Hollywood Domination: First conflict

"I want these two scripts." Jenny slammed the two folders on the desk domineeringly, "I want you to get them for me at all costs."

Cesare raised his eyebrows, folded his hands, and put them on his lower abdomen. He didn't seem to have any intention of giving back, but just looked at Jenny quietly. Jenny stared wide-eyed and confronted him for a while, she couldn't hold back for a while, she smiled, folded her hands together, "Please?"

Cesare straightened up, casually picked up one of the folders, and opened the cover.

"Lianlian Notebook." He read the content of the summary page, his tone was very reserved and indifferent, just like when Jenny talked with him on the phone last night, it was obvious that Cesare was not very interested in this project. "Adapted from a novel of the same name, the copyright of the adaptation is currently on New Line... the script is bound to Ryan Gosling."

"Yes." Jenny said eagerly, "This is the film, I want to act, I want to act, tell me you have already called New Line this morning."

Cesare tapped a few times on the computer keyboard, and while browsing the computer page, he replied absently, "No, I haven't called the new line yet, as far as I know, the new line has temporarily frozen this project due to insufficient budget."

He turned the computer screen to Jenny's direction, "You can take a look at this table, which is the schedule of commercial projects currently in operation in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the two movies you picked are not among them."

Jenny took a rough look at this crudely made Word form, and felt that it was an eye-opener. She speculated that it was a unique resource within CAA. What she saw was only the progress tracking form of the movie part. This form It records in detail the film projects that are currently in the casting stage, and lists the lack of roles form and the basic requirements for actors, so that the major agents can coordinate and arrange the audition activities of their artists according to this form.

She looked at the time, "The schedule is updated every Friday?"

"Yes." Cesare replied, "If you will allow me to recommend it to you, I reviewed the form yesterday and reread some scripts—"

"No." Jenny also quickly glanced at the film title column in the table just now, at least as of August 2003, there is nothing worth noting on this table except for "Van Helsing" and "50 First Dates" "Listen, Cesare, I'm pretty sure I'm only going to do these two films, and now I want you to sit down with me and figure out how to get New Line and Fox to start these two projects."

She had already rehearsed today's conversation last night. Cesare's indifference was expected by Jenny. She pressed her hands on the table and leaned forward to strengthen her sense of oppression and emphasize the seriousness of these words. degree, "If you wonder why I chose these two films, ask me, if you can't do it, tell me, if you can do it but don't want to do it for me—"

Jenny took a breath, looked into Cesare's eyes and said seriously, "Tell me too, I will find an agent who can do it."

Cesare raised his eyebrows, put the folder back on the table, and folded his hands again.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very gloomy—cold and dry, and Jenny could almost feel that her skin was gradually taut and dehydrated under such air pressure. Well, it seems that the cuteness at the beginning can't alleviate the current atmosphere.

She didn't intend to make the atmosphere so serious at the beginning of the conversation, nor did she intend to bluff Cesare (Bluffing). The gulf between her and the two projects.

When she first discovered these two treasures, she was of course very excited, and even felt that she was very lucky. These two scripts have great potential and are very suitable for her to act in. However, this excitement and Cesare had completely cooled down after the phone call, and she even had an extremely bad feeling at the time, as if she was going to pass these two projects—because Cesare was quite indifferent, although he didn't say it clearly, But Jenny could tell that he had no intention of agreeing at all, and he was very reluctant to even agree to the meeting this morning.

So the biggest resistance should not be her own quality and box office appeal. After she played the lively and lovely Elizabeth who is very close to Josh, after she can bring in more than 10 million box office. She should already have the qualifications to choose a female lead in a low-budget film at will. This is like "50 First Dates". Before Bell intervened, the audition was just a formality, and it was more relaxed than a small gathering among friends.

The biggest gap is Cesare's desire to control.

Cesare is an absolute Alphamale, there is no doubt about it, and Bell's reason for breaking up with him also makes her vigilant. If Bell left Cesare because he had a good impression of him, then Jenny might feel more comfortable in her heart, but Bell took over "Pearl Harbor" that Cesare was not optimistic about and was kicked away by Cesare. That's saying too much. Cesare is indeed not very optimistic about these two projects. If she insists on taking over, she may indeed face the choice of 'breaking up' with Cesare. From a rational point of view, although Cesare is a major reason for her to start her career, it is impossible for Jenny to give up one of her greatest advantages just because of this, let Jinshan slip away from her eyes, and act in a mediocre romance movie by herself .

Although she can use these two films as a tool to prove her vision, although with her popularity and acting skills, she may be able to change the box office of a film, but if she wants to reach the top in Hollywood, every film It is a choice that cannot be made at one time. When it is necessary to choose one of the two, instead of losing two good opportunities, Jenny can only choose to give up Cesare.

This also made her aware of the hidden worries in the cooperative relationship between the two. Cesare is a master of film selection. "In fact, it is also a very qualified commercial film, but this does not mean that he can continue to be a master forever, without making mistakes once. He did not miss it before. The two have always been like-minded, and the cooperation is of course a pleasure. But in such a situation where there are differences in opinions on film selection, it would definitely not work if she was the one to back down every time. It is even said that Jenny now thinks that she is more suitable for a manager who is not so strong-minded but more flexible, for example-Tracey who threw an olive branch to her as a joke before.

'It's fine for me to choose the next film, and you will be responsible for fighting for the best treatment for me, so that we can give full play to our respective strengths. ’ She really wanted to say that to Cesare, but the result of saying this would only be cheaper Bell—even Bell would probably not dare to be so domineering, she would be kicked if she chose "Pearl Harbor", but Jenny would Deprive Cesare of the selection rights. At this time, if the two parted ways, it would be difficult to guarantee that Cesare would not fall back on Bell.

She just asked him for a guarantee yesterday. You must know that her position is stable, and now she threatens to 'break up' with him the next day. This is a excuse, will he use it to refute her? She made a promise to him to be absolutely obedient before, will he use it to remind her? Jenny maintained a calm facial expression and used body language to emphasize her determination, but she was nervously analyzing Cesare's follow-up reaction in her mind. He should not be aroused by her statement, but it is likely that she threatened him. In the future, the relationship between the two will be estranged again...

She could feel that Cesare was watching her coldly, without any emotion, and his dark blue pupils shrunk slightly, which was a sign of concentration, but this was only all the information she could feel. Jenny couldn't tell about Sare's own emotional state through observation. He had erected a barrier to hide his personal feelings behind.

Her eyes began to sore, but he still maintained his posture. Cesare looked at her for a while, and he slowly leaned back in the chair and picked up the folder again.

"You should feel lucky." He said calmly, "The quality of the scripts that can pass the first screening is indeed approved by me."

Jenny breathed out unabashedly, she slumped her shoulders, and she understood why people could not quit smoking. Would love to have a cigar and relax.

"Then what is the reason why you are not interested in these two projects?"

"Let's talk about "Lianlian Notebook" first. Last year, New Line intended to shoot, but because of internal problems in the funding chain, the budget was cut, and only a budget of 20 million US dollars was given. At that time, the leading actresses were all newcomers. The asking price is almost negligible, but even so, the content of the film decides that the main content takes place in World War II, and the budget of period dramas is always high, and 20 million US dollars does not meet the minimum standard. The project was frozen, and a month ago New Line I intend to restart it, but the previous heroine Rachel McAdams has already taken on other films, of course this is not a problem." Cesare's tone has returned to the business-like way the two met when they first met, "Even if Rachel still Within the scope of consideration, as long as you express interest, of course New Line will be more than happy to play this role for you, and may even increase the salary for it.”

Jenny felt slightly uncomfortable—of course, she had considered carefully before she spoke, and also considered the possibility that the increasingly harmonious relationship between the two would be damaged. A little regretful: Even if she only let Cesare understand her determination, it might not be impossible to choose a more tactful method.

Although she also dealt with business elites in her previous life, at that time Chen Zhen was not on the other side of the negotiating table. She found that she still had a lot to learn in business activities.

"Then the biggest question?" She maintained a cheerful and relaxed tone.

"Considering the general box office and follow-up income of romance films, generally speaking, pure romance films—such as "The Notebook" do not have many comedy elements, and can even be said to be more tragic and sad romance films. It has always been very strict. Judging from the report, the budget of "The Notebook" should be at least 25 million while maintaining the original choice of hero and heroine. In case of overspending, the new line has to prepare about 30 million yuan to maintain the operation of the crew, and if you add your film salary of 5 million to 8 million yuan, it has doubled compared to the previous 20 million yuan budget." Cesare put down Mouse, "Because you haven't taken the lead in a romance movie, judging from my experience, the new line will give you up to three million yuan at most, which is why this script didn't come into your choice-this price, Can you accept it? You have to know that the market is now looking for an estimate for you. If you get three million, then unless "The Notebook" hits the box office, it will be very difficult for us to ask for five million for similar films. Difficult."

With "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" asking for 10 million yuan, the 3 million yuan of "The Notebook" will be a blow to Jenny's positioning and worth. They planned to propose 6 million yuan for "50 First Dates" before. It's not a trivial matter to have a million, and the net worth has dropped by half. Of course, the time before "The Notebook" was filmed and released would affect her offer.

Jenny pondered for a while, and brought out the plan she had prepared, "How about 3/10? I can accept three million, but I ask for 10% of the new line share of the global box office—minimum 5%."

Although I don't know the specific box office of "Lianlian Notebook", since it is so well-known and good-looking, it shouldn't be much lower. After adding this 10%, it may not be better than six million or eight million. less. After all, if the U.S. box office can reach 100 million, here is a share of 5 million, and there are also overseas box offices.

"Well, that's a good idea." Cesare nodded slowly, "Here's another piece of information to share with you: New Line is not a very honest company, as far as I know, they have already started preparing for a lawsuit That's it - in the box office share of "Lord of the Rings 1" and "Lord of the Rings 2", they reported at least two-thirds of the global box office lower, so as to reduce the share of the Tolkien estate committee and the publishing house. If you If you are prepared to bet all 3 million on legal fees, this is indeed a very good proposal."

Jenny hesitated for a moment. This kind of lawsuit must be protracted. Although the loser has to pay the lawyer's fees, it will definitely take a while to realize the money. The point is that the company’s untrustworthiness does make people feel a little worried, "Then adjust it to 15% of the new line share of the North American box office?"

"10% of the North American box office new line is an acceptable figure." Cesare thought for a moment, and jotted down something on the paper, "It seems that you are really very optimistic about this project."

"Believe me, this will definitely be a good movie." Jenny said sincerely, but this is not the project she valued the most. She picked up the purple folder and handed it to Cesare graciously, " Now let's talk about The Devil Wears Prada, and what made Fox shelve the adaptation of the best-selling novel?"

"The Devil Wears Prada" is a best-selling novel published in 2003, and it is still on the list of the New York Times. Now that Fox has bought the right to adapt the novel, it has contacted Meryl Street It should be said that a big-name veteran drama player like Pu still attaches great importance to this film, and Jenny doesn't think it will be a problem of insufficient budget.

"There are two main problems facing "The Devil Wears Prada." It seems that although Cesare responded coldly last night, he still did a lot of homework. He picked up the mouse and clicked a few times, "The first First, the schedule of the scheduled director Peter Hengis cannot be coordinated, and he has been filming overseas. Fox has not yet decided on a director, so the casting work has been put on hold. There was no agreement on the candidate, and the producers intended to invite Natalie Portman to play the lead actress, but Lauren disagreed, Fox was very annoyed by this, so the project was shelved two months ago."

Jenny asked in surprise, "Natalie Portman? Why would Lauren say no?"

"Lauren thinks that Natalie...is too flat and not pretty enough." Cesare said blankly.

Jenny made a broken expression, not knowing what to say-not to mention whether Natalie is beautiful or not, this is only Lauren's first novel, of course it sold well, maybe The best-selling novel of the year, but that doesn't mean Lauren can pick and choose Natalie Portman in a low-budget film, does it?

"...Fox must be devastated." She said dryly, "Natalie declined this invitation?

"Natalie does have some interest, after missing the gap of the past three months, she has not enough time left to make this film, she is going to make "Star Wars Episode 3" "." Cesare replied, "But Fox does not seem to have given up on this idea."

Compared to the less difficult "The Notebook", "The Devil Wears Prada" seems to be more tricky. First of all, she has a very strong competitor. Secondly, the original author Lauren seems to be very difficult to deal with. After all, it is not Everyone can do things like look down on Natalie Portman. Of course, if you think about it carefully, a woman who will write a book belittling her former boss after leaving the company will definitely not be a fuel-efficient lamp.

"Let's talk about "The Notebook" first," Jenny said thoughtfully, and she asked unwillingly, "Are you sure that Fox has no budgetary concerns about this book?"

"What do you think?" Cesare paused.

"I can bring capital into the game." Jenny confessed her thoughts, "It is also possible to adopt the 3/10 sharing method. I am willing to share the 10 million income I can get from "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" If they accept the delayed payment, I can use the income from "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" to invest in it, as long as they are willing to pay me the corresponding share."

Cesare narrowed his eyes, "Are you—"

He interrupted himself, closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You are really acting strange today, Jefferson."

Jenny also knows that her performance is indeed unreasonable, and no one may be able to understand her confidence in "Prada" investment-in fact, if it weren't for the bad reputation of the new line, and she had no cash, even "Lian Lian Notebook" She wants to invest. She weighed several coping strategies and finally chose mysticism.

"I know, you think "Prada" has a certain market, you can consider starring in it, and you can even choose a low-value and high-sharing remuneration method," Jenny volunteered to complete for him, "but it's hard for you to understand why I put I put my entire fortune into it, don't you? Just like I would break up with you to get to these two films, you understand that these are two tempting scripts, but you don't understand where my enthusiasm and determination come from .”

Cesare snorted noncommittally, and he put his hands on his chest—this was a very defensive gesture. Jenny knew that she had alerted him, and Cesare understood that she was going to sell her belongings now. own set of theories.

"Intuition." This didn't affect her performance. Jenny changed her posture on the chair. She folded her diapers, put one hand on the armrest, supported her cheek, and smiled with great confidence. "This is my intuition. When I saw these two scripts, my intuition told me that this must be a very successful—commercially and artistically successful that can reach the limit of this type of film. items."

"So you'll invest your entire fortune in relying on your instincts," Cesare said, in a tone that clearly hinted at his disapproval.

"I really, really trust my intuition," Jenny said slowly, injecting some inscrutability into her smile, "I think by this time next year, you will also be impressed by my intuition, Dear Cesare. By then, maybe even you, will learn to rely on my intuition.”

"I have serious doubts about this." Cesare said, "However, in the final analysis, this is your private property. If you are interested in high-risk investment, it is your business."

He crossed his hands and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "So, I will follow up "Lianlian Notebook" first. If the notebook can promote the formation of the group, we can monitor the progress of "Prada" within a few months. Try to show some interest, but don't rush it because you don't have any other free time in the second half of the year. Natalie's filming will last from the end of this year to the beginning of next year, and it seems that she will return to Israel for a period of time in the beginning of next year time, so we have plenty of time to work on this project—if I read the original novel and think it's worth our effort."

"Otherwise?" Jenny asked.

"Otherwise, after "The Notebook", you will have to choose another agent for yourself." Cesare said with a grin, "Of course, the commission for the Caribbean series will still be on my head."

Although he is smiling, Cesare's expression is very cold and hard. His eyes are indifferent and his jaw is tightened. This is a standard fake smile, and Cesare's posture reveals his strong confidence— He has invested so much effort and resources in Jenny, and now it can barely be said that he has entered the harvest period, and Jenny has conflicts with him, so that he may lose two years of hard work, but Cesare still will not treat himself. lose confidence. Jenny realized that Cesare would never ask for assurance in a situation like yesterday, as she had done yesterday. Asking for assurance is a symbol of the weak, and the strong never need the assurance of others to establish a sense of security. Even though she, like Bell, showed a strong sense of independence after achieving certain achievements, Cesare still believed that his overall strategy was correct, but that he did not choose the right person. Once it was determined that she was not the right person, he would Abandoned her without hesitation and started a new search.

She also realized that if Cesare couldn't make a change, sooner or later the two of them would have to go their separate ways. Either he miraculously finds the big selling point of the script every time, and she coincides with her, or because the two have different visions in choosing films, and Cesare will not make compromises, the two broke up completely.

From any probability point of view, the second result is more likely.

Suddenly, she felt a little breathless—she couldn't give up "Prada", and she couldn't always follow Cesare's instructions to continue filming, completely giving up one of her great advantages. But it was Cesare who made her the current Jennifer Jefferson, and he was such an excellent manager.

"You think I'm playing with fire, don't you?" she asked, "Cesare, I still remember what you said to me, on the night of signing, you made me believe in you, that we have common interests, Everything you do is for my own good."

She leaned forward again, fixed her eyes on Cesare, and said earnestly, "I know I'm behaving irrationally, and it's hard for you to trust me—but I really hope you do, we There are common interests, and everything I do is for my own good, and of course it is also for your own good.”

"I'm very glad to know that you still remember the agreement we made when we signed the contract." Cesare said quietly, "You know, if you don't remember, I plan to play the recording for you."

Jenny was stunned—well, she broke her promise and made a mistake. According to the agreement at the time, she only needed to act obediently, and Cesare arranged everything else, and of course the film selection was also included here. Of course, Cesare has a reason to be angry, maybe he has been unhappy since she refused to accept "Van Helsing", but——

"I—" she said.

"I'll give you a call." Cesare said, "The result of the discussion on "The Notebook."

Jenny smiled helplessly, and she said softly, "Chesa—"

Cesare raised his hand and compared the direction of the door.

Well... It seems that he is indeed very angry, and Jenny doesn't intend to provoke his temper any more.

"You know," as she held the doorknob, Jenny decided to face today's dispute from a different angle. "You've always given me faith in you—and I've always had faith in you."

Cesare took his hands off the keyboard and stared at her expressionlessly.

"I'm sure you'll agree with me," said Jenny, "I have a lot of confidence in you, if you're as good an agent as you say, and if you can make those three demands of me, Then you should agree with me on "Prada", if you are not, then it is not a pity to lose you - of course, I will count the commission of the Caribbean series on your head."

No matter what Cesare thinks about it, her logic at least convinced her that Jenny is really cheerful now.

She winked at Cesare, "Don't let me down, Master Vijay."

Immediately, Jenny Jefferson left gracefully.

The author has something to say: Note: 1 New Line has fought at least two lawsuits on the Lord of the Rings series, all because of playing tricks on the share, the first one was with the Tolkien Trust and the publishing house , the second game was with director Jackson. Both appear to have been settled out of court.

2 Natalie's intention to play Prada is fictional, but she did go to Israel to study for a master's degree in 2004

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Updated

I saw someone talking about adding updates

…Well, who can help me count how many times I have owed a good mood so far…it’s just comments and favorites…I can’t count at all

PS By the way, I will post an article~My friend’s Xianxia article, if you are interested, you can read it