Six Hundred and Fifteen - Nepotism
There has always been a consensus in the Hollywood circle that movies have never been a stage for personal heroism. This may be difficult for the audience to understand, because they see dazzling stars and hear talented directors, but for relevant practitioners, it is almost a very natural understanding. .
The reason why Wayne's movies continue to be successful, and even make him have the wealth and fame he has today, is the behind-the-scenes staff behind him, which is the key point that has always been ignored by the audience.
Every major Hollywood investment crew will be composed of hundreds of related technical personnel, and their existence is the cornerstone of a film's success. The technical experts among Wayne's stable core members behind the scenes have always been regarded by the industry as a model of successful teams, and they are also the dream combination of every Hollywood crew.
The same is true for the crew of "X-Men". After the filming work during this period of time, this crew, which has no shortage of experts in various fields, has also entered a relatively smooth shooting state.
Being a key project of 20th Century Fox means that there will never be a lack of funds to invite outstanding behind-the-scenes personnel. Indeed, this is a complete commercial society. As long as enough salary is paid, at least in terms of hardware for behind-the-scenes personnel, "X-Men" will not lack at all.
"The filming work of the crew is getting smoother and smoother. According to the current progress, Bryan will be able to complete the shooting of the footage by early November at the latest."
A large black Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle drove smoothly out of Toronto Pearson Airport. Kevin Feige, the producer responsible for the main affairs of "X-Men", immediately began to approach after Wayne and his group got into the car. Report on the crew's work progress over time.
Although everyone subconsciously regarded him as the first producer of the film, whether in the minds of 20th Century Fox executives or in the hearts of the huge crew, he was not lost in power and was still interested in Wayne, who was not involved in any specific work, remained respectful enough.
"very good."
Along the way, I listened to Kevin Feige briefly describe the progress of the filming and chatted with each other about some minor problems during the filming. Wayne nodded expressionlessly from time to time. "You go back and tell Bryan Singer to prepare the pulling room. I will check the finished footage tomorrow."
"Already prepared."
Although the men on the crew looked like good gentlemen from preparation to filming, Kevin Feige and Bryan Singer failed at all in the preparation work they should have done. "At the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in the city center, the crew has opened a presidential suite for you for a long time. I also booked a conference room with the hotel in advance, which has been decorated as a pull-out room."
A long time ago, the contract signed by Jimmy and 20th Century Fox not only stipulated the sky-high producer salary, but also made detailed provisions for his personal treatment while working. According to the contract signed by both parties, Wayne's treatment must be the first among the crew in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Therefore, even if he only comes over occasionally on weekends to check the progress of the crew's work, Kevin Feige strictly adheres to the contract and provides and retains the best working environment for him, even if the hotel's presidential suite is empty. However, these external conditions must also exist.
After hearing Kevin Feige's answer, Wayne nodded silently. There is one thing that he cares about more than anyone else, and that is 20th Century Fox. The reason why they spent a lot of money to invite him over is to ensure the success rate of the movie, not just to produce a development outline and development outline for "X-Men" script.
Although both parties knew in their hearts that most of his sky-high salary was the buyout fee for the trilogy outline and script.
He is not responsible for the specific work, including the crew's financial control and other important rights, which have been handed over to Kevin Feige. These have been marked in the contract in advance, but one thing is very important, and that is that he The direction of this film must be controlled so that it does not go astray.
Therefore, all the footage that has been shot must be confirmed by him in the end. Without his nod, even if the film is completely shot, others will not have the right to do post-production work.
The car drove smoothly towards downtown Toronto. Wayne looked at the rapidly retreating street scene outside the car window and asked casually: "There hasn't been any trouble in the crew during this time, right?"
"Fortunately, these are just minor troubles."
Kevin Feige leaned on the seat of the business car. After hearing this question, although his body seemed to be relaxed, in fact his eyes had slowly narrowed. "You know, Wayne, there is no such large-scale production crew in the industry that can shoot quietly, but these are just minor troubles that do not have much impact on the crew's filming work."
There are some things that both of them understand in their hearts, that is, a large-invested film crew like "X-Men" will definitely have some inexplicable troubles, and some of them can really affect the work of the crew, such as all kinds of abnormal things that suddenly come to the door. A for-profit organization, or some unexpected situation suddenly arises.
Not only the "X-Men" crew faces this situation, but all large Hollywood crews will face all kinds of troubles, even Wayne's crew is the same. A big project of a big film company is like a bright light in the dark night. There is no way to hide it well, and all kinds of troubles will definitely come to you.
This is just an external problem. For a crew like this with hundreds of people, there will be no shortage of internal problems. As we all know, there is no harmony within the Hollywood crew. Staff conflicts caused by various reasons are often the biggest headache for the crew leaders.
At this time, Kevin Feige is like this. As the "X-Men" crew has gone through the running-in period, the actors and behind-the-scenes staff have all been in good working condition, and various internal minor troubles have turned into hidden dangers that may affect the progress of the work.
"Halle Berry..."
Glancing at the faces of the men next to him, Kevin Feige sighed inwardly, pondered for a while before continuing, and said, "Wayne, you know, as long as those actresses join the crew, they will become someone else." A brainless creature, so..."
"Huh?" Hearing the other party mention Black Pearl, Wayne frowned slightly, retracted his gaze that had been looking out the car window, turned to look at the crew producer and asked, "Has Harry caused trouble on the crew?"
It is understandable that Halle Berry used her connections to get some care from the crew. However, he would never allow him to use his relationship to cause trouble in the crew and affect the normal filming progress.
"No, Harry has been quite low-key since he joined the crew."
I am raised by my cousin! Mentioning this, Kevin Feige cursed in his heart. Originally, he didn't need to care about such a small problem at all, but with the relationship between the black pearl and the man around him, instead of letting the black pearl talk about these rubbish things, it was better for him to say it.
"About three or four days ago, the news that Halle Berry's salary for this project was US$6 million reached the crew." Kevin Feige gave a helpless smile and shrugged. He said with a headache: "Then the actresses in the crew spontaneously banded together and began to isolate Halle Berry, uh..."
Speaking of this, he glanced at Wayne's face again, and the corner of his mouth twitched a few times, and then continued: "Then those male actors gradually began to isolate her. You know Wayne, those actors because of their personal treatment The comparison with others has reached the point of neurosis.”
Things like this are not uncommon on Hollywood sets, and Wayne is certainly aware of this. Those actors just worked together to isolate Halle Berry, and did not take any further or more egregious actions. In fact, she had the upper hand in this invisible collision.
It's very simple. Everyone on the crew knows that with Halle Berry's worth in the industry, it is completely impossible to get this premium salary. The fact is that she was able to sign this contract in a low-key manner entirely because 20th Century Fox sold her face.
The salary of six million US dollars is indeed much higher for Halle Berry today, but if combined with the popularity of several films she has participated in before, plus some other reasons, it is actually not unreasonable.
But "X-Men" is not destined to be a stand-alone movie. What if we continue to shoot sequels in the future? Should she be given a higher salary? You know, it has long been a practice in the industry to get high pay for participating in sequel movies in Hollywood.
Wayne smiled, but didn't say much. He just waved his hand and asked, "Has it affected the daily work of the crew?"
"Not yet." Seeing the smile on his face, Kevin Feige shrugged and said reassuringly.
"Then don't worry about things between actors."
As long as it doesn't affect normal work, the crew doesn't care about any conflicts between actors. This is the most normal approach in Hollywood. In the short term, the shooting time of a movie is only three or two months, but it cannot exceed a year. After the work is over, everyone goes their separate ways. Everyone has a working relationship, and no one cares about the personal relationship between the actors.
If it weren't for the relationship between Halle Berry and Wayne, Kevin Feige wouldn't be talking about this. Sometimes society is so realistic.
And for Wayne, he has never concealed the aspect of nepotism, and finding ways to give his own people better treatment is a norm in the industry, so he is not afraid of anyone talking about it.
Silence returned in the car again. After the group arrived at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, they stopped for a while and the car departed from the hotel again and drove to the location where the crew was filming. The two of them didn't mention this topic along the way, and they only communicated with each other about the work of "X-Men".