章節 39: 39. Investing
Rowan wondered in his heart why shooting a MV required so many things.
Rowan didn't care about the North American queen's emotional problems, he only cared about whether it would cause trouble "Will it implicate me?"
Mary said, "It's a different circle, and Tommy Mottola has no reason to do this now."
Rowan nodded and said "That's fine."
Since it has nothing to do with Rowan, it is better to get this role done quickly instead of wasting time gossiping.
It's not complicated either.
Music MVs are not long.
Mariah Carey's "Butterfly" music video required Rowan's participation for no more than two minutes.
Basically just a tool.
Rowan's specific task can be imagined as pole dancing.
The good thing is, Mariah Carey is in charge of dancing.
The bad thing is, Rowan is that steel pipe.
It doesn't require any acting skills and it's not complicated, just be a big prop and that's it.
As long as it wasn't a real pole - in Rowan's opinion, this was the biggest difficu Ity of this shoot.
Mary didn't take it seriously and focuse d on another question "How is your Rush Hour project going?"
Rowan shook his head "After asking around, I don't have much hope."
He briefly explained the situation.
Rush Hour was originally written by screenwriter Ross LaManna in 1995.
The script was sold to Hollywood Pictures, a film production label owned by Walt Disney, by Lamanna's William Morris agent, Alan Gasmer.
Hollywood Studios was very optimistic about the script. Instead of shelving it for a few years or even decades, they asked Arthur Sarkisian to serve as producer and start organizing a team.
After working with Director Ratner and developing the project for more than a year with producers including Sarkisian, Jonathan Glickman and Roger Birnbaum, Walt Disney ultimately invested $34 million.
Once the investment is secured, the next step is to build a team.
The first thing to be confirmed was the Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan.
The leading male role was confirmed, but the big boss wasn't buying it.
34 million US dollars is enough to make a first-rate action movie, but Walt Disney is worried about the appeal of superstars to American audiences, and some internal members are not optimistic about the project.
Disney studio head Joe Roth turned the project around.
Several companies were interested in acquiring the project, with Warner Bros. New Line Studios being the most willing to invest and making a firm commitment to Rush Hour's budget and start date.
After a series of negotiations, "Rush Hour" was produced by New Line Company and the project was officially advanced.
Although it was produced by New Line Pictures, it did not have complete say. After the balance was reached, the vote of Director Brett Ratner was the crucial one.
"Brett Ratner is positioned as the second male lead to handle the comedy part, while the superstar Jackie Chan is responsible for the action part."
After explaining the situation, Rowan gave a summary "He prefers Chris Tucker. He thinks Chris Tucker is a famous Hollywood master of verbal humor, while Superstar Jackie Chan is an internationally renowned master of action humor. The rivalry between the two of them will be very interesting."
"But these are nothing. The biggest problem is that the management prefers to choose a black person."
"Mary, you know the reason."
Of course Mary understood.
She went out to make a few phone calls, and when she came back she shook her head at Rowan "No chance for Rush Hour."
"It's okay if you don't succeed. Many Hollywood stars have failed in auditions."
"According to what you said, the second male lead is probably responsible for playing stupid and funny roles, which doesn't fit your character setting. It's not a pity if it fails."
The eldest lady comforted me like an older sister.
Rowan thought that if it was bigger, the effect would definitely be better.
He quite likes the Ultraman movie that Japan released last year.
The lyrics are pretty good: D, D+, Tiga! Just like the sun shining through the night, the dawn quietly...
Wait, there seems to be a problem?
Rowan was a little absent-minded.
Bang!
The script tapped his shoulder.
Rowan came back to his senses and saw that his elder sister had turned back into an iceberg. She used her tone without intonation again "Rush Hour failed, but Good Will Hunting and The Horse Whisperer are both unimportant supporting roles. It won't take long to film their parts."
"Regarding your free time, I give you two choices."
"First, accepting supporting roles and action directors step by step has the advantage that the risk is not great, but the momentum will slow down."
"Secondly, if you are successful in playing an important role in an independent film, your status will rise to a higher level, but if you fail, your investment will go down the drain."
"Rowan, what would you choose?" How to choose?
Only children make choices, adults know that they want them all!
Rowan had a sinister look on his face, and clenched his hands "I want them all"
Bang!
Mary patted him again: "Speak seriously."
Why does it feel like training a golden retriever...
Rowan didn't act funny, and said seriously, "I have to do supporting roles and action director because I need the income."
"I will invest the money I earn into independent films and try to overtake others."
"I don't have any background. I can't just write "My Dad Spielberg" during the audition and get the first prize and be guaranteed a role. It takes too long to wait for an opportunity. I'll take the risk. How can I succeed without taking some risks?"
Rowan showed great maturity.
This is what Mary is most satisfied with him for.
Although he has big pectoral muscles, it doesn't mean he's stupid. He's a future math and biology PhD, student from USC.
Having a high IQ makes people different.
Mary said "I am here to serve you. Since you choose to have both, I will also provide corresponding solutions."
"You asked me to focus on independent films before, and now I have a promising project."
"What?"
Rowan became excited: "What kind? An art film with a rating of up to level 3?"
The first screen kiss was given to Catherine in "The Mask of Zorro", and another first is yet to come.
"...a French action comedy."
Mary had a blank expression on her face: "Luc Besson wrote the script in 1996 and introduced it to his usual French production company Gaumont, but Gaumont was not optimistic about the project and refused to invest."
"Luc Besson found a small production company called ARP owned by his friend. Luc Besson raised part of the funds himself
and his friend invested part of the funds. He raised about 8 million US dollars, which was 2 million US dollars short of his target of 10 million US dollars."
"Luc Besson's reputation is average, and his private life is typical of a Frenchman, but his professional ability is very strong, so his projects are still very secure."
"If you are willing to invest this $2 million, and include the salaries of the leading actor and the action director in the investment, I will help you get at least 15% of the European box office share and the North American copyright."
"Want to gamble $2 million?"
Mary stared at Rowan.
Do you want to gamble almost half of your fortune?
Rowan thought for a while and soon came up with an answer: bet!
Not to mention that these are just advertising endorsements, they are no different from the wind blowing them.
Since you have decided to take a gamble, what does almost half of your wealth matter?
The real Warriors are borrowing money to leverage!
Rowan would not borrow money, so even if he failed with $2 million, it would not hurt him much. But if he succeeded, he would be able to move up in class and upgrade from an ordinary actor to a capital actor.
"Let's bet!"
Rowan said, "But I need to understand the script and his ideas first. What is the name of this project?"
"Taxi." Mary stated
Taxi! Rowan has heard that name, he knew it because even until 2018 the 5th part of the movie Taxi 5 was released. Clearly the first few parts were successful for them to release it till the 5th one, it looks like he has gotten a good project in his hand.
___________________________
On April 10, 1997, the MV shooting began.
Early in the morning, the driver drove the business car to the door of Rowan's house.
Rowan opened the door, and the gradually warming wind blew over the back of his head, which had just been cut.
He cut his hair for the filming of "Face/Off", and after two or three months, his hair finally grew back to the size where he could get a haircut.
Come to think of it, when playing Zorro in Mexico at that time, one had to wear a mask, which was a bit uncomfortable even when shooting action scenes in winter.
But this crime is nothing compared to the money an actor can earn. If you get ahead, there will be people serving you.
For example, now, as soon as Rowan got into the car, the female assistant handed him breakfast "It's made according to your appetite. If you are not satisfied, I can change the recipe."
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