Best Movie Star - Chapter 967
The door was closed, and the black Mercedes-Benz commercial car slowly left the University of Southern California and drove in the direction of Burbank.
Matthew looked at the person on the left and said, “I’m going to Burbank to meet Director Nolan in a moment. If you have anything to do, just talk on the way.”
“Okay.” Jeremy Kleiner counted the time, a little nervous, but couldn’t ask for more. “Mr. Horner, I have a project.”
Matthew nodded lightly. The other party introduced himself before. This man named Jeremy Kleiner is a small producer. Since he took the initiative to come to the door, he must be promoting the project at hand.
Considering projects such as “The Martian”, someone took the initiative to find him to recommend it, and Matthew invited him to get on the car.
Jeremy Kleiner opened the briefcase and pulled out a thick stack of documents, then a book, and said, “Here’s my project stuff.”
Matthew took it over and took a general look. There are scripts, project plans, and analysis of investment market prospects in the document. It can be said that he is very well prepared.
From these, it is not difficult for Matthew to guess that the first investor Jeremy Kleiner finds will definitely not be him. He is so well prepared that he is rejected. This project…
If Jeremy Kleiner just came up with a script, Matthew wouldn’t even take care of it. Only an idiot producer who doesn’t understand anything will imagine that just a script can impress investors.
But with such a thick stack, it’s impossible to read all the way from USC to Burbank.
Matthew put these materials aside and said, “We have limited time, now you say, I will listen.”
“Okay.” Jeremy Kleiner is very clear that he has no more options, and after a little consideration, said, “This project is adapted from the autobiography of Solomon Joseph in 185.”
Matthew frowned slightly, he had never heard of this name.
Jeremy Kleiner saw it, and further said, “Solomon was originally a free citizen in the north of the United States, but was lured by criminals who played the violin and sold to the southern plantation. No abuse and beatings.”
“Black theme?” Matthew asked proactively.
“Yes.” Jeremy Kleiner nodded, seeing that Matthew was not speaking, he thought for a while, and continued, “The project “Twelve Years a Slave” was mainly adapted from this autobiography. Come on, the core of the film is that the male protagonist experiences various experiences after being deceived into slavery, resisting, compromising, and experiencing all kinds of human situations, but he has never given up his longing for freedom and his missing wife and children. There has always been a kind of Faith supports him, that is the yearning for freedom and the yearning for his family…”
Matthew pinched his chin, “This kind of film has a grand theme and value setting, but it is very sensitive.”
Knowing that Matthew was telling the truth, Jeremy Kleiner added, “I had a plan in place, and when I was making it, I was going to make this film a little bit smaller, downplaying history, sin, and culture. My idea was , to use a magnificent history to make a film with a horror film.”
He looked at Matthew and specially emphasized, “The focus of the film is not on what to pursue, but on equality and freedom.”
“The Hunger Games” can also be said to be a film about equality, so, Jeremy Kleiner said, “Agreement is the trend of mainstream society, and films that conform to this trend are more likely to be successful. Freedom, It is the pursuit of our society that will never go out of style.”
“It makes sense.” Matthew isn’t the kind of out of the world, and knows what Jeremy Kleiner is saying makes sense.
If nothing else, the slogan of freedom is indeed deeply rooted in the hearts of North America.
Hollywood movies have always been under the banner of freedom. For example, in “Braveheart”, Mel Gibson’s “freedom” was full of anger.
Even if Mel Gibson’s later encounters proved that even the monkeys in the zoo are more free than the guy who keeps shouting “freedom”, this does not prevent “freedom” from becoming one of the most correct value orientations in Hollywood movies and society as a whole.
Compared with freedom, poetry and the distance should also stand on the sidelines.
Then there’s equality.
Like the feminist movement, the black affirmative movement is booming, and this has a very direct response in Hollywood.
In the past two years, black movies, especially black slave movies, have appeared more and more, and even Quentin Tarantino, the ruffian, is shooting a black slave movie called “Django Unchained” .
From Jeremy Kleiner’s words, it is not difficult for Matthew to judge that this is a Black Lives Matter movie.
This kind of film, as long as it is made with a little quality, is not difficult to be rated as a so-called good film under the current social situation.
Matthew asked curiously, “Have you found anyone else before?”
“I have.” Jeremy Kleiner has looked for so many companies, it is impossible to keep it secret, “A few years ago, I reached an agreement with Brad Pitt, Plan B was interested in investing in this project, but Plan B Later, it went bankrupt, and the cooperation could not be carried out.”
Hearing Plan B, Matthew’s hand that rubbed his chin stopped for a while. It seemed that this was his fault?
Maybe without him, this project has already been invested and produced by Plan B? Unfortunately, the current plan B has gone bankrupt, and Brad Pitt has completely sunk.
Jeremy Kleiner’s words continued, “Later, I went to Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Summit Entertainment and many other companies, probably because of Brad Pitt’s successive investment failures, he used to be optimistic about this project. It has been spread out for a long time, and those companies don’t want to touch this project.”
Matthew nodded and asked, “So, you found me?”
“Yes.” Jeremy Kleiner didn’t hide this, deliberately said, “I think a project like this, in the hands of Studio Thirteen, will be as successful as “The Hunger Games” and “American Sniper.” “
“No.” Matthew shook his head, “It can’t be a mass commercial movie, at least not now.”
It is impossible to compare this kind of Black Lives Matter movie with the previous “Black Panther”. The main audience is still black audiences and a small number of white people from the heart of the Virgin. The number of these people is limited, and it is impossible to take the mass business route.
There is only one way left.
Gradually he had an idea and simply said, “How do you plan to work?”
Jeremy Kleiner said directly, “Oscar! Push this film into the Oscars…”
“Then you’re looking for the wrong person.” Matthew’s words were also very direct, “The people at the core of the academy don’t like me, and I have a very general relationship with them. For any film that is directly related to me, I will get a 100 reduction from the Oscars. 20 out of 10 approval rating.”
Although this is a bit exaggerated, it is also true.
“what……”
Jeremy Kleiner didn’t expect Matthew to say this, and was stunned for a while. If this project didn’t have the Oscar aura, the prospects would be much bleak.
From the very beginning of planning, Oscar was a very important part of the plan.
Matthew’s thoughts became clearer. After thinking about it for a while, he became more familiar with the name “Twelve Years a Slave”. Although he still couldn’t think of the specific source, it should be a vague memory.
Such a film, as long as the filming is not very bad, Chong Ao has a natural advantage.
He is not interested in Oscar, and he is too lazy to operate it. He does not have any advantages in this regard, and even has its own aura of deduction. This project is not suitable for studio investment.
But that doesn’t mean “12 Years a Slave” is useless to him.
He doesn’t go to Chong Ao, there are other people who like to do it, and recommending it to the other party is also a personal favor.
For example, the Ellison brothers and sisters, it can be said to be a community of interests, and the two sides also agreed to deal with Harvey Weinstein.
“I’m not going to invest in this film,” Matthew said before Jeremy Kleiner responded, “Well, I can recommend you and your project to my friends, and they may have interest.”
Jeremy Kleiner nodded hastily, “Yes.” Then he asked curiously, “Can you know who they are?”
Matthew didn’t go around in circles, and said directly, “You should have heard their names, David Ellison and Megan Ellison, brothers and sisters, they have some experience in running the Oscars, “The Hurt Locker” is the first two Big Oscar winner of the year.”
“Thank you.” Jeremy Kleiner was very grateful, and he didn’t know what to say for a while.
Matthew raised his hand to stop him from continuing, saying, “I can’t guarantee they’ll invest.”
Jeremy Kleiner said quickly, “I understand.”
Matthew took out his mobile phone, directly dialed David Ellison’s number, said briefly, hung up the phone quickly, and said to Jeremy Kleiner, “You go to Dance in the Sky now. Yep, David Ellison is waiting for you.”
Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles came to Burbank~www.mtlnovel.com~ First put down Jeremy Kleiner, and then rushed to Warner Bros.
For the recommended project, Matthew will also pay attention to it. People are very important in this society, and the network of connections is very important. David Ellison can be said to be one of his very important partners. The more cooperation between the two sides, For some things he does in the future, it will undoubtedly be more beneficial.
Which is more beneficial, fighting alone or with the support of powerful companions? Presumably everyone understands.
Afterwards, Matthew rushed to Warner Bros. and met with Christopher Nolan. He mainly talked about the “Interstellar” project. Both parties have a very strong willingness to cooperate. The next step is to negotiate with Warner Bros.
Whether it’s Matthew or Christopher Nolan, the pay is not generally high.
For several days, Matthew was discussing “Interstellar” and the male lead with Christopher Nolan, and it was not until a new weekend was approaching that he was ready to leave Los Angeles and follow the “American Sniper” crew to go overseas for publicity announcements.
Before Matthew left, he also received calls from David Ellison and Megan Ellison, who were sure to invest in Black Lives Matter movies.