Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 113 Warner’s weak spot!
Jonathan Nolan also spoke up: "I just came back from a location scout in Hong Kong. There are already many Chinese elements in our film. What's the problem with the Joker being Chinese? If the explanation given by Chen just now is not enough, I wrote the script myself, and I can give ten thousand explanations for this. In fact, when I recommended him to play the Joker, I never even considered his skin color. Michael, by the way, when he smeared chalk mud on his face like he did just now, what was his skin color? Who can tell?"

Emma Thomas added: "Speaking of which, for God's sake, let's talk about the makeup he just did... In fact, everyone can see that it is not perfect, it can be said to be shoddy, but if we continue to deepen it on this basis, I think that is the Joker we have been looking for."

Charles Rowan said, "I agree. I want to ask, if we don't use him, can we use the same makeup? Is this considered plagiarism? Michael, can you call a lawyer for this matter?"

Michael Slan nodded and said, "Of course." After that, he pressed the phone in front of him and gave a few instructions to the person on the other end.

After a while, his secretary called back: "Mr. Slan, the people from the law firm of Dais and Michel said that there may be certain legal risks. Because in principle, it is also intellectual property. Of course, if we are willing to pay a certain price, then there will be no risk in the eyes of Warner."

"Okay, got it. Thank you, Milan."

Michael Slan looked up and said, "OK. That's what happened. In any case, letting a Chinese actor play the Joker is likely to become an unstable factor and affect our final box office performance. I still think Heath Ledger is our best choice. For this, I am willing to pay $10 in legal fees to take the makeup off his face."

Jonathan frowned and said, "Michael, isn't this unethical?"

Michael Slan smiled, sighed and said, "Jonathan, this is Hollywood. Moral people are begging on the streets."

Jonathan looked disgusted and said, "Michael, I am also a creator. You shouldn't trample on someone's hard work like this."

Michael Slan said: "OK, Jonathan, I apologize to you. But... my words still count."

Jonathan shook his head and said nothing more.

Emma Thomas suddenly spoke up, "Michael, what you just said is the last resort. I have to remind you now that Heath Ledger has just finished filming Brokeback Mountain and his mental state is really bad. We have had him undergo three psychological evaluations before, and the doctors' advice afterwards was that he needed a long rest. If he were to join our movie under such circumstances, and play such a gloomy and manic character, I'm worried that he might not be able to stick with it."

Charles Rowan rolled his eyes and said, "Actually, I think Chen might be a good choice."

This follower who changes his mind at the slightest sign of change. Michael Slan was a little annoyed, "What's the reason?"

"The Chinese market," Charles Roven said, "don't forget, there are 12 billion people there. Although the current film market there seems insignificant, its potential is unlimited. If our Batman series can attract the love of the Chinese, it will definitely bring us immeasurable returns in the future. What's more, Warner has a successful precedent of cooperating with Chinese actors, right? Michael?"

Michaelslan was silent because Charles Rowan had hit the nail on the head.

It's not his, but Warner's key.

In 1998, Jet Li and Warner Bros. collaborated on "Lethal Weapon 4", which sold 1.3 million dollars at the global box office. Jet Li played the villain in the film, which was a huge box office success. Even Jet Li himself became famous in Hollywood, and a Hollywood company introduced his Hong Kong-made "Black Mask", which sold nearly 2000 million dollars at the box office.

In 2000, Warner Bros. continued to collaborate with him on "Romeo Must Die", which also sold more than 5000 million at the box office, not only recovering the cost but also making a considerable profit.

These two successful collaborations have indeed made Warner executives less resistant to working with Chinese actors. If it weren't for the special status of the Batman series, Michael Slan wouldn't have been so firmly opposed.

Although the cooperation with Chen Nuo may be resisted by North American movie fans, what about on the other side of the ocean? Michael Slan believes that this Batman movie will definitely be particularly popular, and it may even completely open up the market with unlimited potential.

By then, it won’t just be the revenue from the movie.

The relative importance of these interests is something that even the top accounting firms would not be able to calculate.

Thinking of this, his attitude softened. He sighed and said, "What about the others? Don't we have any other options? Do we have to choose between a mentally ill person and a Chinese boy?"

Emma Thomas spread her hands and said, "I'm sorry, Michael, it looks like this is the case right now. Due to time and cost constraints, we can't do a large-scale casting. Now, no matter how you look at it, we can only choose between Heath Ledger and Chen."

Warner's senior conference room fell silent again, and everyone was weighing the pros and cons.

Jonathan Nolan suddenly stood up and said with a smile, "Take your time to think about it. I'm going to go have a cup of coffee. When I saw you guys thinking seriously about whether a Chinese boy should play the role of a clown, I suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment. It seems that my trip to Hong Kong this time was worthwhile. Perhaps, I can also take on the position of a casting director in the future."

The other four people couldn't help but laugh.

Michael Slan smiled and said, “Jonathan, if you really want to change careers, I promise that you can take the position of Warner casting director at any time. Although I am worried about Chen playing the Joker, I cannot deny that he is indeed a good actor. You have a really good eye.”

Jonathan smiled and said, "Thank you, that's enough for me." After that, he really went out to make coffee.

The remaining four people in the conference room had no intention of staying any longer, so Charles Rowan said, "Christopher, the final decision on this matter is still up to you. No matter who you choose, I think there is no problem."

Christopher Nolan is a little distracted. He is a very conservative and traditional person and generally will not change his original ideas unless necessary.

Should he take a huge risk and stick with his original choice of Heath Ledger, or should he really choose a Chinese boy?

This is really a vexing problem.

However, in fact, when they started discussing it, they already had an answer.

Just in use now.

Christopher Nolan said to the three producers: "Why don't we just follow the result of the vote."

(End of this chapter)