What should I do if the system forces me to copy books?

This is also due to the fact that Ridley Scott is well-known internationally. If you want to find most of the information about him, you only need to search on Du Niang. The content recorded on Wikipedia is already very detailed That's right, plus some achievements in the film, reputation and comments from insiders, etc., all added up to form this "10.7M" file.

It will definitely take some time to wait for the arrival of Ridley Scott, so I can take a good look at this information, and I can have a confrontation with "Ridley Scott" from another plane in my memory. certificate.

Meanwhile at Ridley Scott's house.

After receiving the invitation from Evans, the brokerage company immediately called Jordan Scott, the daughter of Ridley Scott who is currently recuperating at home, and detailed the content during the call. Let me know how respectful and respectful the attitude of the whole process is.

In fact, for a brokerage company, directors like Ridley Scott, whose personal reputation and the benefits created by filming are indisputable, are held in their hands with great care for fear of being transformed. The object of fawning.

Therefore, how could he refuse Mr. Lei's small request to let his daughter enter the brokerage company and become his broker.

It is said that "you know your son better than your mother, and you know your daughter better than your husband", and the same principle is also applicable in turn "know your father better than your daughter".

Jordan Scott knows better than anyone how much his father wants to be able to direct and shoot the "Lord of the Rings" series of movies. It can be seen by writing and drawing on my portable notebook while watching.

It's a pity...the Hollywood movie circle talks about whether it's big or small, and it's almost hard to hide a little trouble from someone who cares.

For example, the news of Ridley Scott was not on the list of three candidate directors selected by Universal Pictures after the final negotiation, and they couldn't hide it at all.

Originally, Jordan Scott had already figured out how to tell his father the news and comfort him, but who knew that things would suddenly turn around because of a call from the brokerage company.

Because Evans, the producer and project leader of the "Lord of the Rings" series of films, and Li Chungang, the author of the book himself, named and wanted to invite Ridley Scott to Universal for a talk.

And this talk is exactly what they want to hear the most. What they are most afraid of is that the other party will directly reject it without even giving a chance to talk like before. Can fight!

"This may be the last chance we can fight for!"

With this in mind, Jordan Scott told his father about the matter, and at the same time, the two made quick preparations and then drove to Universal's location.

—

"Making a movie is like a child who is free and unrestrained in a toy box. Only when I make a movie do I have this kind of child-like romantic feelings and innocent enthusiasm. I just like making movies. After so many years, I have come to an important point. The conclusion is that you don’t need any plan to make a movie, you can make it if you want.”

Ridley Scott looks far older and stronger than everyone imagined. He is still active among the first-line Hollywood directors. He is still in his 80s and still maintains a high production rate of one movie a year, which is faster than many young directors. Much faster!

His sincerity towards movies is probably the most important reason why he is still making movies at such an old age.

After hearing what he said, Evans replied with a smile: "I have always liked your style, could you please briefly talk about how you plan to shoot "Lord of the Rings"?"

"I plan to make it a majestic war epic in the cold weapon era. I don't want to use a sharp style and fast-paced narrative to show the movie, but I plan to tell the story slowly. The emergence of heroes is always linked to the big era. of."

Li Chungang kept nodding beside him. As the saying goes, heroes make the times, and times make heroes. When the world has been quiet for too long, great things will happen naturally.

The world of "The Lord of the Rings" was supposed to be a high-magic world, but due to various reasons, it has become a low-magic world. When Bilbo Baggins was young, he could still see the last dragon in Middle-earth, but by this time Frodo Only the pseudo-dragon that the Nazgul rides is left.

"I have to give a compliment. The book "The Lord of the Rings" is definitely the best book I have read in my life. Every word and every sentence in the book is quite attractive, which is inexplicable to me. The familiar feeling, which is full of realism and romanticism intertwined, I must show these scenes conceived in my mind!"

Ridley Scott is a native of the Eagle Country, and perhaps he can naturally feel the original intention of Tolkien, who is also a native of the Eagle Country—to personally fabricate a new and unique mythology system for his own country.

The so-called realism means that the abilities of the characters in the Lord of the Rings have not expanded without limit, and the magic has gradually declined. If there is no magic in the cool text, a large number of enemies will be harvested like wheat, whether it is war or the life described. It is easy to resonate with the protagonist in the book.

The classic civilian hero route, Frodo did not fight monsters all the way to become a great person, this is the difference between Frodo and Harry Potter.

Of course, only realism cannot become an epic. If it is pure realism, there is only one ending of the Lord of the Rings, that is, Frodo and other so-called Fellowship of the Ring squad all die tragically, and the Lord of the Rings finally returns to the biggest villain Boss Sauron hands.

At this time, it was the turn of romanticism to come on the stage. When these heroes were swept away by the current situation, Li Chungang abruptly completed the impossible task under the condition that the Fellowship of the Ring was fragmented.

When it comes to major decisions in Middle-earth, these positive characters tend to be emotional. Knowing that the road ahead is extremely bumpy, the members of the Fellowship of the Ring still hold their heads high; knowing that Frodo and Sam are weak chickens, but Aragorn still He decides to rescue Merry and Pippin; he waits for rescue in Helm's Deep, and asks the undead to fulfill his promise, and finally gathers the whole army.

Personal ability is limited, but human willpower is unlimited. It can affect everyone around you. This kind of feeling can make all readers and audiences bloody and excited!

"This is a simple demonstration version made by my special effects company Mill-Film a few days ago. The actors may not be suitable. They are actors I randomly selected from Hollywood. The main reason is that the battle scenes produced want to make you You can take a look."

As a film company, the most unlikely thing missing in the meeting room is the playback equipment, and Li Chungang was really amazed when this video appeared.

It is very simple, and the gray-robed and white-robed wizards appear in the picture. The acting skills and demeanor of the two cover up the lack of makeup, hair and clothing, and the clanging of swords and swords is powerful.

"I have to admit that in this type of movie, there should be no one stronger than Mr. Lei." Li Chungang broke the silence, and he seized the opportunity to express his attitude.

Evans glanced at Li Chungang quietly, and at this time he probably knew it in his heart.

If one second ago he was still worried about how to completely persuade Li Chungang to join him in proposing to the company leadership that Mr. Lei should direct the "Lord of the Rings" series of movies, then from this sentence, from this There was no need to worry in the first few seconds, because the matter could not be more obvious by now.

And compared to the three directors on the shortlist that the two met before, the meeting with Ridley Scott this time is obviously more enjoyable, and it looks like a semi-finished film from the other party. When the video came out, the sincerity shown couldn't be more obvious!

Before I was not sure whether I could direct the film, I asked the special effects company to make a sample video regardless of the cost and time. The reason for this was that Ridley Scott was really optimistic about the "Lord of the Rings" movie from the bottom of his heart. And want to shoot in person, Li Chungang and Evans can't think of a second reason.

In addition, after seeing Ridley Scott in person, the mental outlook and physical condition shown by the other party can be said to have dispelled their last trace of concerns.

With his current physical health and mental state, there must be no problem in insisting on filming the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy series of movies.

That being the case, what else is there to consider! ?

"I am now sure that Ridley Scott is the director we have been looking for! Next, let's talk about the contract. After the contract is finalized, we will start writing the script and preparing the behind-the-scenes team. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

The salary of 1200 million US dollars is considered the highest among the first-line Hollywood directors, and this is only the salary of one movie.

Although the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was shot together, the pay still has to be calculated separately, which means that Ridley will take away a full 3600 million US dollars from Universal Pictures just for the pay, not counting the box office dividend!

At this time, it is the turn of the agent and the producer to fight and bargain. Li Chungang is not an investor, so he has no right to speak at this time, just be a handsome and melon-eating crowd quietly .

Even though Ridley Scott's box office performance fluctuated greatly, the agent still got 5% of the global box office dividend. There is no threshold, and it is almost a steady profit!

But in another place, they had a huge disagreement.

In Hollywood, the producer-centered system is often implemented. In the production process of a film, the producer controls the whole process, from investment to script supervision, from the shooting cycle to the final editing of the film, to release, issued.

The producer has the most power in the entire crew, and at the same time is very familiar with the market, funds, and resources. For commercial considerations, he often scissors the film!

The reason why the producer has the final editing rights is that there are several considerations. One is the length of the movie, which is generally one and a half hours to two hours. If it is too long, it will affect the audience’s viewing experience (people’s holding back urine level is limited).The other is due to the consideration of ratings. The ratings of Hollywood movies are enough to affect the box office of movies. PG-13 is completely different from R ratings.

For example, the release version of Peter Jackson's version of "The Lord of the Rings" is 178 minutes, while the director's cut version on the disc is a full 228 minutes.

There are certain risks in letting the producer master the scissors. It may reap commercial success, but it may also ruin an original masterpiece.

And Ridley Scott, sitting opposite Li Chungang, is the biggest victim. "Kingdom of Heaven" was originally planned to be 3 hours and 14 minutes, but the producer, Twentieth Century Fox, felt it was too long and cut it straight 2 hours and 25 minutes left.

The director's cut version is not just as simple as adding 50 minutes, and the feeling of watching the movie is completely different. Many people say that if the version edited by Ridley Scott is released, the box office may be doubled several times!

This kind of situation abounds in Hollywood. It is often seen that the advertisements of various movies when they are released on DVD or Blu-ray discs are gimmicks of the director’s cut version.

In addition to "Kingdom of Heaven", Lao Lei's "Blade Runner", "Gladiator", and "The Martian" have all released director's cut versions.

It is conceivable that the released versions are served by "scissors".

Of course, not all director's cuts are great, and can be bloated.

For example, the Justice League edited by Zadao released some time ago, with a movie duration of 4 hours and 02 minutes, is definitely a huge test for the audience.

Li Chungang didn't know what other people felt when he watched it. Anyway, he didn't stop pressing the "→" key on the keyboard when he watched it!

Chapter 636

Gun hit the bird.

Even Ridley Scott with a status like Ridley Scott dare not say that he can break the "hidden rules" set by Hollywood film companies.

Competing with Evans for the film editing rights is nothing more than a symbolic struggle, just like a fish has to writhe and struggle after leaving the water. Otherwise, what is the difference with a salted fish?

Editing a movie is usually divided into three steps. The first step is for the editor to edit the version. They will edit the shot together according to the script. At this time, there will be a lot of redundant shots.

The second step is the director's cut version. Based on the rough cut version, the director will give full play to his personal artistic expression and thinking, and cut out his favorite version.

The last is the final edited version, which is the public release version that everyone usually sees in movie theaters. The producer or director or the film review agency edits this version after considering the market situation.

The vast majority of Hollywood directors do not have the final editing rights, even Ridley Scott is no exception!

Some small film and television production companies that are not very powerful can get this right, but Universal Pictures will not easily hand over the final editing rights of the "Lord of the Rings" movie.

At present, the production cost of the planned project alone has exceeded [-] million U.S. dollars, plus the promotional expenses of each film, and the inevitable over-budget in most cases, and finally wants to shoot the entire three "Lord of the Rings" The total investment of the Qu series of films may be as high as [-] million or even one billion.

If Global does not have absolute control over such a large project, it will not invest at all.

Fortunately, Jordan Scott can also play a role. In a Hollywood giant-level film production company like Universal Pictures, Ridley Scott's name is really not easy to use.To put it bluntly, you, an old man in his 80s, suddenly stretched his legs one day, closed his eyes and never saw the sun the next day. There is absolutely no place worthy of their investment and wooing. Make concessions where this is completely unnecessary.

The reason why they are entangled in this aspect of the terms is just to advance as retreat. It seems that they are fighting for the final editing rights of the film, but in fact it is to allow Universal to maximize the power in the filming and production stage, and not to always intervene in the crew. .

Lost the final editing rights, but the right to speak in casting, script, shooting, and post-production has increased. In fact, this may not be a good thing for the director.

Besides, even if it loses the final editing rights, it does not mean that Universal will not seek the director's advice when editing the final version, so it can be affected to some extent.

As for the more detailed and specific treatment, it is based on Hollywood's usual habits. Anyway, Ridley is not a picky Hollywood big-name star, and he can't do big-name things, and he doesn't need dozens of people around him to serve him all the time. team, and there are no unacceptable set quirks.

And Evans also put forward the last requirement in the contract: that is, a physical examination report must be submitted every three months to ensure the health of Mr. Ridley Scott.

Ordinary people's physical function has declined significantly by the time they reach the age of 80, and he has to spend a long time on the set to shoot movies, which requires quite high physical fitness.

No one wants the old man to have the slightest mistake, so a physical health check is essential.

Unlike Li Chungang, a listed producer, Ridley is a director with real power. Now he not only makes his own movies, but also brings in a big business for his special effects company!

Of course, Universal will not place an order easily. The demonstration video just now was not very effective because of the very limited production time. Ridley’s special effects company was established in Eagle Country. Post-production is provided in movies such as Alien Covenant, but the sci-fi style is quite different from the fantasy epic style. Evans and the others have to look at specific things and discuss specific templates.

Furthermore...

The script has not yet come out, which scenes will be shot in real life, which scenes will be shot with models, and which scenes will be shot with green screen cutouts, all of which have to be carefully considered.

In comparison, modern movies are the best, at least they don't require too much preparation time.

After all the negotiations are completed, the next step is to see if Evans can persuade Universal's leadership to change their minds and choose Mr. Ray as the director of the "Lord of the Rings" series of movies.

"The two of you will chat in the conference room first, so I'll excuse you!"

After speaking, Evans picked up the contract that he had just discussed with Mr. Lei but had not yet signed and hurried away.

As the project leader and one of the producers, he put forward a "proposal", which was affirmed and recognized by Li Chungang, the author of "The Lord of the Rings" that Universal had to pay attention to. Finally, the director candidate Ridley Scott's good physical condition and more affordable With the cooperation contract, the three are interlocking, and Evans is confident that he can completely convince the company's leaders.

Not to mention that in another large conference room dedicated to senior leaders of Universal Corporation, how Evans used his three-inch tongue to persuade everyone in the face of many leaders.

Without Evans, who was in the way, the remaining Li Chungang and Mr. Ridley had a feeling of seeing each other late and seeing each other far away, mainly because the two quickly found a good relationship in "Lord of the Rings". Topics for pleasant exchange——

For example, choosing suitable actors for each character in the book "The Lord of the Rings"; for example, Ridley Scott gave Li Chungang a lot of advice on how to adapt the script of "The Lord of the Rings" as an experienced person. ; For example, Li Chungang agreed to give his own ideas on how to shoot "Lord of the Rings" movie content, use of special effects, final editing, etc...

Li Chungang was surprised that Mr. Lei was far more talkative than he imagined, and the experience accumulated over the long years was not a cover, and it always gave him a "bright spot" of inferences in all aspects.

Compared with the surprise that Ridley Scott gave him, Li Chungang's profound knowledge gave Ridley Scott a complete "shock"!

Because Mr. Lei couldn't figure out how a young man in his 20s could still be able to write scripts, shoot movies, edit techniques, use lighting, etc. under the circumstances that he had already made great achievements in literature. Be rhetorical.

This kind of rhetoric is not the kind that comes out of nothing. There are many opinions that even Ridley Scott couldn't help but shine after listening to it, and always felt how the other party was filming "Lord of the Rings" There are detailed opinions or specific shooting plans on the movie, as if... It seems that there is already a formed movie in my mind!

Just as soon as he had this idea, Ridley Scott himself couldn't help laughing first. He admitted that Li Chungang did have profound knowledge that did not match his age, but he really said that the other party could shoot a movie just by thinking about it. Completion is undoubtedly a fantasy.

Professionals limit your imagination!

No matter what, no one can imagine that there is a system deep in Li Chungang's mind!

The topic between the two also gradually came to the shooting location from the beginning of how to shoot and how to edit. It is natural to say that it is a matter of course.

Then the set of sayings from the meeting with Evans was brought out again, basically changing the soup without changing the medicine. The content is roughly that I just happened to go to New Zealand for vacation. When I went to the ranch, I found that it was very suitable for " The Lord of the Rings movie was filmed in such a location...

He also knew in his heart that neither Evans nor the upcoming director Ridley Scott could immediately decide on the filming location of the movie just because of his few words, but it did not prevent them from burying the film in their hearts first. The next little "seed" is waiting for the day when this seed will take root and germinate.

The person in charge of the project, the screenwriter, the author of the original work, the director, the producer... The identities of the three of them almost gathered most of the powerful positions in the crew of a project.

Besides, Li Chungang is not too anxious to make a decision right away, because the progress of the local real estate companies in New Zealand are all the same recently, and they are all in the process of communicating with the ranch owner Mr. Felton, but they are still in a stalemate. middle.

You must know that the ranch is the place where Mr. Felton's family lives and remembers for generations, and it is not an easy task to sell it.

Evans was in a hurry when he left, and it was the same when he came back. He pushed open the door of the meeting room and strode back in.

The only thing that has changed may be the cooperation contract in his hand, from the original handwritten text to a brand new printed contract, of course the contents are exactly the same.

The signing of the contract between the two parties was relatively smooth, mainly because Jordan Scott, the agent, checked the various terms of the contract, and after confirming that there was no problem, both parties signed their respective names.

After finishing the work, Evans said to Li Chungang: "You happen to be on vacation now, how about staying in Millikin for a few more days? Tomorrow we will hold a small press conference, which you can attend, and then talk to Sir Scott Let’s talk about the adaptation of the script.”

"Evans, you may have misunderstood me. I will not return to China immediately. I will stay in Los Angeles for a few days, and I have already arranged the next itinerary. I will take my girlfriend to have a good time. Let’s take a tour of the city of Los Angeles. By the way, I won’t be attending the press conference or anything else. It must be enough to have you and Mr. Lei. As for the script, you don’t have to worry about it. I will start to adapt it after returning to China. Before you complete the preliminary preparations for the project, I will definitely hand it over to you!"

Work is a part of life, but definitely not the majority of Li Chungang's life, not even a small part.It was quite a face-saving to be able to spend two days to deal with the cooperation between Random House and Universal Pictures. After the cooperation relationship between the two parties is strong in the future, such entertainment should be avoided or avoided.

"Then I can only wish you a good time in Los Angeles! But I will keep in touch with you by email frequently, so don't forget to check your email!"

"I'll check regularly, but you don't want to call me in the middle of the night. I know a lot of people lose track of time at work, especially with jet lag."

"Try your best, no one can say for sure. Don't forget, you are also a producer." Evans reminded that a producer not only enjoys dividends, but also has to pay corresponding labor!

—

After having a "working meal" at Universal Pictures, Li Chungang and his team are going back to the hotel to rest and recharge their batteries for tonight's exciting "schedule".

In the two days since he came to Millikin, he basically completed all the work, and basically achieved the results they wanted, so he didn't waste his time and energy.

Thompson said goodbye to Li Chungang regretfully at the entrance of the hotel: "I still have some work to deal with, and I may not be able to continue to accompany you, and I will rush back to the company headquarters as soon as possible after finishing the work. Report on your new book."