America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 301 I'm always the one who gets hurt

In the screening room, a preview of Brad Pitt's new film "Jackson Assassin" was underway. Warner Bros. executives including Daniel, Alan Horn and Charles Roven all had expressionless faces.

On the screen, Brad Pitt is wearing a denim outfit, looking quite imposing and with a unique sense of hipster style.

But these people from Warner almost thought of Coca-Cola's latest advertisement at the same time.

The cowboys who were originally like yuppie gentlemen turned out to be so awkward.

Some even feel that this person should be trampled underfoot and trampled upon, and should cry and repent.

It would be fine if Pitt had a different look in the film, but the sharpshooter James he played is a typical cowboy.

It wasn't just Warner's people who had this idea; even Pitt's people were no exception.

Including Maggie Dakshire.

She felt that the film might not go well.

The preview ended, and without waiting for Pitt, the producer and leading actor, to speak, the Warner executives and film experts exchanged glances and reached a tacit understanding.

Alan Horn said, "Brad, we need to have a small meeting internally. Please wait a moment."

Pete smiled: "Please do as you please."

Warner executives and film experts went into the adjacent office.

Alan Horn asked directly: "Isn't this movie a little weird?"

Several movie experts have reached a consensus. One of them said, "It's not that the movie is weird, it's that Pitt looks weird. His cowboy look is too reminiscent of the latest Coca-Cola commercial."

Daniel replied, “Indeed.”

Charles Rowan smiled helplessly: "When I saw Pitt in cowboy clothes appear on the screen, Coca-Cola started to come out of my head."

Seeing the others nodding, Alan Horn asked, "If the audience sees this, will it be distracting?"

“Maybe some people won’t,” the film expert said, “but some people will definitely think of that ad.”

Daniel suggested: “I remember the company signed a distribution contract with the crew?”

Alan Horn said: "When the project was launched, a distribution contract was signed, but Pete was very confident at the time and refused to let us participate in the production investment. Except for today's film screening, we did not make any other advance investment, and the investment was basically zero."

Charles Rowan replied, "Since we have signed the distribution contract, let's hold it for now and wait until the influence of the Coca-Cola advertisement fades before releasing it."

There is no way Allen Horn would give up on this film, and the chance of losing money for pure distribution is very small.

He made a decision: "Let's decide it."

The internal discussion ended quickly in a few minutes, and Allen Horn asked someone to find Pete and formally inform him of the decision.

"Postponed release?" Since marrying Aniston, Pitt has never enjoyed this kind of second-tier treatment. He was a little dissatisfied: "Alan, the film has been completed. Time is cost..."

Alan Horn raised his hand to interrupt him: "Warner Bros.' schedule is very full, and we can't find a suitable time slot for the time being. We can't let a movie like this face the direct impact of those commercial blockbusters, right?"

For a star of Pitt's level and a major shareholder of Plan B, he was more polite: "Give Warner some time. I'll have someone notify you when there's a suitable schedule."

The six major distributors are at the absolute upstream of the industry chain, so it is normal for them to have tight schedules. Pete urged them a few words and left Alan Horn's office.

When he went downstairs to meet up with the others, he happened to meet Banks, a Warner filmmaker who was also attending the film viewing.

"Hey, Brad, let's talk." Banks had a hard time making a name for himself at Warner Bros., so he couldn't help but have other ideas.

"What's up?" Pete asked.

Banks said: "Regarding the release of Jesse James Bond…"

He quickly recounted Warner Bros.' concerns.

Pete didn't think much of it at first, but the more he listened, the darker his face became, and he couldn't help but think of the Coca-Cola commercial.

“That’s about it.” Banks finished selling and left quickly: “I have something else to do. I’m leaving first.”

Pete put his hands in his pockets, still trying to maintain his composure, and took the elevator downstairs.

As soon as I entered the spacious lobby of the Warner Building, I saw a new promotional poster on the Coca-Cola vending machine. In the poster, Martin, who was dressed as a cowboy, used Coke as a blessing to influence another bully cowboy who looked very similar to him.

Pete went to the rest area and sat down, wanting to be alone.

He calmed down and gradually regained his composure. It was not difficult to find that Warner's decision was correct. If "Jackson Assassin" was released in theaters when this advertisement had the greatest impact, big problems might have occurred.

It’s okay to wait.

After realizing this, Pete got angry again. Why was I the one who got hurt?
…………

In the soda fountain at Warner Bros. Studios.

Martin went to the counter and asked for a cup of tea.

Part-time actress Mia cheerfully collected the money and gave the change: "Same as before, black tea, no milk or sugar?"

"Yes!" Martin came over. He was familiar with Mia. Seeing that she was very happy, he asked, "Did you get an important role?"

Mia nodded heavily: "Yes, there are nearly ten lines." Martin gave her a thumbs up: "It's a big step forward."

Mia showed a satisfied smile on her freckled face: "Among the five of us who rented the house together, I was the first one to get the lines."

Martin took the tea she handed him and suggested, "Ask your agent to run more. The more diligent he is, the more job opportunities you will have."

Mia said, "He doesn't take me seriously."

"Let's take it step by step." Martin took the tea and sat down at the empty table, waiting for Thomas to bring people over.

Marcus has dealt with the funeral of his two dogs, Daisy and John, and several black people have been formally arrested. He will be able to free up soon and start working on his memoirs.

Thomas found a suitable person from among WMA's contracted writers and screenwriters to serve as a ghostwriter to assist Marcus in completing his memoirs.

Today, Martin is going to meet the playwright.

There were no other customers in the cold drink shop at the moment, so Mia picked up a pen and started writing in a notebook.

What she recorded were all her experiences and insights in the studio.

Mia has been working here for more than a year and is still a small actor, but in addition to being an actor, she also tries to write something.

It's not voluntary, but forced. It's too difficult for a mere actor to stand out.

Thomas then entered the store with a man in a gray shirt.

The man was in his thirties, slightly fat, and had a beard.

Thomas introduced: "This is Robinson, a playwright signed by the company. He has participated in many film projects."

Martin shook hands with him, asked him to sit down, and asked Mia to bring two cups of coffee. He asked directly, "Have you participated in many film projects?"

Robinson is not a newcomer to Hollywood and knows the importance of resume. He said, "I was previously a member of Mark Boal's screenwriting team."

Martin had never heard of this person and was a little confused.

Robinson elaborated: "Mark Boal is the screenwriter of Black Hawk Down, and I participated in the script writing of this project as a member of the team."

Martin knows that the writing of many Hollywood scripts is also an assembly line division of labor and cooperation model. Many well-known screenwriters often have a team behind them to support them.

These screenwriters naturally cannot have their names signed on the films. Each Hollywood film can only have a maximum of three screenwriters signed, and being named means various online and offline revenue sharing rules stipulated by the Screenwriters Guild.

Robinson focused on war-related projects: "My most recent project was on 'In the Valley of Elah' directed by Paul Haggis. Like all other projects, I was a team member and did not have a credit."

Martin asked, "Are there any scripts or works you have written?"

Robinson took out a printed copy and handed it to Martin: "This is the part of Black Hawk Down that I was responsible for writing. The filming of In the Valley of Elah has just been completed and it has not been released yet, so the script cannot be released to the public."

Martin nodded and read it carefully.

When it comes to English writing, Martin is a poor student, definitely the worst of the worst, but his reading ability is normal. After reading a lot of scripts, he has a certain ability to recognize them.

"Black Hawk Down" is not an ordinary movie either. He also watched it when he was watching the movie recently.

Martin read it for more than ten minutes before putting down the script and asking, "Why did you leave Mark Ball's team?"

Robinson hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth: "I have worked in his team for five years, and I still don't have the right to sign my name. I feel that if I work for another five years, it will still be the same as it is now. Although he, as my boss, has made various promises to me, I think the possibility of fulfilling them is very low."

He smiled helplessly: "I also want to write my name on the scripts I create and sign my name on the movies. Although I don't have any copyright to Marcus' memoirs this time, I can sign my name on it."

Martin nodded slightly: "In addition to the remuneration, there is indeed the right to be named, but the name of the ghostwriter must be placed after Marcus."

Robinson said, “No problem.”

"Well, I'll ask Marcus to come out and meet him." Martin wanted to investigate in a more practical way: "Listen to Marcus's story and then write it down."

Robinson agreed immediately.

Martin called Marcus and arranged to meet at Davis Film Studios.

In less than half an hour, the two sides met in Martin's office.

Marcus' situation is somewhat similar to Martin's. When he speaks out loud, there is generally no problem, but when it comes to written expression, he is at a loss.

Oral and written expression are completely different.

Seeing that Martin found a suitable playwright so quickly, Marcus was very excited. He talked and gestured with his hands, describing an experience when he first joined the SEALs.

Robinson first wrote it down in the form of a draft, and when Marcus finished a paragraph, he went into the meeting room next door alone and began to organize and write it.

It was almost time to get off work when he came out of the meeting room and handed the paragraph he had written to Martin.

Martin looked it over quickly and handed it to Marcus.

The latter read it and said, "Yes, that's it!"

Martin asked Thomas to look at it again and confirmed that there were no problems, so he decided to hire Robinson.

(End of this chapter)