Chapter 621 Matt's Choice Riddler

Universal Studios' "Jurassic World" was casting very quickly. Spielberg and Zhang Yimou hardly stopped, especially Zhang Yimou. Since arriving in Los Angeles, he was either auditioning actors or studying scripts every day.

In the middle, he would also discuss some details with Gu Wei, and he seemed more serious than when he was filming "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern".

As the characters are announced one by one, only the male and female protagonists have not been decided yet.

In the villa.

"Matt Damon turned down Jurassic World, and director Spielberg just heard back."

On the sofa, after receiving the news, Zhang Yimou told Gu Wei immediately, with a wry smile on his face as he said this.

"Oh." Hearing this, Gu Wei felt nothing. After all, choosing the leading actor in a big IP series of movies is definitely stressful. If it's well made, it's just icing on the cake. If the movie flopped at the box office after it was released, both the leading actor and the leading actress would be scolded.

On the contrary, both Nolan's "The Martian" and Gu Wei's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" are good choices.

Warner Bros. is involved in both films, so there are no problems with promotion and marketing. The former is a space science fiction film with a male lead as the protagonist, so it is definitely a male-centered movie.

Although the latter is also a big IP movie, many years have passed since the last one, and the script written by Gu Wei is brand new.

"Maybe it's because I'm the director that they rejected Jurassic World?" Zhang Yimou said hesitantly.

"Brother, you are just overthinking. There are so many superstars in Hollywood, are you afraid that there won't be anyone?"

"That's right, Universal has already invited other people to audition."

"Who are they?" Gu Wei asked curiously.

"Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg..."

"Wow, there are quite a lot of people."

However, Gu Wei heard something different from the list Zhang Yimou mentioned. Isn’t Jason Statham known as the Chinese version of Guo Da?

"Jason Statham also has a schedule?"

"Well, he just finished filming "Home Front" with James Franco and Winona Ryder in the first half of the year and is currently busy preparing for the premiere of the movie. The movie will be released at the end of the month. Spielberg talked to him at the promotional reception two days ago." Zhang Yimou said directly.

Suddenly, Gu Wei discovered a new use for Zhang Yimou. Once he and Spielberg had auditioned all the big names in Hollywood who had schedules, he wouldn't have to select them one by one.

...

domestic.

After more than 40 days of release, "The Wandering Earth" has grossed over 3 billion yuan at the box office, and several film and television companies that participated in the investment issued collective statements to celebrate.

The media reporters were busy again, and the series of reports never stopped.

Coupled with the news coming back from Hollywood from time to time, domestic entertainment reporters feel that they have never been so happy.

In the morning, I wrote about the casting news for "Jurassic World", and in the afternoon, Nolan's "The Martian" started auditions again.

Today we will report on the domestic box office of "The Wandering Earth", and tomorrow the overseas box office will be released.

Unlike the happiness of the media reporters, the mainland film production industry has completely given up counting on the November schedule.

The thirty-odd domestic films are truly terrible, and many of them are sunk to the bottom after just two or three days in theaters.

The industry's attention is now all focused on the Lunar New Year holiday.

"Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame", "Personal Tailor", "Storm", "New Police Story 2013", "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", etc., either have big directors or big casts.

Although it is only early November, we can already clearly feel the grim atmosphere of the December Lunar New Year box office, and the air is filled with the smell of gunpowder.

As the first film released by Huayi Company in late November, the premiere of "Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame" was naturally held as scheduled.

After Wang Zhongjun and Gu Wei had a conflict in early October, Huayi Company finally got its chance.

The premiere ceremony held by Huayi Company was on a grand scale.

Many celebrities in the industry received invitations, including Liu Yifei and several directors from Xingchen Film and Television Company.

“Everyone knows that Director Gu has gone to Hollywood to focus on The Revenant and will also be involved in the casting of several other films, so many invitations for him were sent directly to Red Star Studio.”

Liu Yifei took a stack of invitations to the premiere of Lunar New Year movies, shook them in front of Song Ge, Ning Hao, Lu Yang and others, and threw them on the table.

"Yifei, are you here to deliver the invitation letter? The company also has one." Song Ge said with a smile.

This is the first time Liu Yifei has come to the company since Gu Wei left for Hollywood. Song Ge wondered if there was anything else?

"Yifei, the boss is not here. I'm afraid you, the boss's wife, are here to inspect the company." Ning Hao said jokingly.

"Haha, that's not the case. I just came here because I was bored at home. I also wanted to inform everyone that the celebration party for The Wandering Earth will be held at the end of the month as usual. You don't have to wait for Gu Wei."

"What happened?" Song Ge asked hurriedly.

"The film 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' that we collaborated with Warner Bros. was launched ahead of schedule. Not only the celebration party, but he was also unable to attend the premieres of the following films." Liu Yifei told him everything.

"By the way, he also said that he would call you over after Director Lu's New Police Story 2013 is released." Liu Yifei frowned and remembered something.

"Me? What for?" Lu Yang pointed at himself and asked doubtfully.

"I don't know the details, but I guess he will contact you in the next few days." Liu Yifei shook her head, saying that she just came to deliver the invitation and revealed some of the content of their conversation.

…………

the next day.

The information sent back from Hollywood once again made the media reporters in the circle collectively excited.

Warner Bros. announced that the filming of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" will start ahead of schedule and is currently considering selecting actors.

After seeing this news, other companies in the industry also suspected that Gu Wei would make a big move next year. After all, the timing was three or four months earlier, which was too abnormal.

After the news of the early start of casting for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was reported by multiple media outlets, it instantly caused a stir in the Chinese film industry.

After all, director Gu Wei's filming rules are well known. It basically takes about two years for a blockbuster film from project establishment to release.

To be honest, this speed is not slow, but considering the series from "The Day After Tomorrow", "Interstellar", "2012" to the current "The Wandering Earth", netizens are quite acceptable to this speed.

After all, the quality of every sci-fi special effects blockbuster produced by Gu Wei is impeccable, which is deeply loved by movie fans.

Unlike some other big directors, who always like to take their time and do things carefully, they would be embarrassed to say hello to others if it doesn't take several years to shoot a movie from project initiation to release.

The slowest and most criticized by movie fans is Wong Kar-wai from Hong Kong.

For example, "The Grandmaster" took three years to shoot, and actor Zhang Zhen practiced Bajiquan for three years. In the end, he won the first prize in the national competition. It turned the actor into a martial arts master. How slow is that?

The key is that it doesn't matter if you are slow, the quality of the film is not that good, which is also the point that netizens complain about the most.

Since Gu Weiren is not in the country, Liu Yifei naturally became the subject of inquiries by celebrities in the circle.

"Oh, I really don't know the details, and Gu Wei didn't tell me."

In the villa, Liu Yifei hung up the phone and shook her head helplessly.

"Are you asking about the role again?" Su Chang asked beside him.

"Well, it's so annoying, one by one."

"Well, when Warner Bros. announced 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' last year, didn't Fan Binbin go for an audition? But he was rejected. How come some people are still asking Director Gu if he would consider actors from mainland China?" Su Chang said directly. She remembered this incident very clearly. It was all over the domestic entertainment industry at the time.

"That's right, that's why I'm annoyed. Wait a minute, I'll post a Weibo and tell them to ask Gu Wei directly and not bother me."

As we were talking, Liu Yifei's Weibo had been updated, and it clearly read: "I don't know about the casting of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". If you have any questions, you can ask Director Gu directly. But you have to choose the time. He is very busy during the day and may not answer the phone. It is best to call at night."

"Haha, Xixi, you can do it. I wonder what Director Gu would think when he sees it." Su Chang also laughed after seeing the content of the Weibo. "Humph, who cares? We had agreed to come back at the end of the month to attend the premiere of The Wandering Earth, but we changed our minds at the last minute." Liu Yifei said angrily.

"Okay, Director Gu is also busy with work, not traveling."

"Forget it, let's not talk about him. Has Chen Xiao's TV series started filming?" Liu Yifei asked, changing the subject.

"It's almost done. The female lead is Zhao Liying. It's already been decided."

"I know this. I heard from Wang Chen that several actors from the Shanghai Theatre Academy were selected this time!"

"Who are they?"

"I don't know the details, I just asked Wang Chen when I went to the company yesterday."

"Oh, go back and ask my man, he will definitely know." Su Chang said proudly.

"You silly girl, look at yourself now. You keep talking about my man. Aren't you ashamed?"

"You're the same, and you're still blaming me." Su Chang muttered back.

"How dare you talk back? Humph, I'm going to teach you a lesson today."

While the two were playing and fighting, Liu Yifei's Weibo post was also seen by many netizens.

"Haha, I'm dying of laughter. Calling in the middle of the night, Yifei is afraid that others will be scolded, right?"

"I guess Yifei was also annoyed, otherwise she wouldn't have posted on Weibo."

"Speaking of which, Director Gu's action film was scheduled to be shot after the New Year. Why did it suddenly start shooting so many days in advance?"

"You don't understand this, right? Based on my years of experience, Director Gu's early filming of this movie can only mean that he has new arrangements for next year, or that he is in a hurry and wants to shoot "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" in advance to compete with other Hollywood blockbusters. If you don't believe me, wait and see." This is a knowledgeable netizen who knows Gu Wei's shooting habits well.

"That's impossible. Judging from the production cycle of special effects blockbusters, even if Rise of the Planet of the Apes is shot faster, it's impossible for it to be completed next year."

Later, someone more knowledgeable commented: "According to the information I saw online, Warner Bros. seems to have completed most of the special effects for this movie. Maybe it will be released next year."

The celebrities in the circle have no idea what the situation will be like next year, but after seeing Liu Yifei’s Weibo, many people were disappointed.

Now, even Liu Yifei’s approach is blocked.

The only remaining way now is to contact Gu Wei, which is also what the celebrities who have worked with Gu Wei think.

.........

Los Angeles.

Tomorrow Star Films.

The day before the premiere of "The Revenant", Matt Damon came to the company, ready to give Gu Wei an answer.

After being renovated by Reid, the reception room on the second floor of the company looks very luxurious and has all the necessary facilities.

The assistant poured coffee for Matt Damon and then left. He, Gu Wei and Reid were the only three people left in the huge reception room.

The afternoon sun shines into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving people a warm and lazy feeling.

"Have you decided?" Gu Wei asked lazily while half lying on the sofa, taking a sip of Blue Mountain.

"Well, sorry."

Hearing these two words, Gu Wei smiled slightly, and he already knew the answer in his heart.

"Why?" Gu Wei asked curiously. Ryder next to him looked at him in surprise. In his impression, the boss was always very calm. He didn't know why he valued Matt Damon so much.

You know, what the Hollywood entertainment industry lacks the least is celebrity artists. Reid believes that as long as the boss releases the audition news, the company's door will be immediately stepped on.

Matt Damon chose The Martian because he was persuaded by Nolan.

“It is not just a science fiction film. In my opinion, it is also a film that depicts the contradictions of human nature in great detail. It will become a very classic space science fiction film.”

"Trust me, Matt, if you choose this movie, you will experience both commercial and artistic attributes in one movie. It will not only be a big hit at the box office, but you can also participate in various film festivals and maybe even win a big award."

Matt Damon was imitating Nolan's words of persuasion, and his strange appearance made Gu Wei laugh.

It has to be said that Matt's refusal was beyond Gu Wei's expectations, but it was also reasonable.

In the original time and space, when Matt Damon was interviewed by the media before the release of "The Martian", he said that he was very fortunate to be able to star in this movie and that he had always had the idea of ​​shooting a space science fiction blockbuster.

In the present time and space, Matt Damon made the same choice.

"It seems that I still need to learn the art of deception from Nolan." Gu Wei muttered to himself.

Fortunately, he was prepared, so Matt Damon just refused.

After Matt Damon left, Gu Wei thought for a while, then turned to look at Ryder next to him and said, "Please help me invite two people to attend tomorrow's premiere."

"No problem, boss."

...

Beverly Hills.

Due to the time difference, when Gu Wei returned to the villa and saw the Weibo post posted by Liu Yifei, it was already late at night in Los Angeles.

Seeing the interaction between Liu Yifei, Su Chang and others and netizens on Weibo, Gu Wei laughed, then rolled his eyes and commented below:

"If you call me late at night, you will get scolded. It's best not to try it lightly."

Less than a minute after I posted it, the comments below exploded.

"Fuck, we caught a live Director Gu."

"I don't believe it. Give me the number and I'll call it and try."

At the same time, the first person to see Gu Wei's comments was Su Chang.

"Hey, Xixi, stop messing around. Look, Director Gu liked and commented on your Weibo post."

On the sofa, the two beauties had their clothes in disarray, revealing a little bit of their nudity.

"Ah, let me see, hand me the phone." Hearing this, Liu Yifei let go of Su Chang, tidied her clothes a little, and started looking at the phone with relish.

Sure enough, Gu Wei has already started interacting with netizens on Weibo.

"Director Gu, why did you suddenly start "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"?"

"When do auditions for the movie start? Will it be released next year?"

"Will you invite domestic entertainment celebrities to audition this time?"

In response to netizens' constant questions, Gu Wei responded on Weibo: "It happened suddenly. There will be no public auditions for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Most of the actors will be selected directly by me. As for the reason, I will tell you after the film is finished."

"What the hell, Riddler?"

"Doesn't that mean we have to wait a year or two before we can tell?"

Faced with repeated questioning from netizens, Gu Wei chose not to answer.

Afterwards, he chatted with the young lady on video for a while, and the two of them said a few sweet words to each other, which made Su Chang next to them eat a lot of dog food.

...

(End of this chapter)