Chapter 237 Dual Male Leads

In the office, after reading the script, Cheng Long said, "Director Gu, you must let me act this time. This script is great."

"No problem. We have already made an agreement. I will not let you down. However, this movie is a Sino-US co-production. It is an ensemble drama with two male and female protagonists."

After thinking about it, Gu Wei said in advance that in China, Cheng Long and Liu Yifei can both play the role of father and daughter, and they can also be matched with Huang Xiaoming and others.

Hollywood also needs two top stars to play the male and female protagonists.

Unlike the original time and space script, Gu Wei made some adjustments to the story background and plot. The story background is set at the end of 2012, when the crustal movement and earthquakes on the earth's surface continued to intensify, triggering a series of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms, etc., leading to large-scale disasters and casualties around the world.

The global government organized a plan to try to send the surviving humans to a giant dock in China to escape the impending global disaster.

The protagonist of the film is the writer Jack, who plans to send his son to a safe area with his ex-wife, but encounters a series of disasters and crises on the way. In the end, Jack takes his son, his new girlfriend, scientists and others to the Chinese shipyard.

During their escape and search, Jack and other characters experienced a series of thrilling scenes, including landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc., and finally successfully arrived at the Chinese dock, successfully avoiding the impending global disaster.

On the domestic side, Cheng Yang, a scientist played by Cheng Long, was the first to discover that the end of the world was approaching, and he also participated in the manufacturing process of Noah's Ark. However, because of his identity, he had to conceal the truth.

At the same time, he is good friends with the American male protagonist Jack, and they agree to meet in China. Liu Yifei plays Cheng Yang's daughter Cheng Fei. Because her father is busy with work and her mother died early, the relationship between the two is very bad.

But as the end of the world approaches, after a series of twists and turns, the daughter finally understands her father and boards Noah's Ark with her father.

The story is very old-fashioned and not complicated. For this kind of special effects blockbuster, the audience sees the post-production effects and enjoys the visual feeling of a blockbuster.

If you really want to tell a story with strong logic, you might as well watch an art film, like "Avatar". Apart from the special effects, the plot is really average.

The same is true for "Transformers", the story is old-fashioned, but it does not affect its box office at all.

"Director Gu, I want to ask who is casting in Hollywood?"

After hesitating for a while, Cheng Long asked.

In his early years, in order to maintain his superstar status, Cheng Long rarely had two male protagonists in the movies he took on. Later, as he went to Hollywood to develop his career, due to his nationality, two male protagonists became very common in the Hollywood movies he shot.

A typical example is the "Rush Hour" series. In Gu Wei's opinion, Jackie Chan sometimes doesn't even act like the male protagonist.

Even though he is not at his peak now, he still has box office appeal, and he is quite curious about Hollywood's casting.

"For male actors, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Will Smith are all on the audition list, and for female actors, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet and others are on the shortlist."

Listening to the people Gu Wei mentioned, Cheng Long gradually felt relieved and nodded from time to time. They were all top superstars and were very suitable partners for him.

"The investment cost of 3 million US dollars, minus about 5000 million US dollars for publicity and promotion, most of the rest will be used for 3D special effects production."

Leaning on the sofa, Gu Wei took a sip of tea and said.

"Director Gu, I can reduce my salary and join you. If you are short of investment, I can also provide financial support."

After hearing what Gu Wei said, Cheng Long also showed his utmost sincerity. Although the probability that Gu Wei was short of investment was not high, he still wanted to show it.

As for a reduction in his pay, it doesn't matter. As a top Chinese superstar, he has already achieved financial freedom. What he lacks now is a further improvement in his status.

If this movie can really gross over a billion dollars, it will go down in film history, and it will add a lot to his posthumous fame.

"Forget about reducing the pay. Since there is such a budget, all aspects must have been taken into consideration."

Gu Wei has always been generous when it comes to movies. Besides, this kind of commercial film requires popularity and box office appeal. If he asks several leading actors to reduce their pay before the filming even begins, and the news gets out to the foreigners next door, they will think that he can't afford it.

"When will the filming start? I can reserve time in advance."

"Pre-production has already begun, and filming will start no later than mid-January."

Gu Wei hesitated for a moment and thought about the schedule. Including the crew preparations and role auditions, it would take about a month and a half.

The two talked for more than an hour and communicated some other details. The specific contract will be signed before the start of filming.

.........

Online, netizens are still discussing whether Jackie Chan will participate in the filming of "2012".

Xingchen Film and Television Company issued a request for external casting auditions through Weibo.

The audition location was set in the company.

"I have indeed accepted Director Gu's invitation and will be participating in the film 2012."

As Cheng Long was interviewed by reporters and gave the answer that everyone wanted.

Other people in the circle are no longer calm. Not to mention the co-production between China and the United States, even being able to partner with Jackie Chan is something that others dream of.

More and more people contacted Gu Wei, not only him, but also several companies involved in the investment were asked by many people.

"Wanda Pictures is only responsible for investment and does not participate in casting."

"China Film Group provided funding and filming support, and Director Gu was personally responsible for the auditions and casting."

As several companies spoke to the media, others also understood that this is the domineering nature of big directors: they can bring you in to participate and help you make money, but you have to mind your own business.

...

"The male lead has been decided to be Cheng Long? With such a huge investment, they must consider the global box office. Can he afford it?"

Han Sanping called, sounding a little worried. He hadn't read the script carefully and thought it was a movie that only focused on the male lead. Suddenly, when he saw that Cheng Long was cast, he asked. "One of the male leads, there will be top stars involved, and it costs so much money. I feel pressured too."

Gu Wei chuckled. In the final analysis, the domestic market was not developed. When it came to large investments, other people only thought about overseas markets, rather than limiting themselves to Southeast Asia.

"That's true. We still have to look at the global box office. The market size of Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia is limited, so we have to consider it in advance."

After tasting the sweetness of "Inception", Han Sanping is now also focusing on the global region.

"Boss Han, this is not a good idea. We still need to make our own blockbuster in the future to promote Chinese culture."

Hearing this, Gu Wei joked.

"I'm just saying that. I'm afraid our movies won't be able to make it to the mainstream. Most people are used to European and American movies."

"Movie-watching habits are cultivated little by little. Once we make a few blockbusters, they will naturally look forward to it after watching them many times. Quality determines the box office."

“The investment in Hollywood’s heavy-industry films is indeed huge. One hundred million US dollars is only the starting price, and there are many films that cost two or three hundred million.

The gap between China and the United States in the film industry is in all aspects, at least in terms of production costs, it will take us many years to catch up."

Han Sanping lamented that it is not easy to enter the North American market, especially with the rise of superhero movies. The box office of imported films has not been low in recent years, and they have made a lot of money in the country every year.

This year's domestic box office exceeded 10 billion yuan, and most of it was earned by them.

Although domestic filmmakers are always clamoring to enter the North American market, in fact, most of them are motivated by speculation. Few dare to seriously calculate how much money North America can produce and how much box office revenue other overseas markets can generate during the film preparation period.

No one is sure, especially since most overseas films have failed miserably in recent years, and some companies have even developed a phobia of America.

On the phone, Gu Wei smiled and didn't dwell on this topic. Some things would be useless no matter how much you said before they came out.

...

In early December, after Reid returned to Los Angeles, he called Gu Wei.

Two animated films produced by DreamWorks and Disney are nearing completion.

"I will be there around the 20th, so we can start the early promotion."

After receiving the reply, Reid immediately took action on the matter.

Thanks to the box office success of Despicable Me 1, many fans are looking forward to the second part of the film.

Some people have posted comments on major movie websites in North America, looking forward to the release of the movie.

"Director Gu, these are the audition resumes that were handed in."

In the company, the assistant came to the office with a thick stack of documents and reported.

Wow, Gu Wei originally thought that those emails were all, but he didn’t expect there were so many paper resumes.

I took it and flipped through it, and most of them were female celebrities.

That's right, once Cheng Long announced his participation in the film, the male lead was confirmed, and the remaining female role naturally attracted the attention of women in the circle.

Zhang Ziyi, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Zhou Xun, Huang Shengyi...

Most of the resumes handed in were for auditions for the second female lead, and only a few big stars were eyeing the female lead.

"These are to inform them to come for audition in three days, forget about the others."

"Okay, Director Gu."

...

In Shiba Culture Company, Wang Jinghua was constantly questioned by her artists, and she had no choice but to gather them together for a small meeting.

"Sister Hua, Director Gu is our big boss, so you still have to give us priority in casting."

The speaker was Jiang Yiyan, who had recently tried every possible means to be able to participate in this blockbuster. She also knew that her status was not high, and she had no hope of being the female lead or the second female lead. She just hoped to be satisfied with just playing a role.

"That's true, but this time the situation is special. Director Gu told me in advance that I have submitted your resumes to the company. As for whether you will be selected, it depends on luck."

After looking at Jiang Yiyan, Wang Jinghua said lightly.

Hearing this, others also started whispering, but no one said anything.

In this era where even bad movies can make money if the marketing is good, coupled with the support of the domestic film Lunar New Year holiday.

Zhang Yimou held a high-profile premiere for his film "Three Guns".

Originally, Gu Wei planned to use the excuse that he had something to do and couldn't go, but he didn't expect Zhang Yimou to call him personally. In the end, he had no choice but to go and take a look. He still had to give him face.

Also accompanying them was Liu Yifei.

"Go and have a look. Director Zhang's work is quite exciting."

The young lady was still a little excited, I hope she will remain the same after watching it.

……

(End of this chapter)