Four Hundred and Fifty-Four - This Drama Is Crazy

It's lunch break time now, and people's attention is gathered and lost quickly. Gilmore quickly left with doubts. There were too many things waiting for him to do during this period, and he had no intention of exploring the unknown.

"Wayne, audition work and contract issues with other actors...?"

Charles Rowan took a deep breath from his cigarette and while asking, he was still secretly observing the other person's face. He is a little confused about Wayne's acting style now. After all, this is a project led by the other party, and he is really not sure whether he wants the producer to be involved in the selection of actors.

"Schwartz is currently screening those minor actors and small actors whose roles are not important."

After pondering for a while, Wayne glanced at the cautious producer and said: "For those who have not yet been determined, we will do the final audition together in the past two days. Charles, I only have one request for the treatment contracts of other actors, try my best." Keep the pay for small roles low and try to keep enough money to invest in film production.”

"no problem."

On some matters, before Charles Rowan officially joined the crew, he had already communicated with Bruce Rosenblum, and he had a rough understanding of some of his partners' hiring habits.

According to Bruce Rosenblum's original words, among the entire crew, the real core has never been the famous stars, but the director Wayne Greenberg. Therefore, almost every project , only the other party can get the top salary package.

For example, on the "Dark Knight" crew this time, Wayne, as usual, has three positions that will be written into the contract. The first is the director, followed by the screenwriter and second producer. Undoubtedly, the director is the main position and the bulk of the salary component.

The screenwriting process is very simple. The plot outline and main story line of "The Dark Knight" were provided by the other party. Although many details were filled in by the screenwriting department of Warner Bros., the final version still had to be modified by Wayne With the board of directors, it is basically impossible for those screenwriting teams deep in the assembly line to sign in the screenwriter column.

As for the producer, it is even simpler, because he is the initiator of the entire project and chooses to retain a producer position. When uncontrollable unexpected situations arise, Wayne's voice and control in the crew can be guaranteed to the greatest extent. right.

According to the usual rules of Hollywood, since Wayne has taken up a position on the crew, he must receive a due remuneration. Not only must this be clearly stated in the contract, but his name must also be marked on the end credits of the film. .

For example, the second producer, a nominal position, has a nominal salary of only 200,000 U.S. dollars. The same is true for the screenwriter, with only 400,000 U.S. dollars.

It is worth mentioning that Wayne is very generous and will distribute the screenwriter's income to the screenwriters who have participated in "The Dark Knight" in the Warner Bros. screenwriting department. This money is insignificant to him, but when it comes to those screenwriters, For a small person, it is a bonus that makes people more motivated to work.

The part that really makes up the bulk of his salary is his job as a director, but this is also the least controversial part. In this regard, Warner Bros. and Wayne have a considerable degree of tacit understanding.

The basic remuneration of 20 million US dollars will be paid to Wayne's designated account in three installments when the film begins preparations, when the project is completed and after the film is officially released.

In fact, the most important thing is the box office share in the later period. This aspect has always been a stronghold for negotiations, because every one percentage point more or less may involve millions of dollars in interests.

This is where the tacit understanding between the two parties came from. Warner Bros. happily offered 20% of the global box office, the top share treatment in the industry, but Wayne gave up and wanted to involve other income in the later period. With peace of mind, I can take the top salary package in the industry with peace of mind.

Of course, Warner Bros. will definitely pay the part of the copyright income that is mandatory to the director according to the union regulations in accordance with the regulations. Although the proportion in this aspect is very low, probably less than 2%, this part of the income is a long-term meal ticket. Even if the film is released ten or twenty years later, it will still be paid on time at a specific time every year.

"Wayne, in my impression, you should be the director who has received the most share of the global box office." During the chat, Charles Rowan looked at the young face next to him and said with a sigh. "Even if you zoom into the entire Hollywood, you should be the most stable Mr. 2020."

"Ha, Charles, you probably remembered it wrong."

Before Wayne could say anything, Naomi Watts, dressed in a prosecutor's uniform, sat next to the two of them. This was one of her looks in the film, and she looked very neat.

Smiling and nodding to the Australian actress, Charles Rowan asked doubtfully: "What? In my impression, it is indeed like this. It is impossible to remember it wrong."

Winking playfully at Wayne, Naomi Watts shook her head, looked at the producer and said, "I remember the first person who started getting paid 20-20 was Jim Carrey. Now this big star is the most popular." Mr. Solid 20 20, oh, by the way, I remember that there was a time when everyone called Jim Carrey the pioneer of box office share treatment in Hollywood."

She was sure that she remembered this correctly. In her impression, after the film "The Man in Disguise", the other party's commercial film remuneration went straight to tens of millions of dollars. At least, he only mentioned commercial films for the theater market. His commercial appeal In terms of power and favorability among moviegoers, it definitely preceded Big and Little Toms during this period.

From the past few years, it seems that as long as movie fans see Jim Carrey's expressive face on a movie poster, they will not hesitate to go into the theater to buy tickets to watch, and the movies he stars in will definitely not let people down. The average movie fan is disappointed, the audience is very broad. "No, no, no."

Speaking of this, Charles Rowan shook his head and corrected with a smile: "Jim Carrey is indeed a box office guarantee, but the concept of 20 20 is completely different. Nami, Wayne is getting a share of the global box office! And the others are just North American box office share.”

This was what made him sigh. The great director with an alternative style beside him changed his usual understanding of the production company.

When Warner Bros. faced other people asking for box office share, it was like they were constipated. The negotiations were completely different. It was not difficult to see a little bit of sawing that lasted for three or four months.

When it came to negotiating with Wayne's agent, not only were the two parties very fast, but when it came to the sensitive box office share, Warner Bros. didn't hesitate at all and directly offered the top option, as if they were afraid of the other party. It's like regretting it, and I can't wait to get Wayne to sign the contract as soon as possible.

"Crack, snap, snap."

Wayne clapped his hands several times, shook his head in confusion, and ended the discussion about his salary between the two people around him. "Nami, it's work time, gossip time is over, go do your own thing. Charles, we have to talk about the location..."

He simply ignored the way the Australian actress rolled her eyes and waved her fist at him before leaving. Perhaps in the mid-to-late 1990s, in today's Hollywood, you could get a salary of 20 million plus 20% of the box office share. Directors and actors seem to be very rare, but this is only from the current perspective.

After the turn of the century, it would be nothing for a top director or first-tier movie star to receive a top-level salary of 20 million or more.

As the revenue of Hollywood production companies becomes more and more diversified, box office profits will account for an increasingly smaller proportion of total revenue. As long as a film has guaranteed box office and subsequent offline revenue, the income that can only be obtained by top directors now is It is entirely possible for even some second- and third-tier directors to win.

However, whether it is a movie star or a director, there has always been a problem, and that is gender. This is a pyramid composed of male dominance. Even the first-line female stars are generally paid far less than male stars in the same position. Equal pay for equal work is simply a rule that no one can change in Hollywood. .

Even after the second decade after the turn of the century, with METOO and other sports becoming so popular, this general phenomenon has not changed much. The number of female stars who can earn top-level salaries is only a small part of the overall base.

"Wayne, I really don't understand why you chose New York."

When it comes to the main filming locations of "The Dark Knight", Charles Rowan hesitated for a while, but finally expressed his doubts. "After we announced the project of Batman Part II, the Chicago city government has contacted me several times. They hope that the film can be filmed in the Windy City and have given a very good tax rebate."

This is indeed very confusing. Even in the hearts of comic book fans and movie fans, the prototype of Gotham tends to be Chicago. In fact, whether it is New York or Chicago, these two cities are the most famous crime capitals in North America. There is no need to keep an eye on the Big Apple.

Charles Rowan read the script carefully and also saw some storyboards produced by Wayne, and was very sure that there would be no problems shooting in Chicago. The Wayne Tower, the aerial railway that connects the whole city, etc. that movie fans saw in the film were actually shot with special effects models and had nothing to do with the location.

"No, we will put it in New York, even if there is no tax refund!"

Wayne shook his head. Of course he understood the benefits of changing the location, but there were some things that couldn't be said too much, which were related to other subsequent plans.

In fact, there were too many things in "The Dark Knight" that he was reluctant to make changes. However, due to subsequent planning considerations, he had to make some small changes for the film, otherwise he would use Nolan's ideas. When filming the second part of the trilogy, the shortcoming will be extremely obvious, and that is that it is too real.

Compared with the sense of magic and technology achieved by other superhero movies, Wayne prefers to position the original "Dark Knight" as a police movie.

In fact, when he was making "Batman Begins," he wanted to cram things into it in a drastic way, but in the end he chose stability. For example, the Kagemusha Alliance robbed a water extinguisher on the Wayne Group's ship and then sank the ship.

It can be explained later that there were several powerful torpedoes or similar powerful weapons on the ship, which were used by the Black Manta to blow up Atlantis...

For example, when the Kagemusha Alliance is over, the remaining members firmly believe in their original intentions and continue to go to other cities to cause destruction. Various news reports about this matter, and the police in other cities begin to join forces. When Officer Gordon receives the news, The list in hand clearly says Barry Allen...

Everything actually doesn't require too many shots and time. It's enough to use a camera to give a close-up of the list at the end.

However, this is the first Batman after all. Wayne put away all his prank mentality and chose to test the market in the most stable way and cultivate the movie-watching habits of movie fans. In the first film, too much character information was crammed into it, and no one knew what unpredictable consequences would occur.

Seeing the young director beside him lost in thought, Charles Rowan shook his head helplessly, stood up and prepared to communicate with the third-party insurance company to ensure the crew's funding.

After all, this series is based on the other party's opinions. "The Dark Knight" is too important to Warner Bros. No one dares to question all of Wayne's decisions. Otherwise, if there is any problem with the film, no one can bear the blame.

"Boss, Nicolas Cage just called." The producer had just left the rest area in a corner of the studio. Nina frowned, but she still stepped forward and reached out, gently pushing her boss. She knew this man too well, and if he was allowed to fall into thinking like this, the length of time would be completely out of her control.

"I think Nicolas Cage should have seen the signing news between the crew and other actors." The assistant lady watched Wayne shake his head and lit another cigarette before continuing: "He was talking to me on the phone The appointment was made at two o'clock in the afternoon, and I said I would come over to talk to you alone."

"I understand, remind me when he arrives."

Wayne nodded, with a smile on his lips.

The character of the Joker is so important to the second Batman film that he deliberately did not notify Nicolas Cage. It is not that simple to get the soul of this film. He must see the other party's state and performance before making the final decision.

The script and requirements had actually been given to Nicolas Cage so long in advance. If the final performance effect still failed to meet the line in his heart, Wayne would definitely throw aside the friendship and not hesitate. Be polite and find someone else again.

As long as the clown is unqualified as an actor, he would rather delay the entire filming cycle than make do with it.

In the thick smoke, Wayne held a cigarette in his mouth and fell into deep thought again. This "Dark Knight" is too important. Just like what was said at the project launch conference, it serves as a link between the past and the future, and there cannot be any risk at all.

Time passed quickly, and things started to get busy in the studio. Nicolas Cage entered the studio alone. From the moment he entered the studio gate, he attracted the attention of countless people along the way, surrounding the studio. The reporters at the door chased him and kept taking pictures.

"oh my god!"

Nina, who saw Nicolas Cage first, let out an exclamation and woke up Wayne who was deep in thought. When he turned around in confusion, he also opened his mouth uncontrollably and muttered something. "This drama is crazy!"