"Tom, what do you think of these two characters?"

Sitting in the reception room of Cruise's mansion, Pat Kingsley did not touch the coffee sent by Nicole Kidman. "Fox also hopes that a celebrity actor with box office appeal like you can appear in "Independence Day."

"One of them is a black character." Tom Cruise did not hide his disgust. "There is also the presidential character, who has too few roles, so I can't be a supporting role."

"And, this is Duke Rosenberg's video!" The last sentence represents his truest thoughts.

"Night Visit to Vampire and "Brave the Deadly Island" are just normal commercial competition!"

Pat Kingsley felt a headache. Although Cruise was her biggest funder, she was also the least worry-free character. "There is no personal conflict between you! Tom and Duke Rosenberg are obviously in a period of rapid rise. They are now the hot director in Hollywood. Paramount and Walt Disney once wanted to join the investment ranks of Independence Day. Moreover, Warner and Fox expected the North American box office of this film to be $200 million!"

"Don't tell me you don't understand the benefits of such a movie!" Jinsley emphasized, "You don't have a movie with a box office of over 200 million US dollars in North America! I have worked hard to get the character script from Twentieth Century Fox and get some support from some people!"

"You can't say he will miss..." Tom Cruise seemed to be thinking.

Ignoring the whispering Cruise, Pat Kinsley turned to look at the other side, "Mary, what about you? What do you think of the script and the characters?"

"This... this White House spokesperson," Nicole Kidman said, "although there are many scenes, they basically belong to a vase character."

"Mary, even though you successfully entered Hollywood, there was no work that could be produced." Pat Kingsley simply said, "You need a big-selling movie to support you to determine your position in Hollywood."

"I see."

This smart woman knows how to choose, "Pate, try your best to win."

"Tom, what do you mean?" Pat Kinsley turned his head again, and Cruise nodded unwillingly, "Do as you want."

Although this guy is blindly arrogant and sometimes stupid, he is not yet hopeless! When he left Tom Cruise's mansion, Pat Kingsley thought so.

At the beginning of September, with the establishment of Independence Day studio as a shell company in Burbank, the preliminary preparations for Independence Day officially kicked off. Although Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, as producers, both used the media of their subsidiaries and even the group companies behind them to conduct a certain degree of hype coverage of the 100 million super masterpiece, Duke politely declined many public media activities and devoted all his energy to the pre-preparation of the film.

He now has the capital to bargain with the producers. Although he cannot always start the film quietly like James Cameron, he does not want to be distracted by too much external forces. The director is not a star, nor does he have to be famous because of his work. He has to rely on excellent production to speak.

“A very interesting news.”

Walking in the corridor of the Independence Day studio, accompanied by the sound of high heels, Sofia Coppola was talking with a monotonous nasal voice, "Twentieth Century Fox recommended Tom Cruise to star in this movie together."

"What?" Duke kept walking and turned to look at Sophia, "CAA wants to pack again?"

"No..." Sophia followed behind, "only Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman."

After saying that, she handed over the latest documents she received to Duke. Duke slowed down a little, and after browsing roughly, she pushed open the door of the conference room and walked in.

This is the crew's preliminary preparation meeting. Basically, those who entered the conference room were acquaintances, Jeff Robinoff, the representative of Warner Brothers, Tim Fisher of 20th Century Fox, the financial supervisor of AIA, a third-party guarantee for all American companies, etc.

There are also the main structural personnel of the crew. The first producer is still Charles Rowan, the second producer Robin Grande, executive producer Jon Landau, deputy director Zach Schneider, photography director John Schwartzman, art director Hanna Serena, fireworks group leader Jos Williams, and the head of the special effects team from Industrial Light and Magic...

Especially from the special effects team from Industrial Light and Magic, Duke personally hung up the phone for George Lucas and invited Stan Winston, the leading model guru in Hollywood, to create alien spacecraft and alien models for the film. It is not easy to invite him, not just a salary issue, but also some favors.

As for why he is invited, look at the first two works "Terminator 2" and "Jurassic Park" by Stan Winston, who was responsible for the production of special effects models, and you will understand Duke's intention.

Special effects will be the big investment and the biggest cost of the film. Duke called out $100 million. Although the two companies have only given a budget of $90 million for the time being, it is more than $10 million higher than before. Duke just wants to invest this part of the money in the production of special effects. The movie "Independence Day" he has watched is somewhat low, and uses special effects in the model and lens, and does not use enough computer CG technology to modify it. Some scenes look really average.

If we talk about special effects alone, "Independence Day", which appeared several years later, is obviously one level worse than "Jurassic Park".

So, Duke doesn't plan to spend too much money on actors at all.

"I don't agree to invite Tom Cruise."

When the discussion turned to the actors, Duke directly opposed Fox's suggestion, "First, I don't have that much actor budget, second, Cruise is not suitable for a mature and wise presidential role, third, the other protagonist is a black man..."

"You can change the character settings." Tim Fisher's assistant suddenly interrupted.

"The other actor settings in the crew can be adjusted appropriately." Duke glanced coldly over there, "but the skin color and ethnicity are never within the scope of modification!"

There are some things that needless to be said to be too thorough. In the setting of Independence Day, it was found that the alien signal was Jewish, and the alien spacecraft died together with the Latino. The Air Force hero is a black man, the president is the most orthodox white man, and there are Asians, Slavics, etc. Duke does not believe that these senior industry insiders cannot see the reasons and benefits of such a setting.

"Of course, I have no objection to Tom Cruise if he can accept a pay of less than $5 million," Duke added.

If Tang is willing to give up the high pay for acting, Duke will definitely welcome him. The funds he has worked hard to strengthen the production of special effects, rather than paying for some people.

"Duke," Tim Fisher said with a frown, "Tom Cruise's box office appeal is beyond doubt."

"Tim, I think everyone knows very well that the biggest selling point of the film is the big scenes such as special effects and explosions." Duke slowed down his voice a little, and he didn't want to be too stale with the investor. "The appeal of celebrities will actually be reduced to the lowest level! And..."

After thinking about it, Duke continued, "Nicole Kidman also wants this film, and they are definitely not suitable for appearing in the same movie."

Perhaps it is not very obvious now, but there is a consensus in Hollywood in the future, that is, the producers try to stop couples and even couples from appearing in the same film, and such movies will often become box office poison.

To be precise, Duke and Nicole Kidman wanted to refuse directly. He knew that North American audiences have never bought the Australian woman's account. Apart from the sympathy caused by that special time period, she can be said to be the biggest box office cancer among female movie stars of the same level.

However, since he refused Tom Cruise hard, Duke didn't want Fox to be too ugly. At worst, he could send an audition invitation temporarily and just brush Nicole Kidman off at that time.

Although Fox did not clearly express his withdrawal of Tom Cruise's suggestion, Warner Bros. has always stood on Duke's position and the matter was finally left alone.

Next, the preliminary work of setting, props, special effects production and intended shooting locations were discussed. Those who had the right to speak in the crew also proposed some candidates for audition for the actors they liked.

Duke specifically emphasized Will Smith, a black man who won the Grammy Award, is a young man in the film industry. He also intends to develop this aspect. The six-figure pay is enough to solve it. Even if his acting skills are bad enough, it is enough for a film like "Independence Day".

In other aspects, except for the White House spokesperson who recommended the temporary bed and companion Naomi Watts, Duke basically did not speak again. As long as the actor's acting skills reach the baseline, it will not even be too different, and it will not have much impact.

"The last point."

Before the meeting ended, Duke realized that he had almost ignored important aspects, "I need the support of the Pentagon! Please contact the Ministry of Defense and the White House!"

This type of film would definitely be a lot more expense without the sponsorship of the White House and the Pentagon, and Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Duke, after the signing ceremony tomorrow, there will be a party."

When he walked out of the conference room, Charles Rowan chased after him, "This is an important part of the early promotion of the film, I believe you will not be absent."

He kept staring at Duke, as if waiting for a promise.

Although the director's contract was officially signed the day before yesterday, in order to promote the film, the producers are still preparing to hold a signing ceremony similar to a press conference.

"Don't worry." Duke nodded slightly, "I will attend the party on time after the signing is over!"

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Chapter completed!