From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

From actor to producer, it's a significant step, and a different story.

Actors only need to perform the role well.

Producers, however, need to be connected with funding, management, planning, and so on.

Moreover, Anson has only been in Hollywood for two years, and his number of works is limited; now, taking it a step further to challenge the position of producer, the challenges ahead will inevitably be greater, and the situation more complex.

Of course, Anson noticed the key, and Edgar couldn't possibly miss it either.

Edgar nodded, "That's indeed the case."

"But in fact, you have two choices."

"First, continue to insist on being an actor."

"When film companies and producers are choosing projects to produce, the first thing they often look at isn't the script, but the names surrounding the project."

"So, screenwriters and producers often attach a list of actors when submitting projects, a list of actors suitable for each role."

"First choice, second choice, third choice."

"Regardless of whether these actors will actually appear, just write down some big names, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts; Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, write whoever you want, as long as you can justify why they are suitable for the script."

"This makes it easier to attract attention and more directly showcase the creative ideas of the project."

"Now, having your name in a project can also attract attention."

"You don't need to become a producer; the project will naturally have a producer to take over."

"Second, you can become a producer, shouldering the responsibility of finding investment and production companies, further expanding the landscape beyond acting."

"Of course, the prerequisite is that you have enough confidence in the project, that you believe the project can succeed, and that it can become a project worth mentioning on your resume."

He paused for a moment.

Edgar still decided to be frank and openly express his thoughts.

"This is also one of the advantages of choosing small and medium-sized projects."

"We can use the current situation to win more room for choice."

"If we always participate in large projects, we will always be in a passive state, having to watch the film company's every move; but for large projects, having a 'Spider-Man' series is enough for now, we should open up more opportunities in other areas."

So that's how it is.

But thinking about it carefully, this is Anson, and this is why he admires Anson.

At least, he and Anson have reached a consensus again, which is good news.

Edgar chuckled.

"This project, the script is special, and it doesn't belong to the type that film companies like; and the two directors and screenwriters are asking for a budget as high as twenty million dollars…"

The words, up to this point, are enough—

A screenwriter turning director, and shooting the first work of their career, actually asking for an investment of twenty million dollars, unless they are Aaron Sorkin, few producers or film companies would be willing to take the risk.

Here, Anson had a question, "Why don't they hand it over to other directors? Very few screenwriters would want to switch careers to become directors, after all, scripts and films use completely different languages."

"Because they have spent seven years on this script." Edgar gave an unexpected answer, which was very shocking.

Anson immediately understood, "I understand. The script constantly travels through different time and space, and different timelines lead to different results, which means that the filming site may be very chaotic, one scene cannot be connected to another, and the timeline falls into chaos as it's being filmed."

"Seven years. Wow, they should be the only directors who can be aware of what they are doing at any time, at least that's what they believe."

Edgar spread his hands, noncommittal, "Maybe you can convince them to hand the script over to other directors, I believe there are directors who can control it."

Anson's attention was on something else, "They spent seven years on a script, so how do they make a living?"

Such divergent thinking.

Edgar still explained, "This isn't their first collaboration. Do you know the horror film 'Final Destination'? The first and second films in the series are their works, which brought them considerable income."

Slightly surprised.

But thinking about it carefully, both 'Final Destination' and 'The Butterfly Effect' are discussing fatalism, and the latter goes a step further in philosophical thinking on the basis of the former, so it makes sense.

"Of course, I guess, also because of this reason, they have put too much effort into this project, to the point of becoming paranoid, so they insist that they must direct it themselves."

"Actually, for this reason, I'm a little hesitant."

Edgar didn't blindly praise it just because it was a project he recommended.

Anson looked over.

Edgar added, "Too paranoid and stubborn, they will inevitably think that their script is perfect and will not allow producers and actors to interfere, which is not a good thing for cooperation."

"Otherwise, they are not unknown figures, having written two scripts with good box office performance, how could this project have been repeatedly delayed for so many years and still not found a producer and film company willing to take over?"

"Perhaps, they have all been driven away by them."

Indeed, this is a possibility, and a slightly tricky one.

Anson didn't rush to jump to a conclusion either, and gently raised his chin to think for a moment.

"Let's meet with the two directors and screenwriters first and see if they are satisfied with me as an actor."

Edgar disagreed, "What do they have to be picky about?"

Anson laughed directly, "Before determining cooperation, it is originally a two-way selection process, we can pick their faults, and they can also reject us, after all, the script is theirs."

Edgar curled his lips, "I don't think they have any room to be dissatisfied. It's been seven years, and the project still hasn't started, and Hollywood isn't short of scripts that have been tossed around for twenty years and still haven't seen the light of day."

That's true.

In 2019, Ang Lee and Will Smith collaborated on a 'Gemini Man', the script of which was created in the early 1990s, and was shelved for nearly thirty years before it was released, but the quality of the finished film was difficult to satisfy due to themes and plots that couldn't keep up with the times.

Anson didn't care too much, "I know, we are starting to grasp the right to speak now, but there is no need to be too anxious, everything is just a beginning. Not long ago, I was like them, an advancer who had just opened up a little bit of a situation in Hollywood, and then looked forward to being able to go further, it's too early to act like a big shot now."

In one sentence, Edgar was stunned, and a smile crept onto the corner of his mouth, "Generally speaking, it is agents who advise actors not to act like big shots, but here we are, with the actor advising the agent not to act like a big shot."

Edgar didn't mind mocking himself at all.

Seeing that Edgar understood, Anson didn't continue to say anything, "I like our current development direction. Just look at James, his agent focuses on selecting big names, big directors, big actors, and establishing connections through these collaborations, and finally opening up the situation."

Different agents, different planning directions.

As far as the current situation is concerned, Anson believes that his cooperation with Edgar has been on the right track.