Meizong Wealth Life

Chapter 149: Strengthening Marvel in the future

In Jamie's opinion, the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man is more like a father and son.

The first four phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be viewed as a father-son ethics drama.

From "Avengers 1", the "father and son" bond was established, to "Avengers 2" and "Captain America 3" turned against each other due to different ideas, and then in "Avengers 3 and 4", Iron Man finally gloriously took over Captain America. mantle, sacrificing himself to save the universe.

In the end, the "old father" Captain America happily chose to retire, which represented a complete reconciliation between father and son.

The rest of the Marvel movies are all side plots that revolve around the main line of the changing relationship between Iron Man and Captain America.

If Marvel chooses to use Captain America to open the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then the first film will definitely be "Captain America: The First Avenger".

Tells the story of the origins of Captain America and his fight against the Red Skull during World War II.

This movie was released in 2011, with a global box office of US$3.7 million. Excluding production and publicity costs, it was a no-loss, no-profit situation.

Although in the previous life, when Marvel opened the movie universe in 08, it faced a similar situation.

Although "Iron Man" was a huge success, another Hulk stand-alone movie "The Incredible Hulk" only earned less than $2.7 million at the box office.

Average the box office of the two movies, which is almost the same as "Captain America 1".

But the meaning it represents is completely different.

The success of "Iron Man" allowed Marvel to find the right way to open the movie universe, and "The Incredible Hulk" itself was a "spare tire" produced by Marvel as a risk hedge, so it actually doesn't matter much if it fails.

This also involves the complex copyright game behind the Hulk, so the failure of this movie actually has little impact on Marvel.

But if "Iron Man" is replaced by "Captain America 1", with mediocre plot and box office, it may be difficult to convince investors that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a bright future.

After a few seconds of silence, Ovitz suddenly said:

"What about the Hulk? If a stand-alone movie is made, how likely do you think this superhero is to be successful?"

Jamie was stunned for a moment.

When Ovitz mentioned Captain America just now, Jamie felt a little strange.

Now the mystery is revealed.

"Isn't the copyright of the Hulk owned by Universal? What, have you heard anything recently?"

Ovitz folded his arms, shrugged and replied:

"You may not believe it if I tell you. As early as 10 years ago, Universal had already started preparing for the copyright adaptation project of the "Hulk" IP."

At that time, Ovitz was still the head of CAA, and the screenwriter hired by Universal to write the script for "The Incredible Hulk" happened to be a client of CAA.

"It's a pity that James is gone, otherwise he would be most familiar with the screenwriter, Gale Hurd, the co-writer of "Terminator 1 and 2", and also served as the producer of "The Abyss"."

"Heard brought her husband Jonathan Hensley into the process of writing the script. Later, "Jumanji" written by Hensley was a box office hit, and Universal changed its mind and asked Hensley to come on board. Rewrite the script.”

"Hensley was very committed to this project and even convinced Universal executives to let him serve as the director of the film. The relevant lobbying work was handled by CAA, which is why I know so clearly about this matter."

"Originally, this project has passed the green light review by Universal's senior management and will soon enter the pre-production stage of the century, but there happened to be a movie released at that time. Needless to say, you must have guessed its name, right? "

Looking at Ovitz's helpless and regretful expression, Jamie tried to answer.

"Batman and Robin?"

Ovitz smiled wryly and nodded.

Jonathan Hensley's luck is really bad.

CAA spent a lot of effort to convince Universal executives to hand over "The Incredible Hulk", an A-level project with an investment of hundreds of millions, to Hansley, who had no directing experience.

As a result, "Batman and Robin", a movie with a star-studded cast and an investment of hundreds of millions, not only caused Warner to almost lose its money, but also caused the entire Hollywood to talk about the "color change" of superhero movies.

No matter how big-hearted Universal’s executives are, they can’t continue to advance the “Hulk” project.

Jonathan Hensley's dream of directing could only be aborted.

After 911/, all major film producers have spotted the emerging superhero film market.

Sony, the fastest moving company, has already filmed the first "Spider-Man".

Warner restarts "Superman" project.

Weststar Films is developing "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four."

Even Marvel, which is half-dead and doesn't know who will come first tomorrow or bankruptcy, is ambitious enough to become its own film company.

Universal, which holds the copyright to "The Incredible Hulk", woke up early and caught up with a late episode. Only then did it finally remember the project that had been shelved back then.

According to the news received by Ovitz, the "Hulk" project has officially been restarted.

Of course, times have changed, and it is certainly impossible to find Jonathan Hensley to do the script and director.

Because it is a reboot, Universal plans to confirm the director first and then redo the script.

"Universal's most promising director candidate at the moment is Li An. I know you are very knowledgeable about Chinese culture. I don't think you need me to introduce him to you more, right?"

Jamie glanced at Ovitz.

"If I remember correctly, Li An's agency is CAA."

Ovitz nodded.

In fact, if it were not for CAA, Li An would never have a chance to turn around after losing blood in "Ride with the Devil".

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was released in 2000, with a cost of US$1700 million and a global box office of US$2.1 million, and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

CAA once again proved their precise vision.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Chinese-speaking filmmakers also ushered in a wave of highlight moments in Hollywood.

In terms of actors, Cheng Long quickly entered the ranks of Hollywood super giants with his two "Rush Hour" films.

In terms of directors, "Face" and "Mission: Impossible 2" directed by Wu Yusen have achieved high market returns.

"Mission: Impossible 2" even topped the global box office in 2000.

Against this background, Universal executives were once again successfully lobbied by CAA to hand over the reboot of "The Incredible Hulk" to Chinese director Li An.

This time, Ovitz didn't try to keep it secret, and directly told Jamie that Li An's agent at CAA was one of the senior partners who had the strongest opposition when Ovitz wanted to return to CAA.

Ovitz always remembered this account. In order to teach the other party a lesson, Ovitz bribed the other party's assistant and directly obtained the script outline of Li An's version of "The Incredible Hulk".

"The screenwriter Universal hired this time is James Schamus. His adaptation is very bold. He directly transformed a very ordinary villain in the comics into a big villain in the movie, and the most exaggerated thing is the character of this big villain. His true identity is the father of the male protagonist Bruce Banner."

Ovitz thought this news would surprise Jamie, but he didn’t expect Jamie’s reaction to be——

Is this worth making a fuss about?

Before Ovitz could ask again, Jamie spoke first.

"If you have carefully understood Li An's previous movies, you will know that he is very good at making such family-themed movies, especially movies about the relationship between father and son. The screenwriter hired by Universal obviously knows this very well, so he created this kind of movie tailor-made for Li An plot."

Ovitz frowned and said:

"So you also think this adaptation idea is very feasible?"

Jamie shrugged.

"For Director Li An, he should like this script very much. This will make it easier for him to explore the depth of the Hulk superhero from the direction he is best at. However, as a comic fan, I personally do not buy this adaptation. of."

Ovitz's eyes shone and he asked hurriedly:

"What do you think the problem is?"

Jamie calmly recounted:

"Among all the Marvel superheroes, I think the Hulk is the one closest to DC in style, so Director Li An wants to dig more depth into this character. There is no problem with the idea, but the direction is wrong. "

"Just like if I were asked to explore the depth of the character of Batman, I would definitely not explore him in the absolutely correct direction of Captain America. Batman's background is dark."

"If you want to explore the depth of the Hulk, in fact, the artists and screenwriters of the original comics have made many attempts in this direction and received good feedback."

"According to the setting in the comics, Banner's transformation into the Hulk was not because he lost his mind due to anger, but because of his anger, he developed the personality of the Hulk. This has also caused an illusion to many people. Everyone thinks that Banner turned into the Hulk. Na will transform once he is angered, but in fact it is the Hulk personality in Banner's body that is angered, and it will seize control of his body and transform into the Hulk."

"This also reasonably explains why the Hulk attacks and destroys regardless of friend or foe after transformation."

"I think it would be far more interesting to dig deeper into the contradictory relationship between Banner and the Hulk, two personalities that are opposed to each other but have to coexist, than to create a so-called father-son relationship."

Just as he was talking, Ovitz suddenly stopped Jamie.

He raised his hand, intending to call the waiter to help find pen and paper. He wanted to take notes on what Jamie just said.

As a result, Penny saw Ovitz raising his hand earlier than the restaurant waiter. She wanted to leave a good impression on Ovitz, the famous Hollywood agent, so she stood up and walked over.

"Mr. Ovitz, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Uh..." Ovitz glanced at Jamie subconsciously. Seeing that Jamie had no objection, he asked Penny to help find paper and pen.

Soon Penny borrowed paper and pen from the restaurant's cashier.

After Ovitz took it, he didn't even have time to say thank you. He lowered his head and quickly started recording on it.

After finishing writing, Ovitz did not put down the pen in a hurry, but raised his head to indicate to Jamie that he could continue.

"I have a question. Are you preparing to destroy this cooperation between Li An and Universal by recording this?"

"Yes."

"Then you don't actually have to do anything, because according to my prediction of the script outline you provided, this movie is very likely to be screwed up by Li An. By ruining this cooperation, you are helping Li An and him. agent."

Ovitz put down the pen in his hand and looked at Jamie seriously.

"My plan is divided into two steps. The first is of course to destroy the cooperation between Universal and Li An. The most effective way to destroy it is not to tell Universal's executives that Li An's script has such problems, but to provide Universal's executives with A better choice.”

"From the script to the director and actors, we package the entire project and then lobby Universal executives."

Jamie was noncommittal.

Ovitz continued:

"The second step is to find a script project that is more suitable for Li An and convince him to terminate his contract with CAA."

Hearing this, Jamie finally had a hint of emotion on his face.

Not only do they steal each other's projects, but they also steal their customers along with them.

It seems that Ovitz really has a deep grudge against Li An's CAA agent.

As for the reason——

Ovitz himself later explained.

Li An's agent was promoted and reused by Ovitz when he was in charge of CAA. When he left CAA, Ovitz recommended him to become a senior partner of CAA.

After being kicked out by Disney, Ovitz immediately contacted Li An's agent and expressed his intention to return to CAA.

As a result, Li An's agent persuaded Ovitz and verbally agreed, but then he teamed up with other senior partners to put pressure on the board of directors to oppose Ovitz's return.

Of course, Ovitz would use the most violent means to retaliate against such a traitor.

Of course, these are all personal grudges between Ovitz and CAA, and Jamie has no interest in getting involved.

So when Ovitz wanted Jamie to continue analyzing the shortcomings of Li An's version of "The Incredible Hulk," Jamie asked him directly.

"You don't want me to help you write a Hulk script, do you?"

"If you don't have time, you can just provide a script outline, just like in "The Wandering Earth 1". I will find someone to fill in the plot. Of course, after the script is completed, I will definitely let you confirm it first."

"Then I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I really don't have any good ideas about the Hulk."

It's not that Jamie doesn't want to help, but in his previous life, not only was Li An's version of "The Incredible Hulk" a hit, but also "The Incredible Hulk" was adapted by Marvel himself and learned from the experience and lessons of Li An's version. Off the street.

Li An's version of "The Incredible Hulk" can also be summed up as not commercial enough, the style is fragmented, the magic modification has angered fans of the original work, and other reasons for being rejected.

But "The Incredible Hulk" is a very neat Hollywood commercial film. All the problems that appeared in Li An's version were avoided in this film.

The only shortcoming may be that this movie is too neat and lacks creativity and surprises, which leads to the audience not buying it.

Of course, the copyright dispute hidden behind this movie has caused discord between Marvel and Universal, and may also be the reason for the movie's poor box office.

At present, the copyright of the Hulk is still in the hands of Universal, and the movie has no plans to cooperate with Marvel, so this issue can be ignored.

Jamie knew very well that if he just copied the script of "The Incredible Hulk" and competed with Li An's version of "The Incredible Hulk", he would not have a good chance of winning.

(End of this chapter)