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

Chapter 669 Returning Home (24)

"I'm going over there to chat with them for a bit!"

David Fenkel got up to leave, and Shen Yan said, "Please, sit wherever you like..."

Shen Yan pointed to the white plastic chair next to him, propped it up a bit, turned around, took a bottle of beer from the bucket next to the table, handed it to the two of them, and asked, "Not participating in the party? Something wrong?"

"Are you going back to China tomorrow?"

"Hmm...I have to go back and promote the movie!"

Ryan asked, "So, what do you think are the chances of La La Land winning an award?"

Shen Yan thought for a moment, then said, "La La Land... this film is more advantageous for Mia. To be honest, I feel Emma might win the Oscar for Best Actress, but it's a bit difficult for Sebastian..."

"Is there a problem with my performance?"

"It has nothing to do with your performance... The main thing is that Leonardo DiCaprio should be winning this year. I heard his performance in 'The Revenant' was quite outstanding!"

Ryan nodded: "...Okay."

Emma Stone then asked, "Do you think I can win an Oscar?"

"There aren't many actresses with outstanding acting skills left in America... If you don't take it, who will? Are you going to keep awarding it to Jennifer Lawrence?"

Jennifer Lawrence has "Joy" this year...

A film specifically made for her to win awards, directed by David O. Russell, the director of "Silver Linings Playbook"!

This director rose to fame early in his career with "The Fighter"—a boxing movie starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams.

Many people say he was promoted by Harvey.

No, that's not true. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three years in a row for *The Fighter*, *Silver Linings Playbook*, and *American Hustle*, and he studied under Martin Scorsese…

The main reason is that Russell had a conflict with George Clooney, which is widely discussed. This was a collaboration on "The Indiana Jones," a satirical war film about three special forces soldiers who planned to steal gold from Kuwait during the Gulf War. The film grossed $60 million domestically and over $100 million worldwide, with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, indicating very good reviews.

However, the two had a rather unpleasant argument on set.

They almost came to blows!
George Clooney is not only an actor, but also a staunch Democratic Party supporter…

He has close ties with many politicians!
His words usually trend on social media...

However, after Dong came to power, his life became quite difficult...

Getting back on track, Ryan immediately understood what was going on and nodded, "OK!"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yan told a story: "Chandler was a man of few words, endlessly doing all sorts of odd jobs in Boston..."

But this seems to be just an excuse he made to escape the past and hide his grief. Even when he received the news that his beloved brother Joe had died of a heart attack, his serious and gloomy face did not show any more sadness.

Upon returning to his long-abandoned hometown of Manchester, he finds himself designated as the guardian of his nephew Patrick.

Chandler was unwilling to move back to his hometown, which held too many memories, while his nephew Patrick was unwilling to abandon his life and friends and leave with Lee...

"What... happened to him?"

"He was just an ordinary worker in Manchester. After a heavy drinking session, he forgot to close the fire shield. Sparks flew and engulfed his two sleeping daughters and his infant son... Even more heartbreaking is that the police acquitted him..."

"what?"

“Yes, the difference between this story and the previous ones is that Chandler refused to reconcile… Not all wounds can be healed, some mistakes cannot be undone, and some wounds seep into the bones and never heal.” After hearing this story, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone remained silent…

Shen Yan continued, "This is a project provided by Kenneth Lonergan... If you want to act in it, I'll have David Fenkel secure it..."

Ryan nodded decisively: "...I'm definitely willing to take it!"

"That's fine then!" Shen Yan clinked glasses: "Drink!"

As the group clinked glasses, Emma Stone asked with a puzzled look, "Why do you always seem to get such great scripts?"

"Because I'm also a director, my evaluation of a script isn't based on how much money it can make, but on whether it can move me... The Hollywood Big Six judge scripts by whether they can make money... Only those that can make money are considered high-quality projects!"

"But you can convince a lot of actors to star in it... I heard that 'Carol' invited Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara..."

Shen Yan shrugged: "Good scripts are rare. We can't afford high salaries, so let's convert that into investment... We'll earn a distribution fee, and the rest goes to the production team and actors."

"This is no way you run a company!"

"Yeah, it doesn't make any money, so what's the point?"

"...We've never had a bad year...A24 has been profitable for the past two years...and we've worked with great actors and excellent directors, earning their friendships..."

……

A24 did exactly that!
This year, we're producing six films: *La La Land*, *Carol*, *The Danish Girl*, *The Lobster*, *Split*, and the American remake of *Sheep Without a Shepherd*…

The costs were not high, with the most expensive being "Carol" at $3500 million.

—The budget for "Sheep Without a Shepherd" was approximately 3200 million, and after tax refunds, it was roughly 2600 million US dollars…

The majority of the actor's salary expenses were allocated to equity investments!
After deducting publicity and production costs, 60% of the profits go to the production team and main actors, and the remaining 40% is distributed among the major investors.

As for the money A24 makes, it's probably from the royalties it receives from selling the rights to Netflix!
Yes, Netflix has been practically sponsoring A24 for the past two years...

Burning actually received a $700 million copyright fee!
As for "Manchester by the Sea," if Ryan Gosling is willing to star in it, Kenneth Lonergan would definitely be happy to work with A24!

Ryan is still quite popular...

Disney offered him a hefty sum to star in "Doctor Strange," but he declined, saying he didn't want to sign a long-term contract and play the same role for an extended period!
Most importantly, A24 is already a benchmark film company in the New York independent film scene.

Kenneth Lonergan happens to be a New York filmmaker!

……

Shen Yan returned to China on May 9th.

Recently, there have been a lot of comments about him online, such as 'joining America' and 'his future development in Hollywood'...

Although Shen Yan showed his work visa—H-1B visa—during the live stream.

The H-1B visa is valid for three years and is a work visa.

A green card is a permanent resident card. According to American law, green card holders are foreigners without American citizenship or nationality. However, they generally enjoy the same rights as American citizens within America, except for the right to vote and run for election.

"I haven't even gotten a green card yet, how can I join America?"

"I don't plan to stay in Hollywood... Movies have cultural barriers, and what kind of roles could I play in Hollywood? I couldn't play anything!"

(End of this chapter)