Chapter 296： Soul man

In the news hall of the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, dozens of reporters gathered together, their cameras or all pointed at the huge poster at the front.

It was a raging sea, and a pirate ship flying the skull and crossbones cut through the wind.

Above the pirate ship, a line of big characters is particularly eye-catching-"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl".

"It turned out to be a pirate theme!"

"Pirate theme with a production budget of 120 million US dollars!"

The reporters have never stopped talking, but anyone who knows Hollywood movies knows what pirate-themed movies mean these years.

"This is crazy! There are people who invest so much money to make pirate-themed movies!"

"Is Shahai Entertainment not afraid of failure?"

"Ronan Anderson is inflated, thinking that after successfully producing a few small and medium cost movies, he will be able to play a pirate-themed big production!"

No one of the reporters was optimistic about this project. The pirate theme was really terrifying.

Below the huge poster, Ronan and Johnny Depp sat steadily at a table. Many of these comments were passed on, and the two seemed to have not heard them.

Johnny Depp doesn't care about the outside world at all.

Ronan knows what glory the "Pirates of the Caribbean" has achieved.

Regardless of the reporter's reaction, the two signed their names on the contract with their signature pens, and then stood up to exchange contracts and completed the signing ceremony.

There was sparse applause at the scene, and after a few seconds, the reporters seemed to have reacted, and politely delivered applause that was fairly loud but not very warm.

Ronan stood under "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", shook hands with Johnny Depp, and allowed reporters to take photos wildly.

"Remember this pair of losers."

"When the movie is released, they won't laugh so brightly."

"A movie doomed to fail."

"What age is it, there are still people shooting pirate movies, don't you remember Carlock Pictures?"

These words came on intermittently, and Ronan seemed unheard, just smiling and shaking hands with Johnny Depp.

The signing ceremony did not arrange an interview session, but George Clint announced the total investment and release time of the film.

At the end of the ceremony, Ronan and Johnny Depp returned to the lounge behind the press room.

Tracy Jacobs greeted him, whispered a few words to Johnny Depp, and said to Ronan, "I hope this is a successful cooperation."

Ronan shook hands with her and said, "It will definitely succeed."

"I hope so." Tracy Jacobs obviously lacks confidence.

Johnny Depp turned around, looked at Ronan, and said, "You wrote the script? I really like the role of Captain Jack."

Ronan smiled: "Just like it, so that our cooperation will be smoother."

Johnny Depp said: "After reading the character script and the full version of the script, I came up with some ideas. I will try the makeup in a few days. Can we talk about the role of Captain Jack?"

"No problem." Ronan said immediately: "Of course, I will participate in your makeup trial."

The setting of the script for Jack Sparrow is only the appearance and text description of the sketch. To make the character come alive, it depends on Johnny Depp's interpretation.

I vaguely remember that it was Johnny Depp who took the initiative to turn Captain Jack into that sissy look, and it also led to the anger of Disney chairman Michael Eisner, but it proved that Johnny Depp's performance was a great success.

Ronan shook hands with Johnny Depp and escorted him and Tracy Jacob out of the lounge.

Neither Ronan nor Johnny Depp was interviewed by reporters, and now is not the time to make a big push.

Get Johnny Depp, this project can make Ronan a little relieved, anyway, Jack Sparrow is the soul of this series.

Johnny Depp finally signed a trilogy contract, and the remuneration was the previously agreed figure without any subsequent share.

And under the persuasion of Tracy Jacobs, Johnny Depp also signed a supplementary clause not to drink alcohol and use other prohibited drugs during filming workdays.

The agent certainly hopes that its star clients can develop better.

In fact, Johnny Depp is on the verge of being blacklisted by many insurance companies. "Pirates of the Caribbean" has such a huge investment. If Johnny Depp does not sign such restrictive clauses, it will be difficult for Ronan to get the insurance company’s Third party completion guarantee.

After all, for an alcoholic and a once-famous addict, the chance of an accident or other accident is much higher than that of a normal person.

Johnny Depp's former friend died outside his bar.

In the main link, Ronan also made appropriate concessions to Johnny Depp on some side matters.

For example, Johnny Depp can take his pet dog into the crew for filming. The crew provides Johnny Depp with a total of no less than 15 visits to the crew. The crew provides Johnny Depp’s personal stylist and Personal assistants pay a total of $2,000 per week and so on.

But in the same way, Ronan also strongly rejected many unreasonable requests.

For example, to provide meals and lodging for three of Johnny Depp’s friends and their family members, to provide a full range of living care and a separate hotel room for Johnny Depp’s pet dog, and to replace one of Johnny Depp’s The piano is transported to the location of the filming, private jet shuttle is provided for Johnny Depp, a separate parking lot is rented for Johnny Depp's luxury car, etc.

Hollywood star actors are sometimes really difficult to serve, and the various requests made by big names can make the crew's well-informed producers stunned.

Johnny Depp belongs to one of the very difficult types. Maybe some of them were not caused by him deliberately, but caused by different personal habits, but for Ronan, those who should refuse unreasonable requests will never hesitate to refuse. .

Now Johnny Depp, there is not too much capital to make very excessive demands.

It is impossible for a normal crew to agree to a request like providing a fee for Pongyou.

Most Hollywood stars have friends, who are responsible for their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. These people may have helped stars or accompany them to eat, drink and have fun, but they are actually blood-sucking bugs that live on the stars.

For example, Charlize Theron, her wardrobe is always open to friends.

Many times the life of a star cannot be viewed with common sense.

Ronan settled the Johnny Depp contract, and later met with Gore Wibinski and reached an oral agreement. The director and Captain Jack Sparrow were basically settled.

Since Gore Wibinski will not be able to join the crew early next year at the earliest, a lot of preparations have to go ahead.

The first is the restoration of the Middle Ages.

Although "Pirates of the Caribbean" tells a fantasy story, Ronan dared not be sloppy about the relevant historical background. He specially invited the famous historian Peter Tevester who studied the Middle Ages as a consultant.

Twist has studied the history of the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. He can impart relevant historical knowledge to the crew, from the customs and details of dress to daily life, navigation and military conditions.

Then there is the collection of various data related to the pirates of that period.

Pirates are people who commit crimes on the high seas, so ‘pirate’ is a very broad term. Any act of stealing and destroying property in open waters can be defined as pirate.

In the beginning, piracy was an individual behavior, random and untrained. Later, piracy became more complicated.

For example, during the war, the government allowed some people to attack the enemy’s sea, and then shared the proceeds with the sailors. At that time, this behavior was legal. Many shipowners and sailors recognized this way of survival, and they continued to act accordingly after the war, and they became pirates.

Although the pirates in the script do not have real character prototypes, they integrate many of the actions of real pirates.

The small islands in the Caribbean Sea are ideal places for pirates, as merchant ships carrying treasures and goods pass by.

However, pirate treasures have always been rumors, in fact undocumented.

Ronan discovered from historical records that typical pirates would spend their money after looting their property, and there is no way left.

At the suggestion of Peter Twist, Ronan chose the period between 1720 and 1750 as the background of the story, which was at the end of the heyday of pirates.

In addition, Ronan also hired a master swordsman to train Johnny Depp and the actors who joined later.

In order to make the film look more authentic and credible, long-term professional training for all actors who play pirates and the British navy is inevitable.

At the same time, a deputy manager of the production department of Shahai Entertainment settled negotiations with the actors for Miss A. Keira Knightley. Keira Knightley signed the contract for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy. Under his own name, she will play the leading role of Elizabeth Swan Keira Knightley's pay is very low, only $100,000.

In fact, this negotiation was very easy. For the leading actress in a top big production, the young actors are very much looking for it.

Compared with Keira Knightley, the negotiations between Sandsea Entertainment and Orlando Bloom have almost made no progress. The agent of the fairy prince is very smart. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" will be released soon, as long as the film is slightly Success, Orlando Bloom's worth more than doubled.

It is totally worth it to drag on for a few months.

Ronan has allowed people to interact with other actors without spending all time on Orlando Bloom.

Someone recommended the prosperous beauty Jason Statham to Ronan, and Ronan is also considering the feasibility of such a British hunk as a small blacksmith.

Someone recommended Christian Bale, the famous British balloon man actor.

Ronan intends to hold an audition for the role, and then decide the specific candidates for the little blacksmith.