Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 598 Agreement Reached (34)

Leonardo DiCaprio... Hollywood's last superstar!
The current number one actor in Hollywood, and the only male actor to break into the top ten of Hollywood's most powerful list.

If he agrees to star in it, then "Manchester by the Sea" will immediately become a major project...

But there's a problem...

Leonardo DiCaprio has his own production company – Appigumo Films.

Shen Yan asked directly, "What if he takes a liking to the project and then kicks us out..."

David Fenkel replied with a laugh: "It's not impossible, but I think Leon would most likely not like 'Manchester by the Sea'!"

"why?"

"Leonardo is a big star, and big stars have too many choices. He will prioritize invitations from big directors!"

Indeed, there's a saying in Hollywood: "Basically, every high-quality movie script you can find on the market today has Leonardo DiCaprio's fingerprints on it."

In other words, Leonardo DiCaprio is the first choice for all excellent scripts!

Even if he doesn't, the project is his if he just asks.
For example, with "Don't Look Up," they initially wanted to invite Tom Hanks, but Leonardo DiCaprio took a fancy to the script and snatched the role away.

"So you still agreed to let me send him the script?"

"You're the boss, you make the decisions!"

"All right…"

Shen Yan changed the subject: "Have you had the script for 'A Quiet Place' written yet?"

"Hmm...it's already written, and we're planning to start filming at the end of the year..."

"Make a good film; I feel its commercial potential is no less than that of 'The Purge'!"

"OK!"

After a pause, David Fenkel asked again, "Is 'Burning' aiming for awards?"

"Yes...the best foreign language film!"

"Shall I help you contact a prize-winning team?"

"...How much money do you need?"

David Fenkel thought for a moment, then said, "If we can win the Golden Lion, the chances of winning Best Foreign Language Film will be much higher..."

"So I need public relations too?"

“Definitely!” David Fenkel said matter-of-factly. “If you don’t do public relations, the jury will think you don’t value the Best Foreign Language Film award and don’t respect the Oscars enough… so they won’t vote for you!”

"Depend on!"

Shen Yan couldn't help but swear...

But it's true!
This is also the main reason why Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping have failed to win the Oscars after working together for so many years – Zhang Weiping is unwilling to spend money.

……

A Quiet Place, a thriller that achieves great results with limited resources...

What they're selling is a concept: a story without a backstory, only a setting.

In a remote, isolated town, there are three monsters. They are blind and hunt by sound. They can hear sounds exceeding 30 decibels. With their extreme speed and destructive power, the monsters can always arrive and slaughter people before they can cover up the noise.

Then, in order to survive, the family remained silent!
Logically speaking, this setting is not unusual!

However, from a psychological perspective, when you clearly recognize your own absolute weakness, people tend to remain silent.

When people know that they will be fine as long as they keep quiet, why not?
Nothing is more important than saving your own life.

Actually, this movie is pretty outrageous!

If the ammunition can kill monsters, then... how did it manage to wipe out almost all of humanity?
But like The Purge, the main selling point of Quiet Place is its conceptual setting!

A Quiet Place, with a budget of $1700 million, grossed over $3.5 million worldwide.

Moreover, this is a series, and the second film also grossed $2.9 million. Including the spin-off "Invasion Day," the global box office exceeded $2.6 million!
From a purely commercial perspective, A Quiet Place is even more promising than The Purge...

Because of its monster setting, it can be shown worldwide!
By the way, Shen Yan spent a week in the US and met with Todd Haynes and Cate Blanchett—Cate is the producer of *Carol*… Cate Blanchett…

The Cannes Film Festival speaks out for Palestine…

That's quite admirable!
After all, Hollywood is practically surrounded by Jews…

Mel Jebson turned against Judaism, and then his career was ruined.

Kanye West was the same; he made a few careless remarks when his career was at its peak, and then almost went bankrupt!
Shen Yan doesn't really like many Hollywood stars making irresponsible political statements.

You can remain silent throughout, or speak out for the weak indiscriminately, but you cannot go with the flow and play dead against the wind—although they have lost a lot, they have gained freedom, and there was also someone who previously accused Chinese people of eating too much seafood.

It seems most celebrities are simply trying to ride the wave of popularity, create a persona, and maintain their presence in front of the audience…

When "feminism," "LGBTQ," and "Black Lives Matter" are politically correct, they endorse these politically correct stances...

The Harvey incident sparked the "Me Too" movement, with a large number of Hollywood stars joining in the criticism.

But if you think about it carefully, Harvey stirred up trouble and wielded power for so many years, where were all these people all those years before? Did no one expose his evil deeds?

It's worth noting that Gao Xiaosong had discussed Harvey on the show—after explaining Hollywood's financing methods and how he persuaded people to sign Oscars, Gao Xiaosong interpreted Harvey's behavior as perfectly normal.

Even Gao Xiaosong knows what kind of person Harvey is!
It's like what Golden Globe host Ricky Gervais said: 'If you win, go up there, take your little award, and then get off the stage. Don't use this platform for your political speeches! Most of you haven't read as many books as the 'Environmental activist'!'

Cate Blanchett is pretty fierce…

Anyone can hitch a ride when the wind is blowing, but not everyone has the courage to go against the wind.

Unfortunately, "Carol" cannot be released in mainland China, after all, it is a lesbian film!

By the way, the production cost of "Carol" was $1800 million, and Kate invested in it with her salary...

……

Shen Yan actually didn't have a good impression of Hollywood...

Hollywood, in particular, has become a complete money game.

The number of decent films produced each year is pitifully small; most are just fast-paced, big-budget commercial productions…

But... why not make money if you have it?

Shen Yan gave the script for "La La Land" to David Fenkel, telling him that it was his next film.

I originally thought David Fenkel would try to persuade him…

Musicals, musicals, or jazz...

It's definitely going to lose money!

But David Fenkel simply asked, "Who would you like to play the female lead?"

"Emma Stone...I'm planning to cast Gosling as the male lead!"

David Fenkel scratched his head: "It's not a good deal. They're both stars, their salaries are at least $800 million!"

"...can be converted into shares, with revenue sharing based on box office receipts."

"...It's a bit difficult, this is a musical!"

"Could you help me get in touch with them..."

Shen Yan said, "The opening theme music is 'Another Day of Sun,' which I wrote for Sprite. Let them listen to it; it's pretty good!"

"OK, I can give it a try!"

“Okay,” Shen Yan nodded. “I’m going back to China tomorrow. If anything comes up, call me.”

"Hmm... Is 'Whiplash' confirmed for a November release?"

"Keep going for the prize!"

"OK!"

(End of this chapter)