Capítulo 6: C 6
"Are you sure you want to do this, Leah?"
Putting down the coffee cup, George Lucas broke the tranquil atmosphere of the cafe with surprised words. He quickly lowered his voice. "This is too risky!"
"I am Luke's mother."
Sipping coffee slowly, Leah Rosenberg's voice remained flat. "I know how realistic Hollywood is. If I don't help him, who else in this world will?"
She raised her eyes to look at George Lucas, her black eyes as calm as water. "I'm just doing something within the power of a mother."
"After you called me last night, I studied the script carefully."
Seeing his friend's resolute attitude, George Lucas quickly regained his calm, stating the most basic facts. "If a movie wants to make an impact, it will definitely require tens of millions of dollars in investment. I watched Luke; he has a lot of ideas for a video shot, and his quick and sharp editing is very characteristic, but he lacks experience!"
"George, give me a definite number." Leah Rosenberg ignored George Lucas' last words. "Based on your estimate, how much money does Luke need?"
After watching his friend carefully for a while, George Lucas rubbed his signature beard and slowly said, "If Lucasfilm produces it, the special effects will be completely handed over to Industrial Light and Magic. It can be done, but since Luke is a novice, this number will inevitably increase—at least $15 million."
"I will mortgage the two properties in Santa Monica and San Francisco as soon as possible." Leah had this idea when she first saw the script, and after weeks of deliberation, she made up her mind. At this moment, she seemed to be discussing trivial matters. "Adding part of my savings, it's no problem to make up $10 million. I will figure out the rest."
"Leah, you are betting!" George Lucas reminded her.
"George, push forward twenty years..." Leah's calm eyes finally revealed her spirit. "When we started our business, which decision was not a gamble? Do you remember the situation when filming 'Star Wars'? Ninety percent of people in Hollywood said you were a fool. All the film critics in North America were scolding you for making garbage. What happened?"
Hearing his friend mention his most proud achievement, George Lucas couldn't help but smile and took a sip of coffee. "You have so much confidence in Luke?"
"Not confidence."
Leah Rosenberg's words almost caused George Lucas to spit out his coffee. "But as a mother, I am willing to create opportunities for him to succeed. Even if he fails, it will just mean losing two properties and part of the money. I can bear this loss."
Seeing George Lucas nodding, her voice gradually slowed down. "George, we have known each other for 30 years, and I have never asked you to do anything for me. The production and distribution of the film..."
"All of this is given to Lucasfilm."
Now that Leah decided to take on most of the investment and said so solemnly, George Lucas stopped persuading her. He thought for a while. "If I'm interested in this script, those film funds will definitely be willing to contribute to the rest. Investment pays."
Hollywood's big shots are adept at making charitable contributions by borrowing resources.
They reached an agreement in principle, and the two discussed some specific aspects before leaving the cafe shortly thereafter.
Luke knew nothing about his mother's decision. Although he had never given up hope, he was also acutely aware that the opportunity did not seem to be appearing anytime soon. He must find a suitable job to support himself.
He was in contact with an associate director of the crew of "Captain Hook." After Spielberg's crew went through a financial crisis and was shut down, they finally secured investment and started shooting again at Universal Studios. Luke wanted to return to the crew to work, even if it was just as a casual worker doing chores. It would be a rare learning opportunity to watch the shooting of Hollywood's leading fast-paced production live.
The most important thing was that he needed a certain source of income, so he could wait and look for opportunities.
It's not that Luke never thought about asking his mother to invest; he just thought better of it.
There is no mother in this world who owes her children anything. He couldn't ask for more. Leah had also expressed her disinterest in the script.
Taking 10,000 steps back, even if his mother was willing to invest, without the support of a film company, it would not help much.
Let alone the complexity of leaving the support of a film company to form a large crew; even if the film were shot, distributing it would be a huge problem.
In this vast industry, the distribution company is always at the top of the food chain. Luke would not be naive enough to think that as long as he personally signed a contract with a distributor, they would come up with millions of dollars for the film, handle the publicity, and then share one-third or even half of the proceeds with him, an unknown director. Were the executives of the issuing company all fools?
Don't forget, he was a complete newcomer. No publishing company would invest such a large sum into works directed by a newcomer whose copyright was not in their hands. They were not engaged in charity!
Unless the copyright of the film was completely sold to the distributor, the question remained: who would pay a high price for a new director's debut work?
Therefore, he needed the support of production companies or well-known producers. If the film were produced by a large production company like Lucasfilm, some of the problems would be solved.
Luke's personal production was a completely different concept from Lucasfilm's or Warner Bros.' productions, and the benefits that publishers could enjoy would vary greatly.
Why did debut directors all follow the path of established producers or film companies? This is an unsolvable dilemma.
Because he had worked as a temporary worker on the crew of "Captain Hook" before, Luke got the job after only two phone calls and entered the Universal Studios studio starting the new week.
Temporary workers like them did not have fixed positions. They went wherever the crew needed them, doing dirty and tiring work.
Like most Hollywood crews, the atmosphere of this crew was definitely not harmonious. There were endless battles, both open and secret. This was an extremely competitive circle. If you wanted to get ahead, you had to do everything possible to climb up, especially for those who were ambitious.
Of course, the king here was called Spielberg, but even a successful director like him was troubled by funding problems and even shut down the crew temporarily while searching for investment.
Similarly, there would be people who challenged his authority, such as the heroine, Julia Roberts.
Before the crew was shut down, Luke had witnessed with his own eyes how her big mouth, after taking drugs, quarreled with Spielberg over a trivial matter and even pushed him for a while. If it hadn't been for someone pulling her away, a fight would have been very likely.
Probably because of funding issues, and since Julia had already filmed a large number of scenes, Spielberg did not replace her. However, it's hard to say that Julia Roberts's fame from the early nineties to the mid-nineties had nothing to do with this incident.
At the end of the day's work, Luke casually found a corner, changed his overalls, put on his own jacket, and walked out of the studio along the narrow path interspersed with many buildings toward the parking lot.
Temporary workers with no status like him cannot enjoy special treatment for battery cars.
Despite the exhaustion of work, Luke's back was still straight, and his tall figure was as strong as a palm tree on the side of the road.
Suddenly, the brakes sounded behind him, and a white six-seat battery car steadily stopped beside him.
"Luke Rosenberg?"
There was a somewhat familiar voice, and Luke turned his head to see that Rick Solomon was sitting in the driver's seat of the battery car.
Nodding slightly in that direction, Luke turned and prepared to leave.
"Hi, Luke!"
Rick first honked the horn of the battery car, and when Luke's gaze turned back, he said loudly, "I heard that you wrote a script and are still investing in various Hollywood companies. How's it going? Great director, when will your movie start?"
His tone was full of sarcasm. "Could it be that your film has already started shooting at Universal Studios? This is big news..."
Before Luke could respond, he pointed to the badge hanging around his neck. "Did you see it? Alien 3's crew pass to Universal Studios! I am a supporting actor in it!"
"David Fincher's debut work?" Luke said with a slight smile. "Congratulations."
Seeing that Luke remained composed, without showing any envy or jealousy, Rick Solomon said condescendingly, "By the way, Luke, I heard my father mention it the other day. Warner Bros. had a meeting to discuss your script..."
Luke raised his eyebrows, and Rick Solomon wore a smile. "It's a pity that your 'Speed' was rejected by Warner!"
He lightly patted the steering wheel. "Luke Rosenberg, die of the heart of being a director! Let's continue with the promising career of temporary crew work!"
Suddenly, the horn of the battery car blared behind them, and it was clear they were blocking each other's way.
Luke took the initiative to yield to the side of the road, but the battery car behind him did not leave; it stopped instead.
"Luke?"
A girl about twenty years old jumped out of the battery car. She wore a short-sleeved shirt with a striped pattern and blue jeans. She was slender, with a very defined face, an eagle nose, black eyes, and prominent, full lips. With a smile, her mouth turned up, revealing white teeth.
"Hi, Sophia."
Luke waved to the girl who approached. Although they were not very familiar, they had met many times at George Lucas's house. Her father is the famous Francis Coppola. "What brings you here?"
"I work on the 'Alien 3' crew," she said with a faint nasal voice. "I'm a temporary assistant for David Fincher."
"Hello, Sophia."
I don't know when, but Rick Solomon also jumped from the battery car and leaned in to say hello.
"Hello there."
Sophia Coppola lightly tapped her chin, and regardless of the enthusiastic smile Rick sent her way, she slapped Luke hard on the arm. "I haven't congratulated you yet!"
"Congratulations?" Luke didn't understand.
"I went to visit Uncle Lucas in San Francisco yesterday." It was probably a personal habit; she always spoke with a monotonous nasal voice. "He mentioned you and said that your script is about to be approved by Lucasfilm, and you..."
There was a slight envy in her tone. "You are the final director candidate."
"Is this true?" Luke couldn't believe it at first.
"Will I lie to you?" Sophia folded her arms and looked at him. "It is estimated that Lucasfilm will notify you soon."
"Okay, let's not talk about it." She pointed to the battery car. "Get in, I'll drive you to the parking lot."
When the two got into the battery car, Rick Solomon over there reacted. "Hey, Sophia, are you kidding me?"
However, the only answer to him was the wind caused by the battery car as it sped away.
After standing there blankly for a while, Rick Solomon got into the driver's seat. He looked at the sun that was about to sink below the horizon and frowned. "This... how is this possible?"
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder