China Entertainment 1997

There is no rush for the new album. The early stages of arranging and arranging the songs are now in progress, and the actual recording and production will not be until at least the second half of the year, and the upper limit will not be until next year.

In addition to "composing" songs, Cao Xuan's priority is actually filming "Now You See Me".

There is no way, Hollywood is pressing for it. Cao Xuan is very popular in North America right now. If you don't strike while the iron is hot, what will you do if the limelight is over?

If "Taken 3" is filmed, there will be guarantees for the first two films, so everyone will feel relaxed, but "Now You See Me" is a new movie after all, and Warner Bros. and New Line are also excited about it.

This film project actually started at the end of last year, and the first thing was to decide on a director.

Unlike the previous "Taken" series, although "Now You See Me" is still controlled by Stars, Warner owns a certain share and still has some rights to make suggestions.

Cao Xuan originally wanted to find a Chinese director, but Warner recommended two Hollywood directors.

Not only does it distrust Chinese directors, but it also tests Cao Xuan. If it is a Sino-US co-production, then Warner cannot let Cao Xuan have the final say.

Cao Xuan finally understood why these Hollywood giants were unlikable. They had too many bullshit and often had to show off their presence. It was New Line's Galano who was more likable.

However, Boss Cao has a mature personality, and it is impossible for the two to break up just because Warner is not as good as he wants. It is just a matter of negotiation.

In fact, in his opinion, Warner may not really care who is the director.

Although "Now You See Me" has an investment of US$85 million, it is not a top-notch production compared to Warner Bros.

You must know that the investment in the Hollywood blockbuster "Green Lantern" filmed this year was almost US$200 million, and Warner was almost entirely responsible for the investment.

There is also a total investment of US$260 million in the two parts of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

These established giants are willing to spend money, especially "Now You See Me" Fanxing took the lion's share, and Warner's total investment is only a small and medium-cost film investment.

Compared with this movie, Warner actually values ​​Cao Xuan more as a person and his appeal in action movies.

It doesn't matter if "Now You See Me" loses, there is also the "Rescue" series, and there are even other rescue series.

Warner wanted to incorporate Cao Xuan into the Warner system and turn him into a personal brand like Tom Cruise. At the same time, it did not want Cao Xuan to be "arrogant", so it tried to beat him in various ways.

To put it bluntly, this is what the so-called superiors do, giving a sweet date two sticks, and even coaxing and PUA.

However, Cao Xuan has seen too much.

Not to mention that he is a capitalist himself. He has seen similar operations every year since he started.

Especially this group of foreign devils. In the past, whether they cooperated with Warner Records, Warner Music Group, or New Line, they had similar tricks.

Cao Xuan has long been accustomed to foreigners giving sweet dates, and he also knows sugar-coated bullets.

Get things done first by being coy and coy, but when you continue to bring out bargaining chips, there will be no sticks, only sweet dates.

Even if Warner doesn't abide by the rules, he doesn't have the final say in Hollywood. Strictly speaking, Cao Xuan is still a small shareholder of Disney.

Cao Xuan is a very purposeful person, and he doesn't care about Warner's little thoughts.

Warner wanted to find a sense of presence, and Cao Xuan asked them to find it, but he didn't need a Chinese director, but he didn't use the two that Warner found.

Cao Xuan is not familiar with Hollywood directors, but he still knows some famous ones. At least those two whom Warner hired have no impression on Cao Xuan, and their resumes are not beautiful. They are just ordinary. Lin Chaoxian is better than them. powerful.

After all, Lao Lin is also an international director who has made films with a global box office exceeding US$300 million.

It's not even a first-tier movie in Hollywood, it's barely a second-tier movie. It's even more impressive in China. It's praised by movie fans and it's definitely the top one among the new generation of action directors.

However, Lao Lin is indeed better at action scenes and is not suitable for the special effects + plot suspense of "Now You See Me". This is why Cao Xuan did not insist on choosing him.

After several selections, Cao Xuan finally settled on Chinese-American director James Wan.

James Wan, a Malaysian Chinese who grew up in Australia, was spotted by Hollywood in 2004 and directed the "Saw" series. He has since served as director, screenwriter, and producer of many horror films. He is currently considered a representative figure in the field of Hollywood horror films. .

The most important thing is that although this person particularly likes horror movies, he also shoots other subjects.

The original time and space action film "Fast and Furious" series and the special effects blockbuster "Aquaman" all performed well, and they are also good at creating a suspenseful atmosphere.

Putting aside magic and special effects, "Now You See Me"'s biggest selling point is the reversal of the plot.

And this kind of plot, regardless of the various foreshadowing in the early stage and the surprises and details of the final twist, is a great test of the director's ability. James Wan is good at suspense and thriller themes, and he is a good player at "playing with the audience's emotions". When he filmed "Now You See Me" 》Has natural advantages.

The most important thing is that he is a Chinese-American director. Warner wants to beat Cao Xuan, and Cao Xuan also needs to express his attitude.

James Wan is both a Hollywood director and a Chinese-American. Regardless of whether he is Chinese or not, Warner can feel Cao Xuan's concessions and bottom line.

Sure enough, even though Wen Ziren's current resume is not very good, Warner readily agreed to Cao Xuan's choice.

They want to beat Cao Xuan, but they don't want to force Cao Xuan to change jobs. They just want to increase their presence.

Warner even took the initiative to show good intentions and stopped caring about the actors' arrangements after interfering with the director.

Cao Xuan also arranged the roles according to his own ideas after discussing with Wen Ziren.

"Now You See Me" doesn't have many core characters. The main characters are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse + undercover police detectives. The rest are some supporting roles of female police officers and the final villain, the old man.

The characters have names, but in order to make them easier to distinguish, they use a reference, and the background has also changed from the original version.

Cao Xuan plays the role of [Magician], who is good at card magic and blindfolding, and is also the leader of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Damimi is an [Escaper], good at escape magic, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the cousin of Cao Xuan, the boss, and she is the most loyal to him.

Logically speaking, it would actually be better to find a Hollywood actress for this role. After all, there are two Chinese in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is not in line with Hollywood's political correctness.

However, there are only two important female characters in "Now You See Me". Maybe the female police officer's role is a little more important, but she is undoubtedly the one who got away with it.

Since you are complimenting someone, there is no need to be secretive and just pick the best one.

"The Legend of Zhen Huan" made him scolded so much that he had to be given some benefits to appease people.

By dragging Da Mimi into Hollywood, she has no dissatisfaction at all, and with her and Liu Tianxian as examples, others will naturally look forward to it.

Especially Fan Xiaopang, the first sister of Fanxing, Cao Xuan is already making arrangements.

And there is also an intention to plug her into Marvel to play Maria Hill, the beautiful deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the comics, Hill is definitely not Chinese, but he has black hair and black eyes, so it’s not wrong for a Chinese to play him. Besides, Marvel has not changed the character once or twice.

Cao Xuan wanted Fan Xiaopang to be the heroine. If Marvel didn't do it, they would put Hill in. Even if Cao Xuan, the shareholder, was cheating, Marvel wanted to please the mainland market.

But Hill is also good. Although he doesn't have many roles, he can still make a sense of presence and even star in subsequent movies and American TV series.

At least it's much stronger than Fan Xiaopang's original time and space.

He appeared in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" for 5 minutes and only had one line. "Iron Man 3" was even worse. Not to mention it was completely soybean, and it seemed to be a mainland-exclusive version.

It's no wonder that Li Bingbing looks down on her. Compared with her acting roles, Fan Xiaopang's resume is really not worth mentioning.

In addition to Fan Xiaopang, Marvel is actually also interested in Cao Xuan and wants him to play the villain Loki in "Thor" and "Avengers".

Cao Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As a Chinese, how could he play a Nordic god? Even if the Chinese audience supported it, the European and American audiences would not be willing to do it.

It's better to let him play Hawkeye. At least he's good at archery, has an affair with Black Widow, and is the main hero. Even if he changes the magic, it won't blow everyone away.

In fact, Cao Xuan wanted to play Iron Man the most, but it was too late, and Marvel might not be willing.

Let’s talk about casting. One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Hypnotist, is good at hypnotic magic. Cao Xuan originally wanted to find Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor.

But the latter is currently busy interviewing Thor. No matter how famous Cao Xuan is, he can't compare to Marvel.

However, there is a bright future, and Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, was successfully invited to play the last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Lockpicker.

In the end, Cao Xuan simply found Benedict Cumberbatch, nicknamed "Juan Fu", who also plays Marvel's Doctor Strange.

In addition to Cao Xuan's determination to create an Avengers branch, it is also because "Sherlock" that Juan Fu will star in this year will be broadcast, and he will become famous successfully, and "Now You See Me" can intercept Hu Yibo .

As for the final police undercover, the fifth member of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was still based on the original version and found Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Marvel Hulk.

According to the original setting, this guy is the operator behind the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Now that Cao Xuan plays the role of the magician, he will definitely be the boss, so the setting of the fifth knight is more inclined to be a team strategist and a hidden person.

The main plot of "Now You See Me" is to punish evil and promote good, while also helping the team's strategist to take revenge.

As for the female police officer, Cao Xuan found Gal Gadot. The reason is simple: "Fast and Furious 5" will be released next year.

Since you choose to cut off the Hu to gain popularity, then simply cut it off to the end...

Gal Gadot is not well-known now, but she also dislikes the role of a female police officer because it has no highlights. She wants to play the role of Damimi.

In order to convince her, Cao Xuan arranged for himself and the other party to add an emotional line in which a handsome thief and a policewoman fall in love and kill each other.

It doesn't actually show anything, it just shows that the two have a good impression of each other. The main purpose is to add some presence to the female police officer.

At the same time, Gal Gadot can be tricked into adding a role in the second film and officially becoming the heroine.

It is precisely because of this that Gal Gadot agreed to join "Now You See Me".

As for the final black old man villain, Cao Xuan did not find the black god. This guy committed suicide. Don’t look back and stop writing.

Originally, Cao Xuan wanted to find an old white man, but later he felt that it was too un-Hollywood to have a black starring role, so he hired Oscar winner Forest Whitaker.

In the masterpiece "The Doomsday Dictatorship", he plays the famous Jingsu, the Ugandan strongman Amin who weighs more than 200 kilograms...

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ps: additional update (1/5)