Chapter 393： Pull off the altar

In a reception room on the top floor of the office building at Warner Bros. headquarters in Burbank, Ronan and Christopher Nolan met several Warner Bros. and DC Comics executives.

Among them, there are two key figures in the heavyweight category.

Edward Davis, Senior President of Warner Bros. Production Division, is the first person in charge of content production for the entire group of companies.

David Bird, the executive vice president of DC Comics, is in charge of the adaptation of DC Comics.

Relativity Entertainment and Warner Bros. have always cooperated. The first choice for most of the crew of Shahai Entertainment is Warner Studios. Ronan did not spend much effort to get on the line with the two.

In fact, the two people appeared in the reception room at the same time, which also illustrates the importance of the Batman movie to Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

But it is not easy for Warner Bros. and DC Comics to break the seal of the "Batman" series.

Ronan had already done a lot of work beforehand, and Christopher Nolan produced the first draft of the script and project plan for this.

"Mr. Anderson, we meet again."

Since the initial contact with Ronan had been made before, after the two sides had greeted, Edward Davis quickly turned to the topic, "I heard Brian Lord say that you are very interested in the "Batman" series."

He looked at Christopher Nolan, who had worked with Warner Bros. once again: "You also wrote a new script with Chris?"

"The script was written by Chris." Ronan said with a smile: "I just think now is a good opportunity to restart "Batman."

Christopher Nolan opened the briefcase and handed over the project template and plan to Edward Davis and David Byrd.

Finally, another one was given to Ronan.

He is a smart man, knowing that he is not enough as a director, and today is completely dominated by Ronan.

After the initial contact between Warner Bros. and DC Comics, they were also psychologically prepared.

Edward Davis and David Bird took over the information and quickly turned it over.

Ronan was not in a hurry, but was waiting for them to read the information first. During the initial contact, he also learned about the attitudes of Warner Bros. and DC Comics. Against the background of the crazy sales of Spider-Man, the two companies very much hope for their super Heroes can keep up and compete for the corresponding market share.

It is no exaggeration to say that a "Spider-Man" has completely turned the situation of Marvel and DC superhero movies.

Before the arrival of the new century, DC Comics, which was owned by Warner, developed smoothly. When people talk about superheroes, the first thing they think of is Superman and Batman. When it comes to superhero movies, these two are exclusive.

The scenery of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne on the big screen is definitely not comparable to the Avengers under Marvel Comics.

But now, Marvel superhero movies have risen rapidly.

DC Comics and Warner Bros.'s "Superman 4" almost ruined the Superman movie series. Joe Schumacher's two super drag shows also brought the "Batman" movie into a dead end, making Warner Bros. Bruce- Master Wayne refrigerated.

Marvel changed its trend. After "X-Men" and "Spider-Man", it completely became the mainstream comic film on the big screen. "Spider-Man" even became the first ever film in North America with a box office of over 100 million. Dollar movies.

Edward Davis took the lead to put down the information in his hand, glanced at David Byrd, and said: "Mr. Anderson, as far as I know, you have got a lot of superhero movie adaptation rights from Marvel Comics. Why choose Batman?"

Ronan was very calm and calm, and he didn't hesitate to belittle him: "Even in the comics, how can those small characters in the second and third lines compare with Batman?"

He specifically said: "The success of "Spider-Man" has allowed more people to pay attention to comic superheroes, but what is really interesting is actually those first-line characters, such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Batman and Superman, etc. The copyrights I bought, even if the most famous one is Iron Man, have limited popularity. I just want to wait for the first-line heroes to be adapted into movies to further expand this market, and then I can follow the trend and make a few mid-cost super Hero movies have some soup."

David Byrd himself is a man in the comics circle, and he understands some things in more detail. He winks at Edward Davis without a trace, indicating that this statement is extremely credible.

Because he knew that Shahai Entertainment got small characters from comics.

The next door sold out the real influential sons as early as the 1990s.

Ronan continued: "It happens that my crew has been cooperating with Warner for a long time in the past two years. I met Chris at Warner Studios and talked about the movie as soon as it happened, and then reached an agreement on Batman."

Christopher Nolan added: "I coincided with Ronan's idea of ​​the Batman movie, so we have today's meeting."

Everyone has seen the big sales of "Spider-Man". Seeing that the depressed neighbors next door surpassed themselves, Warner Bros. and DC Comics must have ideas.

Otherwise, there will be no running "Superman Returns" and "Catwoman".

But Batman's new movie does make them doubtful.

Edward Davis said directly: "After "Batman and Robin", we have no plans to shoot Batman movies for the time being."

Ronan was prepared for this and said: "In fact, movie fans have gradually forgotten "Batman and Robin", I think it's time to restart this series."

He looked at the people across from him, and continued, “The Superman series and the Batman series are the works that really brought the superhero movies into the mainstream. Now your company is preparing for Superman Returns, so brand new "Batman" can echo Superman."

David Bird asked: "Batman cannot withstand the next failure, otherwise the consequences will be very serious. I want to know, how do you plan to continue this series?"

"Not a continuation!" Ronan shook his head lightly, "but overthrowing and starting over!"

Edward Davis frowned. "Do you want to overthrow and start over?"

"Yes, I think if you want to save the "Batman" series, you must overthrow it and start over." Ronan said unceremoniously, "Whether it is Tim Burton's Gothic style or Joe Schumacher's cross-dressing The show is not suitable for the current market, and the latter almost killed Bruce Wayne..."

David Bird and Edward Davis nodded slowly. They have experienced the fall of the "Batman" series from peak to trough, and the box office and word-of-mouth loss of "Batman and Robin" is still vivid. If the series is launched again and this style continues, it would be a super disaster.

"What are your thoughts?" Edward Davis looked at Ronan and Christopher Nolan and asked, "We can initiate a restart proposal, but we must see the hope of success."

Of course, Warner Bros. and DC Comics want to bring Batman to life. This is an important asset.

Ronan pointed to the project book created by Christopher Nolan, and said, "Based on Frank Milan's "The Dark Knight Returns", the film was produced in a dark realistic style."

Tim Burton is the first director to adapt the Batman comics into a movie, his style is cold and gothic, with absurdity and exaggeration. After the success of the two films, the director Joe Schumacher continued the Batman series, but the style continued to fail, making the Batman series in a weak state. The last part of the series "Batman and Robin" was so bad that it could be said The Xia series has dropped to the lowest point in history.

"The Dark Knight Returns" is one of Batman's most highly rated comics. Both David Bird and Edward Davis are thinking about it, but there is no problem in expressing this style in comics. Is the movie suitable?

Ronan could see the hesitation of these two people, knowing that if you want to achieve the goal, you must fight for it yourself. He said, "Chris and my philosophy is that Batman is no longer a superhero, but has a stronger body and fighting skills. Some ordinary people, if you want this series to get out of the predicament, you must pull Bruce Wayne off the altar and make him an ordinary person."

"A normal person?" David Bird had doubts in his eyes.

Ronan looked at Christopher Nolan, who said: "I want to create a very realistic atmosphere, so that the audience feels that Gotham City is the American metropolis where they live. On the surface, this city is thriving, but secretly it has long been It began to decay slowly. All classes of society broke and struggled with each other. Various interest groups were intertwined. Corruption eroded the city bit by bit like opium. Even the system became an accomplice of evil..."

Edward Davis and David Byrd are both listening carefully, because this concept was not proposed by Christopher Nolan and it was shown in "The Dark Knight Returns".

The comics of "The Dark Knight Returns" were a huge success.

"I think Batman has become an ordinary person, and it is precisely the place that is most likely to attract the audience," Ronan said immediately after Christopher Nolan: "Bruce Wayne is no longer superior, with the joys, sorrows, sorrows and sorrows of ordinary people. , Will be afraid, will be weak, will fail, will be lost, and even have mental problems. The emotions of these ordinary talents appear in him, which can resonate with the audience!"

"But what the audience wants to see is a superhero who can save the world," another Warner executive seems to be different from Ronan's point of view, "not to see a waste..."

Edward Davis raised his hand to interrupt him and motioned Ronan to continue speaking.

"Everyone has a journey of their own, and superheroes are no exception. The heroes of Gao Daquan are separated from the market and the audience. It is difficult to resonate with the audience. This is why Spider-Man is more popular." Ronan has already done it. Fully prepared, "Bruce Wayne is not born a hero. He will also be hesitated and lost. After losing, he also needs to find himself, complete self-knowledge and self-salvation."