From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Edgar hung up the phone and sat there, pondering carefully.

The conversation, naturally, couldn't directly address the key point, but rather grasp fragments from casual, everyday occurrences, searching for clues from seemingly ordinary events, and ultimately finding signs of the impending storm.

Kiche and Mangold had just appeared at Sony Columbia, although no one knew the purpose of their visit; but they came out of the conference room in less than five minutes.

The atmosphere was slightly strange.

Then, Mangold hung up Edgar's phone.

If—just a hypothesis—if Sony Columbia's CEO Michael Lynton regarded Anson as an important bargaining chip, then restraining Anson would be equivalent to restraining Amy Pascal.

Then, is it possible to use "Walk the Line" as a tool?

After all, "Walk the Line" isn't exactly a high-profile project.

Even further, perhaps Michael Lynton simply doesn't have faith in the "Walk the Line" project, he doesn't think the project is worth investing in, and is trying to cut the project, further compressing the bargaining chips in Amy Pascal's hands; and Anson is just a pretext to launch it?

Thinking about it carefully, the "Walk the Line" project has been going around in circles for ten years but has never entered the real production stage, it's reasonable for Michael to choose to act here, in order to create a situation where Amy "repeatedly makes wrong decisions"; and by the way, give Anson a hit, a slight act of revenge.

Things are getting a little interesting.

Edgar thought he would agree with Michael, pushing the boat along the river and persuading Anson to withdraw, getting rid of this project that looked uncertain no matter how you looked at it.

However, after speculating on such a possibility, Edgar instead stood on Anson's side.

The fundamental reason is that Michael is a businessman, his consideration of movies is entirely a project manager model, analyzing some objective conditions on paper, judging success or failure in a numerical way, but he doesn't have much understanding of the movie itself.

The advantage of such a Michael Lynton is that he is objective and rational, dealing with matters as they are, and running a top company requires such calmness and professionalism.

The disadvantage, however, is that he knows nothing about movies. Movies are not numbers. There are countless situations where movies that should have been successful based on paper analysis flop so badly that even their own mothers don't recognize them. The movie market does have certain rules, but the soil in which the rules are rooted is still the movie itself.

The key is to balance the relationship between the two.

Edgar wasn't surprised, but instead further confirmed his guess.

Edgar dialed a second time, which went straight to voicemail.

Edgar didn't leave a message, hung up, and then dialed a third time.

Finally, the phone connected.

"Hey, Edgar, sorry, I'm driving," Mangold's voice trembled slightly, with hesitation and panic, obviously not knowing how to deal with such a situation, trying his best to show a smile but still revealing a trace of unease in the slightly trembling ending sound.

Edgar, on the other hand, seemed particularly relaxed, "Still in that tunnel?"

Where in Los Angeles is there such a long tunnel, that you can't find the exit even after thirty minutes?

In fact, Mangold and Kiche were still in the underground parking lot of Sony Columbia, the two of them scratching their heads for a long time without any ideas.

Mangold chuckled dryly twice, "No, no. I came out a long time ago."

Edgar didn't intend to expose Mangold, and directly cut to the chase, "Director, if I remember correctly, you and the production company discussed cooperation, but haven't signed an agreement yet, is that right?"

This sentence seemed meaningful.

First, Edgar didn't directly mention the name of Sony Columbia.

Second, the focus of Edgar's words was, "hasn't signed an agreement".

Mangold was a smart man, flustered as he was, but he tasted a hint of subtext, and immediately nodded in agreement following Edgar's words.

"Yes, still under discussion."

Edgar seemed to be completely unaware of the tug-of-war between the two James and Sony Columbia, "That's great, you know, Anson really likes this project, and really looks forward to completing this role."

"If necessary, Anson is willing to connect you and find some investment for the crew."

Mangold's eyes lit up, and he suddenly turned to look at Kiche.

Kiche didn't hear Edgar's words, and was confused.

Mangold quickly turned on the speakerphone, and Edgar's voice came from the receiver.

"...Anson himself has also served as a producer, he knows the tug-of-war between the director, the producer, and the film company, which is obviously not that simple."

"We just want to make an excellent work wholeheartedly, but the only thing the film company cares about is the production cost and box office revenue."

"Anson is very clear that a script like 'Walk the Line' may be just a trouble in the eyes of the film company. They don't care about Johnny Cash, and they don't care about June Carter. Those are all history. The only thing they care about is whether the movie looks like it will sell."

"This is a disaster."

In just a few words, Kiche already had the idea of ​​exhausting his efforts and dying for it, a surge of warm tears in his eyes, and various thoughts stirring in his chest.

"Of course, we can always seek cooperation with Focus Features or Searchlight Pictures. Biography films completely fit their market positioning; but obviously they are more troublesome than film companies, requiring the script to be completely completed according to the awards season Oscar template, which is also a disaster."

Kiche nodded frantically on the other end of the phone, and finally found a confidant for the grievances and pains of these years. Only he himself knew those hardships.

"If it's Anson, Anson is willing to respect the characteristics of each project, each script, each director, and each actor. They don't need to evolve into another template in the Hollywood formula, but to complete their development according to their own personality and edges."

"So, Anson is very happy to recommend you to a brand new production company, funds from Silicon Valley, lacking experience, or even completely without; but precisely because of the lack of experience, they are willing to trust the producer and director, and leave professional matters to professionals."

"If you are interested, I can give you the contact information of their person in charge."

From beginning to end, Edgar didn't mention the high-level struggle of Sony Columbia, nor did he mention that Sony Columbia might be oppressing the two James; but instead, he subtly completed the recommendation in another way, providing a possibility for Mangold and Kiche.

While respecting the pride of the two James, he also gave a solution—

Everything was perfect.