Chapter 761: Gravity
Just in June, Warner Bros. officially announced that Duke's new film has been approved and is about to start preparations. The theme of the new film is the genre of space adventure.
Due to the tight schedule, Duke completely left the promotional work of the film to Warner Brothers. The new film project was not even called for a press conference. It will be a space version of Cast Away.
To a certain extent, his words are not wrong. Most of the time in the film will be Scarlett Johansson's one-man show.
The plot of this film is very simple, it can even be said that there is no plot. The heroine played by Scarlett Johansson encounters an accident in space and tries her best to return to Earth.
The name of the new film has not been announced, but Duke has officially named it Gravity after convening his own team.
And in the first time the new film project was approved, Duke finalized another actor. He sent an invitation to George Clooney. The latter and his agent almost didn't think about it, and immediately agreed to the invitation.
Originally, Robert Downey Jr. got some inside information from Warner Bros. and wanted to play the role, but was rejected by Duke. Perhaps from the perspective of acting, George Clooney was not the most suitable candidate, but from the perspective of Oscar From the point of view, the benefits of his appearance in the film are far greater than those of Robert Downey Jr.
In the past ten years or so, Robert Downey Jr. has offended almost everyone who could be offended. If it weren't for Iron Man, his desire to stand up would be as good as ascending to the sky.
But George Clooney is different. The other party has a wide network of relationships in Hollywood, which is definitely one of the few actors among actors.
Hollywood actors and directors are politically active. Actively participating in social activities is basically the norm, and George Clooney is one of them. He even gained his current status in Hollywood through his political style, and has a good relationship with a large group of people who are keen on political activities. Such as Steven Soderbergh, Julia Roberts and Harrison Ford, etc...
The importance of the relationship network to the Olympics is self-evident.
Although Duke has no intention of best director and best picture, but if Scarlett wants to beat Natalie Portman, who is very popular in Jewish clubs, he must use all available conditions.
Moreover, Scarlett herself is also a political activist, and has a little friendship with George Clooney.
Bringing George Clooney in as part of this huge Olympic plan will definitely increase Scarlett's chances of winning.
Maybe many people think that George Clooney is not worthy of his name in Hollywood, but no matter what means he uses. The status of a first-line star and his popularity are real.
Indeed, George Clooney's words and deeds are disgusting if viewed from the perspective and standpoint of the former Duke, but he is no longer the former Duke, starting from the identity and standpoint of a Hollywood director. Cooperation can only bring benefits.
What's more, it really needs to be judged from the standpoint of the past, such as Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise and even Scarlett? Johnson, etc., more than 95% of Hollywood people can be designated as outside the scope of cooperation.
Then is he still used to hang around in Hollywood?
Politics has never been far from Hollywood. Hollywood stars also have their own political stances.
In this life, Duke's criterion for judging business cooperation is very simple - interest!
privately. Warner Bros. once asked Duke if they could change the protagonist to a man, but after Duke refused, they did not continue to mention it.
In fact, consider it from an investor's point of view. Such a one-man show-like film can be more attractive if the protagonist is replaced by a man. After all, in the concept of traditional Hollywood companies, male films are far more popular than female films.
But this movie is not in this category. To be precise, Gravity has no creativity in the plot. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is no plot. Actor's performance.
Needless to say, the special effects, if the actors are replaced by men, it will greatly reduce the atmosphere of the whole film. Men and women represent completely different meanings on the big screen. Men are born synonymous with tenacity and strength in the film, while women represent Weakness is the object of protection...
If the protagonist of Gravity is replaced by a male, the shocking power of his self-help will definitely not be as powerful as that of a female.
There is no doubt that the film wants to be screened at least before the New Year, and the time is very tight. Scarlett Johansson's performance and Duke's shooting are relatively easy to say. The real problem is the special effects of the film. Duke For this reason, Warner Bros. asked for a production budget of up to 200 million US dollars, most of which will still be spent on special effects.
He made a special trip to San Francisco and had a talk with the senior executives of Industrial Light \u0026 Magic. Faced with the high budget, the other party promised to send as many special effects artists as possible to participate in the production of Gravity.
Afterwards, Duke went to George Lucas' estate again. Recently, there have been rumors in circles that George Lucas wants to retire.
The relationship between the two families is unusual. Duke is very clear that George Lucas is really planning to retire.
Actually, what I'm most reluctant to part with is Lucasfilm...
In the reception room of the manor, George Lucas said to Duke who was sitting opposite, It has been more than twenty years since I founded Lucasfilm, and it is like my child.
Talking to George Lucas, Duke didn't go around in circles and asked directly, George, are you going to sell Lucasfilm?
George Lucas glanced at Duke, guessed his intentions, thought for a while, and nodded slightly, I do have plans in this regard, and people from 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney have also contacted him. I.
Walt Disney? Duke frowned slightly, picked up the coffee cup, took a sip of coffee, thought about it, and asked, How about transferring it to me?
Lucasfilm not only owns the copyrights of the Star Wars series and the Raiders of the Lost Ark series, but also has a department that ranks first in the world--Industrial Light and Magic!
If Duke said he had no plans for Lucasfilm, it would be false.
Not to mention Industrial Light \u0026 Magic, but according to Disney's purchase price of Industrial Light \u0026 Magic, as long as the Star Wars series is restarted, the quality is guaranteed, and the money can be recovered just by selling peripherals!
Duke, I'm just one of Lucasfilm's shareholders. George Lucas didn't reject Duke, but reminded, This is business!
In the face of such a huge transaction, the role of friendship can be said to be extremely limited, Duke is very aware of this, he put on a very serious expression, and said, George, my bid will definitely make Lucasfilm's Shareholders are satisfied.
George Lucas knew that Duke had such wealth and ability, and rubbed his cheek with his left hand, You have cooperated with Lucasfilm for many years, and under the same conditions, I believe the shareholders of Lucasfilm will also The priority is to sell the shares to you. However, Duke, you have to hurry up and do some things first before you can take the initiative.
I understand. Duke nodded solemnly, I will form a professional team as soon as possible to contact the management of Lucasfilm.
He has already taken Marvel Comics and Pixar Studios from Walt Disney, and there is no psychological burden to snatch Lucasfilm.
Back then, Duke had the opportunity to acquire Digital Realm, but he didn’t move, watching Digital Realm fall into the pocket of Paramount Pictures, because he knew very well that Industrial Light \u0026 Magic and the entire Lucasfilm is in the bag.
However, if you want to win Lucasfilm, you must have a huge amount of more than four billion US dollars. Even with Duke's current net worth, this is very difficult.
In the latest Forbes rich list, he can indeed be ranked among the top ten in the world, and even the assets hidden in various foundations are not included in the statistics, but stocks and fixed assets are completely different from the liquidity required for acquisitions.
This kind of acquisition must be carefully planned, and Duke also needs more professional people to participate in it. He knows that he can grasp the general direction, but he is not capable enough to implement it.
He is very clear that he is not a so-called omniscient genius, and there is no such so-called genius in this world.
Anyway, if the conditions are similar, George Lucas is personally more inclined to sell Lucasfilm to Duke, and Duke also made a very tempting proposal for George Lucas, if he becomes The new owner of Lucasfilm will try his best to hire George Lucas's old friend, Catherine Kennedy, who shares the same philosophy with him, to take charge of Lucasfilm.
For Lucasfilm, Duke stayed in San Francisco for two days, and then accompanied by George Lucas, he went to meet several other major shareholders of Lucasfilm. , in this takeover battle that is about to detonate the entire Hollywood without gunpowder, he has already taken the lead.
However, in order to turn this advantage into a victory, Duke still needs to spend billions of dollars in real money.
How to raise this sum of money as soon as possible is undoubtedly one of the tasks he will focus on next.
Even, he has made another plan. If the fundraising is not smooth, then Warner Bros. will be introduced into the acquisition plan.
Lucasfilm is an irresistible temptation for all Hollywood companies. Just two of Star Wars and Industrial Light and Magic are enough to make people break their heads.
After leaving San Francisco, Duke returned to Los Angeles to continue preparations for Gravity. After an interview with George Clooney, he flew directly to Washington, D.C., and was introduced to NASA by virtue of his good relationship with the Pentagon over the years. (to be continued ^)
PS: The old year is about to pass, and the new year is coming soon. Time flies so fast that there is always no time to express... In the new year, Thirteen wishes everyone all wishes come true, everyone gets rich, brothers Happy New Year, sisters!