Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 508 The Muse of a Great Director
Martin Scorsese and Cao Yang have always had a good relationship. Scorsese has praised Cao Yang on many public occasions as a once-in-a-century genius director and one of the greatest directors of this century.

In a previous conversation with Martin Scorsese, Cao Yang learned that Scorsese's idol was Woody Allen, another talented American director.

So when Martin Scorsese said he was acting on Woody Allen's behalf, I wasn't particularly surprised.

Woody Allen holds a very special position in Hollywood.

He is known as the only intellectual in the American film industry.

Many very famous directors are his fans and maintain a mentor-student relationship with him, such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Cao Yang had been paying attention to this award because he had won many Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.

He recalled that by the 78th Academy Awards in 2006, Woody Allen had received 14 Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay.

However, due to his personality, he almost never attends any award ceremonies, including the Oscars.

The only time he attended the Oscars was in 02 when, due to that sensational incident, he had to give a speech as the New York City Ambassador, which forced him to attend the Oscars ceremony.

However, that time was purely because I was giving a speech on behalf of New York, not to present or receive an award.

This resulted in him receiving 14 Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay before 2006, but only winning the award twice, in 1978 and 1987, when the Oscars didn't care much about formalism.

The Oscars later became similar to the Golden Rooster Awards; most of the time, if a nominated person explicitly stated that they would not attend, then they could forget about winning an award.

This is one of the reasons why Woody Allen has only won twice out of 14 Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay.

In addition to his 14 nominations for Best Original Screenplay, he also received 6 Oscar nominations for Best Director before 06.

For the same reason, he only won the Academy Award for Best Director once, in 78, and never won it again.

Having had more contact with them, Cao Yang has gained some understanding of the major directors in Europe, especially those of art-house films.

These renowned directors of art-house films all have their quirks, especially regarding relationships between men and women.

According to Cao Yang, Woody Allen is not only highly individualistic in personality, but also in his films, which are often bold and unconventional. His writing almost always revolves around themes of death, sex, and immoral behavior.

The targets of satire range from politics, culture, religion, and sex to movies, television, Judaism, and customs.

That's right, he dared to satirize Jews in his movies!

This was something that later Americans simply couldn't imagine.

Besides these, he also shares the biggest commonality among great art-house film directors—an open attitude towards relationships between men and women!

However, artists certainly can't be so blunt; they need to present themselves in a more nuanced way.

That is, almost all great directors of art films have one thing in common: they have countless "muses" throughout their lives.

Of course, these "mudes" must also be sexy, beautiful, and young in order to inspire directors' creative ideas.

When Martin Scorsese revealed his purpose, the word "muse" instantly popped into Cao Yang's mind.

It wasn't that Cao Yang was just imagining things; it was that Woody Allen publicly declared Scarlett Johansson as his "muse" when he collaborated with her on "Match Point."

Perhaps Cao Yang was overthinking it. When the two collaborated on "Match Point" in 2004, Scarlett Johansson was only 20 years old, while Woody Allen was already 69 years old, nearly 50 years apart.

However, considering this is Woody Allen...

In 92, Woody Allen was accused of long-term sexual assault by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow…

In 97, Woody Allen married Soon-Yi, another adopted daughter who was 35 years younger than him…

Well, it doesn't seem like a big deal.

Artists all need their own "muse," and isn't the bearded director in China also in a relationship with a young wife who is more than thirty years younger than him?

Of course, Cao Yang couldn't resist his curiosity.

"Martin, I know Woody Allen is your idol, but Black Widow is an extremely important character in my plans, not just a decorative figure in Iron Man 2."

So, what exactly is the relationship between Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson? If I remember correctly, he and Scarlett Johansson have collaborated on three films over four consecutive years.

After a pause, Cao Yang added, "Is he Scarlett Johansson's godfather?"

"Godfather is bullshit!"

Martin Scorsese just blurted out a curse.

After a moment of silence, he continued, "Scarlett Johansson lives with her mother, Melanie Sloan, who is Jewish and practices Judaism. How could she possibly have a godfather?"

"Oh, I get it, I get it. If it's not the Godfather, then it must be the 'Muse'?"

Cao Yang replied with a smile.

"Who knows?" Martin Scorsese laughed, for a good twenty seconds, as if he had just remembered something.

After he finished laughing, he asked in a serious tone, "'Black Widow' is very important? Besides 'Iron Man 2,' will she appear in other movies?"

"Yes, Martin, I'm only telling you this, but if Iron Man is successful again, I might create a movie series, with Black Widow as one of the characters. She'll appear in different movies, and she might even have her own solo movie."

Cao Yang spoke mysteriously, as if he had a good relationship with Martin Scorsese and that's why he told him about the upcoming film series.

Old Martin thought about Scarlett Johansson's image and couldn't help but shake his head.

Scarlett Johansson is young, beautiful, and sexy.

Unfortunately, she was too short and lacked the "tough guy" image—an agent, especially one specially trained by the former Soviet Union to carry out special missions, definitely needs a tough appearance to convince people.

Everything in the former Soviet Union had to be "hard" to conform to the public's impression.

“Okay, I understand. As a director, I think Woody will understand.”

After Old Martin finished speaking, he was about to hang up the phone when he heard Cao Yang ask, "Martin, do you think the 'Black Widow' agent needs a tough appearance?"

In Cao Yang's mind, wouldn't a secret agent, especially a female secret agent in a movie, be a good choice if she was sexy, good at fighting, and preferably good at fighting decisively?
Why do so many American directors, given a choice, tend to favor strong, assertive women?

If Cao Yang had to choose, for example, between Eva Green and Emily Blunt, he would most likely choose the more sexy and beautiful Eva Green.

After hearing Cao Yang's words, Old Martin thought that Cao Yang wanted to give him face and compromise.

He smiled silently, thinking that Cao Yang was a really good friend.

Yes, as long as we don't run into each other at an awards ceremony, we're good friends.

But who is this old Martin?
As a director with artistic aspirations and principles, how could he possibly ask Cao Yang to give up a more suitable candidate just because of his "request"?

Woody Allen, that old bastard, is always getting himself into trouble. I'm not going to give him any face next time; I've already used up all my face with him!
“Listen, buddy, I’ve thought about it, and Scarlett Johansson isn’t the best choice. Don’t worry about my feelings, she’s not tough enough, she doesn’t look like a Soviet agent at all. It wouldn’t matter if she played a minor role as an agent.”

However, since you think 'Black Widow' is so important, then don't compromise. Listen to me, find a more suitable actress—someone tall and with a rugged face; that's the perfect choice.

Uh... Cao Yang didn't expect Old Martin to say something like that.

Is Old Martin misunderstanding something?

After thinking about it again, Cheng Jianye also said that he had asked many people, and everyone felt that secret agents should be tall and strong, because finding a petite woman to be a "forceful" secret agent is not in line with the public's impression at all.

In particular, there are many records in Marvel comics that Black Widow Natasha Romanoff's height is set at 170 cm.

"Okay, Martin, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Cao Yang thought about it and realized that this matter could not be delayed any longer. He needed to finalize the "Black Widow" as soon as possible; he didn't have that much time to keep thinking about this.

He first called director Jon Favreau and told him to do as he said, and to cast Emily Blunt as the "Black Widow".

Jon Favreau was clearly pleased; Cao Yang could sense it even over the phone.

For Jon Favreau, Cao Yang's approval of his choice proves that Cao Yang still values ​​him as a director, so he is very happy.

Because that's Cao Yang, one of the top people in Hollywood, whether in the fields of production or directing.

After hanging up with Jon Favreau, Cao Yang called Anne Hathaway again and told her that he had decided to choose her best friend Emily Blunt, and even explained that Emily Blunt was more suitable for "Black Widow".

Anne Hathaway burst into laughter.

She understood; wasn't he just trying to avoid making her feel like she was interfering with his casting decisions?
Great directors are all like that; they don't want anyone to interfere with the casting process.

Anne Hathaway was delighted. She didn't believe the truth was that Emily Blunt was a better fit; it was obvious that Cao Yang had chosen her best friend to give her face.

I still hold a certain position with Cao Yang.

Am I considered the 'muse' of the famous director Cao Yang?

After hanging up the phone, Anne Hathaway couldn't help but think.

After thinking for a moment, Cao Yang took out the private phone number Emily Blunt had given him and made the call.

As soon as the call connected, he asked, "Three to five weeks of combat training, plus weightlifting and sprint training. I need you to look tougher, stronger, and more toned. Can you do that?"

Emily Blunt was stunned at first, then overjoyed.

Without hesitation, she replied, "Yes, sir, no problem, I'm fine, please don't worry."

“That’s fine. Also, you have to sign a long-term contract, at least for ten movies. Can you do that? If you can, ‘Black Widow’ is yours,” Cao Yang said.

"No problem, absolutely no problem, I won't let you down. Um... when can I come to your place? Do I need to come with Annie?"

Emily Blunt asked cautiously.

Cao Yang immediately fell silent and abruptly hung up the phone.

What the hell are you saying?

Am I that kind of person?
Did I choose you to be "Black Widow" because you once said on a small island in the Caribbean that you could do the same things as Eva Green and Anne Hathaway?
Cao Yang felt wronged. He ultimately decided on Emily Blunt not for any other reason than to respect the original work and the perception of American audiences.

After all, for Marvel's early films, the majority of the box office revenue came from North America.

Only when "The Avengers" is released will it be time to reap the rewards from the whole world.

Of course, this was also the time when Hollywood's creativity began to be stifled.

This was something Cao Yang was happy to see.

Emily Blunt paused for a moment upon hearing the dial tone, then jumped up excitedly and waved her arm vigorously.

"Yes! Yes!"

She finally got the role she had always dreamed of.

After calming down a bit, Emily Blunt quickly called her agent, Tanya Cohen.

Since ending her partnership with her previous agency last year, she joined CAA, and her agent is Tanya Cohen, a senior partner at CAA.

As a senior partner at CAA, Tanya Cohen learned from Robert Downey Jr.'s agent, Jimmy Richie, that Cao Yang was going to sign a long-term contract with Robert Downey Jr.

This is not a trade secret.

Moreover, given that these are agents within CAA, it's perfectly normal for senior partner Tanya Cohen to know about this.

Tanya Cohen is well-informed and has more resources at her disposal.

She highly regards Emily Blunt's strong appearance; actresses with such a tall figure and strong looks are actually quite rare in Hollywood.

Most Hollywood actresses follow a sexy route, while some take an artistic route, but to become a top star these days, it's very difficult to take the sexy route; the field is too crowded.

Before joining CAA, Emily Blunt was actually pursuing an artistic career.

However, after joining CAA, Tanya Cohen devised a new career plan for Emily Blunt, which was to follow the path of Angelina Jolie.

However, this route is not easy to take; it requires an opportunity.

The Marvel movie series that Cao Yang is preparing to create is undoubtedly the best opportunity.

Tanya Cohen once frankly told Emily Blunt that CAA might be able to help her get a role in a film directed or produced by another director or producer.

But this is Cao Yang's film, and no one in Hollywood can interfere. Not to mention CAA, even Disney CEO Robert Iger would have a hard time getting involved.

Therefore, whether Emily Blunt can get the role of "Black Widow" is up to her to figure out, any way is acceptable, as long as she can get the role.

However, Tanya Cohen also had a backup plan; she wasn't entirely sure if Emily Blunt could land the role of "Black Widow."

It's not about Black Widow's backup plan, but rather that she used her connections to find Emily Blunt the lead role in Gulliver's Travels as a backup.

This also demonstrates Tanya Cohen's high regard for Emily Blunt.

In fact, if Cao Yang hadn't appeared, Tanya Cohen would have used her connections to help Emily Blunt get the role of "Black Widow".

However, in the end, Tanya Cohen is just a senior partner at CAA, and her loss of face certainly cannot be compared to Woody Allen's.

So, even though Emily Blunt had already been confirmed as the "Black Widow" for "Iron Man 2," she was ultimately replaced by Scarlett Johansson before filming began.

The poaching of roles is a common occurrence in film and television industries worldwide, whether in China, Hollywood, or anywhere else.

After confirming the actress for "Black Widow," Cao Yang began to focus on filming "Pirates of the Caribbean 2."

Although Iron Man 2 is crucial and cannot be overlooked, as it is key to the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cao Yang was still quite at ease with Cheng Jianye overseeing things.

Cheng Jianye may not be a good director, but his ability to follow Cao Yang's instructions completely is quite strong.

(End of this chapter)