Chapter 554： host-guest reversal

"I don't know if Mr. Mayer has heard of Ruth-Lendl." Evan-Bell seemed to have been prepared for Barry-Mayer's words, and he took it without any hesitation. Mayer shook it. Shaking his head, he was very unfamiliar with the name. "This is a British female writer, and her detective mystery novels are very good. Chris is currently adapting Lendl's novel "The Key to the Street" and I think it may be a script no less than "Memento." "

Evan Yibel lied without blushing or panting. In fact, it can't be regarded as a lie. Christopher Nolan did have this idea, and he also wrote most of the script. Fox Searchlight also contacted Christopher Nolan, hoping to put this script on the big screen.

However, Christopher Nolan devoted himself to the Howard-Hughes biography before the adaptation of "The Key to the Street" was completed. Now, it is determined that Howard Hughes cannot be filmed, and Christopher Nolan picked up the "key to the street" again, but it is a bit lackluster at present, and the progress of the adaptation is not fast.

Therefore, Evan Bell's remarks are not completely false.

The thought in Barry Mayer's mind was a slight movement. He had vaguely heard that Fox Searchlight had contacted Christopher Nolan. He thought it was just a rumor at first, but now it seems to be true. Detective suspense dramas like "Key to the Street", coupled with a similar style of "Memento", are indeed Fox Searchlight's preference. Furthermore, Eleven Studio just released "Deadly Identity" which is a thriller and suspense movie, so the credibility of "The Key to the Street" has increased a lot.

"Hehe, it seems that Studio Eleven is planning to show off its talents this year." Thoughts in Barry-Mayer's mind were tumbling, but there was no expression on his face to express his thoughts. He blurted out a casual polite remark. Routinely, Evan-Bell shook his head, and humbly denied as expected, "No, no." However, after a pause, when Evan-Bell spoke again, Barry-Mayer was stunned. With the current financial resources of the studio, we wanted to shoot a biography of Howard Hughes, but we couldn’t do enough. In the end, Chris had to put the finished script on hold for the time being.”

Another half-truth. In fact, Christopher Nolan would shelve the Howard-Hughes script because Leonardo-DiCaprio was ahead. But Evan Bell's words mixed with water at this time, but easily attracted the attention of Barry Mayer.

Because there is an important point in this sentence: Howard Hughes.

Warner Bros. is planning now...a Howard-Hughes biopic with a lineup of Leonardo-DiCaprio and Martin-Scoxis, so if Evan-Bell says it,

What would it be like to film the life of this legend with the combination of Evan Bell and Christopher Nolan?

As the head of Warner Bros., Barry Mayer's mind quickly turned around. Mayer couldn't judge the truth or falsehood of Evan Bell's words. After all, he also knew that Leonardo DiCaprio and Evan Bell were good friends, but he wasn't sure if Evan Bell learned from Leonardo DiCaprio" "Aviator" plan, that's what it said.

At this time, Barry-Meyer didn't know that Leonardo-DiCaprio had decided to switch to Eleven Brokers. If he knew, he wouldn't be so suspicious in his heart. He would definitely think that Egypt Wen Yibel used the information that Leonardo DiCaprio knew, and then came over to dig a trap and let himself jump. Evan-Bell's half-truths won't have any effect, but will make Barry-Mayer think that Evan-Bell is in a hurry and sit still more firmly on the Diaoyutai.

But right now, Barry-Mayer is guessing if what Evan... Bell says is true. Then Christopher Nolan's talent in commercial films is worth re-evaluating. At the same time, Christopher Nolan joined Eleven Studio, and Evan Bell was in the lead. Although Warner Bros. did not need to please Eleven Studio, the two sides formed A good cooperative relationship and the common pursuit of higher interests, why not do it. Then, the cooperation agreement between Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan does need to be reconsidered: Originally, Warner Bros. had decided to sign an agreement with Christopher Nolan, but there were differences on the terms of the agreement.

Negotiation is a process of true and false, **** force game.

With just a few words, Evan-Bell reversed the disadvantage during the conversation, so that Barry-Meyer's superiority suddenly disappeared, and the two sides returned to the same starting line. Now, it's Barry-Mayer's turn to bring up the Christopher-Nolan partnership.

Just now, Evan-Bell took the initiative to bring up the cooperation agreement, but Barry-Mayer avoided it: Now, Evan-Bell is forcing Barry-Mayer to take the initiative to bring up the cooperation agreement. Evan Bell's composure, calm and wise, even though Barry Mayer was mentally prepared, he was still surprised.

"Hehe, if Chris is willing to cooperate with our company, then don't mention the biography of Howard Hughes. Even if the investment is bigger, we will have no problem." Barry-Mayer followed Evan-Bell's words and continued. , The cooperation agreement seemed to be mentioned casually, but the words revealed that Warner Bros. had a lot of money, and the superiority of a big movie company was domineering.

"I can't see it." This time, the person who took the initiative became Evan Bell. "Warner Bros. is different from Eleven Studio. The only purpose of Warner Bros. is to make profits. You are willing to invest high, but you also expect high returns. , if the director is too ambitious, you are bound to impose restrictions. First, this may limit the level of the director: second, once the return is not as expected, the cooperation cannot continue." Evan-Bell spoke this time. It's very direct, but Barry-Mayer is not in a hurry at all, and still looks at Evan-Bell gently. "And the theme of Eleven Studio is "freedom". We hope to carry forward the director's personality, so that they can enjoy The quality of the film itself is the most important, and the box office is second.

Therefore, maybe our cooperation will be full of contradictions in the future. "Evan Bell's words, Barry Mayer is not surprised at all, the focus of Warner Bros.'s previous negotiations with Christopher Nolan was here. However, what Evan Bell said next made Barry Mayer a little bit. Surprised "Where is Chris's appearance, I don't think Mr. Mayer has been able to see clearly. Compare "Memories Fragments" with "Bai Ye Chasing the Murderer, and you'll know. Dark temperament and delicate structure, this is what Chris is best at, and he always has endless ideas about the narrative structure of movies. "...In the fragments of memory, you can see Chris' talent: "Chasing the murderer in the white night, the constraints of the script itself have limited Chris's performance, and Chris's mark has been weakened a lot. "Evan Bell, from the perspective of a producer, persuaded Barry Mayer." Therefore, the film can only really shine if Chris's personal style is brought into play. Of course, the purpose of Warner Bros. is to make commercial films, that is, the box office, so it is acceptable for Warner Bros. to put forward opinions and discuss the script created by Chris, so that Chris can make more progress. "Barry-Mayer didn't speak, because he knew that Evan-Bell was definitely not finished, but his brain began to carefully process the information just received, and then made a measurement.

"Self-written and directed, Chris needs a lot of time to prepare, so as to ensure the quality of the film." Evan Bell's tone slowed down and spoke another core issue "One film a year, this is the Reese's limit, maybe a movie every two years. So every four years, it's not an unacceptable time to put Chris's vision for movies into a movie, isn't it? More important Yes, in addition to commercial films, Chris is in "Memories, the talent displayed, must deepen the audience's impression after a period of time, and they will continue to support. "Evan Bell's subtext is that if Christopher Nolan does all he can to make commercial films and it fails, then audiences will soon forget his original style, and Warner Bros. to promote Christopher Nolan's idea is a failure. . This is not a good result.

"What's more, Chris's own ideas are not necessarily unsuitable for commercial films, aren't they?" After Evan Bell finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Barry Mayer in front of him In fact, Evan Wen Yibeier said so many things and went around in such a big circle, just two sentences: You have to pay attention to Christopher Nolan's personal style, so that the audience will support him, so don't restrict him too much, and don't let his Style mí lost. There are two conditions to summarize: First, Warner Bros. has the right to interfere when filming, but it should not make decisions on behalf of Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan must have the right to make decisions: Second, Christopher Nolan has the right to make decisions according to Warner Bros. With the idea of ​​shooting two movies, Warner Bros. wanted to meet Christopher Nolan's idea to invest in one movie.

Barry-Mayer's thoughts went round in his mind, but he didn't rush to agree or refuse, but instead asked, "Mr. Bell, do you have such confidence in Chris?" Although he only had one sentence, the subtext was, In case Christopher-Nolan's first movie was shot and "White Night Chase" was made to make money, but if Warner Bros. invested one or two hundred million in him, and the result was nothing, then the follow-up cooperation would be relatively It's difficult, after all, Christopher Nolan is not a long-established director.

Evan Bell smiled and said calmly, "Don't you have it?" Then, Evan Bell leaned forward a little. "Or is Mr. Meyer unsure of his business vision and unable to take the risk of investing? "The 12,000 yuan that broke out today is sent, please recommend, ask for monthly pass, ask for subscription! There is also begging for the "light of the gods". ! .