Hollywood Domination Chapter 204: It’s a little cool

The production lineup of "Michael Clayton" is very strong. Except for the real production director, Carrie Orient, who is a true professional, the rest of the producers are all well-known. Investors and A-Rs like George Clooney and Jenny, as well as great directors like Sidney Pollack, plus famous actors and producers, also agreed to play a guest role, and geniuses like Steven Soderbergh The director, famous screenwriters, directors, and producers like Anthony Minghella are also on the list of producers, plus the director himself, and Warner's spokesperson James Holt, it can be said that the entire producer The composition of the crew is extremely complicated, and it is difficult to say whose movie this is - what is certain is that whether it is George, Jennifer, or Warner, it doesn't matter which of the three parties say it. To be decided by voting.

Of course, if this is the case, it will be a well-known joke in the industry, and it will have a very bad impact on the crew itself, so Soderbergh did not contact all the producers immediately, Instead, several producers other than George and Jenny were recruited, and Warner’s project leader James Holt, including Tony, held a video conference to discuss how to deal with this matter—— Without a formal meeting, in addition to the difficulty in arranging the schedule in a short period of time, there is another point that George and Jennifer will definitely not be able to hide it, which will easily cause conflicts and seriously affect the progress of the film.

"Sidney," Steven is the youngest of several producers, and has the most irritable temper. When everyone confirmed the connection, he took the lead in ordering Sidney Pollack's Name, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Sidney Pollack's wrinkled and clean face moved, and he said with a wry smile, "I think you are pushing the problem to me, kid."

Steven said unceremoniously, "Of course it's because you have the highest status, old man, who else can handle this matter except you?"

Because it was a video conference, there was no subtle eye contact, and Sidney could not look at others to pass on the pressure, but he also cunningly did not express his position immediately, but named James Holt's name, "James, You represent Warner, the largest investor, and tell us your opinion."

James cleared it up faster than anyone else, "Warner has no opinion-they fully trust our ability."

Such innocuous words immediately aroused a burst of disgusted boos, and James had to explain, "For Warner, this is not a big investment. Besides, the box office profitability is still very optimistic. So Warner really has no opinion. The results of the group meeting can get their support."

This is to be honest, a group of people are silent: For Warner, "Michael Clayton" is very difficult to win the best film, as for the acting award, whether it is Cluny or Jefferson , it’s the same for them, it just represents more sales profits, they don’t need to choose one of the two A-Rs forcefully, after all, no matter which one they choose, it means that they have offended the other severely.

Actually, the truth is obvious—getting Clooney out is tantamount to being irreconcilable with him, completely tearing his face apart. An actor who won an Oscar for a supporting actor was forced to quit the crew after filming began because he was not qualified for the role—— There is not much time since the filming started, and the cost loss is not unaffordable. Although it is difficult to find an actor to replace him, it is not impossible, but these are not the problem - Clooney himself is not strong at the box office, Up to now, there hasn't been any box office miracle movie for the independent monoclonal antibody. He mainly relies on his style and acting skills. Now, he was kicked out of the crew because of his lack of acting skills?

This is shaking his foundation. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is destroying his career. Even the nomination may be questioned. After all, the industry knows exactly how powerful the production team of "Michael Clayton" is.

But it would be even more ridiculous to talk about getting Jennifer Jefferson out-she is not an unknown person, she can bully at will, behind her is Robert Iger from Disney, and Weinstein from Weinstein Pictures Ernstein, there are even more rumors that he has a powerful backer in the political circles, all of whom have injected capital into this movie. After signing the contract to star in the film, and now that the actors have joined the group, suddenly finding a reason to expel her is a bad thing. possible thing. Anyone can imagine what will happen afterwards - Jennifer will definitely do everything she can to figure out why she was suddenly kicked out, the investment in the film will definitely not continue to be cashed out, and it is not impossible to file a lawsuit and demand huge compensation. After all, she is not like Clooney. If Clooney is expelled, the reason is very strong, 'incompetent'. In this case, he must be embarrassed to go to court.

And once Jennifer knows the real reason for her being expelled, then the entire production team will really become the laughing stock of the laughing stock, because the actors were removed because they played too well? Soderbergh, Pollack, and Minghella are all directors, and no director wants to bear such a reputation. Who would make such a very offensive decision under the circumstances that Jennifer's dirty water cannot be used to gain an advantage in public opinion, nor can they trust each other and form a strong alliance among the diverse filmmakers?

Anyway, Steven Soderbergh didn't want to. He is indeed Clooney's good brother. The reason why he supported this project as a producer was also at Clooney's invitation to contribute to his Olympic run. But after all, he is a top-tier director in Hollywood. A mature director would try his best to avoid such things as offending good actors and investors. Clooney directly proposed to kick Jennifer away, and then he was happily betrayed to Jennifer by James Holt, Sidney, Anthony and others to calm her anger and become the target of Jennifer's team—whether they His professional ethics, or his friendship with Clooney has not yet reached this point.

There was a brief silence in the online conference room, and Steven saw similar emotions on the faces of the producers—this is indeed a very difficult choice and a very tricky situation.

"Why don't we just do a simple elimination method." After a suffocating silence, the neutral James took the lead in breaking the deadlock. He said, "We have a few options. First, kick Jennifer out— — lobbying for this proposal?"

What answered him was a frozen silence, James took a breath, "So, how about kicking George?"

Steven shook his head, he had to speak up, "I don't agree, this will cause no less trouble for the crew than kicking Jennifer."

The faces of Sidney and other producers are still meaningful and expressionless, James spread his hands, "Two choices in a row have been denied, it seems that there is only one way left for us-that is to let everything go. Continue to maintain the original."

He resumed his businessman nature and calculated the follow-up benefits of this choice, "We had high hopes for "Michael Clayton", hoping that it would be nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor. If the status quo is maintained, this will The two nominations should fall through. But maybe we can get a nomination for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress. Warner may adjust the budget and focus on Jennifer. As for the profit prospect, there is Jennifer With the acting breakthrough and the gimmick of the theme itself, the drop in box office may not be too high, but word of mouth will affect the subsequent DVD sales, so we need to lower the profit forecast by 30%, but this is still profitable."

As long as there is money to be made, what films does the producer not make? It is a big bad movie, as long as it can make money, Warner will still produce it, so James has nothing to accept about this result. He analyzed it without any psychological burden. Of course, when it comes to Warner's budget adjustment and the focus on promoting Jennifer's nomination, He was also very natural, and even Steven didn't raise any objections - to promote the best picture at this time is tantamount to throwing money into the water. As a producer, it is impossible for Clooney to object to such a pragmatic proposal.

However, this is acceptable for investors, but it is a big problem for big names like Soderbergh and Pollack, including big screenwriters and new directors like Tony. The project is to make it a high-quality product, producing a bad movie is tantamount to smashing the brand. Of course, Steven may not care that much. For Deni, his participation rate will be higher, the old fox coughed, "We are against letting George quit, why? Because George will be unhappy, why George will be unhappy, because it will make him lose face... History Steven, I believe you will find a paradox here, if George withdraws now, he can still find a suitable excuse, but if the film is released publicly, then..."

Tony is naturally a little weak in front of this group of big bulls. At this time, he also muttered, "Unless all the opponent scenes are deleted, the sense of drama and structural imbalance will be irreparable."

Steven's face is also a bit ugly: It seems that Tony and Sidney have the same views on this matter, and even he himself has to admit that if the film continues like this Go on, then after the release, this film will become Clooney's Waterloo, it will become his pillar of shame, and every minute and every second on the screen with Jennifer will be a humiliation and ridicule to Clooney-of course, At that time, not only Clooney will be ridiculed, but also producers and directors like them will be **** together, but this will not make anyone feel better. In any case, maintaining the status quo is indeed the worst choice.

"We all admire George." Minghella also spoke, his tone with a British accent was very soft, "There is no doubt about it, maybe George is just not so suitable for the role of Michael, he is more suitable for those... A suave man, if he needs to make a masterpiece, he can create another one, there is no need to be obsessed with this movie, after all, we have all seen his performance materials, this movie will not be his masterpiece."

His statement did not attract any opposition: Compared with the best actress, the annual Oscar winner competition is extremely fierce. George's level in this film is only a nomination for publicity and public relations. He really won the award Even if you just look at the material, you can see the amazing talent and aura. This is absolutely undeniable.

"It seems that you are expecting me to be the villain." Steven rubbed his nose with an ugly face, "Okay, George is going, I'm going too, this is my bottom line."

He did not object to the proposal, but for the sake of friendship, he chose to withdraw from the project with Clooney, and of course Clooney’s investment was also withdrawn with him—Tony’s lips twitched, but he did not make a sound: Damon's gossip, he has a good relationship with members of the Clooney gang, but at this moment, of course, his first movie is more important.

"Why do you want to leave?" Sidney asked, "George's investment can also be kept, he can continue to be a producer, and he doesn't need to struggle with money, just say that George suffers from depression-anorexia , oh, this is not very good, or those psychological disorders that are difficult to see the symptoms are best used. This is a very decent excuse, I promise that none of us will leak any information about the trouble, maybe consider letting Bra De fills in, he also needs a transformational work, or try to contact Lewis, he can take some time and show them Karen's video-I can make a few calls, maybe the salary will cost more, but Generally speaking, this is the most favorable ending for everyone.”

Worthy of being a great director and producer for many years, he outlined a very attractive blueprint in a few words. Steven hesitated for a moment, and instead of insisting on his own opinion, he said, "I have to work with George Talk it over—if he accepts a substitution, we'll have to ask Brad first."

Brad Pitt is one of George's closest friends. If he fills the vacancy, it will be difficult for the outside world to smell anything wrong. Instead, they will believe that George really can't continue to play for some reason. , will find Pete to take over.

"Very well," Sidney said kindly, "Of course, we can also test Jennifer's attitude. If she can understand and withdraw, it will be easier and better. She is a talented person." Karen won’t be an important role for her—if she’s willing to quit, I can invite her to be the lead actress in a new movie, no audition required.”

Steven secretly cursed 'cunning' - Sidney took the opportunity to act as a favor, pretend to be a good person, and by the way, the intention of getting Jennifer, who may not know how good her performance is, into her new crew, He knew it all, but he didn't have any films suitable for inviting Jennifer, so he didn't speak out against Sidney's approach, but nodded in agreement, "It's the best way for the project to do so." Yes, the loss of money and time will be minimized.”

But who's going to talk about it? Certainly not Steven, judging from Sidney, Minghella, and Holt's clear attitudes, they have no intention of stepping out into the muddy water——

Although everyone spoke out to agree with Sidney's views, no one was so generous as to directly take on this trouble. In the end, Tony, who cared most about his work, sighed and took over the burden. "I'll talk to Jennifer."

He smiled wryly, "But I just don't know whether I want her to agree or not—"

His complaint did not arouse many echoes, only James nodded out of friendship. Steven maintained his concern on the surface, but he had already begun to think in his heart: He seemed to have heard that recently Jennifer The company's dream company is looking for a director for a Monroe biopic. From a common sense, this should be a project tailor-made for Jennifer...

He glanced at Sidney and Anthony, and made a note on the notepad calmly: Just like actors vying for great directors, great directors also vie for good actors and good projects. Their competition even Even more intense than actors, after all, a good actor can shine just as well in the hands of a bad director, but for a director with dragon-slaying skills, he can't work with a first-rate actor. For them, this torture is no longer enough. Simply describe it as regret...

#

"What, you've finished dubbing?" Jenny said to the phone while doing relaxation exercises, "Yes, then I thought you might come to see me, if you don't mind being photographed, those paparazzi are simply I'm going crazy, I'm already suffering from severe paranoia, I always feel that someone is putting a camera in my hotel room..."

"You can ask Jack to send you a set of testing equipment." Christopher said on the other end of the phone, "This is a very practical worry, considering that you are currently staying in a motel, if you wake up one day and find that someone put I won't be surprised if the camera hits the tip of your nose."

Jenny laughed, "But wouldn't the testing equipment be too much of a fuss? I don't want to be the kind of neurotic big-name star in people's eyes-wait, I seem to be already, thanks to you The two bodyguards I hired for me."

"You're welcome." Christopher said solemnly, "It's strange why you haven't hired yourself a few bodyguards for so long."

"Because I don't need it," Jenny said. "Kirk keeps saying it's his best job. He spends most of the day with nothing to do. It's horrible."

Generally speaking, it is very common for big-name celebrities to hire bodyguards when they go out to work, mainly not to prevent kidnapping, but to negotiate with the paparazzi. But for Jenny, she usually doesn’t go out casually in private, and rarely has the opportunity to physically conflict with the paparazzi. Most of the time, the paparazzi takes some innocuous street photos, and there is no need to negotiate to delete them, so she does not often hire bodyguards. This time, it was Chris' idea to bring bodyguards with him when he came out for filming. He couldn't follow the set, which was against the rules, so he had to hire professionals to reassure himself.

"Bodyguards are absolutely necessary before that pervert is caught." Chris said assertively, without giving Jenny a chance to continue arguing, he then softened his voice, "How long do you think I can live? I Can I accompany you until the end of the filming? I don’t think you have many scenes, you’ve been there for a week. How many pages of that script can be related to you?”

"I don't have much drama in the past few days," Jenny thought about it, "I may have to work for a few weeks, but I think some things are quite interesting. Maybe when you come, I can take you there." Check out some of the footage we shot...etc."

She took the phone away and checked the screen, "It's Cesare's call, baby, I'll call you back later."

Chris is not jealous at all—occasionally expressing his mind is fun, but even normal work and life have to be disturbed, that is a problem. As he has dated many girlfriends, the rhythm of this relationship He can still grasp it very accurately. "Okay, I'm waiting for your call."

Jenny kissed the microphone, and then connected to Cesare, "Don't tell me you're still in the company—it's already nine o'clock in the evening, and there aren't so many things to keep you busy in the company recently, right?"

"I'm already off work." Cesare said, "Actually, I was dating just now, but Tony Gilroy's agent called me."

"Tony?" Jenny was a little surprised, "He and I are in the same building, why can't you tell me directly?"

"It's not convenient to communicate directly about this matter." Cesare's tone remained calm, as if he was relaying a joke, "Tony thinks your performance is very good, and George has already paled in comparison. He hopes..."

He briefly introduced Tony's demands: voluntary withdrawal, high-sounding excuses, Sidney's new film, and of course generous compensation for breach of contract. "According to Tony, if you agree, George will be very grateful for your concession. Of course, what he didn't say is that if you refuse—"

"George will hate me to the bone." Jenny completed his words, "Do you think his words are credible?"

"It should be believable." Cesare replied, "He really thinks you played well, but George is the leading actor——Tony wants to explain it to you face to face, but it's best to have a result in this matter Later, you know, after all, that's what brokers and lawyers do."

Indeed, in many cases, it is clear that it is more efficient for two people to meet and communicate, and everyone also needs to bring in agents and lawyers. It’s so big, maybe there’s a chance to turn around and cooperate. If you talk on the next floor, there’s more room for maneuver. Like George, he called directly to express his goodwill. By the way, the practice of testing and showdown is very rare in Beverly Hills of.

"So what do you think?" Jenny asked.

"This is your decision." Cesare said, "If you want to stay, you can only kick George out. The future of this project is still uncertain, and you may not benefit. You may have a better chance if you quit ——After all, we are talking about Sidney. However, staying is not necessarily without benefits, the risks are almost the same—this is from a rational analysis, from an emotional point of view..."

He paused, as if this sentence was still a little strange to him, "I respect your choice."

"Okay." Jenny said without hesitation, "then tell Tony my decision - I'm not quitting, he's going to kick me out, I'm going to court, I'm going to make a press release, I can get my material, he knew I could—he knew how things would go."

Contrary to her own expectations, Jenny wasn't panicked or even excited, she just continued calmly, "Want to leave me? I'll stick with it to the end. Everyone will know why they made this decision - I'll make sure They're the laughing stock of everyone - Cesare, tell Tony, maybe I'm not sure I'll destroy Pollack and Soderbergh, but his call tonight will definitely destroy him - if he doesn't want to end up like this , then it’s best to stand on my side and kick George out with me.”

Just like feeling the blood flowing in her body, she calmly felt the power flowing around her - Jenny didn't lie, she didn't make false threats, those were the methods of the weak, she could indeed do all of them , she will indeed do this, without mercy, and without the willingness to make concessions.

Of course, coercion and temptation are also a very important part, she slowed down her tone again, "If he makes the right choice, I can make up for the investment George took away, otherwise, I will take it away It will be several times the investment amount—in Hollywood, winners get everything and losers get out, tell Tony, don’t think he can fool me from winner to loser with a few words.”

Cesare has been listening silently, and waited until Jenny finished speaking before saying flatly, "I will tell the truth."

"Wait, are you really going to tell me sentence by sentence?" Jenny became interested, "You won't make some innocuous embellishments-you know what I mean, don't you think I will offend Tony by saying that? "

"I don't think you're wrong," said Cesare, with a hint of a smile in his voice, "Actually, if you asked me to—I'd say your Cool, so yeah, I'll pass it on."

Cool? Jenny couldn't help chuckling - this was the first time Cesare praised her so much.

After a brief farewell to Cesare, she hung up the phone and lay down comfortably on the pillow. She didn't call Chris back immediately, but thought about the current situation of the crew—tonight Before the phone call, she didn't expect that the pressure she was vaguely aware of was such a serious problem in the eyes of the director. So in the end how this matter will develop, she also needs to think carefully, will she offend George Clooney? This seems to be inevitable, so what about Steven Soderbergh? What about Sidney Pollack?

Most importantly, would she care if she offended these people?

After thinking about it for a few minutes, Jenny suddenly laughed. She shook her head mockingly, sat up, picked up her mobile phone and dialed a few numbers.

"Hey, it's me," she said casually, leaning on the head of the bed again and doing stretching exercises, "It was nothing just now, Chesa just called to confirm a contract..."

A few days later, the work of the crew of "Michael Clayton" was temporarily suspended, and a piece of news was released in an unobtrusive corner: Due to the influence of depression, George Clooney withdrew from "Michael Clayton". Clayton's filming work, the crew also began to look for suitable replacement candidates. His good friend Brad Pitt, method master Daniel Day Lewis, etc., are all considered by the crew...