Chapter 757： Disagreement

It's been more than ten days since "Hellboy" was released. The reason why Gilmour del Toro came to Ronan until now was to complete the preliminary design of "Man's Romance".

"Sometimes, when I look up at the starry sky, I always feel my insignificance and loneliness, and wonder if there are other life in the universe."

In the reception room of the Theory of Relativity Building, Gilmour del Toro handed several design drawings to Ronan: "But after completing this preliminary design, I found that I was completely in the wrong direction."

Ronan listened to Gilmour del Toro's words, his eyes fell on the drawing in his hand, these are a few sketches, the painter is very ordinary, but it is enough for people to see what the painting is.

The first picture is supposed to be a volcanic eruption under the sea, and a monster similar to Godzilla drilled out of the ground.

Ronan has an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this picture.

In the next picture, a mecha that looks a bit like Megatron stands tall in the city.

Ronan thought of Gilmour del Toro's ever-popular works.

Sure enough, in the third sketch, the huge mecha arm seems to be a cannon, aiming not far away, fighting a monster that looks like Godzilla.

Mecha, monster, seabed, war...

Ronan nodded secretly, this should be "Rim of the Atlantic"...No, it should be the preliminary design of "Rim of the Pacific".

The "Ring of the Atlantic" that I have ever watched, like "Titanic 2," is all about selling dog meat.

"Is this robot vs. monster?" Ronan asked.

Gilmore Del Toro corrected: "It's a mecha and a huge beast."

Ronan put down the sketch and looked at Gilmour del Toro, who explained: "These concepts all come from the island country."

"I've heard of it." Ronan nodded slowly: "For example, Ultraman who beats little monsters."

There used to be a saying, cats eat fish, dogs eat meat, and Ultraman does little monsters.

Seeing that Ronan knew something about this, Gilmour del Toro relaxed, picked up the first sketch, pointed to the bottom of the sea above, and said: "The seafloor is broken, and the alien star sprang from this passage. Monsters are bigger, more ferocious and more brutal than any threat we have seen before. I call them monsters. In order to fight against them, mankind has assembled all resources to create the largest, most advanced and most versatile weapon in history. They created the Hunter Project, creating a series of 25-story robots, which is the last hope for human survival."

Ronan frowned: "Gilmore, is there a problem with this setting." He pointed to the cannon of the mecha: "Why don't you use long-range weapons or airplanes to launch this weapon instead of using huge robots to go up and down. What?"

"This..." Gilmour Del Toro hasn't considered these at all, can't you say "Mecha is the ultimate romance of men"?

Ronan is cautious about things that are too strong in island country elements. After all, the reality of the North American film market lies here.

For example, "The Grudge" and "Midnight Ring", according to his point of view, the original version of the island country is obviously better-looking, but the original version is released in North America without exception. On the contrary, the quality of the remake of the US version is a big hit at the box office. .

North America has a certain island audience, but it is not popular culture.

For example, the famous "Spirited Away" has been on various best lists including the mainstream media in North America, but its commercial response in North America is far less than its reputation.

has been shown twice in North American theaters, and the box office in North America is not even a fraction of overseas.

Ronan is a film company, not an art institution. The first thing to consider is the market, and market differences must be paid attention to.

"Mecha is a concept and cultural product from an island country." Ronan is very cautious. After all, if this project is really going to be done, the investment is not so big: "Gilmore, you should have heard of this concept. North America is the world's largest media culture. Entertainment insulator."

This was beyond the expectation of Gilmour Del Toro. He always thought Ronan would support this project, just like he supported "Hellboy".

After all, Shahai Entertainment is also operating a similar giant robot project.

"Ronan, there are many people in North America who like mecha and monsters and other island cultures." Gilmour del Toro didn't want to give up lightly: "There are overseas markets, which are also conducive to peripheral operations."

He tentatively said: "It is said that Shahai Entertainment is cooperating with Hasbro on Transformers. There is no essential difference with Mecha, right?"

Ronan couldn't help laughing: "How do these two compare? Gilmour, Transformers has been on the market in North America for more than 20 years, and related toys were once popular in North America. For more than 20 years, how many people have played Transformers? Toys? How many people’s childhood memories are Transformers? I’m not sure about other places, but in North America, mechas belong to a niche cultural group, right?"

Perhaps with the further opening of the Internet, the audience of mecha will increase, but that is also the future.

Ronan further said: "The culture of the island nation has many audiences in North America. For example, you, such as James Cameron, but Relativity Entertainment has always been doing business with the island nation, and also owns the copyright of many island nation cultural products. market survey."

This is not a lie, but actually done: "Island culture belongs to a niche group in North America. This determines that if the investment is not high, the possibility of recovering the cost is greater, but if the investment is high, the audience is too small. How to generate profit?"

Gilmour del Toro suddenly realized that Ronan was not only a film producer, but also a film businessman!

Even the identity of the latter is above the former!

Ronan asked altogether: "Gilmore, you know very well about special effects production. How much production budget do you need to achieve the effect you planned now?"

In this era, cg special effects are much cheaper, but they are not comparable to those after 2010.

is not a layman, and it is impossible for Gilmour del Toro to talk nonsense with his eyes open. He also considered it on the ground: "About 200 million US dollars."

Ronan then said: "This kind of production investment, plus publicity and distribution, at least $300 million, for such a subject, the investment risk is too great."

Gilmour del Toro didn’t know what to say. Before, he only started from the point of view of director and self-interest, and had no corresponding commercial considerations.

"I suggest that this project be put on hold for the time being." Ronan was very frank: "Gilmore, it is not too late for us to make a decision after five or six years after we look at the technological development and the changes in the cultural market."

Gilmour del Toro was somewhat disappointed, but he felt that Ronan’s words made sense, but he didn’t give up on it. The three film director contracts he signed with Shahai Entertainment have expired. Hollywood is so big, it’s not necessary. The theory of relativity is not entertaining.

"Well, this project is a little bit ahead." Gilmour del Toro found himself a step down.

Ronan smiled and said, "You don’t have to rush for some ideas and ideas."

"It's true." Gilmour del Toro had other plans and pulled out the script from his briefcase: "Mecha and monsters are long-term plans. This is the next movie I want to shoot."

Ronan didn’t say anything. He took a quick look at the script and browsed a part of it. The script is a copy of the manuscript, not the complete version. What is nailed together is the project plan.

At the same time, the title page of this first draft script is also marked with the name "Pan Shen's Labyrinth".

"This is a fairy tale that is not suitable for children. I want to make a Spanish film that will become magical realism." Gilmour del Toro said: "With the background of Spain during World War II in 1944, the story of the 12-year-old heroine When I was so bored, I accidentally opened another magic door and had to complete three trials."

Ronan is about to find the most critical part of this statement for the production company: "Gilmore, you just said that you want to make a Spanish movie?"

Gilmour del Toro is a Mexican: "Yes, I shot this work in my native language."

Ronan put down the script and asked, "Have you made a budget?"

"About US$30 million." Gilmour del Toro had a not-so-good feeling: "If it is less, I can't guarantee the completion."

Today’s Gilmour del Toro has a reputation in Hollywood. It’s not the mentality of a small Mexican director. Just like the mechas and monsters we talked about before, of course, we must strive for the best results.

In these few collaborations, Gilmour del Toro left Ronan with a good impression. Although "Hellboy" has undergone several post-production editing, the results are good.

In general, Gilmour Del Toro is a more reliable director.

Ronan thought for a while, and said: "Sandhai Entertainment can invest in your project." Before Gilmour Del Toro was happy, he added: "But there is a premise, it must be an English movie."

Such a big investment to shoot a foreign language film, Ronan had to consider the risks and benefits.

"English movies?" Gilmour del Toro shook his head and said seriously: "Ronan, I am a Mexican and Spanish is my mother tongue. Shooting a Spanish movie in Hollywood has always been my wish. ."

Many directors have their own wishes, such as Spielberg and "Schindler's List", but the film company will not pay for each director's wish.

Ronan asked again: "Gilmore, are you sure you want to make a Spanish movie?"

Gilmour del Toro sighed secretly, there is no way if the concepts are not in harmony: "Yes, I have always planned like this."

"I can only say sorry." Ronan declined politely.

"It's okay." Gilmour del Toro put away the script and shook hands with Ronan: "No matter what, I will say thank you."

Ronan understood what he meant, and said sincerely: "Gilmore, good luck to you."