Chapter 473： Explosive American TV series

In the United States, the working hours of employees are very strictly limited. Working 8 hours a day is not only deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but also strictly enforced by law.

However, high-level talents with real pursuits and goals are not bound by such conditions at all.

For example, Elon Musk, the head of paypal, is a workaholic, working more than 18 hours a day! Sleeping in the office every night, throwing a sleeping bag on the ground, kicking the employee directly after going to work the next day, and then continuing to work;

For example, Steve Jobs, the head of Apple, is a vegetarian, but he insists on getting up at 4 o'clock every day, exercising, checking emails, and starting a day's work. In many cases, he has to work overtime until late at night;

For example, Bill McNick, the president of Dunn Pictures, works more than 14 hours a day, especially after the company has more sta TV network business, his work is even busier, and he has to make a phone call when taking a shower. Meeting;

Even Disney's Michael Eisner has completely lost his personal life and put all his energy into work, except sleep, and then work...

The more successful people tend to work harder. Such people work not for overtime pay, but for an obsession and a pursuit in their hearts.

But Dunn is an exception. His daily working hours are strictly limited to 8 hours, and in these 8 hours, he often does some mindless things.

For example, send an ambiguous email to a certain female star, make an intimate phone call to a certain beautiful girl, or even directly call a certain beauty to the office to be gentle...

Tang En is the CEO of the company in name, but in fact, he is more like the chairman of Tang En Pictures, who is only responsible for some strategic directions.

Of course, it also includes some core businesses that Dunn focuses on - content production.

Whether it is a movie or an American TV series, the final stage of content production is the final decision by the big boss, Tang En.

Recently, the starring of "Ghost Rider" has finally been determined. It is British actor Clive Owen. He is tall and strong, and his blue-grey eyes seem to be exuding a kind of evil spirit, which is very in line with "evil" Spirit Knight" image.

Of course, Nicolas Cage also has a bit of "evil" taste, but in terms of physical condition, Clive Owen is better.

The original "Ghost Rider", produced by Sony Pictures, has the only selling point of Nicolas Cage's demon transformation, but the budget was too low, resulting in a lack of full plot and lack of exquisite graphics, which was criticized by film critics.

Even so, Ghost Rider 1 grossed $230 million at the global box office.

Dunn's "Ghost Rider", of course, cannot repeat the old mistakes, and the budget is sufficient, reaching 150 million US dollars.

The production of the script is even more exciting!

In order to write this script, Dunn set up a "project management committee", which was headed by experienced producer Frank Marshall, which brought together the Dunn Films Production Department, Screenwriters Department, Market Analysis Department, Marvel Entertainment Creative Department, and comics. Wei Pictures Screenwriter Department and many other departments, brainstorming and creating classics!

The screenwriters selected by Tang En through the "sunglass system" have incredible screenwriting skills. The problem is that the content they write does not necessarily conform to the market trend, and classics do not mean that they are liked by fans.

This requires the coordination and unity of many departments such as the production department and the market analysis department.

Just yesterday, Frank Marshall directly rejected the first version of the script of "Ghost Rider", and then with the approval of Dunn, he invited a screenwriter to join in to help him lead the "project management committee", this person My name is Frank Darabont.

Who is Frank Darabont?

He is the producer, director and screenwriter of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Miracle in the Green Mile"!

Tang En paid great attention to this, and wrote a special note and handed it to the project management committee, telling them that the core concept of the script can be based on Buddhist philosophy, and summed it up in one sentence: "I don't go to hell, who goes to hell?"

For entertainment-style movies such as "Spider-Man" and "Ant-Man", the script is very simple, and a simple adaptation of the comics is enough, mainly adding some humorous elements;

It is very difficult for serious dark-style scripts such as Daredevil and Ghost Rider to be popular in the market and have enough depth of thought and philosophical thinking.

The script of Daredevil was written by the Nolan brothers, and Dunn has great confidence in them.

The script for Ghost Rider was much more difficult.

But what makes Dunn more worrying is not the script of "Ghost Rider", but an explosive American drama that can make the sta TV network continue to climb!

"Band of Brothers" has made sta famous and has become the most famous professional cable TV network in the United States!

But after the broadcast of "Band of Brothers", the sta audience seemed to be unfulfilled all of a sudden.

Compared with "Band of Brothers", other American dramas... always have a little taste.

Tang En of course knows this truth, but the question is what subject should we shoot around and shoot a blockbuster TV series?

On this day, J. J. Abrams came to visit and expressed his willingness to cooperate with Dunn Films to make a big TV series.

In other words, he gave up his TV project "Lost" with abc.

Dunn is in a good mood. It is one aspect that weakens Disney's strength. More importantly, he has attracted Abrams, a sci-fi wizard with unlimited potential.

Sure enough, when Abrams heard that Dunn had not yet decided what type of big-budget American drama he would make, he immediately said: "I heard that Dunn Pictures bought the film for Stephen King's classic novel "The Dark Tower". TV drama copyright, is it true?"

Tang En laughed dumbly and nodded, "It's true, but... I don't think "The Dark Tower" has the potential to be adapted, at least it's not suitable for now."

"The Dark Tower is very famous. Stephen King has hundreds of millions of book fans, which is in line with the additional film value in the theory of explosions." Abrams looked confused.

Tang En said: "It is true that "The Dark Tower" has a certain added value, but it is not enough! Especially what is the most popular theme right now? It is an epic fantasy drama! The direction of the screenwriter of "Ghost Rider" is also moving in this direction... …Forget it, let’s not talk about that. I mean with the hits of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, the magic, fantasy genre is going to be the biggest hit right now.”

"Harry Potter?"

Abrams was slightly startled.

Dunn smiled, "The first movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which will be released this year at Christmas, will definitely be a big hit at the box office."

Abrams nodded, the film produced by Dunn, the box office... has never been a problem.

It's just that what he is best at is the sci-fi genre, not the fantasy genre, which makes him somewhat embarrassed.

What idea to look for?

Being creative is not enough. According to Dunn’s theory, if you want to create a hit, you must have additional film value, that is to say, it is adapted from related novels, real events, historical stories, games, and toys (ie IP attributes). ).

Abrams raised his brows, "I watched a movie a few days ago, by the way, the producer is still you, "Resident Evil" directed by Zack Snyder. I think it is very interesting and very interesting Adaptation value. Last year's "Tomb Raider", this year's "Resident Evil", I think game adaptation is also a major direction."

Tang En nodded and said, "Yes, "Resident Evil" is indeed a good theme. It has lost its genre and has a lot of room for expansion."

In fact, Dunn has also thought about it in the past few days. He wants to shoot "The Walking Dead" and focus on creating it.

This is the master work of the amc TV network. Its influence in North America is no less than that of "Game of Thrones". The director happens to be Frank Darabont!

But if you think about it, no.

"The Walking Dead" filmed by the amc television network is actually based on the 2003 comic of the same name. This series of comics was popular in the United States for 7 years before it was remade into a TV series.

In other words, the success of "The Walking Dead" is also a product of ip adaptation.

In 2002, this was the original theme, and it was difficult to produce the explosive effect like the previous life.

But Dunn also thought about it, "The Walking Dead" should be filmed as soon as possible, and when Frank Darabont finished writing "Ghost Rider", he would be invited to direct "The Walking Dead"!

This is a connotation drama full of doomsday feelings and full of human torture. The focus of the drama is not to create suspense and stimulate the senses, but to shape and excavate human nature. It is thoughtful and deep, which is very conducive to helping sta TV network start its brand.

But "The Walking Dead" is just an auxiliary American drama, and the sta TV network needs a real ace!

Dunn said: "Actually, my original plan was to adapt "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" into TV series, but the "Lord of the Rings" movie is currently being released, and the time line is wrong."

Abrams seems to be still immersed in the topic just now, "Fantasy epics are popular, and game adaptations are also popular. If the two can be combined, there may be a chemical reaction."

"what?"

Tang En suddenly changed, and his eyes widened immediately.

Abrams was a little stunned, "What's wrong? I said... I said chemical reaction, this is a metaphor..."

"No! The previous sentence!" Tang En's emotions suddenly became excited, and his eyes were burning.

Abrams said: "The previous sentence... I said that fantasy epics and game adaptations can be combined."

"That's right, that's it!"

Dunn patted his thigh excitedly.

Abrams also understood something and was a little excited, "Mr. Walker, you... did you think of something?"

"Haha." Dunn laughed a few times, "Jeff, have you ever played a game?"

"what game?"

"Warcraft"

(Sanqi Chinese)