v2 Chapter 761： Gravity

As the time has just entered June, Warner Bros. officially announced that Duke’s new film has been approved and preparations are about to begin. The subject of the new film is the type of space adventure.

Due to time constraints, Duke completely threw the film’s publicity work to Warner Bros. The new film project did not even call a press conference. Duke only casually said a new film when he entered and exited the Warner Studios and was questioned by reporters. It will be a space version similar to "Remaining on a Deserted Island".

To a certain extent, his words are not wrong. For most of the film, it will be Scarlett Johansson's one-man show.

The plot of this film is very simple, it can even be said that there is no plot. The heroine played by Scarlett Johansson has an accident in space and tries her best to return to Earth.

The name of the new film has not been announced, but Duke has officially named it internally as "Gravity" after convening his team.

And in the first time of the new film project, Duke finalized another actor, he sent out an invitation to George Clooney, the latter and his agent made almost no consideration, and immediately agreed to the invitation.

Originally, Robert Downey Jr. got some inside information from Warner Bros. He wanted to play this role, but was rejected by Duke. Perhaps from the perspective of acting, George Clooney was not the most suitable candidate, but from the perspective of Oscar From a point of view, the benefits of his appearance in the film are far greater than Robert Downey Jr.

In the past ten years, Robert Downey Jr. offended almost everyone who could offend him. If it weren't for "Iron Man," he wanted to turn himself over.

But George Clooney is different. The other party's relationship in Hollywood is so broad that there are definitely a few of the actors.

Hollywood actors and directors are enthusiastic about politics and actively participate in social activities. They are basically normal. George Clooney is one of them. He even brushes up his political style. Only now has the status in Hollywood, and has a good relationship with a large group of people who are keen on political activities, such as Steven Soderbergh, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, etc...

The importance of the network to Chong'ao is self-evident.

Although Duke has no intention of best director and best film, he wants Scarlett to defeat Natalie Portman, who is very popular in Jewish clubs. It is necessary to use all available conditions.

And Scarlett herself is also a political activist, and has some friendship with George Clooney.

Bringing George Clooney in and becoming a part of this huge Olympic plan will definitely increase the odds of Scarlett winning.

Perhaps many people think that George Clooney is not worthy of his name in Hollywood, but no matter what means he uses. The status of the first-line celebrities and their good popularity are real.

Indeed, if you look at it from the perspective and position of the former Duke, George Clooney’s words and deeds are disgusting, but he is no longer the former Duke. Starting from the identity and position of a Hollywood director, cooperation will only bring benefit.

What's more, I really have to judge from the previous position, like Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise and even Scarlett? Johnson, etc., more than 95% of Hollywood people can be excluded from the scope of cooperation.

Does he still use it in Hollywood?

Politics has never been far away from Hollywood, and Hollywood stars have their own political positions.

This life. Duke's criterion for judging business cooperation is simple-benefit!

In private, Warner Bros. once asked Duke if he could change the protagonist to a male, but after Duke refused, he did not continue to mention it.

In fact, from the perspective of investors, such a film like a one-man show can be more attractive if the protagonist is replaced by a male. After all, in the concept of traditional Hollywood companies, male films are far more popular than female films.

But this movie is not in this rank. To be precise, "Gravity" has no creativity in the plot. It is not too much to say that there is no plot. The film mainly relies on two points to generate attraction, one is excellent special effects, and the other is the performance of the actors.

Needless to say the special effects. If the actors are replaced by men, it will greatly reduce the atmosphere of the whole film. Men and women represent completely different meanings on the big screen. Men are inherently synonymous with toughness and strength in the film, while women represent weakness and being Object of protection...

The protagonist of "Gravity" is changed to a male. The shock of his self-help is definitely not as powerful as that of women.

There is no doubt that the film wants to be screened at least before the new year. The time is very tight. Scarlett Johansson’s performance and Duke’s shooting are better to say. The special effects of the film are the real problem, Duke. To this end, we asked Warner Bros. for a production budget of up to 200 million U.S. dollars, most of which will be spent on special effects.

He made a special trip to San Francisco and talked with the senior management of Industrial Light and Magic. In the face of the high budget, the other party agreed to send as many special effects artists as possible to participate in the production of Gravity.

Afterwards, Duke went to George Lucas' manor again. Recently, there was a rumors in the circle that George Lucas wanted to retire.

The relationship between the two families is unusual. Duke knows very well that George Lucas is really ready to retire.

"Actually, what I can't bear the most is Lucas Pictures..."

In the manor’s reception room, George Lucas said to Duke sitting across from him, “It’s been more than 20 years since I founded Lucasfilm. It’s like my child.”

Talking to George Lucas, Duke didn't go around in circles and asked directly, "George, are you going to sell Lucasfilm?"

George Lucas glanced at Duke, guessed his intentions, thought about it, and nodded slightly, "I do have plans in this regard, and the people from 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney have also contacted him. I."

"Walt Disney?" Duke frowned slightly, picked up the coffee cup, took a sip of coffee, thought about it, and asked, "How about transferring it to me?"

Lucasfilm not only owns the copyrights of the "Star Wars" series and the "Indiana Jones" series, it also has the world's number one department-Industrial Light & Magic!

If Duke says he has no plot against Lucasfilm, it must be false.

Not to mention how Industrial Light and Magic is, according to Disney's purchase price of Industrial Light and Magic, as long as the "Star Wars" series is restarted, the quality is guaranteed, and the money can be recovered by selling the peripherals alone!

"Duke, I'm just one of Lucasfilm's shareholders." George Lucas did not refuse Duke, but reminded him, "This is business!"

In the face of such a huge transaction, the role of friendship can be said to be extremely limited. Duke knows this very well. He put on a serious expression and said, "George, my offer will definitely make Lucasfilm's The shareholders are satisfied."

George Lucas knew that Duke had such wealth and ability, and his left hand rubbed his cheeks. "You have worked with Lucasfilm for many years. Under the same conditions, I believe the shareholders of Lucasfilm will also The priority is to sell the shares to you. However, Duke, you have to hurry up and do some things before you can take the initiative."

"I understand." Duke nodded solemnly, "I will form a professional team as soon as possible to contact the management of Lucasfilm."

He has taken away Marvel Comics and Pixar Studios from Walt Disney, and there is no psychological burden to take Lucas Pictures again.

I thought that Duke had the opportunity to acquire the digital field, but he did not move, watching the digital field fall into the pocket of Paramount Pictures, because he knew that it would not take long for Industrial Light and Magic and the entire Lucasfilm is in the bag.

However, if you want to win Lucasfilm, you must have a huge amount of more than four billion US dollars. Even with Duke's current net worth, this is a very difficult thing.

In the latest Forbes rich list, he can indeed rank among the top ten in the world, and even the assets hidden in various foundations are not counted in it, but stocks and fixed assets are completely different from the liquidity required for acquisition.

This kind of acquisition will inevitably require careful planning, and Duke also needs more professional people to participate in it. He knows that he can master the general direction, but he is not capable of specific implementation.

He knew very well that he was not a so-called genius with all knowledge and omnipotence, and there was no such so-called genius in this world.

In any case, if the conditions are similar, George Lucas personally is indeed more inclined to sell Lucasfilm to Duke, and Duke also put forward a proposal that makes George Lucas very tempted, if he becomes The new owner of Lucasfilm will try his best to hire George Lucas' old friend, Catherine Kennedy, who has the same philosophy as him, is in charge of Lucasfilm.

For Lucasfilm, Duke spent two days in San Francisco, and then accompanied by George Lucas, he went to meet several other major shareholders of Lucasfilm. To a large extent He has taken the lead in the acquisition battle that is about to detonate the entire Hollywood without gun smoke.

However, to turn this advantage into victory, Duke also needs to spend billions of dollars in real gold and platinum.

How to raise this sum of money as soon as possible is undoubtedly one of the tasks he will focus on next.

He even made another plan. If the raising of funds does not go well, then Warner Bros. will be included in the acquisition plan.

Lucasfilm is a temptation that all Hollywood companies can't refuse. Just "Star Wars" and Industrial Light and Magic are enough to make people break their heads.

After leaving San Francisco, Duke returned to Los Angeles to continue preparations for "Gravity." After an interview with George Clooney, he flew directly to Washington, D.C., and was introduced to Nasa by virtue of his good relationship with the Pentagon for many years. (To be continued.)

ps: The old year is about to pass, and the new year is coming soon. Time flies so fast, I always feel too late...

In the new year, Thirteen wishes everyone what they want to come true, everyone gets rich, brothers and sisters, happy new year!