Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 475 Attitude towards DreamWorks
With the arrival of August, the action blockbuster "Face/Off," directed by Chinese-American director John Woo and starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, was released.
The film grossed $2500 million in its opening weekend in North America, receiving rave reviews!

"Face/Off" is cleverly and uniquely conceived, with the identity swap between an agent and a terrorist bringing a tense, exciting, and dramatic plot development.

At the same time, it delves into human nature, with the protagonist struggling between good and evil, allowing the audience to think deeply about themes such as identity, good and evil, and self-awareness.

Of course, the most important aspect of "Face/Off" is that it embodies John Woo's violent aesthetics. The gunfight scenes in the film are not only visually impactful, but also make extensive use of slow-motion scenes, symmetrical compositions, and elements such as flying white doves, turning the originally cruel and bloody violent scenes into something poetic and romantic!
With both lead actors, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, delivering classic performances, "Face/Off" became John Woo's representative work in Hollywood.

John Travolta will soon be joining the cast of "Chicago";

"Pulp Fiction, Broken Arrow, Face/Off, and Chicago—it seems Dawn really does have a connection with him!"

In the office at Global City, Aaron leaned back in his chair with a smile.

Etherine Beckett, who was standing nearby, explained, "Nicolas Cage has also collaborated with us quite a bit!"

"By the way, I heard that John Woo is producing a low-budget action film for Sony, and it stars a Hong Kong male lead, right?"

Aaron was referring to Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood film, "The Replacement Killers".

"Yes, a large number of filmmakers from Hong Kong are now coming to Hollywood to develop their careers."

"In the first half of the year, Sony also released an action film, *Strike Back*, directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman;"

"But the box office was only a little over $1000 million, and the reviews were also very bad. This time, the filming of 'The Replacement Killers' used Hong Kong actors and a Hollywood director!"

As Aaron's assistant at Dawn Global, Etherine Beckett is always keeping up with news about film and television.

"Jack Cheng and Will Smith's 'Rush Hour' last year was a huge success, and a sequel is definitely in the works. Let's discuss it with them as soon as possible!"

Aaron also knew that with the success of "Men in Black," Will Smith's value had also skyrocketed.
Moreover, Jack Cheng's net worth is not low, especially if a sequel is to be filmed, his salary will definitely be astronomical.

Since its release, Dawn's "Men in Black" has grossed over $2.2 million in North America and over $3 million overseas.
Even if Men in Black's global box office doesn't reach the level of Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World by the time it's taken off the screens, the difference won't be too significant.

Jack Cheng is currently filming an action movie called "Who Am I" for Hong Kong's Golden Harvest Films, which includes many overseas filming locations.

"Rush Hour 2 won't be officially in development until next year!"

Aaron nodded. "Rush Hour 2 is tentatively scheduled for release the year after next. By then, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka will also be opening."

"The story of Rush Hour 2 had to be filmed at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka."

This was something Aaron had planned long ago: to use the opening of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka in 1999 as a publicity stunt, leveraging Jack Cheng's "Rush Hour 2".
Given Jack Cheng's immense popularity in Japan, the promotional effect is bound to be there!

Etherine Beckett certainly had no objection; it wouldn't be a problem to have Rush Hour 2 filmed in Asia.

After saying that, Aaron seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Isn't there another kung fu star, Jett Lee, coming to Hong Kong?" "I remember, Dawn's film library still has the two kung fu films he starred in, the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series, which we bought before."

“Jett Lee’s fame in Asia is second only to Jack Cheng. He is very skilled and there are suitable action film projects that can support him.”

Ethelyn Beckett thought for a moment, "This year at the Cannes Film Festival, Twilight Pictures bought a Hong Kong urban sci-fi action film starring Jett Lee, I think it was called 'Black Mask';"

"It's somewhat similar to the dark style of Batman!"

Aaron remembered "Black Mask"; Wang Zhuxian had specifically mentioned it to him when they were in Hong Kong.

"Also, it seems Warner Bros. is considering casting Jett Lee as a villain in their upcoming sequel, *Lethal Weapon 4*."

"The company believed that Jett Lee might become known in Hollywood because of *Lethal Weapon 4*, which is why they bought the North American distribution rights to *Black Mask*."

"At that time, we will arrange for 'Black Mask' and the two 'Once Upon a Time in China' films to be released in North America!"

Aaron tapped the table. "No wonder, it's Warner Bros.' Lethal Weapon 4."

“Jet Lee is a kung fu star, which makes him more easily accepted by Hollywood. Let’s see if Quentin Tarantino has any projects involving Chinese kung fu. Jet Lee’s future is still promising.”

Etherine Beckett nodded. "Quentin Tarantino has just directed a crime film for Twilight Pictures called *Dangerous Liaisons*, which will be released at Christmas this year."

"In recent years, he has become very close to director Robert Rodriguez, co-directing new films or making cameo appearances in each other's works!"

Robert Rodriguez is the director of "The Killing Trilogy," and Quentin Tarantino starred in his film "From Dusk Till Dawn" last year.
Robert Rodriguez is a distinctive genre film director, and he and Quentin Tarantino are indeed birds of a feather.

“After Pulp Fiction, this guy hasn’t produced anything good,” Aaron shook his head.

"By the way, let's reject DreamWorks' 'Little Warrior' project!"

"Little Warrior" is a science fiction work adapted from Hasbro toys, but the script is full of Hasbro toys' mockery and humiliation of Mattel Barbie dolls;

In Aaron's view, it was nothing more than a Hasbro commercial movie; DreamWorks' attempt to collaborate with Universal was complete nonsense.

What's the current state of Universal? Why would a Hollywood leader stoop so low as to make a mediocre "advertisement"?
Furthermore, Dawning's main collaboration with DreamWorks is currently focused on animated feature films. DreamWorks does not have overseas distribution capabilities, and the international distribution of DreamWorks Animation is mainly handled by Dawning Global International.
After all, when it comes to the international distribution of animated films, Disney is the top choice. How could Jeffrey Katzenberg possibly collaborate with Disney?

Pixar, a subsidiary of Dawn Group, rose to fame with "Toy Story," making Dawn Group a household name in the animation industry!

Aaron would certainly be happy to collaborate with DreamWorks Animation. As for the live-action film, with Aaron himself involved, Steven Spielberg's fame will be completely unaffected.

Moreover, DreamWorks tends to spend money lavishly on its productions, and Steven Spielberg's share of the profits is extremely high, so Dawn has no need to collaborate with him.

Pixar's animated feature films are in limited supply, and Dawn desperately needs animated feature films to fill the market.
Currently, Dawn Global International only collects an 8% overseas distribution commission on each DreamWorks Animation film!
(End of this chapter)