Seven Hundred - Self-Recommendation

"One of the most unlikely scenarios in Hollywood is probably Wayne Greenberg filming a project outside of Warner Bros., but it actually happened..."

On a plane flying from Boston to Phoenix, Halle Berry waited until the plane calmed down, then quickly unbuckled his seat belt and changed seats with Nina. I picked up the newspaper I bought before boarding the plane and read it to the man who was looking at the white clouds outside the window and thinking.

There has always been a very interesting phenomenon around Wayne. The people who can read newspapers for him are almost the people closest to him.

Normally, this matter is Naomi Watts' job. If the Australian girl is not with him, she will be replaced by an assistant girl. Halle-Berry struggled to get the job from Nina.

"After only one weekend of release, "X-Men" easily took over US$70 million in North American box office. According to the latest information released by an authoritative third-party forecasting company, "X-Men" is very likely to hit the North American box office. It will be close to $200 million..."

Black Pearl read the newspaper in a clear voice that almost everyone in the cabin heard clearly. Director Bryan Singer, who was sitting not far away, had an unabashed smile on his lips and his eyes were fixed on the figure looking out the window at the white clouds.

He knows very well that even if there is not much information about him in the media and all the flashlights are given to Wayne, it is just a publicity and marketing strategy of 20th Century Fox, in order to attract more people into the theater and turn Wayne Green into a publicity and marketing strategy. The appeal of the name Berg was exerted to the extreme from the beginning.

He is the director of the "X-Men" film. This is an indisputable fact, especially after attending the TV show yesterday, he had a phone call with Twentieth Century Fox CEO Townsend-Rossman, and the other party was already talking. He hinted that if there are no big surprises, he will still be the director of the subsequent sequel of the film.

From the beginning of the "X-Men" project, 20th Century Fox has not concealed at all that this is a big plan for a long-term sequel project.

The longer the production cycle, the better it is for the creative team. Whether it is in terms of fame or financial income, it will roll upward like somersaults as the sequel begins.

In fact, Bryan Singer did not have much communication with Wayne. He only worked strictly according to the other party's scripts and plans. There was no familiarity between the two, and naturally they were not friends.

But what he envied most was the status, rights and achievements the other party had gained at Warner Bros. As a Hollywood film director, everyone envies Wayne Greenberg's freedom in shooting. Right now, there is the best opportunity in front of Bryan Singer.

As long as the first part of "X-Men" meets 20th Century Fox's expectations, the second part will probably be put on the schedule as soon as possible. And with the successful foundation laid by the first part, at least the success rate of the second part is still very guaranteed.

The more important point is that he knows better than anyone else that Twentieth Century holds in its hands the film development outline produced by Wayne. The preciousness of this thing is second to none in front of all Hollywood film companies, and all he has to do is to win the right to direct this series for a long time starting from the first part of "X-Men".

Then just follow the follow-up outline plan and slowly film it one by one. And Brann Singer himself estimates that it won't take long. As long as the second movie continues to be successful, his name will be closely linked to the "X-Men" universe.

This is his purpose, and Wayne has set the most perfect example for all Hollywood directors. As long as one movie after another succeeds, Bryan Singer is extremely confident that he will be able to obtain the shooting freedom that Wayne now gets at Warner Bros. in the "X-Men" series of movies at 20th Century Fox, and It does not continue to exist as a filming tool for the crew.

Unlike Bryan Singer, Avi Adela, the actual producer of the film, has remained silent from the beginning of the promotional campaign.

Even though the box office of "X-Men" in its first week exceeded expectations by a large margin, and everyone on the crew couldn't help but smile, the calmness on his face never disappeared for a minute. No one knew what he was thinking, but from the moment he got on the plane today, he had been silently observing Wayne the whole time.

Slowly, Avi-Adela's eyes narrowed, as if he was making a fierce choice in his heart, and he mumbled in a voice that only he could hear. "Time is running out..."

This is Hollywood, and no one will look at Halle Berry’s behavior differently. At least everyone on the crew knows that this black beauty with a delicate face and hot body has never stayed in a hotel arranged by the crew. Room, from the first day, she blatantly moved into Wayne's presidential suite.

Even at this moment, this black pearl was reading the newspaper in front of everyone, while blatantly trying to find a way to send it to the man's body with only a few pieces of cloth wrapped in it.

At least it is clear to everyone that if an actress wants to become famous and succeed in this circle, she must be cruel to herself, not to mention shameless. If you want to lose face, then you should simply not come to Hollywood to pursue your dreams. This place has never been suitable for innocent girls to live.

"Hi, Harry."

About five or six minutes passed. Avi-Adela deliberately waited for today's newspaper to be read before he stood up from his seat and moved towards Wayne's side. He greeted Halle Berry politely and said, "Sorry, Harry, I think I have to interrupt you. There are some things that I need to talk to Wayne alone."

"ok."

First, she glanced at the man next to her. Seeing Wayne nodding slightly, the black beauty reluctantly stood up from him. Holding the newspaper he bought, he nodded politely to the "X-Men" crew producer and prepared to return to his seat.

"Avi, what's the matter?"

As soon as Avi Adela sat down, Wayne turned to look at him, shrugged and joked: "If what you want to talk about is not as attractive as that black beauty, I will definitely sue you severely to Townsend. One condition."

Turning and shrugging at the teasing man, Avi-Adela smiled and shook his head. He knew that the other man was joking.

At least since the "X-Men" project was initiated, he has given Wayne enough respect. Although the specific work of the crew is done by himself, when the movie was released, he quietly became a transparent person again. It's as if I wasn't deeply involved in the filming of "X-Men".

The clever approach of a smart man has kept the relationship between Avi-Adela and the other party quite good. He knew better than anyone else that the young man next to him seemed easy to talk to, but in fact he was not easy to get in touch with. He could make the relationship between the two parties progress to the point where they could make small jokes, which had initially met his expectations.

"Ha, do you need me to help you call her back?"

Spreading his hands in front of the man next to him, Avi-Adela whistled, put on an expression that all men would understand, and joked in a low voice: "I can wait a little longer until you are done." "Come and talk later."

"Shit."

The two men looked at each other, with smiles on their faces at the same time. Wayne waved to Nina on the other side of the aisle and gestured like holding a cigarette between his fingers. Then he put away the smile on his face and asked, "Tell me, Avi, what do you want to talk about with me?"

Avi-Adela did not speak in a hurry. Instead, he waited for the assistant lady to hand over the cigarettes. After the other party lit one, he gradually became serious and said after careful consideration: "Wayne, I heard that your Greenberg work room, multiple projects will be launched continuously in the past two years?”

Wayne was obviously stunned for a moment after hearing this question. He glanced at Avi Adela nonchalantly, and by lowering his head to smoke, he secretly wondered what the other party's purpose was.

He originally thought that the other party wanted to talk about "X-Men" and subsequent sequels in advance. Avi-Adela was not wrong about one thing. He really admired this smart producer, and he also knew that if he hadn't appeared, it would have been this guy leading Marvel Studios, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Successfully fought a turnaround.

"Yes, my film studio will produce multiple film series with Warner Bros. starting this year."

With a slight nod, Wayne directly admitted this. These are no secrets in the industry. After successful cooperation in films such as "The Departed" and "The Matrix", Greenberg Studio and Warner Bros. have proven that this After this model becomes profitable, it will definitely increase the number of film productions.

By smoking, he observed the other person indifferently, trying to understand the purpose of asking these questions.

"Wayne, I heard..."

Avi-Adela looked directly into his eyes and said with a very serious expression: "Greenberg Studio holds a large number of Marvel superhero copyrights, right?"

coming! Wayne frowned slightly, but nodded anyway. "You know, Avi, I like to collect superheroes. Greenberg Studios basically holds the copyrights for Marvel's second- and third-rate heroes. Yes, I like them, so I bought them."

From the perspective of this era, the price he paid for those copyrights is definitely the market price, and he did not take advantage of Marvel Comics. Although when buying Iron Man and Black Widow, Jimmy took advantage of Surprise's debt problem and borrowed money from the bank to put some pressure on him, but in terms of the purchase price, it was actually quite reasonable.

This thing really depends on who it is compared with. The ones purchased by Greenberg Studio are just a piece of cake when compared to other film companies.

Twentieth Century Fox has countless superhero characters, but to put it simply, it has the copyrights for all mutants, all Fantastic Four series characters, all characters from the Shi'ar Empire, and all characters from the Skrulls. .

The number is huge, and if you think about it carefully, you will understand how terrifying it is. However, 20th Century Fox took advantage of the situation and took advantage of the copyrights of so many superhero-related characters without spending a huge price. Of course, there are also reasons why it was taken earlier.

Sony Columbia's Spider-Man series and Universal Pictures' Green Fat Man series were also obtained under this background. It is certain that many film companies took advantage of Marvel back then.

"Wayne, let me tell you this."

After hearing his answer, Avi Adela thought for a moment and decided not to beat around the bush and asked directly: "Does your Greenberg Studio need an executive in charge of film and television production? "

"What?"

When he heard this question, Wayne was obviously taken aback. He didn't even notice the ashes from the cigarette in his hand falling on him.

"I have been very interested in superhero movies since you filmed the first DC superhero movie." Avi Adela leaned on his seat and began to explain: "After this "X-Men" With my work experience, I have some special ideas about amazing superheroes.”

"Hey, hey, hey, wait." Wayne stretched out a finger, shook it back and forth between the two, and asked curiously: "I guess, 20th Century Fox, or Townsend Rothman , I must regard you as the future person in charge of the "X-Men" universe, right? What exactly do you think?"

Twentieth Century Fox holds too many Marvel Heroes rights to count. It is obvious that Avi Adela has a much better future if he stays at Twentieth Century Fox.

What about looking back at Greenberg Studio? Although it owns the copyrights of several second- and third-rate heroes, even for comics like Iron Man, according to the rules, the copyrights of related characters are packaged together in the hands of Greenberg Studio. I am afraid it cannot compare with 20th Century Fox.

It is completely unreasonable for people to randomly pick out a relatively well-known series, such as the Fantastic Four. The number and popularity of the copyrights of the related heroes can instantly kill everything in Wayne's hands.

Another very important point is that the so-called Greenberg Film Studio has not undergone any expansion since the day it was registered. Until now, the office location is still a small rented office in Delaware.

Strictly speaking, this is still a standard shell film company, with the only official employee being a part-time black aunt operator.

Similar to the operations of other Hollywood celebrities, the main purpose of this office in the early stage was to use the Delaware local government's policies for film companies to reduce taxes on Wayne's previous remuneration.

Although in recent years, Greenberg Studio has frequently cooperated with Warner Bros. to invest in film projects, to put it bluntly, all work related to the main office space, office staff, and projects relies on Warner Bros., which has not changed this. The essence of a shell film company.

In particular, Wayne knew better than anyone that it was okay for a small, empty film company to exist, even if it held multiple very profitable film copyrights. Because in everyone's eyes, Greenberg Studio is more similar to the existence of a Warner Bros. subsidiary.

Once you have the idea of ​​​​expanding and getting bigger, it means that the ceiling is for medium-sized film companies. As long as you break away from the Warner Bros. system, a group of evil wolves will pounce on them and chew up the bones of Greenberg Studio.

This has nothing to do with Wayne's personal assets. This is the industry standard of Hollywood. What about the Big Three of DreamWorks? Needless to say, Steven Spielberg, David Geffen is the top boss in the music industry, and he is also the top billionaire in North America.

The remaining Jeffrey Katzenberg has a greater background. He is one of the brilliant founders of Disney animation and a top figure in the Hollywood animation circle.

Just like these three billionaires, plus the existence of top bosses in their respective fields, isn't it still "nonsense" that they are being squeezed out by the six giants? There are countless similar things in Hollywood, and there are many latecomers who want to challenge the six giants, but they play themselves as subsidiaries of the six giants.

The financial backers behind Lionsgate Pictures are a group of vampires from the famous Wall Street, as well as the son of the madman Larry Ellison, the richest man in North America. Didn’t he still pay a lot of tuition in Hollywood, but in the end he failed to develop? Own company.

Therefore, with the support of media giants such as Warner Brothers and Time Warner, Wayne's head was twitching, and he could not control his ambition and make the dream of Greenberg Studio bigger.

And in his future plans, there is no need to take this most difficult road. It is better to let Steven Spielberg take such a challenging journey of life.

"Wayne? Wayne."

"Sorry, I was distracted." Wayne shook his head vigorously, took a sip from the cigarette in his hand, gestured, and said apologetically: "Continue talking, I'm listening."

"Well......"

Avi Adela let out a long breath and said: "I have already seen the "X-Men" universe plan you made for 20th Century Fox. Personally, I am more inclined to let the two Tenth Century Fox chose to start with individual characters and slowly lay the groundwork. After accumulating enough popularity and reputation, all achievements will be exploded through the assembly of one film.

Just like you did with the DC series, it's a pity that the executives and shareholders of 20th Century Fox only wanted to reap short-term profits, so they chose to film "X-Men" right away. "

At this point, Avi Adela paused suddenly, and then continued with a tentative tone: "Wayne, since your studio also holds the copyrights of several heroes related to Marvel, Why not implement this Marvel Cinematic Universe plan directly at Greenberg Studio?

Trust me, Wayne, I know enough about superheroes, especially Marvel superheroes. While I was filming "X-Men", I modified the plan you provided for 20th Century Fox. Yes, it was modified according to the superhero copyrights in your hands! "

Seeing that Wayne was just smoking silently and not saying anything, Avi-Adela's tone became obviously urgent.

But when he noticed that the other person was looking at him with unabashed admiration, he immediately gritted his teeth as if he had received some encouragement and said again: "I just need a chance to make a movie, Wayne, I believe it." I, if I were the head of film and television at Greenberg Studios, all I needed was a chance to make a movie..."

"I need to think about it, Avi."

Waving his hand, Wayne interrupted him and said with a serious expression: "Both of us need time to think about it. Let's wait until the promotion work of "X-Men" is over, you bring your plan, and we will be alone Let’s make an appointment to talk about it.”

"Okay, I'll wait for your call."

Avi-Adela knew that his goal was achieved, he nodded happily, stood up and changed places with Halle Berry.

There is one thing that Wayne believes that only he knows in this world, and that is the Marvel Universe in his mind. Avi Adela is one of the main builders, and can even be said to be one of the most important people! There is no problem at all in terms of ability.

However, it is obviously impossible to copy the Marvel Universe, but it is still very possible to produce several successful movie series based on some of the character copyrights in your hands.

As long as your plan goes smoothly, Warner Bros.'s distribution system can gradually become the exclusive distribution channel for your projects, which provides the greatest guarantee for the feasibility of this matter.

When Wayne told Nina the complete process of Avi-Adela's self-recommendation, the assistant lady firmly gave her opinion.

"Promise him, boss, we are not short of the money to give him a million-dollar salary. The copyright is worthless in your hands. My opinion is, let Avi Adela work hard for his dream , as long as his design can pass your eyes, give him the greatest creative freedom.

We can even take advantage of the abundant cash flow to find ways to acquire some surprising movie rights! Of course, the premise is that the plan made by Avi Adela can pass your own review. I believe that no one in Hollywood can compare with your vision in terms of film projects! However, these are not the most important..."

Listening to Nina's advice, Wayne asked, "What's the most important thing?"

"Once Avi-Adela's plan succeeds, this is our retreat!" The assistant lady rolled her eyes. She didn't believe that her boss hadn't thought of this.

There was a long silence between the two, and the topic was never brought up again, because both of them knew that Wayne was already attracted. That's right, once Avi Adela's plan succeeds, it will not only greatly increase his voice within Warner Bros., but it will also make Warner Bros. no longer dare to act rashly.

Wayne is not stupid at all, of course he understands the virtues of capital! Once the surprise project of his own studio really comes to fruition, there is no doubt that he will have the right to set the table with Warner Brothers!

I'm afraid as long as a movie becomes successful, everyone in the entire Time Warner system will understand that if there is another incident like "Black Catwoman" that angers Wayne, the card table may really be turned off. , we might as well stop playing.

The reason is simple. DC has been unable to break away from him in recent years. No one can guarantee whether DC superheroes will continue to be successful after leaving Wayne. It can be said that the tragedy of the Superman series and other movies that were played to death and sealed until they were sealed is still fresh in our minds.

Who knows if Wayne really flips the table and will lead another successful superhero universe into the arms of the other six giants? At the very least, 20th Century Fox is absolutely willing to give up part of the company's equity in exchange for his joining.