Hollywood Road

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Just after going to work in the morning, Harvey Weinstein opened the door and walked into the office, came to the large desk, opened the boss chair and sat down, took a sip of the coffee prepared by the assistant, nodded in satisfaction, eyes Put it on the neatly stacked pending files on the desktop, ready to start the day's work.

The documents are divided into two stacks, with only a few thin ones on the left and a thick one on the right.

This is sorted by the assistant according to his habits. Urgent or important matters will be placed on the left, otherwise they will be placed on the right.

On the top left is a plan, and there is a copy of the script below the plan. Harvey Weinstein glanced at the cover of the plan, and it turned out to be a business sent to Miramax by CAA!

Although he doesn't like those vampires very much, Harvey Weinstein is well aware of CAA's abilities, and the projects they send over will at least not be rubbish.

There is not much on the cover of the plan, except for caa, there is also the code name of the project "x".

This is a common practice in the industry. Many films are often just a code name before the project is officially approved or before the promotion period.

Behind the code name "x", there is a familiar name, the project planner - Murphy Stanton!

Seeing this name, Harvey Weinstein immediately thought of "Chain Saw", which has been released from North America. What kind of huge profits did this film bring? But Miramax just passed it by.

It's impossible not to be annoyed, but just like his attitude towards Murphy at the celebration banquet, after being annoyed, he reflected on how he learned the lesson from this time.

He turned his head slightly, under the glass layer of the desk, the note written by Murphy Stanton himself was still pressed there!

To bring Miramax to its current position, Harvey Weinstein is at least a qualified business operator.

The new work of a director who can earn high returns with a small cost twice in a row is also worth watching.

First, take out the script from under the proposal, and Harvey Weinstein flipped through it. Seeing the absurd setting of Beauty vs. Zombies, he couldn’t help shaking his head and smiling. After reading more than half of it, he was sure of the content of the script. It's very ridiculous, and some places simply do not conform to the logic of normal people's thinking.

But this is obviously a cult film project with black humor. If this kind of book is not absurd,

It also loses its attractiveness.

Beauties, zombies, plasma, nudity... As long as these things are handled properly, they will definitely be attractive to a considerable part of the audience.

But to control the scale of investment! Harvey Weinstein immediately had this idea. After all, the audience range of cult films is here, and niche films are niche films, and it is impossible to become the real mainstream of the market.

Seeing the scene in the script where the female protagonist kills all directions at the end, Harvey Weinstein unconsciously patted the table with a smile on his fat face, obviously feeling that the scene here is very interesting.

If it is a new director, it is definitely doubtful whether he can produce the effect expressed by the script, but for the author of this script, Harvey Weinstein has a certain degree of confidence. "Hard Candy" and "Chain Saw" have already As it turns out, this is the type of style Murphy Stanton excels at.

After closing the script, Harvey Weinstein opened the proposal for the project again, and read it more seriously than before.

Obviously, this is a CAA package project, and the main behind-the-scenes staff, including Murphy Stanton, are all from CAA's clients, and the project clearly indicates this.

Since he paid attention to "Chain Saw" before, Harvey Weinstein can recognize that most of these people have participated in "Chain Saw", and their basic abilities must be guaranteed.

He flipped through the plan very slowly, and often stopped to think about it, considering the feasibility of the terms written on it, sometimes nodding and sometimes frowning.

For example, Harvey Weinstein felt that it was inappropriate for the heroine to invite Jenna Jameson. There is a natural gap between the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood, and it is best not to cross this gap.

It took him nearly two hours to finish reading the plan. After closing it, he did not continue to read other documents. Instead, he walked to the French window, looked at the distant scenery, and began to think carefully.

Undoubtedly, this is a well-planned, well-thought-out and highly feasible commercial film proposal, with an above-average script, it is quite operable.

Moreover, it was stated in the planning document that this was not planned by CAA, but by Murphy Stanton, the initiator of the project.

Harvey Weinstein knows that there is no need for CAA to play tricks in this regard, otherwise, with the fluency of industry news, it can be revealed by just asking.

He attaches great importance to this point. A project proposal written by a director is more important than one made by a brokerage company.

The director is the one who directs the project.

He, a veteran of independent films like him, knows very well that compared with the producer-centered system of mainstream commercial films, these small-cost independent films should be operated around the director. This is the experience that Miramax has explored in producing and investing in independent films for many years. , as long as it is within the budget and the supervision is in place, the director has the right to control everything about the film, and in order to control the budget, all the staff will use everyone's subjective initiative and wisdom around the director to ensure that every penny is paid for. Spend wisely.

Therefore, the most important point is whether the director is worth the investment.

Just as he spared no effort to support Quentin Tarantino back then, Harvey Weinstein has enough decisiveness.

Walking back to his desk, he picked up the phone and dialed the assistant's number, "Bill Rossis and Murphy Stanton from CAA, the sooner the time is better, the better! Also, call "x" Transfer the project to Market Research and let them start the analysis now."

Harvey Weinstein is not good at making decisions blindly. This may involve an investment of nearly tens of millions of dollars. Even for a company of Miramax’s level, it is a huge sum.

He will contact CAA and Murphy Stanton first.

CAA has a huge relationship network in Hollywood. The project codenamed x and the project proposal were sent to many suitable companies by them, and Fox Searchlight also received one.

On the same morning, Godin Clyde, who was in charge of the marketing and distribution business of Fox Searchlight, also saw the script and proposal in his office.

"Isn't it the sequel to "Saw?" He looked through it, frowning, "What is Murphy = Stanton thinking?"

The huge profits brought by "Saw" are right in front of us. How could Godin Clyde give up this series, and the other party clearly stated that the story is not finished, and there will be a sequel later. Now instead of doing a sequel, he is working on other projects ...

New projects often mean new risks.

Godin-Clyde is more interested in a sequel to Saw than in this beautiful new project in the proposal.

After thinking about it, he found a number and dialed it.

"Hi, Murphy." After the other party connected, he said with a smile, "It's me, Godin."

On the other side, Murphy was looking at the house, let Carey Mulligan continue, and walked through the large living room in the house and into the grassy front yard.

"Hello, Godin." He came under a palm tree and stood in the shadows. "What's up?"

"It's like this, I saw the proposal for your new project sent by caa." The voice on the other side seemed to be dissatisfied, "Why isn't it a sequel to "Saw"?"

"I've only finished the outline of the script for the sequel." Murphy said briefly, "It takes time to write the script..."

Godin Clyde over there interrupted him, "Are you still the director?"

"No, no." Murphy shook his head. "I don't have time for now. If the new project is established, it may be delayed until next summer."

Godin-Clyde wanted to say something else, but Murphy said first, "Godin, don't you think it would be more appropriate to slow down for a while?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Godin Clyde must also be able to see that the sequel is not suitable for release in the short term.

A director also needs to have a good network. Murphy thought for a while and said, "After the script is completed, I will pass it on to you as soon as possible. If we invest in it, we will discuss it later. I believe it is not difficult to find a horror film director." .”

There was silence for a while, and a voice came, "Let's do this for now, let's keep in touch, and we will communicate if there are changes."

"Chain Saw" has just begun to be released in several overseas markets such as the UK, Germany, New Zealand and Australia, so there is really no rush for a sequel.

After hanging up the phone, Murphy walked into the house, found Carey Mulligan, and continued to listen to the real estate agent introduce the house.

This is a four-bedroom house consisting of two connected two-storey buildings. In front of the house is a courtyard surrounded by green trees, surrounded by high white walls, blocking the rendering and peeping of the outside world. At the back is a small green area, surrounded by typical California vegetation such as palm trees, and there is a not too big swimming pool next to it.

"How was it?" Murphy asked Carey Mulligan.

This is not the first time for the two of them to come here. After looking at several listings, they are most satisfied with this place.

"It's okay." Carey Mulligan was still watching with his hands behind his back, as if he hadn't thought about it yet.

Murphy is relatively satisfied.

Not far from Stanton's studio, on the edge of Santa Monica's quieter valley, the house was built in the 1920s in a typical Spanish Romantic style.

The first floor interior features arches, vaulted ceilings, hand-polished beams, stone fireplace, spacious rec room with hardwood and Saltillo tile floors, and a circular stairway to the left of the living room leading into the spacious master bedroom and three secondary bedrooms.

From the stairs on the side of the second bedroom, you can enter the adjacent annexe. There is a gourmet kitchen on the first floor of the annexe. The kitchen is mainly made of granite and leads to the dining room, which overlooks the swimming pool and garden in the backyard. , there is also a built-in BBQ next to the garden, and a cozy courtyard, perfect for relaxing after a busy day. (To be continued.)