I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

John Wick is a retired killer.

Killer?

Wow, cool.

The story of the killer~

Keanu Reeves looked at the beginning of the script and said "like" in his heart.

In fact, it’s not that this profession is so great... people are just like that. People feel refreshed when happy events occur.

His debut as a director was recognized by Cannes and received good reviews there, so he was naturally in a good mood. And when people are in a good mood, let alone reading the script, even if they see a piece of shit, the color is authentic Nico Brown.

In his career as an actor, he has read countless scripts. At this stage, no matter whether the script is good or bad, it only depends on whether he is interested in it or not.

His interest was quite strong at this moment.

Reunion with friends is naturally a happy thing.

So, to sum up, his current mood can be summed up in two words.

"Pleasure."

And when he finished reading the general direction of the story, he subconsciously rubbed his chin.

A retired killer who killed a gang because of a dog gang?

Well……

good.

This movie is quite enjoyable.

I just don’t know what literary opera is like.

But at least the overall direction of the story is enjoyable.

Especially since MR. Wick was able to kill three people with a pencil...a pencil?

How did you do it?

He became more interested.

but……

"Dong dong dong."

There was a knock on the door.

Yang Mi opened the door and walked in:

"time to eat."

…

"Is this Japanese food?"

Keanu Reeves sat at the dining table, looking at the large and small plates of this kind of meal sharing system, and looked at Yang Mi curiously:

"Yang, I thought I could eat Chinese food today."

"If I eat Chinese food, I don't need to find a chef."

Yang Mi joked with a smile, and then, as the hostess, she picked up the red wine glass:

"Come and cheers~~~"

Hearing this, even the two children raised their juice glasses.

As for Xu Xin... he glanced down at the butter-fried abalone in front of him and subconsciously complained:

"Why do you have to eat at home like you would in a Japanese restaurant...it's not enough for one bite."

"It's a sense of ceremony."

After Yang Mi finished speaking, Liu Momo chuckled:

"I suddenly remembered the last time... who told me? You went to a Japanese restaurant to eat and asked someone to fry a copy?"

"what are you guys saying?"

Looking at the curious Keanu Reeves, Liu Momo explained the ins and outs of the matter in Xu Xin's speechless eyes.

Then……

"Ha ha ha ha……"

There was a burst of laughter.

Then disappeared for less than a second...

"Ahahahahaha~"

You really don’t want to say that.

The hearty laugh of the sad handsome guy is indeed a joy to watch.

"Neo", who still had some youthful look on his face, looked at Xu Xin:

"Xu...ahhahahahaha...this is the funniest joke I've heard this year."

"But I'm right, aren't I? The ritual of eating at home is very strange."

"Hahaha, of course. Indeed, if this meal can now include a Texas barbecue and a plate of macaroni, I will be happier."

Xu Xin knew as soon as he heard this that he was really hungry.

So he waved directly to the servant standing in the corner:

"Tell the chef to serve the rest of the dishes. I don't like this way of serving the dishes. Ask her to serve them all, and don't make such a mess of dishes."

The servant nodded and hurried to the kitchen.

Yang Mi originally wanted to say something, but in the end...

"this is mine!!"

Turning around, I saw that my daughter had finished her few slices of abalone and was reaching into her brother's bowl.

Yangyang obviously refused to let her eat and kept the bowl in his arms.

The siblings started fighting...

"Okay, okay, you'll be up soon..."

Obviously, the two children were also hungry.

Then don't engage in any sense of ritual.

Have a great time.

Soon, several large plates were brought out.

Seafood, grilled side dishes, cream stews, salt-grilled sea fish and more.

Except for the main course, a piece of Kobe beef that was still being grilled, everything else was placed on the table.

Now, not only Xu Xin was happy, but everyone else was also comfortable.

"Come, friends. Let's toast~"

Keanu Reeves offers a glass of wine.

Then he asked rather curiously:

"Xu, you came here very suddenly this time. Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to roast duck two days ago? Why did you come to the United States suddenly?"

Xu Xin pointed at the two children:

"Didn't Yang's movie start to be promoted? The children miss their mother. And Paramount also wants me to come over and read the script."

Originally, when Keanu Reeves heard the previous reason, he just nodded subconsciously to express understanding.

But when he heard the following, he was stunned:

"Are you going to work with Paramount?"

"Yeah. In July, my movie "Perfect Strangers" will be released here, and they will be the distributor, and they will also help the film run the Oscars..."

There is nothing to hide about this kind of thing.

It's not a secret either.

Unexpectedly...

"Speaking of this...Xu, do you have the English translation of "Perfect"?"

Xu Xin was stunned:

"how?"

"When I went to Cannes this time, your movie had already been released in France. I also bought a ticket, but... you know, the original Italian soundtrack was translated into French..."

"I understand. I'll send you a copy later."

"Haha, thanks, friend. I'm really curious about this movie."

As he spoke, he thought for a while and said:

"Xu, the people at Paramount are relatively easy to work with among companies in Hollywood. In my opinion, the most difficult to deal with is Warner. Warner and Disney are the two companies that are the hardest to deal with. They don't care about the opinions of actors. , don't care what the director thinks, only obey orders and money. But Paramount is the kind of person who can prove your ability, then they will maintain a good cooperative relationship with you. But if you fail, they will not I will be particularly distant from you, but the time to cooperate again will be lengthened until you have proven your competitiveness again..."

As one of the top people in Hollywood, what he said about the urinal nature of these companies is naturally very accurate.

Think about it, if Warner or Disney don't even care about his status, which is very intuitive for the famous Keanu Reeves, then it may be even more exaggerated for those small actors and small directors.

At this time, Liu Momo asked:

"Xu and I are now cooperating with them. In the form of a company, how often do they have problems with small partners like us?"

"Two points. Molly~ The first is the right to speak. If it is a small company, their usual habit is mergers and acquisitions or investment. But usually, what they care about is not your company, but what you own. For example, your The company holds the IP of a certain script, for example, like "Saw"... Of course, I generally refer to all Hollywood film companies. Everyone knows that movies such as "Saw", "Caribbean" The importance of IP in these series "Pirates"...

If they propose mergers and acquisitions or investments, they usually want to take away your film IP. As for how they will cooperate after acquiring the IP, that depends on what happens next. Therefore, you must have a certain say. Since it is cooperation, we are equal.

And the other point is the long-term contract. Hollywood companies like to add some clauses to contracts. For example, like the script I just read about Mr. Wick, they usually add a clause to the production contract. If it's Molly, you actively hope that these big companies will invest in making movies, and if they think the script is good, they will add a sequel clause to the contract.

As for the relevant conditions of this clause, some are to pay a fee, and some are to give you a full investment... The conditions are different, but there is only one purpose, and that is to win the right to invest in the sequel. Because the movie doesn't know the box office yet, the price to pay for such a clause is not high, but if the movie becomes a hit and a sequel is pitched, they can use the contract clause to block other people from getting in touch with the movie.

This kind of clause applies not only to movies, but also to directors and actors. The first one, they will ask for the rights to make a sequel. If the movie becomes popular, they will also increase the price, but they will sign a long-term contract with you. For example, the third and fourth films in this series will be filmed in the future.

And if the sequel fails and the idea of ​​filming other sequels is stopped, it will actually have no impact on anyone. But if the sequel also has great results, then they can guarantee their complete interests... Of course, what I said is not to say that it is bad, but as a company, you also need to consider a long-term development for yourself. "

Liu Momo nodded:

"Thank you for your advice, Keanu, I understand."

In fact, Keanu Reeves' answer was not what she wanted.

What she really wanted to ask was whether there were many internal factions at Paramount. A small company like Headwind got involved without knowing anything and could easily become a victim.

I want to see if the person who has been there has any experience in this area.

Unfortunately, it seems that he doesn't know either.

As for what he said...it's not just big companies.

Small companies are also following this model.

This is true for other companies, and so is the headwind.

Just like when Liu Momo bought the script for "John Wick", Xu Xin asked her if the price was a bit high. Her answer was that part of the money was "connections".

In the purchase contract of the script, Headwind also has the right of first refusal.

Sequel clause, she has too.

Large companies versus small companies, and small companies versus works produced by individual screenwriters.

Everyone is a grasshopper on a rope.

The eldest brother does not talk about the second brother.

Then, Keanu Reeves looked at Xu Xin again:

"Xu, if you come across some scripts that you particularly like, but they are not interested, you don't have to just focus on them. Their main business now is actually distribution. You can find other companies to invest in filming, and then give them the distribution rights. It’s okay to leave it to them. This is their strongest point.”

"Okay, I understand."

Xu Xin nodded.

…

After finishing the meal, Yang Mi was actually the most dissatisfied.

Originally, she planned to let her husband meet Sister Mo at noon. In the afternoon, after she coaxed the baby to take a nap, she and her husband could spend some time together.

result……

What do you mean by an American's "cigarette after meal" habit?

My husband and Sister Mo went into the cigar bar and never came out.

well……

bother!

With this irritable mood, she pulled the two children upstairs.

Inside the cigar bar.

Xu Xin was reading the script with a cigarette in his mouth.

Liu Momo was holding her cell phone and clicking loudly, not knowing what she was doing.

Keanu Reeves is also reading the script.

I even enjoyed watching it.

At this time, Xu Xin handed the script in his hand to Liu Momo:

"This story is good, I quite like it."

After hearing this, Liu Momo took it and took a look at the name of the script.

《LUCY》

The corner of his mouth twitched and he shook his head:

"Don't even think about this story."

"……how?"

Xu Xin was a little puzzled.

He quite liked the story.

When I first watched it, I thought it was an anti-drug police film, but later I found out that it was not.

This movie is actually a science fiction movie.

It later became that kind of superpower movie, but it wasn't too much. It was about how the human brain would become omnipotent when it reaches 100% development... and it also involved an ape named Lucy.

This part of the setting touched a bit on his intellectual blind spot, but he liked the time and space paradox in it very much.

The later scene where the ape-man Lucy and "Lucy" met made his eyes light up.

Although the story touched on some of his knowledge blind spots, within this rough outline, he found that he could extend... or imagine a lot of things.

The theory of evolution, which is almost like a religious ritual, feels like it would be brilliant when photographed.

He would like to film this if he could.

As a result, a basin of cold water was poured on him:

"Here, this is the screenwriter."

Xu Xin looked at the name above and subconsciously spelled out:

"Lu C...Luke...Beisen...Luke Beisen?"

Keanu Reeves, who heard his voice, also looked over, and then showed a surprised look:

""This killer is not too cold"?"

Xu Xin was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and asked in Chinese:

"Luc Besson?"

Liu Momo nodded, looked at Xu Xin and said:

"Do you still remember which film and television company I worked for before?"

"……Can not remember."

"..."

Liu Momo looked at Xu Xin dumbfounded and said to herself, "You are a stinky brother."

That's too much.

You really don’t want to treat me like a dish?

"Vivendi, French Vivendi."

"Oh yes, I remembered it."

Compared to Xu Xin's surprise, Keanu Reeves was a little surprised.

That is the largest film and television company in France.

"When I was studying abroad, his daughter Juliette and I were best friends. We had a very good relationship... Speaking of being able to enter Vivendi as a Chinese, it was actually him. I approached Juliette for this script last year. When I was playing, I happened to meet Luc Besson who was writing a script. Juliette knew that I was now working in a film and television company in Hollywood, so she showed me the script. Then..."

She shrugged:

"In short, this script is in my hands now. If I want to invest, I can shoot it. But the director..."

Xu Xin understood the meaning and felt a little regretful.

But he nodded immediately:

"This story can. It can be extended in many directions."

Seeing him expressing his views, Liu Momo asked a very essential question:

"Can you make money?"

"How would I know……"

A very simple eye roll was given to this sister.

Is this a money thing?

What we do is art!

As he said that, he picked up another script and planned to continue looking for a suitable one.

At this time, Keanu Reeves said:

"Xu, I think this story is pretty good."

Xu Xin turned around and found that he was still watching "John Wick".

Liu Momo's eyes lit up:

"Keanu, are you interested? This is also the script I accepted. What do you think?"

"Well……"

Seeing Xu Xin looking at him with interest, Keanu Reeves thought for a while and said:

"Frankly speaking, the reason why I am interested in this story is because it is relatively rare...Xu, do you know what some film critics said when I was in Cannes this time?"

"how?"

"The general meaning is: I finally see something refreshing in Hollywood. It is no longer the traditional hero saving the beauty, nor is it the brainless muscular man doing violent demolition work. There is not even a love line, there is It’s just the collision of light and shadow. Rather than saying this movie is a Hollywood-style martial arts film, it’s more like a confrontation between two human thoughts with a bit of Zen..."

Xu Xin nodded slightly.

The following paragraph is actually his idea when designing this story.

Film critics see it as normal.

"But I think it's right. You know Hollywood has fixed rules for some genre films. The film needs a beautiful woman to have feelings for the protagonist. It needs a villain who does all evil. Even the protagonist cannot be particularly smart, he must have a mental process. The curve of the story is that the female protagonist finds the male protagonist, a misunderstanding occurs, the truth becomes clear, the male protagonist or the female protagonist crosses the line of justice, the two characters merge into one, and defeat the villain... This is almost a formula for the police and gangster genre. .

But the story seems interesting to me. There is no need for a heroine, and even the storyline is simple. John Wick talks very little. He just carried out a hearty revenge... Haha, Xu, are you going to try this movie? If you try, I can play it. If you're not interested, how about leaving this film to me? "

Xu Xinxin said good guy.

You are really addicted to being a director.

but……

He held out his hand.

Keanu Reeves gave him the script.

After spending a while, Xu Xin reorganized the story line.

Not to mention...

My friend is really right.

When he read the story at the time, he just felt that the main plot was single.

But now from the perspective of the other party, it is really a refreshing scene about revenge.

Rough, short and straight throughout.

It makes no sense. If you kill my dog ​​or steal my car, I will kill you.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It feels a bit like those American western movies I watched when I was a kid.

"Well……"

After thinking for a while, he said:

"This script is really good. How about I put it on the list of options first? I'm going to give them a few scripts in the next two days and let them choose. If they are interested in this story, I will bring you along. . If you are not interested...then we can cooperate?"

"OK."

Keanu Reeves readily agreed.

He actually also wanted to cooperate with Xu Xin.

There is no doubt about the talent of a director who can sublimate a story just by changing the script.

Plus the story suited him very well.

Now that he is in his position, choosing scripts is more about taste than pressure from the agency.

There is no problem if you agree.

then.

The script "John Wick" was received by Liu Momo in the document bag at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, along with two other stories that Xu Xin thought were just okay.

Next...it depends on what Paramount chooses.