Seven Hundred and Twenty-One-Inspection of Location

The final round of auditions for "The Lord of the Rings" ended pretty quickly. In fact, most of the actors in this masterpiece have not changed much from Wayne's memory version. The biggest change is that the actor who plays the elf princess is changed from Liv Tyler to Naomi Watts.

To put it simply, the South African beauty is a typical actress with good figure and good looks. As for the difference between her overly cold face and temperament and the personality of the elf princess, as long as the director in charge of the filming is willing, there will be There are countless ways to change these to make the final film look as desired.

In terms of finalizing the actor's contract, John Gray acted very quickly, and basically encountered no trouble in the whole process. The only possible trouble was the salary issue of Charlize Theron, but the agent of South African Diamonds People don’t open their mouths as much as lions, so they readily agreed and agreed to the instructions given by the crew.

There is no doubt that this is almost the highest salary among the crew of "The Lord of the Rings", but for today's South African diamond star, it is definitely not a high price.

After all, this is an ensemble show, and the nature of the movie has already determined that it is impossible to offer a high price to a certain actor, and it is impossible for the crew to invite such an actor.

The audition work for "The Lord of the Rings" has just ended, and Wayne did not get any rest time. He once again plunged into the preparation work for "Wonder Woman". Not only did he have to discuss with the creative team behind the scenes every day, he also had to constantly discuss possible encounters during the filming. Regarding the problems and arrangements, you also have to draw storyboards by yourself according to your own habits.

Time passed by inadvertently, and slowly came to the beginning of October, and Warner Production became lively again. The crew of "Lord of the Rings" has just moved to New Zealand, and the crew of "Wonder Woman" has once again started a large-scale audition activity.

Compared with the former, there are more actors eyeing the "Wonder Woman" project. Everyone knows that this film was directed by Wayne himself. From the current Hollywood point of view, films directed by Wayne himself are the so-called successes. Assure.

That is to say, under this background, all kinds of favor calls were made frequently, and few of them could reach Wayne. However, the assistant director Schwartz, who has been in charge of auditions in recent years, had a look on his face every day. It was getting uglier every day, and he was clearly under a lot of pressure.

"Boss, just before I walked into this office, guess who I got a call from?"

Compared to the energetic person he was when he just returned from vacation, Schwartz looked quite embarrassed at this time, completely lacking the demeanor of the powerful assistant director of the crew. With messy hair, dense beard, and a wrinkled suit, he looked as sluggish as if he had just worked overtime for three days and nights in a row.

After sitting down on the sofa, he nodded casually with a few others and began to vent his bitterness to Wayne. "Pat Kingsley just called me. She was mentioning your and Tom's names and your relationship with Tom both inside and outside her words. Damn it, and more importantly, she was still mentioning Nick frequently. But - Kidman, the relationship with Nami, shit!"

Seeing that Wayne was still writing and drawing in his director's notebook without looking up, Schwartz's expression became even more bitter.

Everyone knows that whenever preparations for Wayne's projects begin, he, a tough casting director, will turn into a favorite, but this time the situation is obviously different. He has received too many offers that he cannot refuse. Now he felt like a volcano was about to erupt beneath his butt.

In Schwartz's opinion, he was completely unable to accept these favors because he knew the crew leader too well. Relying on the advantages of some minor supporting roles that all men understand, Wayne would definitely turn a blind eye and pretend that he didn't see it at all, but if he wanted to use his power to insert some unsuitable candidates into the crew, That would be completely seeking your own death.

"Ha, Schwartz."

Editor Julia turned her head and looked at the embarrassed casting director, her eyes burning with the fire of gossip. "Tell us, which role does our Mrs. Cruise want?"

"Shit, who knows."

Seeing everyone looking at him, Schwartz picked up the coffee angrily, raised his head and took a big sip before complaining: "Pat Kingsley didn't mention it, I just hope that her ambitions will be smaller, not that she wants to My own client stars as Diana Prince."

His words, coupled with the awkward expression on his face, caused everyone in the office to laugh. But everyone knows that there is no room for discussion on the role of Wonder Woman Diana Prince, and Schwartz is probably joking.

tomato

The people who can sit in this office and wait for the meeting are basically either old people in Wayne's team, or veterans who have been in the industry for many years. So in fact, some people know better in their hearts that the benefits are just not enough. If the benefits are enough, their bosses will never mind changing the heroine temporarily.

So in Hollywood, as long as the project has not officially started shooting, anything is possible. Even if some projects have already started filming, it is not uncommon to temporarily change the male and female leads, as long as the change can bring greater benefits to the project.

"Luke, I heard that you reduced Angelina Jolie's salary to the level of a third- or fourth-tier actor?"

Seeing that Wayne was still writing something with his head down, the team members who had already arrived were not in a hurry. They all knew his working habits more or less. After teasing Schwartz, lighting supervisor Steve looked at Luke Simmons and asked curiously.

As the producer of the crew, Luke Simmons didn't have a strong sense of presence. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he shrugged indifferently. "Yes, under a million dollars."

Seeing the disbelief in everyone's eyes, he added fuel to the fire again. "To be precise, it is US$800,000, and this US$800,000 is the entire salary. Except for the post-production share mandated by the Screen Actors Guild, it will not involve other income."

"Luke, you are becoming more and more like the boss, and you have a really dark heart!"

"Yes, yes, Luke, it's so disappointing. You have now become a lackey of capital."

"F**k, 800,000 US dollars, you are so embarrassed to propose it, but you can still make the other party willingly sign the contract!"

Faced with everyone's complaints, Luke Simmons spread his hands indifferently and even whistled provocatively. "That's not all, guys."

Anyway, idle time is idle. Luke Simmons and everyone present know very well that the crew leader sitting behind the desk actually likes to watch the scene of them getting along harmoniously, at least after the work starts. harmonious.

"The actor's contract signed by Angelina Jolie also has a strict anti-drug clause, and even a clause prohibiting alcoholism is clearly marked. Once an actor is affected by alcohol, leaf cigarettes and other things, As for the normal work of the crew, I am afraid that the 800,000 US dollars will not be fully obtained in the end..."

After he finished speaking, everyone did not continue to tease him about his evil intentions. Instead, several of them began to steal glances at Wayne frequently.

No one knows the relationship between Angelina Jolie and this man, and they are very sure of it. If it weren't for this relationship, Diana Prince, a role that is watched by all Hollywood actresses, would not have It fell into the hands of that woman so easily.

The unspoken hiring rules of Hollywood crews have always been to favor their own people, which is understandable. But from the salary contract of the female lead, everyone discovered that as the boss, he really realized that business is business, and business is just business.

The thing is simple. If Angelina Jolie is not willing to accept this contract, there are many actresses in the industry who are. At this moment, her personal relationship with Wayne was pushed aside.

This was not the first time for everyone present to work together. Everyone looked at each other and chose to keep their mouths shut silently. What happened this time seemed to remind everyone once again that the man sitting behind the desk would never hesitate to turn against him as long as his own interests were involved.

"Hey, is the salary of 800,000 US dollars low?"

Closing the book in his hand, Wayne let out a long breath, looked at everyone and shook his head in amusement. "I want to remind everyone that if the actor wants to star in my project, it is best not to make a lot of money."

That's right, basically for starring in projects directed by Wayne himself, especially for new actors, the pay is not very consistent with their net worth. This is the default price to pay. This is the way the world is. If you want the safest way to gain fame, you have to make sacrifices.

"Hey, boss, at least Angelina Jolie's "Charlie's Angels" has a box office of over 100 million US dollars."

Robert, the director of photography, raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, looked at Wayne behind the desk and complained.

"Don't forget, Robert, I also invested in the production of "Charlie's Angels"."

While chatting casually, Wayne opened the drawer and put away the director's notebook, stood up and walked out from behind the desk, sat down on the sofa, and lighted a cigarette unhurriedly. "Of course I can double her net worth, but it won't be much different if that role is replaced by another actor. OK, apart from "Charlie's Angels", what else can she do to convince me and Warner Bros.? ?"

As Wayne said, although Angelina Jolie is now famous, her main credit comes from "Charlie's Angels". If you think about it carefully, except for this year's hit "Charlie's Angels", she really doesn't have any films that are good in terms of commercial performance.

In this day and age, if you want to join the DC camp and play an important role, the only way is to accept exploitation, not only for Angelina Jolie, but also for other actors who will join the series in the future.

If the time were pushed forward a few years, Angelina Jolie during the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" period would not have to consider it at all. Even if the price increased tenfold, Warner Bros. and Wayne would agree without hesitation.

But that is only if in the end, apart from the little appeal she has accumulated in "Charlie's Angels", she cannot reverse the strong position of both labor and management. If you want film companies to chase after you to join, you must first have enough fame and appeal to make yourself a scarce resource in the industry.

At least for Angelina Jolie now, the best way to become a so-called scarce resource is to star in "Wonder Woman".

"Schwartz, oh, my poor assistant director." Wayne sat next to the casting director, carefully looked at the deep bags under his eyes, shrugged and said, "If Pat Kingsley continues If she calls you and keeps mentioning my relationship with Tom, then just ask her to contact me directly."

It is obvious that Tom Cruise must not know about this matter. Otherwise, with Tom Cruise's character, he would directly call the manor or visit directly.

The intrigue here is quite deep, because tabloids and entertainment media are full of news about conflicts between the Cruise couple. Maybe others would watch it for fun. After all, this golden couple has always been the focus of discussion among ordinary people in North America, but Wayne did not. He knew very well that if no accidents occurred, the conflict between the couple would have ceased. Quite big.

Viewed from a God's perspective, Pat Kingsley's butt is obviously crooked, and he has always been the one secretly pulling the strings. The combination of this well-known agent in the industry and Mrs. Cruise continued to consume Tom Cruise's influence for more than two decades.

At least Wayne remembers it very clearly. In the year or two after the divorce, Nicole Kidman starred in a film with the image of a victim, and the results were pretty good. After a long time, she basically became a star. It is poisonous at the box office, so there is a famous scene where "happy past with Tom Cruise" must be mentioned in every public occasion.

If nothing unexpected happens, in as little as a few months or as long as a little more than a year, the golden couple will officially separate. So it's quite interesting at this point in time. It's hard to say whether Pat Kingsley is using Tom Cruise's relationship to pave the way in advance.

"Hey, Schwartz, if I were you, I would just put a red sofa in the audition room, tsk tsk tsk..." Seeing that the casting director's bitter face was still there, the black aunt editor Julia said, He waved his fists fiercely and started to come up with strange ideas in a strange tone.

"F**k, don't hurt me."

Schwartz first looked at Wayne, then rolled his eyes helplessly at Julia. "Boss, if you are interested in Mrs. Cruz, I will help you set up a red sofa..."

"What the f**k is this!? Cough cough cough cough."

Wayne was originally happy for everyone to chat, but he didn't expect Schwartz to target him again. He couldn't take a cigarette and choked him to tears.

"Wow, the boss was so moved that he cried. Schwartz, it seems you have a good idea."

"That's right, Schwartz, no wonder you're able to secure the job of casting director. It seems you understand Wayne."

"..."

"F**k!" Wayne put the cigarette into the ashtray and raised his middle finger to everyone at the same time.

"Okay, the joke ends here." His eyes circled around the people in the room, and the smile on his face gradually faded. "Let's get down to business."

Following his words, everyone stopped smiling and looked at him together.

"Schwartz, if there are any more favor calls that you can't refuse, then just agree to them all. The prerequisite is that they must go through auditions one by one, okay?"

The casting director nodded in relief. "OK, I understand."

This is the best way to deal with it and the only way that takes everyone's face into consideration. Even the actors who signed up for the audition through their connections knew very well that after all, this was a project with a production cost of 200 million U.S. dollars. It was completely impossible to be directly selected without going through strict audition screening.

"Wicks, connection to Industrial Light and Magic's special effects team..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wicks-Hart nodded immediately. This was not the first time he had done this work. Almost every time, he interacted with Industrial Light and Magic. "I am following up every day and will ensure that all the required special effects models are in place before the film is officially launched."

"I'm going out this time and will be back in two weeks at most. If you have any questions, please call me as soon as possible, okay?" Looking at the core team members in the room, Wayne said seriously.

Everyone agreed together. "no problem."

This filming is different from the past. "Wonder Woman" will be filmed in multiple locations, and the crew will travel to multiple countries and regions. Just in Italy, you have to go back and forth to find the location. If Wayne doesn't personally go around and make sure that there is no problem with the location, he will definitely not be completely reassured.

After arranging the crew-related work, he and Luke Simonsi boarded a special plane to Italy the next day.