Meizong Wealth Life

Chapter 135 The truck driver wants to go to heaven

"At that time, many people in the industry believed that Weststar Pictures was making the craziest gamble in human film history on Cameron, and my father was ridiculed by these people because he personally made the decision to shoot the movie. The stupidest and most reckless investor.”

"At that time, there was almost no media that constantly badmouthed the movie, especially the competitors of the Vestar Group. Newspapers could be seen everywhere such as 'The Titanic sank because humans were too arrogant, and Cameron will follow in her footsteps.' remarks."

Seeing Jamie walk back to the living room, Sif sat down next to Serena, shrugged and continued:

"During that time, my father and Vestar Films were really under a lot of pressure. Fortunately, we got through it."

Jamie pretended to be curious and asked:
"I remember once reading an interesting story in the newspaper about before the release of Titanic. I didn't know if it was true."

When Sif heard this, she immediately looked interested and asked Jamie what it was about.

"The report said that before the release of "Titanic", Vestar's pressure and costs were so great that the producer went to the studio to investigate. Cameron was worried that Vestar would give up on the film, so he proposed to reduce his salary. He gave up box office dividends and only asked Vestar to support him in completing the film."

Sif continued to ask:

"and then?"

Jamie and Serena were both a little surprised.

Judging from Sif's reaction, is this true?
Sif nodded, acknowledging this.

"You will definitely not guess who was sent to the set to investigate."

Jamie blurted out:

"It can't be your brother Kendall, can it?"

Now it was Sif's turn to be surprised.

She covered her mouth with her hands and looked at Jamie who guessed the correct answer with disbelief.

Originally, Sif wanted to ask Jamie how she guessed it, but when the words came to her lips, she suddenly changed her mind.

"So could you guess that the investigator was Kendall because of what that report said?"

Jamie shrugged, sort of admitting it.

This made Sif want to know more and more what was behind that report.

At her urging, Jamie had to tell the truth.

"The investigator questioned that the reason why Cameron was willing to reduce his salary and give up dividends was because Cameron himself was not confident in the box office of "Titanic". He was so angry that Cameron told him to get out on the spot!"

Sif held her forehead in embarrassment.

Although this thing is not as exaggerated as Jamie said, it is indeed something her stupid second brother Kendall did.

The newspaper didn't mention anyone by name, which was definitely out of consideration for the Roy family's face.

"Kendall complained to his father after he went back, and was scolded by his father again. Then that night, my father received a call from Cameron. He apologized to my father and shouldn't have treated Kendall so roughly. After all, he Or just a student who hasn’t graduated from college yet.”

When Sif said these words, Jamie and Serena who were present knew in their hearts that this was just Cameron's excuse.

If you haven’t graduated from college, are you not an adult?

The main reason why Cameron can personally call to apologize is because Kendall is the second son of the Roy family.

Beating a dog depends on the owner, let alone a rich second generation.

Sif's voice continued.

"On the phone, Cameron once again proposed to my father that he would reduce his salary and give up part of his box office dividends, but my father rejected it."

Everyone knows the result.

"Titanic" made Cameron a god, and the box office dividends gave him complete financial freedom.

Cameron said goodbye to Hollywood after losing his money. In the following years, every time I saw news about him in newspapers, it was always that he was diving somewhere or exploring somewhere.

It has nothing to do with the movie anyway.

Many people even speculated that Cameron was preparing to retire.

After all, the achievements and box office of "Titanic" are so high that even Cameron himself will find it difficult to surpass it.

It is human nature to give up when something is good.

Serena mentioned it just now because she was curious about this matter.

Sif's answer is also interesting.

"No, no, the news about Cameron preparing to retire is all false news. In fact, before filming "Titanic", he signed a priority investment agreement with Weststar Films for the next film. If nothing else, His next film will still be with Weststar Films."

Serena immediately asked curiously.

"What's he going to take?"

Sif suddenly looked embarrassed.

Serena thought that this involved the confidentiality clause of the contract and it was not convenient to disclose it, so she voluntarily gave up the issue.

However, the truth is not what Serena thought.

Sif told Serena that until now, almost four years have passed since the release of Cameron's last movie "Titanic", Cameron still has not given a clear answer to Vestar Pictures. What are you planning to make in your next movie?

Jamie does know the answer, but he will definitely not announce it in advance.

According to Cameron's memoirs of his previous life, he had not yet decided what movie to make at this time.

"Then what has he been doing for the past four years?"

Serena couldn't help but asked.

Sif shrugged.

"He plans to raise US$3000 million in funds to shoot a space documentary on the International Space Station. To this end, he has already started making various preparations including physical training. Of course, he still needs to wait for NASA to review and approve his plan."

As expected, Serena's face showed a shocked expression.

But Jamie looked very calm, as if he had known about it for a long time.

This immediately aroused Sif's curiosity.

Under Sif's questioning, Jamie revealed the reason.

"This is normal, isn't it? Cameron has achieved the ultimate level of directing. Regardless of Oscar awards or box office, at least in the next ten years, no new film will be able to break it. Do you have any objection to this?"

Sif and Serena nodded together.

There are indeed too many factors that cannot be replicated in the success of "Titanic", and Vestar Films, as the producer, knows this best.

Jamie went on to say:

"For people like Cameron, since he has no higher pursuits, of course he has to seek breakthroughs in other aspects. He is tired of deep-sea exploration. I thought his next goal is to personally climb to the top of Everest. Rama Peak, I didn’t expect that he was more ambitious and wanted to go to space for a trip.”

At this time, Sif suddenly said something shocking.

"Actually, Weststar Films doesn't want Cameron to do this at all, even if we know that he is probably preparing for a new movie when he shoots this documentary." According to Cameron's plan, when he went into space He would have to wait until 2003 to 2004 at the earliest, and it would take at least one to two years for him to return and complete the documentary.

After that, Cameron will start preparing for a new movie. God knows how long it will take him to finish filming the new movie this time.

Serena immediately asked:
"So Cameron's new movie is going to be about space?"

Sif nodded.

Cameron first came up with the idea of ​​filming "Titanic" after watching a documentary about the sinking of the Titanic.

At that time, Cameron told the author of the documentary that he would definitely make this into a movie.

After that, Cameron followed the scientific expedition team to dive to the depth of 11 meters 3800 times to observe the wreckage of the Titanic up close.

The reason why Sif knew so clearly about this matter was because the more than 400 million US dollars spent on Cameron's expedition was provided by Vestar Films.

But Cameron didn't even have a script. He just said he wanted to film a "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic" story, so he got the money from Vestar Pictures.

Hearing this, Jamie couldn't help but interrupted curiously:

"Then what reason did he use to convince Weststar Films to sponsor his space travel this time? That priority investment agreement?"

Sif reluctantly replied:
"Cameron himself will bear the main part of the cost of this space documentary. Even so, he still hopes to obtain US$1000 million in travel sponsorship from Westar."

So there’s not even a story this time?

Jamie couldn't help but smack his lips.

Truck drivers are preparing to go to heaven with nothing.

Sif also knew that Vesta's behavior would be seen as a complete betrayal by outsiders, so she immediately explained:
"Westar's sponsorship money is of course not given to Cameron in vain. In order to get this signing, he has promised us that his next movie will be about space."

Jamie nodded.

He knew that Cameron was indeed not lying.

At the same time, Jamie also knew that Cameron’s dream of heaven did not come true in the end.

The Columbia space shuttle crashed on its way back to Earth in 03, which not only dealt a heavy blow to the U.S. aerospace industry, but also put a damper on Cameron's space documentary plan.

Even Jamie doubted whether the plot in "Avatar" in which Cameron arranged for the protagonist to be a "rape" was influenced by the crash of the Columbia space shuttle.

Because according to later declassified reports, NASA's ground command center knew that there was a high probability that something would happen to the Columbia spacecraft before it returned to the atmosphere, but they not only concealed the incident from the astronauts on the spacecraft, but also did not prevent the spacecraft from returning. plan.

The person in charge later argued that even if the Columbia spacecraft did not return to Earth and continued to stay in space, the final outcome would not change in any way.

In this case, it is better to let the astronauts die without knowing it, which can be regarded as a kind of humanitarianism.

Cameron may have been touched by this incident. Human beings are unreliable, so they might as well be aliens.

Just as Jamie's thoughts were drifting away, Sif's words brought Jamie's attention back to the present.

"Westar Pictures is willing to fund Cameron's space adventure plan, but we had enough of his dilly-dallying last time we shot 'Titanic,' so we have to speed up the progress of his new movie this time."

Jamie joked on the spot:
"What, are you planning to open up the relationship with NASA and send Cameron into space in advance?"

It would be great fun to send Cameron directly to the Columbia spacecraft.

Fortunately, Weststar Films has no plans in this regard.

Their plan was to first find someone to write a space-related script to see if they could impress Cameron.

And the screenwriter selected by Vestar was Jamie.

Without giving Jamie any chance to express her position, Sif explained first:

"I know you will definitely ask why, because after careful discussion, Weststar Films came to the conclusion that you may be the most likely screenwriter in Hollywood to impress Cameron."

Jamie looked shocked.

The expression this time was definitely not fake.

When did he get in touch with the truck driver? How come he didn't know about it?
Sif explained plausibly:
"First of all, of course because you are famous enough, and secondly of course because you and Cameron share the same hobbies."

what?
Jamie had a question mark on his face.

Sif gave the answer directly:

"You, like Cameron, are avid superhero comic fans."

To prove that this was not a joke, Sif then explained:

"Many people know that Cameron worked as a truck driver for a period of time, but few people know that he once had an idea to draw a science fiction comic, and he also tried to submit a manuscript to Marvel, but of course it was rejected. .”

"Then before filming "Titanic", Cameron's original plan was to film "Spider-Man", but in the end he had to give up because the copyright was sold to Sony Pictures by Marvel."

Before he finished speaking, Jamie couldn't help but interrupt:
"So you assume he's interested in making superhero movies?"

Sif nodded with a matter-of-fact expression.

Is not it?
Jamie wanted to say something back to Sif on the spot.

What a fart!
Jamie didn't know if Cameron had ever submitted a manuscript to Marvel, but he had never heard of it in his previous life.

But Cameron's attitude towards superhero movies is not as friendly as Sif and Weststar Pictures think.

In his previous life, when "Avatar 2" was released, Cameron publicly criticized Marvel movies.

Although this is a little bit intended to ride on the popularity of Marvel movies, it also shows that Cameron is really not interested in superhero movies.

But it's true that Cameron once thought about filming a "Spider-Man".

But the reason is not, as Sif said, because Cameron is an avid fan of superhero comics.

The fundamental reason is that Cameron is a technical geek. In Hollywood at the time, there was no more challenging special effects technology than shooting a superhero movie, so Cameron set his sights on "Spider-Man".

Unable to shoot the little spider, he immediately aimed at the big ship.

Jamie made it very clear to Sif that both she and Vestar Pictures were overcomplicating the issue.

It is actually very simple to come up with a script that attracts Cameron, as long as the script is difficult enough to film.

This is why Cameron wants to go to heaven.

Because there is really nothing more difficult to achieve than shooting movies in space right now.

But Sif laughed.

She told Jamie that she had the wrong person.

Since Jamie can accurately guess Cameron's thoughts, he must be sure to write a difficult script that will astonish Cameron.

　It's definitely not "Avatar", that would be too cliche, let's give it a try first, and the answer will be revealed in the next chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)