From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

A hint of a smile appeared in Lucas's eyes. Anson's casual self-deprecation always added a bit of lighthearted pleasure to serious work discussions.

"So, you think the company's second project should be a cult classic without you in it?"

Cult classic. Anson liked Lucas's choice of words. His smile fully bloomed. "Yes, that's exactly what I think."

"Luca, because of 'Walk the Line,' Forest Films is already tied to me. All of Hollywood knows Forest Films is Anson-gege's company."

"I know you're not trying to hide that. It's no secret..." Anson sensed the sharpness in Lucas's eyes and his heart skipped a beat. "I'm not trying to deny that either, but it's not conducive to doing business."

"We need to make our stance clear before Forest Films becomes completely and utterly tied to me in Hollywood."

"Yes, exactly. Forest Films is willing to participate in the production of more of my projects; but at the same time, Forest Films is also willing to open its arms to more possibilities—screenwriters, producers, actors, artists who have been ostracized and ignored by Hollywood, whose development possibilities have been restricted by stereotypes, who have been trapped by Hollywood's narrative templates—"

"Hey, don't put all your eggs in one basket. There's a whole forest out there."

"I believe 'Sin City' is such an opportunity."

Lucas was very serious, immersed in Anson's words, revealing a hint of surprise.

Forest Films was originally just a company Lucas founded to support Anson, everything revolving entirely around Anson; but now, Anson had given it a brand-new meaning, subtly changing the company's purpose and philosophy.

However, this feeling... didn't seem bad.

Thinking of this, Lucas pulled his thoughts back, re-examining the project before him.

'Sin City,' so rebellious, so special, so flamboyant, so intense. Lucas knew nothing about the film's artistic creation and marketing, but he understood investment—

Assess risk, calculate return, envision the future.

So, was this movie worth it?

If this was Anson's project, like 'Walk the Line,' Lucas naturally wouldn't need to consider these things. Everything would be prioritized for Anson.

But if this wasn't Anson's project, things would be completely different.

Lucas lowered his head and flipped through the script, his focus gradually concentrating.

This was a script, not a project proposal, so naturally there were no details like creative intentions, target audience, main creative team, investment budget, etc. For Lucas, this wasn't good news.

Lucas flipped through the script, the lines and dialogue meaningless to him.

After thinking for a moment, Lucas looked at Anson, "I can discuss it with the producers. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are the producers, right?"

Anson said, "Robert mainly. Frank doesn't know anything about filmmaking."

Lucas nodded slightly. "Then we should start with Frank even more. Anyway, Frank doesn't understand filmmaking. As long as we tell him that we will follow the script and their filming concepts, Frank will be quickly moved."

"Then he will believe everything is in order, willing to be our breakthrough, even helping us persuade others. After all, I've already fulfilled his greatest wish, haven't I?"

Frank, on the contrary, might become a breakthrough.

"The key is, what's the budget? Can it be profitable?"

"Such a challenging project not only provokes Hollywood's production formula but also challenges the market's acceptance."

"Sorry, Anson, I need to consider more possibilities from a numerical perspective."

Anson's smile directly bloomed. "I understand, I completely understand. CEO mode, oh ho ho, professional Lucas is indeed different."

Lucas helplessly glanced at Anson.

Anson smiled even wider. "I understand your thoughts."

"In my opinion, this project needs to be profitable. That's one hundred percent certain. For a newly established company, profitability is undoubtedly the key."

"But at the same time, back to the previous point."

"I tend to think of this project as more of a declaration, a debut, a marketing and promotion campaign, announcing our existence in a way that subverts stereotypes—"

"Different from other film companies."

"This publicity is necessary."

"Then, back to the project itself, indeed, this is a provocation to the mainstream market, but think about it, remakes like 'Dawn of the Dead' still have a large number of supporters and fans. Reality proves that this part of the audience cannot be ignored."

Lucas pondered for a moment, "Do you believe in this..." He looked down at the director's name, "Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino?"

Anson said, "I believe Robert Rodriguez can convince Frank Miller to nod his head, accomplishing something that other Hollywood producers and directors can't."

"Of course, cost control is a difficult problem. These two directors are both lawless. If given enough budget, they will not hesitate to squander it all; but at the same time, they also come from shooting B-movies, still able to complete an excellent job with a limited budget."

Lucas said, "Bargaining is the key."

Anson said, "Yes, it depends on whether the producer can control the two wild horses."

"Moreover, 'Sin City' is indeed special. It requires a lot of computer special effects support and a series of special shooting techniques. The cost is estimated to be not too low. The producer and director's bargaining may be full of traps. This is also a fact."

Lucas looked at Anson, "What do you think the budget for this movie needs to be controlled at in order for us to have a chance to achieve box office profitability?"

Anson smiled directly. "Wow, that's a tough question."

"In my opinion, 30 to 35 million US dollars? That's the upper limit. After all, we need to include the cost of publicity and promotion in the scope of consideration."

Lucas's eyebrow gently arched, falling into thought.

In his previous life, 'Sin City' indeed didn't find a large film company to cooperate with, even with Robert, Quentin, and Frank, it still didn't work. Mainstream Hollywood film companies were worried that such a work might flop.

It might even anger a portion of the audience like 'The Passion of the Christ'.

Things were particularly tricky.

No one in Hollywood was willing to easily offend the entire market for a project, even if the project achieved great success, the result might be not worth the loss.

If it weren't for special circumstances like Forest Films, the caution of other companies and producers would be completely understandable.

In the end, the film was produced by Robert Rodriguez's own production company, Troublemaker, which had just been established for less than three years.

However, relying solely on Troublemaker Studios, the funding was severely insufficient.

So, Quentin relied on his name to raise funds among Hollywood bigwigs, and finally found... the Weinstein brothers.