Chatty Hollywood

"You were forced to offend the director on the first day the crew was set up, you're so unlucky!"

The preparatory meeting lasted all day, and although it did sort things out, the quarrels and intrigues involved exhausted Charlotte. At the invitation of his friend Richard Arsenal who was also on the set, he came to the other party's home. The two made some small dishes and talked about today's experience while having a drink.

"By the way, when did you switch to kvass, which tastes weird? Didn't you used to like tequila like me?"

"Quit, I don't want to die of alcoholism in my forties."

Charlotte looked up at the man in front of him. Richard Arsenal is one of the few reliable friends among the friends left by his predecessor. He was over forty years old, ten years older than Charlotte, with a bushy red beard, a burly figure, and looked a bit like a Viking. However, completely opposite to that berserker-like appearance, he is a man with ingenuity and love of cooking in private, and now the side dishes that the two of them serve with wine are basically from his handwriting.

"It's good to quit, at least it can save a lot of trouble."

Richard sighed, somewhat indescribably,

"But according to your previous behavior, I always thought that you either drowned in your own vomit after drinking, or woke up one morning and was shot in the head by the girl you just tricked into bed with. Bang!!! "

"Hi!!?"

Charlotte's face was hurt, but after calling his soul, he can be considered to understand the virtue of his predecessor, especially the last sentence, which reminded him of his experience of being pointed at by Charlize.

"Old Gun, you are blatantly jealous! Besides, don't you see that I drink kvass now?"

—"Old Gun" was Richard's nickname in the inner circle. Because his surname is the same as the Premier League powerhouse Arsenal, and he is one of the few American men who like football but not rugby, so people who have a good relationship with him are often called by the nickname "Gunner" of the Arsenal team he. And people like Charlotte who are much younger than him will simply call him "Old Gun".

"Of course it's a good thing to quit this thing!"

"Old Gun" Richard raised the glass of tequila to his eyes with his right hand, his eyes blurred,

"You're still young, of course it's a good thing to stay away from this damn thing! Unlike me, even if you understand, it's the only thing that can accompany me!"

——Richard got divorced three years ago, and at the same time as his happy family lost, he also lost more than half of his net worth and the custody of his children. The reason is a weakness that all men know but is difficult to overcome.

"If I could drink less alcohol at that time, maybe I wouldn't be hanging out with her best friend..."

Richard drank the tequila in his cup, and became more and more depressed.

"Do you know, Charlotte? A woman's best friend is a natural enemy to a man! When they are not familiar with you, they will pick you up and slander you in every possible way; and when you get to know them , and they'll—"

"Old Gun, do you know what happened today?"

In order to prevent the lost man in front of him from constantly immersing himself in the past and complaining about himself-to be honest, seeing a middle-aged man with a red beard like a Viking and crying in front of him is not only a headache, but also disgusting ——Charlotte had to bring the topic back to the new film preparatory meeting during the day. Moreover, he did have some questions to ask Richard. Lao Qiang has more contacts and senior experience than him, and he is also the assistant director who is responsible for casting important roles in the new crew, so he will definitely be able to answer some of his doubts.

"That bastard Alan will trouble me, probably because his script has too high requirements for the set and the funds are not very sufficient. Under such circumstances, it is an inevitable choice to put pressure on me, the artist in charge of the set. .

But the question is, as a rookie director, how could he scold the producer Westwood like he was scolding his grandson? This is not right! Isn't it the other way around? "

"indeed so!"

Interrupted by Charlotte's question, and looking up from regret for the past, "Old Gun" Richard regained the shrewdness of a veteran on the set,

"However, I heard that although the people from New Line are the producers this time, in fact, the investment in New Line is not much. Let Westwood do it, just to use some of their channels for convenience. The real funds , In fact, many of them were brought in by that guy, Allen McElroy."

"So when it comes to funding, Allen, the director, is so arrogant, while Westwood is a little short of breath."

"That's right! In particular, the funds brought in by Alan also include investment from companies owned by several first-line big names such as Jodie Foster, which adds to his confidence."

——In Hollywood, many stars with certain achievements and capital will set up their own bag companies or studios and invest in some low-cost films. On the one hand, this is to further gain benefits, and on the other hand, it is also for the sake of the future after the death. Of course, because the capital and brains of these stars are different, the fate of their companies is also different. The good ones can eat meat and drink soup behind the backs of major distribution and production companies. Although it is not easy to grow big, they can still keep their income in droughts and floods. The bad ones will be taken advantage of by those evil producers. .

How to say that, a producer who cannot cheat investors is not a good producer.

Of course, Jodie Foster, as one of the most savvy female stars in Hollywood, her money is not so easy to cheat. However, on the other hand, with her support, Allen is indeed more confident as a director.

"So, Allen's background is very deep! I don't know how he got the support of Jodie Foster?"

"Although I really want to say that he got the investment from the bed, but his honor..."

Lao Qiang curled his lips, and Charlotte quite agrees with this point of view. Although this kind of thing is very common in Hollywood, and it's not even considered an unspoken rule, Allen's appearance really lacks the potential to be a bad guy. What's more, even if it doesn't come from a later age like Charlotte, many people in the circle of this era are vaguely aware of Jodie Foster's lesbian attributes.

"Anyway, the investment in this film is not that big. Coupled with the support of first-line investors like Foster, Allen's status is already as stable as Mount Tai. But if this is the case, why did he deliberately go to the film? How about stepping on the producer Westwood? Anyway, according to the current rules, the producer is the boss!"

Charlotte shook the empty kvass bottle in her hand, and threw it into the trash can not far away,

"It can't be that God made him crazy!?"

"He may not necessarily perish, but the possibility of getting mad is relatively high."

Old Gun continued to say what Charlotte said,

"I have been in this industry since I was a teenager, and I have met many people who are in charge of guiding for the first time. They behave differently. Some are cautious, while others are arrogant. Under the huge pressure, what do people become? They don't look strange. Of course, there is another possibility, that is, they are acting!"

"A play!? You mean that Westwood is deliberately cooperating with him, using himself as a raft to establish the authority of loving Allen?"

Charlotte also led a team project before crossing. Although the intrigue is not so serious, it is not that she is completely ignorant of office politics.

"But generally this kind of rafting is done by stars who cooperate with the director tacitly, right? Sending out the producer, isn't it a bit of a big deal?"

"The problem is that--"

Old Gun shrugged his shoulders,

"Let's not say the cast is finished yet, do you think it's possible to invite any stars with our budget?"

"...What you said is so reasonable, I can't even refute it."

Charlotte smiled wryly,

"However, in this way, we will face the following two situations - 1. The director has a strong background, and the producer can't do anything about him, but he is rampant and impatient. In conclusion, he is a very difficult boss; 2. The director can The producer sacrificed his authority to help him build his reputation. He probably has the support of all investors and distribution companies. He has great power and is good at using conspiracy and tricks, so it is even more difficult to deal with;——Hey, why are there only bad results and What could be worse?"

"Isn't this normal?"

Richard poured himself another shot of tequila,

"In this world, many things do not have good options. All you can do is choose between bad and worse."

"Like a general election every four years?"

"That's right, it's like a general election!"

Old Gun with the red beard of a Viking raised his glass like a real pirate, as if it wasn't tequila but rum,

"To the worst villain ever!"

*********************

Although Charlotte was very worried that their director would make trouble, the preparations for the new film went smoothly afterwards. The staff in all departments were in place step by step, and the props and scene work that Charlotte was in charge of also went smoothly unexpectedly. After the scene was completed, he really found a way to achieve the layout effect required by Allen's script under the condition of insufficient budget, which made the director who had been contradicted by him become more appreciative of him.

In fact, the script of the new movie is quite similar to the "Fatal Turn" in Charlotte's memory, and it is also somewhat similar to the previous unfinished script. It is about several young people being mutated The story of the cannibal hunting demon.

Charlotte didn't suspect that there was anything tricky about it. After all, after watching too many American horror movies, she would find that many movie scripts are similar. The only difference lies in the method of killing and the design of bloody scenes. Even, Allen's script is more refined than "Fatal Turn".

Of course, it is precisely because of this delicacy that Charlotte faces more difficulties in arranging the scene. Fortunately, he finally solved the problem, and everything went smoothly until--