Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 298 Gu Bei's Extraordinary Spider-Man
The short film copyright that Amy mentioned actually refers to the Spider-Man copyright for films under 40 minutes in length, which can be adapted into various forms such as live-action or animation.

But the only thing that can truly generate profit from this copyright is the Spider-Man animated TV series.

Spider-Man animated television series first appeared on television screens in 1967.

Now in its seventh version, the Amazing Spider-Man series, which just started airing this year, is also the most acclaimed Spider-Man TV series of the new century.

However, this version only lasted two seasons and 26 episodes before it abruptly ended.

It's probably related to Sony letting Marvel take back the Spider-Man TV rights.

Why does Gu Bei know so much?

This movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, is what got him hooked on Marvel back then.

He remembered very clearly that he watched the first season on The CW.

The second season could only be watched on Disney XD, which is Disney's pay channel. After all that trouble, Disney simply didn't renew the third season.

Disney is truly despicable!

The key is,

If Gu Bei could acquire the television rights to Spider-Man,
Then he could then create Spider-Man Miles Morales.

Spider-Man only appeared in the Ultimate Universe in 2011.
He is also the only person besides Peter Parker to become Spider-Man in the main universe.

Unlike other superheroes who have various versions, Spider-Man only has two generations: The Amazing and Ultimate, both of which are Peter Parker.

Miles Morales is the third generation of Spider-Man, and he certainly has his own unique qualities. His character development and arc are very well written, which perfectly reflects the characteristics of young people in the new era.

Gu Bei incorporated a lot of the Little Black Spider's storyline into his script ideas.

If Gu Bei creates Spider-Man first, then both Marvel and Sony would have to obtain Gu Bei's consent to use the character.

That'll get interesting!

Gu Bei said to Amy Pascal, "Amy, perhaps we can discuss this in more detail later."

Amy was slightly puzzled.

Subsequently,

The creative discussion session began.
Although it was called a discussion, it was actually just a presentation by Gu Bei and Sam Raimi from Sony's project team to Stan Lee and Kevin Feige from Marvel's team, showcasing the project's development progress.

Marvel might offer some suggestions.
Whether or not to listen is up to Sony's own decision, since the copyright is in Sony's hands.

However, on the other hand, in the business world, people tend to flatter each other. Showing respect for the opinions of the original authors can attract some fans of the original work and boost box office revenue.

"Previously, there were plans for the Spider-Man 4, 5, and 6 trilogy, as well as Spider-Man 45 to be filmed back-to-back. After discussions, our team felt that the storylines wouldn't connect well enough, so we are now focusing on developing the Spider-Man 4 project."

Sam Raimi showed everyone the documents, "Given the narrative crisis caused by the excessive number of villains in Spider-Man 3, our team is preparing to reduce the number of villains in Spider-Man 4."
The main villain is Kurt Connors, the Lizard Doctor, who has already appeared, and there's also a secondary villain, Quentin Baker, who plays Mysterio. They are currently looking for a screenwriter to write a new script.

Gu Bei looked at the information Sam Raimi was showing him.
The more you look at the mystery guest actors shown above, the more familiar they seem.
In the end, it turned out to be a familiar face: Bruce Campbell, the lead actor in Sam Raimi's breakout film, the Evil Dead series. This actor also made cameo appearances in the Spider-Man trilogy.

He was the host of the ring match in the first movie, the doorman who refused Spider-Man entry to the theater in the second movie, and the comical head waiter in the restaurant in the third movie.

From cameo to villain

I don't know how to make up this story.
Did they completely ignore the previous cameo appearance, or did they treat it as a foreshadowing or hidden plot point?

In fact, another villain, Dr. Lizard, also made a cameo appearance in Spider-Man 23. This is a very obvious subplot, as his name has been mentioned many times as Kurt Connors.

In retrospect, the box office failure of the original Amazing Spider-Man in North America was actually predictable.

First of all, The Amazing Race 1 was rushed out of production.
The main reason was to meet the five-year copyright deadline for Spider-Man.

So after Sam Raimi rewrote the script multiple times...

There's not enough time left for writing the reboot script for The Amazing Spider-Man.

Secondly, the plot of The Amazing Spider-Man 1 is a rehash of the legacy of the original trilogy, and many of its elements are even written in imitation of Spider-Man 1.

In the end, Gwen and her family stole most of Peter Parker's spotlight in The Amazing Spider-Man, but ultimately, people came to see Spider-Man, not Gwen.

Creating a good character for Gwen doesn't necessarily mean weakening Peter Parker.

In fact, all the reasons can be summarized in one point.
The time allotted was too short!

In such a short period of time, The Amazing Spider-Man stands out among the three Spider-Man generations in terms of both action design and special effects.

"Bruce, let everyone see what story you've brought us?"

Stan Lee looked at Gu Bei with curiosity and a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Kevin Feige also sat up straight, wanting to see if Gu Bei, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, could inject some fresh energy into the Spider-Man series.

My idea is to reboot this series.

Spider-Man's original name was The Amazing Spider-Man.
Reopen this story with a new-century visual style and narrative!

Gu Bei stood up and began to show his concept art, "I plan to bring Peter Parker back to high school, and his appearance will also return to the classic look from the comics."
But I don't want to tell another origin story; director Sam Raimi already told that one very well.
This story will refocus on the concept of a good neighbor in New York City.

The Spider-Man suit that appeared on the projection
The overall red and black contrast is significantly higher.

The design style has also shifted from the realistic style of the original trilogy to a more sci-fi and minimalist color scheme.

Gu Bei plans to completely disregard the origin story.

Whether the Amazing Race uses Sheriff Stacy as a substitute, or Marvel uses Aunt May, neither can surpass Uncle Sam Raimi's quote, "With great power comes great responsibility."
If classics can't be surpassed, then let's just avoid them.

Spider-Man's appeal isn't limited to just this one instance of growth.
Gu Bei hopes to make a deeper use of the contrast between his school days and his battle attire.

Which story do you plan to choose?

Stan Lee asked impatiently.

This kind of adaptation that returns to comics is definitely what Gu Bei wants most.

"Sam and I share the same idea: to make Dr. Lizard the main character of the whole movie, while introducing Rhino as the villain at the beginning of the movie."

Gu Bei then released a few more concept images.

This idea comes from the game "Spider-Man: Miles Morales".

The film opens with a battle scene between Spider-Man and Rhino, which visually impresses the audience and establishes Spider-Man's talkative and reserved personality before returning him to his daily school life to begin the story.

Gu Bei then continued, "The female lead in the first two parts will be Gwen. I want to incorporate more elements of modern women into the character of Gwen."

It will also reshape the love story between Peter Parker and Gwen, adapting it from a new century perspective.

Gu Bei talked about the female lead and the love story.

No one in the room disbelieved anything he said.

After all, Gu Bei's most popular work to date is

Actually, it's his books. The Stars, plus The Hunger Games 1 and 2, have sold over 3000 million copies, all of which are stories told from a girl's first-person perspective.

Even in the film industry, the Twilight adaptation achieved over 200 million in North America and over 500 million worldwide on DVD, making it impossible for any studio to ignore it.

"I think this direction is good too!"

Stan Lee was the first to applaud, showing his support for Gu Bei.

Kevin Feige clapped along, then projected a picture of Gu Bei in front of him, his eyes flickering as he revealed a thoughtful expression.

In a corner of the conference room
A hint of melancholy flashed in Sam Raimi's eyes.

Spider-Man 3 was a box office hit, grossing nearly $900 million worldwide.
However, its reputation plummeted to a series of lows.

With a 63% Fresh rating and a 51% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, coupled with a sharp drop in box office revenue after the film's release, he had to be extremely cautious in developing Spider-Man 4. Now, with Gu Bei emerging as a competitor, the pressure on him has only increased.

After the creative discussion session,
Gu Bei and Amy Pascal had dinner alone, during which Gu Bei expressed Rose Pictures' interest in acquiring the rights to the Spider-Man TV series.

Amy was somewhat surprised.

However, this copyright is also quite useless for Sony.

Further details will be discussed between her subordinates and Karen of Rose Pictures.

Simultaneously,

Sony also gave Gu Bei a $50 advance payment.
Gu Bei only needs to provide a script outline to receive the $50; his complete script is worth far more than that.

Sony Pictures' board of directors is also unsure whether to reboot the franchise along with Gu Bei, or to continue developing a sequel despite the negative reviews of Spider-Man 3.

Gu Bei had just received Sony's check.

the next day,
The news broke in the media.
It indicates that Sony is simultaneously in contact with Gu Bei and Sam, and is using the Lizard as the main storyline for Spider-Man 4, while also hiring Gu Bei and David Lindsay-Abel to write the script.

"I like Bruce, and I like Sam. Does Sony really force us to choose between them?"

“I agree. The failure of the last movie was mainly due to the script. Sam’s performance was as consistent as ever, and I hope he will continue to direct the next movie.”

“I have some concerns about Bruce. He is better at portraying female characters. Perhaps I will make my own decision after seeing the artist.”

Gu Bei wasn't sure if this was a rumor leaked by Sony.
However, the crucial information that Gu Bei plans to reboot this series is missing.
It's understandable that fans currently want him to be in charge of the script and Sam to be in charge of directing.

But this simple idea of ​​movie fans is definitely not going to work.

Because Sony can't provide that much.

Gu Bei's current screenwriting achievements are already enough to earn him a fixed salary plus commission.

In addition to Toby and Sam's fixed salaries plus profit sharing,

Sony is basically just working for those three.

Gu Bei ignored these comments.

After Liu Yifei arrived in New York

They then immersed themselves in filming the wrong movie in Starry Night.

The entire film was shot very smoothly. The main story is about how Gu Bei and Liu Yifei met because of the book "Star Fortune". Liu Yifei practically wore out the paperback version that Gu Bei gave her.

The script for this movie was completed quite some time ago.

After reading the original novel for a year, Liu Yifei

I read the script for another six months.

He knew all the plot points and lines by heart.

Liu Yifei's co-star is Jesse Eisenberg, who is also a highly skilled actor.

Jesse can be considered a child star. He debuted in teen comedies at the age of 16 and began playing leading roles in movies at the age of 19. Over the years, he has been playing leading roles in B-movies.

But he will truly make a name for himself with next year's Zombieland and his role as Zuckerberg on social media.

Zuckerberg is not only his most representative role,
Meanwhile, Garfield's TSN|jewnicorn is also a long-standing internet duo in North America.

Liu Yifei teams up with Jesse, and together with Gu Bei, forming a trio.
Not only is the process of shooting stars fast,
The overall quality of the film is also unmatched by other productions of the same level.

After all, Star Fortune wouldn't have been Gu Bei's debut work.

It is also the work that has brought him to where he is today.
Even with Liu Yifei as the female lead, Gu Bei didn't plan to film it himself, just like he didn't plan to film Twilight or The Hunger Games.

This type of film really poses no challenge for the director.

But since Gu Bei chose to film Star Fortune...

Naturally, we need to maximize it in every aspect!
Just like now, when they are filming in the Netherlands, this is just a very ordinary scene during the male and female leads' journey. All they need to do is capture the beautiful moment of them relying on each other during their journey.

But Gu Bei had to wait for the sunset every day, just to wait for that touch of twilight.

"Bruce, it's almost time!"

"Everyone, get ready."

Everyone began to prepare.

The photographer skillfully adjusted the lens to a medium shot. This was the third day of shooting this scene, and they were all very clear about Gu Bei's needs. They just needed to work together to capture that one shot.

Jesse looked normal and was wearing a blue suit, but his tie was a completely black one without any patterns.

This implies that he is currently enjoying his journey with the female lead and is in a state of tranquility.

But the darkness of death had already lurked within his heart.

This foreshadows that the male protagonist will die before the female protagonist due to the worsening of his condition.

Liu Yifei was also dressed in blue, which also hinted that she was enjoying her trip.

"Action!"

Liu Yifei's face was ashen as she gently hugged Jesse. The two embraced intimately, forming a stable triangular composition to convey the close dependence between them.

But in this heartwarming scene,
Gu Bei, however, took advantage of the twilight light of sunset.
It highlights a visual texture that is different from the composition of the image.

If you are a reader of astrology and go to see the movie, you will feel a strong sense of destiny at this moment.

This scene is a crucial juncture in the relationship between the male and female leads.

It is also a turning point when the male protagonist is about to face death.
Therefore, this shot uses this technique so that even viewers who don't know the subsequent plot will sense something is wrong when they see this montage, and will be mentally prepared for the plot twist that follows.

Such details abound throughout the entire film.

The three-act structure of meeting, falling in love, and parting in Star Fortune is very fixed.
Since Gu Bei couldn't come up with any new narrative ideas, he focused on other aspects, aiming to rival Oscar-contending films by artists. Cinematic quality was his last act of defiance.

"Cut!"

"It's finally done! Thank you everyone for your hard work!"

Gu Bei waited for three days until the twilight light he needed was finally achieved, and he completed the filming of this shot.

Liu Yifei breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally! I don't have to come here every afternoon to wait for the sunset anymore!"

"Isn't the sunset here beautiful?"

Gu Bei glanced at her.

"Beautiful!"

Liu Yifei dared not speak carelessly, as there were many locals around. "But even the most beautiful sunset is only beautiful at first glance; once you see it many times, it becomes commonplace."

"Scumbag!"

Gu Bei made a sarcastic remark about her.

Then he gave Jesse a thumbs up as he passed by: "Well done, Jesse!"

Jesse immediately stopped and thanked Gu Bei: "Thank you Bruce for choosing me. I've always hoped to play some more complex roles."

"is it?"

Gu Bei looked up at him and asked, "What do you think of Zuckerberg?"

(End of this chapter)