Hollywood Drawing

American film production first started in eastern cities such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Later, when looking for locations, producers discovered that Southern California's warm sunshine and rich landscape were very suitable for filming movies all year round.

At the same time, in order to avoid the patent companies that produce films, some independent producers began to move to Hollywood and settled in Hollywood, a small suburban town in Los Angeles.

Soon, many production companies gathered here, and the film production center shifted from New York to Los Angeles, and Hollywood became synonymous with North American movies.

At that time, Hollywood quickly concentrated more than one video studio in a short period of time. Coupled with the developed agriculture in the suburbs, it was rich in vegetables, citrus fruits, milk, eggs, meat and other livestock products. The commercial, financial, and insurance industries are concentrated in large urban areas with 2 credit institutions, insurance companies, etc. that have employees throughout the city.

The small town of Hollywood became more and more developed, so the movies were transferred there. Eventually, the name Hollywood became the name of the region and it developed into a symbol of North American movies.

However, with the end of the era of big studios, major Hollywood film companies began to flee this place one after another. In particular, the major Hollywood film companies have gradually become part of the media group and become content producers of the media group. Today, the only large film company that continues to stick to Hollywood is Paramount.

It’s not just the Hollywood movie companies that have fled, but more importantly, the filming locations of Hollywood film projects. Since the 1990s, more and more Hollywood film project filming locations have begun to be located in Australia, Canada, etc. Overseas, major film companies have also opened their own studios overseas.

There are many reasons for the relocation of filming locations for Hollywood projects, the most important of which is taxation. As we all know, although California is the base of Hollywood movies, the tax rate in California is not low, and the film tax incentives are even greater. Inconspicuous.

In comparison, places such as Australia, Canada, and even Germany not only provide Hollywood crews with a lot of filming conveniences, but also provide extremely high tax rebates.

The purpose of Hollywood film companies in making movies is to make profits, and it is a purely commercial activity. Therefore, more and more project shooting locations are relocated, which has become an inevitable phenomenon.

That is to say, under this background, not many of the major Hollywood film companies still have studios in Los Angeles, and even large studios that can guarantee normal operation and have complete production mechanisms are the only ones left. Warner Bros.

To this day, Warner Studios remains one of the most important divisions of Warner Bros. The studio is located in Burbank and consists of two main and auxiliary factories connected together, one large and one small. The Warner Studio that people most often refer to actually refers to the main factory area.

The main studio area of ​​Warner Studios covers an area of ​​about 110 acres (approximately 4,047 square meters per acre). There are more than 30 studios in the factory area, as well as an uncountable number of location attractions. For example, the streets of New York often used in Hollywood movies, the street scenes of various famous small cities in North America, the major characteristic street scenes of Europe, etc.

Even though the era of big studios has ended for many years, major Hollywood film companies have all built their own filming bases overseas. But when it comes to the most advanced and complete studios in the world, we still have to mention those in the Warner Studio. Even after the second decade of the 21st century, this phenomenon has not changed.

For example, the most famous thing in the studio is that it has the highest studio in the world. Projects such as Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" and the later famous "The Voice" were basically shot here as long as scenes that required huge venues were shot.

It's not just a studio. If you want to make a movie and the requirements are not so demanding, almost everything can be done here without leaving the studio.

There are the world's top professional photo studios, film screening rooms, editing departments and editing rooms, recording departments and recording studios, huge makeup departments, props departments, costume departments and other professional departments.

The studio also has its own security team, a huge studio catering department, fire brigade, and transportation fleet. If there is a shortage of props and costumes required for filming, the movie store in the studio also accepts customized services. If you are willing to pay enough For a deposit, you can even borrow the props you need for filming from the Warner Bros. Museum inside the studio.

No matter how the times change, Warner Bros. has always stubbornly maintained its own production base. This may be the biggest difference between this company and other large film companies.

From a business perspective, this is somewhat unreasonable, because the cost of maintaining a huge studio is completely insufficient compared to the profits it creates. This is also the reason why other film companies have closed and downsized their own studios.

Regardless of whether it is due to so-called tradition or stubbornness, Warner Bros. not only maintains this studio in Los Angeles, but also has a giant studio of similar size in Riverston, near London, England, accounting for The area is much larger than the one in Hollywood.

This studio located near London is relatively famous for its films, such as a whole series of The Little Wizards, "Sherlock Holmes", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", etc., all of which came from this studio.

However, over time, these huge studios like Warner Bros. have also become facilities similar to Disney theme parks, mainly used to receive tourists from all over the world. In other words, not only did Warner Bros. not close down these studios in the later period, they also continued to build new ones around the world. Of course, another way of saying this is that they can also be called film and television cities.

The popularization of the Internet era has brought about an era of information explosion. More tourists are willing to walk into iconic scenes in movies and even experience the magical world in movies for themselves.

But that was more than ten or twenty years later, and the current Warner Studio still maintains its coolness. However, during this period of time, the studio has become obviously lively again. Agents from major Hollywood brokerage companies are jumping up and down with their clients, constantly entering and leaving Warner Studio.

The first was the much-anticipated audition for "The Lord of the Rings". Compared with other projects, "The Lord of the Rings" requires a large number of main actors, and there are even more various minor supporting roles. This caused a lot of confusion after the audition began. It is a grand occasion for a large number of actors to line up and gather.

"Is my hair okay? Damn it, this shoddy crown always gets stuck on my forehead."

In the dressing room of the Warner Studio studio, Cate Blanchett, dressed in white, sat in front of the mirror and carefully checked her makeup. Especially her long blonde hair, which was permed into neat waves.

Although she was complaining, the smile on her face betrayed her true mood. After putting the Elf Crown on her head, she stood up and turned around in the mirror. Then he turned his head and looked at his agent. "Wendis, is there nothing wrong?"

"no problem."

The agent looked carefully up and down and nodded with satisfaction. "Kate, you are the queen of elves now. You are so beautiful that it takes your breath away. It is this noble and unique temperament that no man can resist, believe me."

No one doesn't like to hear good words, and so does Cate Blanchett. She tried hard to maintain the expression on her face and checked her outfit in the mirror again.

That's right, she knows better than anyone that she can't compare with those beautiful girls in Hollywood. Her figure is not hot enough, and she does not have the bulge and back of an American big girl. But she knows how to make full use of her own strengths, such as her unusually long snow-white legs and her unique temperament.

"Fortunately, I caught up and didn't miss this opportunity." Cate Blanchett whispered softly, sitting on the makeup chair and waiting for the final audition.

The agent Wendis stood behind her. After hearing her client's emotion, she shrugged and said: "That Ms. Nina Klein, since she is willing to show you Wayne Greenberg's manuscript, why not If you don't want to help, say hello to Peter Jackson. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to audition over and over again."

Cate Blanchett shook her head slightly and explained with a smile: "Being able to successfully enter the final round of auditions means that Peter Jackson and the producers have invisibly given Wayne Greenberg face."

Speaking of this, she squinted her eyes and looked at her agent in the mirror. She lowered her voice even more and explained: "Who is Nina Klein? She will do it because of my nice words. Just show me the manuscript drawn by Wayne himself? I'm not stupid. If the person behind it doesn't nod, do you think she will look at me?"

"What?!" When the agent heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered some rumors about Nina Klein in the circle.

No one doubted that this woman with average appearance and figure and thick eyes would have some nasty stories with her clients. Wayne Greenberg's taste in women can be summed up by just asking a random movie fan on the street, not to mention this industry.

But as time went by, more and more eyes inevitably focused on Nina. There are even rumors in the circle that this plain-looking female assistant is Wayne's brain and controls all of Wayne's wealth.

Rumors are destined to become more and more outrageous. Many gossip tabloids once conducted in-depth analyzes of Nina's status around Wayne. In fact, most people are more willing to believe that Nina's position next to Wayne is more similar to Pat Kingsley's position next to Tom Cruise. The conclusion is that this woman is not easy to offend, and even ordinary people cannot afford to offend her.

"Don't worry about that woman. The reason why she showed you the original manuscript of the Elf Queen means..." The agent shook his head vigorously, bent down close to his client, and asked in a low voice: "Wei Well, Greenberg offered this role to you."

"Hard to say."

Cate Blanchett shrugged and said straightforwardly: "Even if he thinks I'm suitable for this role, I'm afraid he has to see the final audition and makeup effects. Wendys, this is a big company with an investment of more than 300 million US dollars. project!"

It can only be said that anyone who succeeds in Hollywood is definitely not a fool, and a clear mind is a necessary attribute.

In fact, Cate Blanchett knows better than anyone else that the reason why she was able to see the Elf Queen's manuscript in advance was because she risked her life to please the man when she faced him. There was no other reason.

Even in the first few rounds of auditions, Peter Jackson, as the film director, and even the powerful producer, all maintained a vague respect for themselves, all because of their relationship with that man. What they respect is not themselves, but the elder behind them.

But she didn't feel disappointed at all. She tried her best to please Wayne Greenberg, wasn't it because of these invisible cares?

Another point she sees very clearly is that the production cost of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is more than 300 million US dollars. For a project with such a sky-high production cost, every link must be guaranteed to be error-free, not to mention It's time for the main actors' audition.

"Lord of the Rings" is not "Shakespeare in Love". There is no comparison between the two in terms of production cost or influence.

As long as an actress steps into Los Angeles, who would be willing to work in the field of niche literary films? To put it mildly, in front of the media, it means that they are honing their acting skills with good intentions. To put it badly, there is no actress who does not want to go beyond the so-called honing of acting skills and directly become the darling of Hollywood commercial films.

Although "Shakespeare in Love" is in the hands of Harvey Weinstein, who is preparing to enter the Oscar stage with great ambitions, Cate Blanchett is even more envious of her "bestie". In her opinion, the path taken by Naomi Watts is the most correct and suitable path for an actress.

Become famous early. This sentence is extremely suitable to describe Hollywood actresses. As we all know, the shelf life of European and American beauty's appearance is much shorter than that of men. If you cannot become a "famous movie star" at your best age, it will be difficult to even play a supporting role in a movie after the age of 30.

What about the Oscar-winning actress? So what if you get the prize and get soft? Being able to win awards does not necessarily mean you are a big star. Cate Blanchett thought clearly, Meryl Streep's acting skills are outstanding, but when the film company chooses the heroine, Naomi Watts will definitely be ranked far ahead of her.

"Trust me, Kate."

He raised his wrist and glanced at the time, and the agent gave his final instructions. "You are the Elf Queen in reality. No man can reject you now, not even Wayne Greenberg. Perform well and get this damn role. You have a huge advantage."

Nodding silently, Cate Blanchett let out a sigh of relief. Yes, she has the greatest advantage, and she must make good use of it. At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door of the dressing room, and an assistant informed Cate Blanchett to go to the audition room.

Finally, she and her agent looked at each other and nodded lightly. With the help of the crew assistant, she walked out of the dressing room holding up her skirt and walked towards the audition room.

Facing the surprised looks of a large number of actors along the way, Cate Blanchett seemed not to notice them at all, especially the jealousy that was released in the eyes of some actresses, and she completely forgot about them. She didn't believe that she could lose to these unprepared opponents despite being so thoroughly prepared.

"After today's audition, I will notify Yinlia Wood's agent."

In the audition room, Wayne supported his chin with one hand, tilted his head and looked at a resume on the table, and whispered: "John, start contract negotiations with Yinlia Wood's agent as soon as possible, and try your best to lower his salary. The budget of "The Ring" is not generous at all. If we can't reach an agreement with his agent, Yinlia Wood will be abandoned immediately and alternative actors will be used."

"OK, I see."

John Gray, who was sitting next to Wayne, nodded and whispered: "Yinlia Wood has a great height advantage and performed well in the previous auditions. I hope nothing goes wrong."

For the actor who plays Frodo, who is less than 1.7 meters tall, it actually became an advantage at this time. Just like John Gray said, Wayne also took a fancy to Yinlia Wood's height advantage, which is infinitely close to the Hobbit in people's minds.

But this is Hollywood after all, and no one is irreplaceable. Even if this actor performed well in "The Lord of the Rings" in his memory, it is still not the only choice.

"continue."

Wayne looked at Peter Jackson and waved, and at the same time nodded to the director's assistant standing in front of the audition room door, indicating that the audition should continue and informing the next actor to come in.

The door of the audition room opened, and in an instant, the entire staff in the room was stunned when they saw the woman who walked in naturally. Even John Gray, who was sitting at the very back, was stunned when he saw the woman's outfit.

Only Wayne showed a smile and looked at Cate Blanchett who walked in in amazement. Even the moment he saw this woman, he knew that this role belonged to her.

"Perfect and well-prepared, isn't it?"

John Gray calmed down, glanced at Wayne next to him, and joked in a low voice: "Boss, I suspect that your drawing manuscript has been leaked. Ha, this outfit and makeup are exactly the same as your original composition. ! Damn, even the hairstyle is so lifelike..."

Peter Jackson shrugged, and seeing the lifeless look on Wayne's face, he also said with a hint of weirdness: "John, if I were you, I would definitely pretend that I don't know anything, but I have to say, it is exactly the same as the manuscript. . Damn it, we seem to know too much, we won’t be silenced, right?”

"Shit."

After laughing and swearing, Wayne was indeed not angry at all about being exposed. Instead, he stretched out a hand and tapped the table twice, interrupting the assistant director's audition instructions.

He tilted his head and took a closer look at the effects in the camera. He stood up directly, folded his arms in front of his chest, approached Cate Blanchett, who was at a loss, and circled around the Australian woman who looked like an elf queen. I circled it twice and observed it carefully.

All the staff in the audition room watched Wayne's abnormal movements until he put his chin in his hand, nodded with satisfaction, and walked back behind the camera.

"Okay, there is no need to continue this audition. Kate, go back and wait for the notification."

He sat back down at the table and picked up the cigarette on the table. His voice also spread throughout the audition room.

After hearing Wayne's instructions, Peter Jackson looked at producer John Gray, who happened to also look over, with some understanding in their eyes.

Although this project was jointly invested by Warner Bros. and Greenberg Studios, John Gray was not stupid enough to raise objections. Even though he was responsible for Warner Bros.'s producer, he just nodded silently and acquiesced to this. A joke-like audition.

Peter Jackson looked at the actress in front and said: "Ms. Cate Blanchett, thank you for taking the time to participate in this audition. For specific information, the crew will notify your agent within three days after the audition ends."

"OK, thanks."

Trying to suppress the ecstasy in her heart, Cate Blanchett politely nodded her thanks, took one last look at the man sitting in the middle, turned and left the audition room. The whole process was much smoother than she imagined.

Like a real elf queen, she proudly raised her head and walked towards the anxiously waiting agent. Under the questioning gaze of the other party, he raised his hand in an OK gesture without any scruples.

During the audition, several director's assistants cast strange glances at Wayne from time to time, but at least their glances were concealed.

There's nothing wrong with the seemingly tongue-in-cheek audition process, especially with Wayne. First of all, there was no problem with Cate Blanchett's acting skills. Secondly, her personal image and temperament amazed everyone, so he chose to save time and ignore those routine processes.

Another important point is that from a business perspective, he is more inclined to sign with Cate Blanchett now. Others may underestimate "Shakespeare in Love", but he will not underestimate this film. The point is that the big fat guy Harvey Weinstein was very well prepared this time.

From this point of view, when the filming of "Lord of the Rings" starts, there is a high probability that an Oscar-winning actress will join the film. Moreover, the Oscar-winning actress’ current asking price is still very low.

Thinking of this, he looked at the producer and whispered. "Sign with Cate Blanchett's agent as soon as possible, John, and the salary principle remains unchanged."

"I see."

Opening his arms and stretching hard, Wayne held a cigarette in his mouth and glanced at the time. After thinking for a while, he said, "Peter, tell everyone to take a rest. We will continue after lunch."

"ok."

At this time, in the studio outside the audition, there were still many actors and agents waiting, including some already famous actors, but everyone was patiently waiting for notification from the staff.

In the small dressing room not far from the audition room, the door was pushed open. An agent in a suit entered the room and then closed the door. "Liv, I just received a notification from the production assistant that our audition has been pushed to after lunch. "

"Swallowing the Starry Sky: Sign in to Become a God"

Frowning slightly, Liv Taylor turned to look at her agent. "It's not lunch break yet, right?"

"Who knows." The agent wiped the sweat from his face, his voice also full of helplessness. But then he put away all his dissatisfaction and deliberately lowered his voice and said: "I heard one thing, Liv, our main competitor, is most likely Charlize Theron! And I also saw Uma- Thurman!”

"Shouldn't she be promoting "The Matrix" overseas?" Liv Taylor was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully, ignoring Uma Thurman.

"At least until now, I haven't seen her in the studio." The agent raised his ears and listened to the movement outside the door for two seconds, then lowered his voice even more. "This is our opportunity, no, it's your opportunity. Judging from the current situation, Charlize Theron shouldn't have arrived yet."

"You mean..." Liv Tyler looked at herself in the mirror and asked thoughtfully.