Chapter 592： Last Stand

When you come to Century City, you can see the "Relativity Building" sign just erected on top of many commercial buildings at a glance. This building with only 26 floors is inconspicuous in Manhattan, New York, but in Los Angeles. The place is already a taller building.

When Ronan entered the Relativity Entertainment Building, he could see busy workers coming in and out, and all kinds of office equipment kept coming in.

Fortunately, the order is in order and it seems busy and not chaotic.

The property rights transaction for the Theory of Relativity Building has long been completed, and the administrative department of the head office is cooperating with professional companies to make final preparations for the move.

Since many professional departments are involved, many department heads will come over from time to time and make corresponding requirements with the partner company.

Ronan saw Mary, the chief financial officer of Relativity Entertainment, in the lobby.

As one of the veterans and team members of Shahai Entertainment when it started, compared to George Clint and Robert Lee, Mary is much more low-key because of the nature of her work. She spends most of her time only in the company's financial department, and she has no sense of presence. Especially strong.

But when it comes to the criticality of the position, Mary's importance is beyond doubt.

"The Finance Department needs a vault."

Seeing Ronan, Mary simply said: "I am communicating with Bank of America. They recommended a professional company that will build a bank vault and will build a vault for us."

Ronan pointed to the ceiling: "I'm going upstairs, you will be busy first."

Riding the elevator to the tenth floor, looking at the temporary office distribution map, Ronan found Christopher Nolan's office.

The office space on this floor is spacious, with more than a dozen large offices and some small offices, which are well-equipped, and three crews from Shahai Entertainment are temporarily stationed.

In addition to Christopher Nolan's new film project, there are Lee Ang's "Brokeback Mountain" and the newly confirmed project "Smiths".

After Ronan picked out the script library from Artisan Pictures, he forwarded it to George Clint, quickly went through the internal procedures, and formally confirmed the project.

Ronan met Christopher Nolan in a small office.

Seeing Ronan, Christopher Nolan temporarily put down his work and handed over two documents: "This is the script and the preliminary plan of the project."

Ronan put the plan aside, opened the script and looked at it roughly. It was not much different from the movie in his impression. It was still the story of a magic showdown between two young magicians and friends.

Christopher Nolan briefly introduced: "Most of the script was completed by Jonathan. The main storyline comes from Mr. Pirister’s same name. Mr. Robert Lee has assisted Jonathan and I in buying the copyright of the original work for the crew. , This will be a grand magic show."

Ronan nodded and asked the key point directly: "How much is the project budget?"

Christopher Nolan clearly calculated it clearly and said: "The $40 million production budget includes the copyright fees already spent."

This did not exceed Ronan's expectations, and immediately said: "Yes."

Seeing that Ronan didn't mean to read the plan, Christopher Nolan continued: "I plan to officially start preparing for "Fatal Magic" after the release of "Batman: Hour of War" in July, and start shooting at the end of this year or early next year, and everything goes well. If you do, all production will be completed in early 2006."

Ronan said, "Then the premiere of the film will be in 2006, and the Embassy Pictures will communicate with you later."

Christopher Nolan's filming speed is definitely not fast compared to fast shooters like Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. Although he is shooting a typical commercial film, it is not a popcorn type. Pay attention to slow work and fine work.

Under normal circumstances, a film directed by Christopher Nolan usually takes more than two years, or even longer, from preparation to shooting to release.

Although Christopher Nolan is also a producer, he knows that the real decision maker of this project is still Ronan, and said: "As for the actors, I have invited several candidates. Christian Bell has agreed to be the leading actor, Michael Kay. Eun will be the supporting actor, another actor I intend to Hugh Jackman..."

Ronan had no objection, and said, "It's fine if you choose the actor."

The finances of the crew are firmly in the hands of the production company, Ronan does not need to worry too much, and he is assured of Christopher Nolan's ability.

Christopher Nolan said: "Okay, regarding the cast, I will submit a report to you when the audition is over."

As an extremely clever director, he puts himself very right.

Ronan asked, "What about "The Dark Knight"?"

Christopher Nolan simply said: "The script was written long ago, and there is no idea to change it. I communicated with Charles Rowan and Warner Bros. Before the box office of "Warner Bros." There will be a sequel."

"Let's wait for "The Hour of War" to be released. Ronan knows that the initiative of this series is entirely in the hands of Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

Shahai Entertainment is mainly an investor, and it is enough to share the investment income from it.

Talking to Christopher Nolan about getting off work in the afternoon, Ronan went to Li Ang's office on the same floor, and Li Ang had just returned from the outside.

"Hi, Ronan." Li Ang hurriedly greeted the assistant to pour water on Ronan: "Why do you have time to come over today?"

Ronan took the cup from the assistant, thanked him, and said to Li Ang: "There is a project that has just begun preparations, and some work needs to be determined. Just stop by and have a look." He asked, "Is the preparation going well? "

Ang Li smiled first: "With your strong support, the script adaptation and the recruitment of the filming team have gone smoothly. Although I have not been very smooth recently, I have worked hard in Hollywood for many years, and there is a small team that works all year round." He then sighed again. Tone: "It's just that actors are not easy to find."

Ronan could roughly guess the situation Ang Lee would face when looking for an actor, and asked: "The hero?"

"Yes, it's not easy to find a leading actor." Ang Li was also a little worried: "I found a few good actors, but when I heard that they were **** roles, I rejected them all. Originally, I was most optimistic about one The actor named Jack Gyllenhill specially visited his home for this purpose, trying to earn support from his family, but was kicked out."

Today's environment is like this, unlike in the future, it is easy to find actors for all **** roles, regardless of male or female.

In the future, even in many big productions, there are not a few potential **** supporting roles, so I am embarrassed to show them to people.

Frankly speaking, Ronan has no good way: "It is normal for actors to have concerns, and the pay can be increased appropriately. Li, you can also give more promises. The goal of "Brokeback Mountain" is to win the prize next year. You might as well explain directly to the actors. ."

Ang Li nodded: "It can only be so."

Most actors are not stupid, even if they don’t know their heads, and there are smart agents who say nothing is as effective as letting them see the future earnings.

Ronan said in advance: "Don't forget, this is a movie made by Shahai Entertainment."

Ang Li's eyes lit up, he is a fan of the authorities. The film is not only produced by Shahai Entertainment, which has a very high success rate in the circle, but also the name of Ronan Anderson in the producer column!

In the Hollywood circle, this is already a gold medal producer comparable to Jerry Bruckheimer.

Having the best and most attractive sign, but not knowing how to use it, is really stupid.

Ang Lee was very upset, and immediately decided to make an appointment with the two most promising actors, Heath Ledger and Jack Jelenhill tomorrow, and talk about it.

He still doesn't believe it, Ronan Anderson's film project, will these two young actors be unmoved?

“I’m most optimistic about the two leading actor candidates, namely Heath Ledger from Australia and Jack Gyllenhill who just mentioned.” Ang Lee has experienced setbacks and is also a hybrid character. Say hello to Ronan: "I think it might change if they know that the producer is you."

Ronan is not a rigid person: "Let go and do it well."

Hearing these two familiar names, Ronan felt that it would be nice to continue using them.

As for Heath Ledger...

Forget it, don't think too much, it will go smoothly and naturally.

Just like Revan Phoenix and David Carradine, Hollywood stars who have died have a million ways to die, and they can't stop them.

Ang Lee has a plan: "If everything goes well, the shooting will be completed this year, post-production will be completed in the first half of next year, and then go to the Venice Film Festival next year."

"You coordinate with Embassy Pictures and Shahai Entertainment." Ronan made a decision: "Let them assist the crew in registering for the Venice Film Festival competition unit."

It seems that "Brokeback Mountain" once won the highest award of one of the three major European film festivals, but Ronan can't remember exactly which one it was.

Berlin films can be excluded, after all, this is a film festival full of political significance, "Brokeback Mountain" does not conform to its aesthetics.

Before leaving get off work, Ronan left the Theory of Relativity Building, but Ang Lee has been working overtime. No one knows better than him how important this opportunity is. It can even be said that it is his last chance in Hollywood.

"Brokeback Mountain" is successful and can continue to develop in Hollywood. If it fails, it won't even have a foothold.

This is a last stand!

The night was thick, and Li Ang finished his work, went out of the office, and met British director Christopher Nolan. The two stayed on the same floor for a while, and they knew each other as they knew each other. They went into the elevator together while chatting.

When Christopher Nolan arrived in the parking lot, he suddenly received a call from his friend Pete Broderick and said sorry to Ang Lee. He walked to the rest area and said a word. Then he took the car with a helpless expression and rushed to his friend. Where I said, I went to meet people from so-called big companies.