Matt Damon entered the entertainment industry very early. In 1988, he played a role in "Modern Cinderella", but this role had very few scenes and only had one line.
What really started Matt Damon's journey to Hollywood was "Good Will Hunting", which he co-wrote with Ben Affleck. This movie was very low-cost, but it had a box office of more than 200 million U.S. dollars, and was the most successful movie ever.
It received a total of nine nominations at the Academy Awards this year, which can be said to be a success at both the box office and word of mouth.
It was also because of his wonderful performance in this movie that Matt Damon attracted the attention of Spielberg and participated in "Saving Private Ryan". This was also the first time Matt Damon participated in a major commercial production.
But in fact, before "The Martian", Matt Damon did not show much box office appeal. People still used to classify him as a literary and artistic film, and his salary was not high.
A little taller than third-tier stars.
Therefore, even Matt Damon, who spends the most money, did not spend much money on "The Martian."
Of course Spielberg knows this, but now he is having business negotiations with Jimmy about how much money he can make, so of course he has to make things more beneficial to himself.
Of course, the exact production cost of "Inception" cannot be decided by the two of them in just a few words. It will take a series of calculations and internal publicity to finally arrive at a result that both parties agree on.
"If you say so, will "Inception" spend more money on actors this time? Has the male lead been decided?"
Jimmy shook his head, "The leading actor hasn't been decided yet."
Spielberg pointed on the table with two fingers and mused, "According to the setting of the male protagonist, it is best to choose an actor between thirty-five and forty-five years old. An actor of this age... Tom Clark
What do you think, Ruth?"
Jimmy asked curiously, "Why do you recommend Tom Cruise?"
Spielberg laughed and said, "The reason is simple, because he is very popular and can bring us more box office."
"There are many popular actors, but he is not the only one."
"In addition to being very popular, he is also handsome and has decent acting skills."
"Other than not being too tall, I really don't have any shortcomings," Jimmy added.
Spielberg clicked on the script: "I didn't see any height requirements for the protagonist in the script."
Jimmy shrugged, "Not really, but I still find it strange that you don't usually recommend an actor so directly."
Spielberg suddenly laughed, "There are indeed other reasons. The filming of "Minority Report" was postponed before, but it will be filmed soon. The protagonist has already been decided to be Tom Cruise, but it has not been confirmed yet.
Let’s talk it all out.”
Jimmy understood immediately, "You want to package "Inception" and "Minority Report" together to talk to Tom Cruise, so that you can spend less money."
Spielberg nodded, "That's pretty much it. As the prop director of "Minority Report," you should be willing to facilitate this matter."
That's right, Deep Space Company provided prop guidance services for "Minority Report" this time.
In the movie "Minority Report", daily life in 2054 will be reflected.
At the beginning, Spielberg hoped to bring together some outstanding elites in engineering technology, environment, crime fighting, medicine, health, social welfare services, computer technology and other fields, and then discuss what the future of 2054 would be.
how is it like.
However, doing so would be too much work and troublesome, so Spielberg directly approached Deep Space Company.
Yu Dong also participated in the props design and visual design process this time.
Although Yu Dong has not experienced the real 2054, he has watched the movie "Minority Report", so he can still give some suggestions based on the movie. It is equivalent to him directly speaking out the results of the discussions among the elites, saving
Went through this process.
"I can only say that we will seriously consider your suggestion, but we can't decide on the male lead just to save you money."
"Saving money is just a matter of course. Tom Cruise is very suitable for "Inception" in every aspect."
Jimmy nodded, he felt that what Spielberg said made sense, and it goes without saying that Tom Cruise's box office appeal was undeniable.
"I will tell Yu Dong about this." Jimmy smiled and leaned back, assuming a relaxed posture, "But you have been too busy recently, "Jurassic Park 3" and "Artificial Intelligence"
It has just been released. "Band of Brothers" will be aired in a while, and you will start working on "Minority Report." You are also the producer of "Men in Black 2". There are also Transformers series, which will also cost you a lot.
thought."
Spielberg said with a smile, "So, you know how much it has cost me to sit with you all afternoon, right?"
…
After finishing their trip to Washington, Yu Dong and the others headed to their next stop, Princeton.
Princeton was the first university to recommend a series of Chinese literature works. It was only after their school that other schools in the United States successively included works such as "Panic Fingers" and "Going West" in their recommended books.
In addition, Joyce Oates and Philip Roth are both Princetonians, the former is a professor at the school and the latter is the school’s writer-in-residence.
As a matter of fact, the writers group is also going to visit Princeton University.
The writers' group's trip to Princeton this time was slightly different from that of Columbia University. There was an additional autograph signing. After the exchange meeting, Princeton University held a readers' meeting for the writers, mainly to sign autographs for the readers.
This also allows for close contact with the students.
Yu Dong had some personal matters to deal with this time. His grandfather-in-law, Cheng Mingde, had studied for a PhD at Princeton University decades ago and also conducted postdoctoral research for a period of time. Therefore, Princeton University can also be regarded as Cheng Mingde's alma mater.
Cheng Mingde had not been back to Princeton for so many years. When he learned that Yu Dong was going to Princeton this time, he hoped that Yu Dong could say hello to his alma mater on his behalf and donate 50,000 yuan to his alma mater.
All this money was saved by Cheng Mingde himself. Cheng Mingde and his wife had donated 50,000 yuan to Zhejiang University before. The couple's monthly income was quite considerable, and they usually had little expenses, so they were able to save so much money.
After arriving at Princeton University, Yu Dong will donate money, and the money will be sent by Yu Dong himself. The school is very happy.
As one of the most famous private universities in the world, Princeton University takes donations very seriously.
Although their school is a private school, the tuition is very low, the scholarships are high, and the burden on students is relatively light. The reason for this is precisely because their school receives a large number of donations from alumni.
This year, Princeton also eliminated “eligible” undergraduate student loans, and annual giving provides 95 percent of scholarships and all financial aid funds to students who receive loans, with a goal of more than 80 percent
of students graduate debt-free, and more than 60 percent receive more than $40,000 in financial aid.
Moreover, Princeton University has also established a Princeton University Investment Company. They will invest and operate the donated funds received every year. In the past few years, the average annual return rate has exceeded 12%.
These funds-absorbing policies enable Princeton University to respond to the rapidly changing external environment and enhance certain aspects of scientific research in response to the current situation. Money may not enable a school to develop, but money is definitely a necessary condition for a school to develop.
Money is one thing. On the other hand, the school also believes that when accepting donations, the donor will have a strong sense of continuity and responsibility by contributing to the development of the school.
After handing over 50,000 yuan to the school, Yu Dong proposed that he would donate 500,000 US dollars to the school in the name of his wife.
The reason why Yu Dong donated the five hundred thousand US dollars was not only because of his connection with his grandfather-in-law Cheng Mingde, but also because he wanted to win over Princeton University.
Before recommending a large number of Chinese literary works, Princeton had an indissoluble bond with traditional Chinese culture.
Professor Fang Wen has been actively promoting the study of Chinese calligraphy since he taught at Princeton University in the 1960s. After more than thirty years of development, Princeton has become an important center for the study of Chinese calligraphy in the United States.
Although academic research is different from promotion, academic research is one of the foundations of promotion, and Yu Dong is willing to build a good relationship with Princeton.
Yu Dong also explained to the Princeton school that he hoped that the US$500,000 he donated could be used for Chinese calligraphy research.
When Princeton accepts donations, it strongly encourages donors to proactively propose the use of donations, so when they heard Yu Dong's suggestion, they immediately agreed.
In addition to Yu Dong's personal donation, the Deep Space Company also donated 20,000 books to Princeton. Only 20% of these books were science and engineering books, and the other 80% were literature books.
And more than half of them are novels by Chinese writers.
After Yu Dong negotiated the donation with the school, he went to the office of the English Department.
The Princeton Writing Center is located in the same office as the English Department. Joyce Oates and Philip Roth also work here. However, Philip Roth does not have to teach and is usually relatively free and rarely appears here.
He doesn't even appear on campus much.
When Yu Dong arrived, Wang Xiaobo was chatting with Liam Haydn, the head of the English Department.
This was not the first time that Wang Xiaobo and the others met Liam Haydon. They had met before when they came to Preston.
There was a young man standing behind Liam Haydon. Yu Dong didn't notice it at first, but when he got closer and looked at the young man, Yu Dong was stunned. This man looked very familiar.
Soon he remembered, isn't this Miller, the protagonist of "Prison Break"?
Why is he here?
Then Yu Dong thought, "Prison Break" has not been broadcast yet, and Miller is not famous. Maybe Miller is still in school?
It's hard to guess Miller's age based on his appearance. It's okay to say he's in his early twenties, but it's not impossible to say he's thirty years old.
When Miller saw Yu Dong, his eyes revealed a hint of surprise and expectation.
Liam Haydon was also very happy to see Yu Dong. He shook hands with Yu Dong vigorously, "Long time no see, YU. After I heard that you were coming over, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep all night."
Yu Dong smiled. Liam Haydn was a very enthusiastic person. Liam Haydn was very warm when they first met.
"You must be too excited to sleep because you thought about playing cards with Wang Xiaobo and the others, right?"
"Hey, playing cards is only secondary."
In addition to his enthusiasm, Liam Haydn also particularly likes playing cards, which is why he quickly got together with Wang Xiaobo and others.
According to their itinerary, they could rest for a day and a half. They could choose to stay in New Jersey to rest, or they could choose to go to the next stop, Pennsylvania. In the end, most of them chose to stay in New Jersey.
On the one hand, everyone was tired from traveling in the past two days and did not want to run anymore. They wanted to rest in Princeton before setting off. On the other hand, Yu Hua and the others also wanted to stay in Princeton to play cards with Liam Haydon and the others.
In addition to Liam Haydon, Princeton also has many other poker friends.
After a few words of greeting, Yu Dong glanced at Miller behind Liam Haydn intentionally or unintentionally. Liam Haydn also noticed Yu Dong's eyes and introduced with a smile, "This is Wentworth.
Miller, a graduate of our school, has graduated for several years and happened to come back to see us this time."
"It's not a coincidence, I knew that Mr. YU and the others were coming, so I came here specially to take a look."
Miller's uprightness surprised Yu Dong. He smiled and asked, "Miller is also an English major?"
Liam Haydn nodded, "He is from English literature and is also my student."
"Are you currently engaged in an industry related to British literature?"
"Actually, I'm in Los Angeles now, hoping to work in the acting industry, but I've never had a good opportunity."
Miller's answer was unexpected by Yu Dong, but Wang Xiaobo on the side was quite surprised.
Miller's current situation is a bit like the "horizontal drift" that has occurred in the past two years. As the domestic entertainment industry becomes more and more prosperous, and actors' salaries are getting higher and higher, many people go to Hengdian, thinking that they can become
Actors become rich overnight. Some of these people are theater majors, but most of them are ordinary non-professionals.
"Los Angeles drifting" is much earlier than "horizontal drifting". Walking on the streets of Los Angeles, you can grab any young person who may be harboring the dream of acting.
But it is still very rare for a top student like Miller, who graduated from Princeton University to major in English literature, to work as a "drifter" in Los Angeles.
Chapter completed!