Backtracking to the Age of Literature and Art

Chapter 866 Catch Me If You Can——A Surprising True Story of a Fraudster

Yu Dong had just finished calling Husseini and was about to turn around and leave when the phone on the coffee table rang again.

He turned around and picked up the phone, and Spielberg's voice came from inside, "It seems that you are really busy, and the phone has not been connected all the time. If I still can't get through, I will fly to New York to find you .”

"That's because you called at the wrong time." Yu Dong smiled and asked again, "Why are you calling me at this time? Because of the new book?"

Spielberg smiled, "You guessed it right, so, can you tell me about the new book? What's going on? It's expressionist literature and science fiction."

"No."

Yu Dong rejected it, but Spielberg was not disappointed at all, "I knew it, I'd better wait until the new book is finished and I'll read it. You can consider getting a trial copy this time, so we can have a sneak peek."

Some writers will make a trial version before the official release of the new book and distribute it to the public. The trial version generally includes a small number of trial chapters, a synopsis of the story, an introduction to the author, and media reviews.

To put it bluntly, this trial book is a brochure, which is also a marketing method. Trial books are generally distributed to readers for free, so that readers can have a preliminary understanding of the content of the book before reading the book, which in turn triggers Read interest and entice them to buy.

This kind of marketing method is not new in Europe and the United States. Some people did it in the early years, and it is more popular now. Publishing houses often help authors make this kind of trial books.

Jeff Nathanson is a signed screenwriter of Deep Space Company, and he belongs to the kind with a basic salary, and the salary is not low.

Yu Dong said with a smile, "Steven, I regret to tell you that I will not write the script of this movie for you."

At that time, Deep Space Company will earn three shares of the original author, screenwriter, and movie box office.

This kind of trial version is very gimmick. After all, it costs more to preview than the official version, so the price will be much higher. Generally, this kind of trial version is made to make money, and Yu Dong has never done it.

Ten minutes later, Spielberg called again.

Seeing Spielberg's reaction, Yu Dong also laughed loudly, "Just say, do you want to jump into this pit or not?"

Long after Jeff Nathanson had written the first film, he was signed to Deep Space.

"Haha, this is the book. The story is very exciting. I have read it several times in a row in the past few days. I hope to bring this story to the big screen, so I called you, hoping that you can complete this book. The script of the movie. Since you recommended this book to me, you must also know the story very well."

When this happens, the general company will recommend the script to a more famous director, so this script was noticed by Jimmy.

Spielberg at the other end of the movie was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Yu Dong to refuse so simply, and there was a hint of a smile in his voice. What's the matter?
Before Spielberg could ask, Yu Dong said, "But I can recommend another screenwriter to you."

However, after hearing what Spielberg said, Yu Dong did not refuse, but said with a smile, "Let's talk about it after I finish the book. If I feel like it then, I can get some trial copies for you."

Not to mention Yu Dong, he has even seen the finished movie, so of course he knows that the script is not bad.

The first few chapters of some works are foreshadowing. If you put these chapters into the trial book, readers will only lose interest in the book after reading it. Isn't that just shooting yourself in the foot?

As soon as the two came together, they were ready to recommend the script to Spielberg and let him shoot it.

Amblin is an independent film production company that does not distribute its own films, and does not have sufficient financing products and studios to help. In other words, they are like a studio in their own right.

"Haha, tell me, what do you want, isn't it just to push Jeff's script to me, or do you want me to work for you?"

After "Speed ​​​​2", Jeff Nathanson has been eating subsistence allowances and previous money at Deep Space Corporation, and at the same time writing a script, that is "Cat and Mouse Game".

Spielberg passed the name in his mind, but he had no memory at all. "Who is he? What works? I don't remember the name."

Hearing Spielberg say that the title of the book is very long, Yu Dong suddenly remembered it.

After reading the script, Jimmy liked it very much, and sent the script to Yu Dong to have a look.

Spielberg sighed slightly, "You have an old saying in China, it's called 'Jiang Taigong is willing to take the bait', now, you are that Jiang Taigong, and I am the fish, even if your hook is straight, I And he will bite the hook without hesitation."

Speaking of Jeff Nathanson, Yu Dong thought it was quite a coincidence.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Of course, the difference is that the initiative will be in the hands of deep space.

"Don't say part-time job is so ugly, it's cooperation. Deep Space and DreamWorks can cooperate to produce this movie."

In the original world, this story was made into a movie by Spielberg, and the Chinese name is "Cat and Mouse Game". Now Yu Dong is doing this, but it makes things go on the original track ahead of schedule.

Yu Dong raised his eyebrows. Although he didn't immediately think of the book "Catch Me If You Can...", in fact, he had a purpose in recommending this book to Spielberg. Spielberg was able to read the book and turn the story into a movie.

After Yu Dong reported his number, he heard a busy signal from the other end of the phone.

This is the plan of Yu Dong and Jimmy. They plan to make this film together with DreamWorks, with a total investment of about 5000 million US dollars.

In addition to the amount of distribution, whether it is suitable to launch a trial version is also related to the style of the novel.

"The book I recommended to you?" Yu Dong was a little puzzled. He did recommend books to Spielberg, but there were too many recommended books. He didn't know which one Spielberg was talking about. "What did you say?" Is it Lord of the Flies?"

Among the books recommended by Yu Dong to Spielberg, "Lord of the Flies" impressed Yu Dong the most, because Yu Dong did not expect that Spielberg had not read this book.

This time, Spielberg's voice is full of joy, and it is clear that he and Jeff Nathanson have a good conversation.

"Okay, just remember, his number is..."

In addition, Deep Space also signed a contract with the prototype character Abagnale one step ahead. Next year, Abagnale's work "The Art of Plagiarism" will be published.

The most famous one he wrote in the past few years is "Speed ​​2". The global box office of this movie is more than 1 million U.S. dollars, which sounds pretty good, but the problem is that the production cost of this movie is more than 4000 million U.S. dollars Well, the North American box office only recovered more than [-] million U.S. dollars, which can be said to be a loss to grandma's family.

However, the sample book that Spielberg mentioned should not refer to this kind of general sample book made for publicity, but the kind of collection sample book. This type of sample book usually contains most or even all chapters of the work, and the cover is well-made. Beautiful paper, perfect for collection.

However, if Yu Dong really didn't want Spielberg to bother Jeff Nathanson, he wouldn't give Spielberg his phone number.

"It's already been written..." Spielberg suddenly realized, "So you're digging a hole for me to jump in!"

In the past two years, the company has helped him submit this script to several directors, including but not limited to Lars Ostrom, Maurice Formay, and Gore Verbinski.

"I finished reading the book you recommended to me before." Spielberg said.

Yu Dong didn't get a trial copy in the early days, and now he doesn't need a trial copy as a way of promotion.

Spielberg has heard of the two movies Yu Dong mentioned, but it is no wonder that they are both sequels, which makes Spielberg secretly scream, because the screenwriters who write sequels are generally not well-known.

Amblin is the film and television production company founded by Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall.

If you invest too much, the cost is too high, the risk is too great, and the publisher is not willing to do it.

A few years ago, Amblin cooperated more with DreamWorks, but in the past two years, the relationship between Spielberg and DreamWorks has gradually become delicate, and the cooperation between the two parties has gradually decreased.

Before Dong asked, Spielberg took the initiative to say, "I have already made an appointment with him. We will go to the coffee shop tomorrow for coffee. By the way, we also had a brief chat about the script. The person you recommended is indeed right, he He knows the story of Abagnale very well, and his knowledge is not limited to the autobiography "Catch Me If You Can". He even met with Abagnale and had an in-depth chat. He told me some There is nothing written in the autobiography. Although I have not seen the script, I already believe that the script will not let me down."

But they didn't look for it directly, but took a detour. Yu Dong recommended to Spielberg the autobiography "Catch Me If You Can" written by the prototype author, and let Spielberg come to him on his own initiative.

Yu Dong couldn't help but smile. Spielberg just likes to go around the corner. He should be worried that Jeff Nathanson's level is not enough, but he doesn't want to say it directly.

"It seems that your research on Chinese culture has made great progress recently, and the usage is very accurate."

Usually, the works that can be produced as a trial version are books that the publishing house is very optimistic about, and their authors are usually well-known writers.

"You mean Catch Me If You Can—The Amazing True Story of a Con Man?"

"You give me his phone number."

This time, Spielberg wanted to put aside DreamWorks and let Amblin cooperate directly with Deep Space, which is naturally expected.

"Uh, I've read "Lord of the Flies" a bit, and to be honest, it doesn't quite suit my taste... I'm going to talk about another one, the one with a very long title."

"I remember your words, and I will definitely call you to ask for it when the time comes."

In the past few years, Jeff Nathanson has been writing scripts in the company every day, but the scripts he wrote are often returned, and his career development is not smooth.

"...Then you promise not to disturb him tonight."

"That's right, he's here too. Well, I'll call him tomorrow morning and ask him to contact you. Let's meet and have a chat."

"In fact, his script has already been written. If you are interested, I will send you a copy tomorrow. Whether he knows the story or not, you will know when you read the script."

"Congratulations, you have found another good story." Yu Dong said with a smile.

Spielberg agreed very simply, "I promise."

"Well, does he know the story?"

Looking at the microphone, Yu Dong shook his head helplessly. He knew that Spielberg's guarantee was a fart.

Hearing what Spielberg said, Yu Dong was not surprised at all.

Spielberg pondered for a while, and said, "Let Amblin and Deep Space be produced together, and then you, Deep Space, will be responsible for the release. If you don't release it, then I can contact Universal and let them do it."

"Well, he's there too?"

Spielberg subconsciously asked, "Who?"

These directors were very optimistic about this script, but they failed to make it due to various reasons.

Yu Dong looked at the time, "At this moment, I'm afraid Jeff has already fallen asleep, are you in Los Angeles now?"

"Thank you for the compliment. If possible, I hope to see the script tonight. Can you send me the script tonight?"

"He is a young screenwriter. Our company signed a contract a few years ago. The most famous work he wrote before should be "Speed ​​2". In addition, his other script "Rush Hour 2" is also about to be shot."

"Then you should keep it in mind, but why did you call me today? You didn't just ask me to leave you a trial book, did you?"

……

The marketing model of trial reading requires a certain amount of investment to produce results. If the amount is small, not only the publicity effect is limited, but also the cost performance is low. After all, content production also takes time and effort.

Yu Dong self-righteously thought that such a world-famous novel should be read by those who read it frequently.

Since it is a trial book, the trial chapters in it must be the previous chapters, and the first few chapters of many works are actually not attractive.

"Jeff Nathanson." Yu Dong said a name.

The title of the book was indeed so long that Yu Dong almost couldn't read it all in one breath.

Yu Dong said with a smile, "No problem, let's produce together, and we will do the distribution. We will talk about the specific details of the cooperation after you have talked with Jeff tomorrow."

"No problem, I still have some ideas related to casting, let's talk about it later." Speaking of this, Spielberg sighed slightly, "I don't know why, I always feel that I have been giving you Deep Space Company the past few years. work to earn a living."

Yu Dong comforted with a smile, "Don't think so, it should be our Deep Space Company working for you. Think about it, has your movie box office been getting higher and higher in the past few years of cooperation with our Deep Space Company? Are there more and more assets?"

"Uh... That's true. Thinking about it this way, I feel much better. You really can comfort people."

(End of this chapter)