the table drawers one by one and looked for it, Ritalin, damn Ritalin, where ......!

"Damn!!!I need one, one !!" Annoyed, she couldn't help kicking at the desk, but she clearly remembered that two years ago, shortly after He Wei started dating, she threw away all the pills she needed for emergencies......

"Unbelievable! You're really inexplicable sometimes!"

"Eugene Levy. ”

"With one hand to pay and one hand to deliver, this batch of goods is of high purity. ”

"Can you concentrate?"

Did he get it? Lily walked around the room with a blank face, and some of his words kept ringing: Can you concentrate? Can you concentrate?

You lunatic! You neurotic! You freak with a lagging brain!

"Can't let Wei know...... No, I can't let my mom know that I'm having a relapse, she'll sue him, she can't...... His Lily is not like this, and must not be ......"

※※

London, England, 1993.

There was silence in the doctor's office, and Tavorman looked nervously at the doctor behind the doctor's desk.

"Ms. Taverman, I'm sorry to tell you that Lily does have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, she is a mixed patient, she is punching, impulsive, distracted, hyperactive...... These are all related to the condition. But don't be too nervous, ADHD is a common disease, as long as you take medication and treatment for a long time, it will not affect your normal life.

There is no cure for ADHD, and the brain is so complex that the medical community has not yet truly understood the cause of its disease. I'll prescribe some Ritalin to Lily first, it's the most therapeutic medicine out there, and you need to take it every day. Generally speaking, she can't interrupt the treatment until she is an adult, and then observe whether she can stop the drug when she is an adult, Ritalin has side effects and will affect physical development, and we can only hope that she can stop taking it at that time.

Madam, considering the tense situation in your family, which is one of the main causes of the disease, I recommend that Lily should be treated with psychotherapy in addition to medication.

Lily was a very smart child, and she felt perhaps more than we thought, and she said she hated you and Mr. Collins. This is not without reason. Lily needs a quiet and regular upbringing, she can't be stressed too early, and I think your conflict has already caused her psychological trauma.

Optimistically, her symptoms will slowly disappear and will not accompany her into adulthood...... Ma'am, don't worry too much, ADHD is a common disease, but you can't let it up. ”