"Reversing word-of-mouth in a week, Lee has shown the true strength of an international director."

"The 'Joker' pilot trailer is very brilliant, completely different from the DC universe movies of the past, and Lee has given the Joker a new lease of life."

"63,000 fans like and recommend it with their real names, looking forward to the release of "Joker"."

""Joker" is second only to "Week War 7", "Avengers 2", "007: Spectre", and became the fourth most anticipated movie of 2015."

"Martin. Scorsese: Unlike superhero movies, I believe Lee gave the Joker a new charm. ”

"Woody. Allen: Maybe I'll go to the cinema and watch a DC Universe movie. ”

"Ridley. Scott: It feels great, it's different. ”

……

September has passed, October has arrived, the weather in New York is getting cooler, and as time goes on, the protesters who were in a crowd last month are now much quieter.

Although the beautiful country is still bombing Xu Liya, these Zhongdong immigrants have come to the lighthouse country after all, and their lives are much better, so naturally they will not stop working for a long time because of Xu Liya, who is far away.

And outside the set of "Joker", there are also many fewer extreme clown fans, there were dozens of people, but now there are only a dozen left, and half of them are actors hired by Warner.

Because of the small number of people, sometimes there are more police officers than protesters.

In the afternoon of this day, there are a few clouds in the sky, the sun is dim, and the autumn breeze is gentle, which is actually quite suitable for sports, neither hot nor cold.

In a high-end hotel next to the set of "Joker", Lee Shengyao and Warren. Iger sat across from each other.

Years no see, Warren. Egger's appearance barely changed.

He is still a producer hiding under his cousin, and his situation at Disney Studios has not improved.

When outsiders talk about him, they usually say that this is the younger brother of the president of Disney.

But Robert. Iger had left the year before last, and although he still had a lot of energy at Disney, he was able to give Warren a lot of energy. Egger's support is clearly even less.

In such a situation, Warren's situation is even worse.

As a producer, he hasn't started work for two years.

There have been several proposals, but they have not passed.

It can be said that he is now a dispensable idler, and no one thinks that he will be able to remake the movie.

And after Li Shengyao completed "The Hangover 1", it can be said that he has soared, not only producing high-grossing movies in China.

has also made several classic films, two consecutive Palme d'Or, three consecutive European best directors, and completed an unprecedented feat.

Along with "Sight and Sound" and "Film Handbook", he was named the most successful film director of the new century.

The life experiences of the two people are completely different.

At this time, Warren looked at Lee Shengyao and was full of emotion, he really envied Lee Shengyao's talent, if he had Lee Shengyao's ability, he would be able to face the doubts of the Hollywood media in a dignified manner.

"Lee, you're really amazing, I didn't have anything to do at Disney, but because we're friends, they asked me to come and see you."

Warren was idle at Disney for several years, and several movie proposals did not pass.

He now has the meaning of breaking a jar and breaking it.

To Li Shengyao, he did not hide his purpose, and said it directly.

Li Shengyao nodded and said with a smile: "Since we are friends, you can chat with me at any time." ”

Hearing this, Warren's eyes turned red, he turned his head with a smile, and looked at the yellow leaves flying under the hotel building, "Li, you are a good person, you don't know my situation, I have had a bad life in the past few years, I want to do things for the company, but they don't give me a chance." ”

Warren then told aggrieved about what happened to him in recent years, and Li Shengyao listened quietly.

After venting, Warren finally thought of his business this time.

"Lee, the release of the pilot trailer for "Joker" has made many people realize your strength, including Disney's top management, and they asked me to come over and invite you to consider cooperating with Disney for your next movie."

When Lee Shengyao first made "Joker", there were many people who questioned it.

Some people feel that he can't adapt to the changes in Hollywood, and some people say that his movies are too literary and not commercial.

However, with the release of the one-minute "Joker" pilot trailer, the word of mouth quickly reversed.

Many extreme clown fans who were originally opposed to the production of "Joker" are now supporting "Joker".

In the eyes of major Hollywood companies, Lee Shengyao has given clowns not only word of mouth, but also new vitality.

Completely different from the DC Universe movies of the past, it can be said that Lee Shengyao is taking a different path.

And that's exactly what Warner and Disney are striving for.

Hollywood academic directors, such as Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese, have always looked down on superhero movies.

These big Hollywood directors have publicly despised superhero movies many times, and actors like Xiao Lizi are also not interested in superhero movies.

This is arguably the biggest weakness of superhero movies.

However, how much box office they have gotten is a popcorn movie, and it is not worth speculating.

And "Joker" written by Lee Shengyao is completely different from traditional superhero movies, as soon as the pilot trailer came out, it was eye-catching, and Disney executives immediately took action.

Li Shengyao heard Warren's words, but did not say anything, "It's still early, I'm going all out to make "Joker" now, I don't want to think about the future, Warren, after "Joker" is released, you can contact me when the time comes." ”

Warren nodded, "Yes, you have a lot of options now, there's no need to answer me right now."

But where the work is, I still have to talk about Disney's conditions. ”

He paused for a moment, and then said: "Just like the conditions given to you by Warner, Disney can give you 30% of the copyright, and you are solely responsible for the production of the movie, and you have the final editing rights."

In addition, Disney is willing to give you 30 million movie salaries. ”

This condition is 10 million more than Warner's salary.

In fact, it is still not as good as the top directors, such as James Cameron, this guy can get a box office share when he makes movies.

It can be regarded as the treatment of a first-line director.

For a director from Asia, this is an unprecedented treatment.

Not to mention a round of players like Brother Kai Zi, even Wen Ziren does not have such treatment.

Li Shengyao nodded, "Okay, man, I understand." ”

Warren smiled, then raised his coffee cup, "Lee, I wish you more and more success and become the brightest star in Hollywood." ”

"Thank you, I'll keep going."

……

Warren. Iger wasn't the only one who came to talk to Lee about the next movie, and several other big Hollywood companies arranged for people to chat with Lee and wanted to work with him.

Emmerich also chatted with Lee Shengyao seriously, saying that although "Joker" has not yet been produced, Warner Pictures trusts Lee Shengyao's ability very much, and can sign a cooperation treaty now, no matter what the requirements are, Warner Pictures can meet them.

and coping with Warren. Like Egger, Li Shengyao did not give an affirmative answer.

Such an attitude not only did not be counterattacked, but the major film companies also continued to pat him on the back.

Even Xiao Lizi and Tom Tom expressed their desire to cooperate with Li Shengyao.

In this case, "Joker" has a better reputation, and only a few Hollywood stars came to visit the class before, but now there are star directors who come to visit the class almost every day.

There were certainly more reporters outside the set than there were protesters.

On the set of "Joker", the actors and workers were also full of energy, and many people were very excited, and when they were interviewed by reporters, they said that they were very happy and that they were lucky to participate in the filming of "Joker".

The big guy is confident and wants to make a good movie.

It can be said that the current "Joker" crew is more united, more active and more efficient than ever.

On this morning, Li Shengyao came to the set early, and then pondered the position of the actors filming today and the position of the camera.

About ten minutes later, Emmerich came over, he raised the newspaper in his hand, his face full of excitement, "Lee, the Hollywood Star, and the Los Angeles Evening News are all praising 'Joker' today." ”

Emmerich looked overjoyed, and was visibly very happy.

He continued: "In the evening, the Ellen Show invited us over. ”

Several talk shows in the beautiful country have very good ratings.

Li Shengyao naturally will not refuse.

At this moment, the mobile phone rang, and it turned out to be a call from Phoenix's agent.

"Lee, I'm very sorry, Phoenix said he is out of shape today and wants to take two days off."

Emmerich stood next to Li Shengyao, and when he heard the words of Phoenix's agent, his face became much gloomy.

"This damn guy, dragging his feet at this time, doesn't he know that we are now in good shape, and his behavior like this is likely to interrupt our upward momentum."

There is good news almost every day during this period of time, and Emmerich is more looking forward to the production of "Joker", he feels that as long as he maintains the current efficiency and rhythm, "Joker" will definitely be a big hit in the future, and he can go further as expected.

But I didn't expect that at such a critical juncture, Phoenix actually said that he had no state and wanted to ask for leave.

If this is poked out, it will definitely affect the current momentum of "Joker".

When Li Shengyao heard this, he frowned slightly, and then patted Emmerich's hand, "Man, don't be nervous, Phoenix wants to find a state, let's give him time, and we can adjust the shooting plan." ”

He then called the assistant director and asked him to tell the actors and crew to adjust the shooting plan.

Neither Lee Shengyao nor Emmerich thought that this incident was not singular, but something that would happen repeatedly.

In the following week, Phoenix still didn't find his form, and arranged for his agent to call Li Shengyao, saying that he wanted to ask for leave.

In order to cope with such a special situation, the crew had to continuously adjust the shooting plan.

Everything went smoothly before, but now Phoenix can't find the state for a long time, so naturally he can't hide it from the rest of the crew.

Some of the crew and actors were unhappy with Phoenix's attitude.

In order to appease these people, Li Shengyao personally went out to endorse Phoenix, and he hoped that these people would not tell reporters outside about the crew.

In addition, he will apply to Warner to give them more rewards.

With the monetary reward, this suppressed the dissatisfaction of the field workers and actors.

Warners naturally didn't feel sorry for that little money now, but Emmerich was furious.

"He is too arrogant, there is no contract spirit at all, Li, now the whole beautiful country supports us, we don't need to be afraid of him, we are tougher, he will never dare to mess around, he will definitely come to work obediently."

Li Shengyao shook his head, "Man, Phoenix is not that kind of person. ”

In Lee Shengyao's previous life, there were many things like Phoenix filming "Joker", but there is no need to doubt his professional attitude and spirit of excellence.

Phoenix isn't trying to get a handle on Warners, it's trying to get a better deal.

People are really just looking for a state.

Although Lee hopes to finish filming on the set by the end of the year, he is willing to give Phoenix time if he wants to find a better shape.

Time is not a problem, the most important thing is quality.

"Li, that guy definitely has bad intentions, he just sees that everything is going very well now, and wants to raise the price and let us give him more benefits.

We have to show our attitude, or he'll have more in the future, and we can't back down. ”

Emmerich cares about chaos, he attaches too much importance to "Joker", and he no longer has the calmness he used to have.

Li Shengyao smiled and shook his head, "Man, Phoenix is not that kind of person, you think about his past, he used to do this a lot, I know his style very well, I was prepared, you don't have to worry."

Even if there is a slight delay now, as long as Phoenix comes back and he can show his strength, we can maintain the quality of Joker. ”

Anyway, Lee Shengyao did not participate in the investment of this film, and slightly postponed the work on the set, Warner had millions more, and Lee Shengyao was not distressed.

When Emmerich heard this, he thought for a while and said: "Lee, this is the last time, if he does this in the future, I will definitely stink him, and after "Joker" is released, he will not be able to gain a foothold in Hollywood." ”

Lee Shengyao waved his hand, "You wait, you will be glad that you chose today, Phoenix's performance of "Joker" will be a huge asset to Warner Pictures." ”

……

When the crew of "Joker" took a leave of absence because of Phoenix, adjusted the shooting plan, and the senior management of the crew comforted the actors, Phoenix was lying on the big bed in the hotel in a daze.

His agent sat aside with a bitter face, "Man, the momentum of "Joker" is very good now, why can't you finish the film shoot smoothly in one go?" ”

When Phoenix heard this, he said lightly: "I am responsible for my beauty, I am not lazy, I want to find the best state." ”

The agent nodded, "Many people in the crew are dissatisfied with you, and only Li supports you." ”

Phoenix nodded, and suddenly smiled nervously, "Li is a capable person, he understands my intentions, and I will not let him down."

The clown I play is going to be very good. ”

(End of chapter)