China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 402 Hit it off

When Gong Li heard Wang Shu talking about the "God of Stocks" biopic, she was still a little confused. She had never thought that Wang Shu would make this type of movie.

However, there is also a large A in China. Compared with biographical films about figures in European and American history or corresponding fields, the "God of Stocks" biopic is indeed one of the most likely biographical films that Wang Shu will make.

Because, as long as Wang Shu has some understanding of the A-share market, he will also understand some knowledge about the stock market.

All in all.

Even if you only have a superficial understanding of it, as long as you find a professional team to assist you, this superficial knowledge is enough to make a movie.

"The God of Wall Street?"

But no matter what, Gong Li was still very confused.

Wang Shu saw this and immediately explained, "There was a legendary figure on Wall Street before, Jordan Belfort, who once earned $1200 million in three minutes and had a billionaire fortune at the age of 31."

"The script of this movie is adapted from his autobiography."

Then, he explained it in more detail, and Gong Li finally understood.

She asked with some doubt, "Can this kind of autobiographical movie work?"

She wasn't asking about the box office, but the Academy Awards.

Historically, most of the biographical films that have won Oscars have been about people in "another" field, not stockbrokers.

Although this is also a traditional script, it is far from the level of those traditional movies.

The impression given is that he seems a little unreliable.

It is understandable that Gong Li thinks so, because this kind of biographical movie about a stockbroker is far inferior to the protagonists in biographical movies that won Oscars in terms of status and other aspects.

In comparison, it really doesn't look that impressive.

But then the financial crisis came.

With this addition, the meaning of "The Wolf of Wall Street" becomes different.

Wang Shu certainly would not explain it this way, but said: "Most of the biographical films that won the Oscars are biographies of well-known figures."

"There are so many biographical films like this. Maybe this biography of a unique stockbroker will be a refreshing change."

Gong Li understood what Wang Shu meant and couldn't help but teasing him, "Are you trying to take an unconventional approach?"

After that, he worriedly asked, "But, isn't it a bit too much of a gamble?"

Wang Shu laughed and said, "How can it be so easy for me, a director who just came to Hollywood from China, to win an Oscar?"

"It's good enough to be nominated, so there's no gamble."

Gong Li understood what Wang Shu meant and couldn't help but smile.

Compared with local directors in Hollywood, Wang Shu is an outsider, and a young one at that.

In this case, no matter how well a movie is made, it is difficult to win an Oscar.

It has nothing to do with the quality of the movie, but is a matter of "circle", "qualifications", and "preferences".

Not to mention outsiders, let’s just talk about the local Nolan, who also spent a long time in Hollywood and finally won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Oppenheimer".

Before that, "Inception", "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk" failed to help him win the Academy Award for Best Director.

Among them, "Interstellar" is the only film among the top ten global box office in 2014 that is not a remake, sequel, reboot or adaptation.

After its release, "Dunkirk" successfully surpassed "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor" and was hailed as "the most successful World War II film ever."

Steven Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Saving Private Ryan", but "Dunkirk", which surpassed "Saving Private Ryan", did not win the award.

All this shows that if you want to win an Oscar, many people need to wait for a long time before they can get a chance.

Of course, if the film that is nominated happens to meet the preferences of the old men in the Academy, it can still win the award even if it is not qualified enough.

In short, either you gain seniority or make movies that conform to American political correctness and are popular with the old men in the academy.

"Is it still produced by Dino?" Gong Li asked.

Wang Shu shook his head and said, "Matt Damon has an idea for this script and he is trying to attract investment. If things go well, the film will be produced by Matt Damon."

Gong Li couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "Matt Damon probably wants to do more than just produce, right?"

Wang Shu replied without comment: "If he gets investment, he will be the producer of this play, and the role of the male lead should be him."

This is what Gong Li guessed, and she said with a smile: "Matt Damon is a well-known Hollywood actor. With him in the lead role, the box office is guaranteed."

There is nothing wrong with this statement, but the 13 version of "The Wolf of Wall Street" in the original timeline was starred by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is more powerful than Matt Damon.

Apart from anything else, in terms of per-film pay, Leo DiCaprio's pay is higher than Matt Damon's.

"That's true, so when he said he wanted to attract investment, I agreed to wait." Wang Shu continued with a smile.

Although Leo is more suitable, Wang Shu has no chance to cooperate with him at the moment.

Gong Li sighed: "I thought you would have further development in Hollywood only after the release of "The Tuner", but I didn't expect that you are already preparing for the next movie now."

These words come from the heart.

Because Gong Li has been in Hollywood for three years.

It’s not that there were no opportunities in these three years, but there was no improvement.

In 2005, Gong Li first arrived in Hollywood and played a supporting role in "Memoirs of a Geisha" for a salary of 300 million US dollars.

The following year, he starred in "Miami Vice" and was paid 500 million US dollars.

This net worth ranks first among Chinese female stars.

She is the highest paid Chinese actress.

The reason why she had such a high value when she first arrived in Hollywood was because of her various honors from the three major European organizations.

It’s just that it’s really hard for Chinese actors to make it in Hollywood, and there are few more outstanding roles that are set for Asian faces.

It can even be said that if Gong Li did not have the three major European honors and was not an international film queen, "Miami Vice" would not have designed a character with an Asian face.

Even if this character is designed, he is still a villain.

Despite this, Zhang Ziyi, another international star, is still far behind her.

Zhang Ziyi made her debut in North America for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Li An, and later starred in Rush Hour by flattering Chen Long and using Chen Long's connections.

From then on, no matter how hard he tried, he could never make it in Hollywood.

In comparison, Gong Li has three major European honors, so even if she is not as scheming as Zhang Ziyi, she can still get some roles in Hollywood.

Although it is good, there will be producers who will take the initiative to invite you.

Zhang Ziyi tries her best to curry favor but still can't get any role.

The difference is obvious.

It can be said that Zhang Ziyi's so-called international success is just a rhetoric of flattery, while Gong Li has truly achieved international success.

Although she also didn't do very well in Hollywood, she did have an international career.

Gong Li's eyes fell on Wang Shu. She also knew that since being a director was a behind-the-scenes job, it was relatively easier for Chinese directors to survive in Hollywood than Chinese actors.

However, even though I knew that, I still felt emotional when I saw Wang Shu develop so smoothly in Hollywood.

She was not jealous. Not only was she not jealous, she was even happy for Wang Shu.

Because Wang Shu is from the mainland, and he can make a name for himself in Hollywood, which will be beneficial to domestic entertainment actors in disguise.

However, when she thought about the developments in recent years, she couldn't help but sigh.

With her status, it is impossible for her to play supporting roles in low-budget movies, and there are few opportunities for Chinese actors to appear in big-budget Hollywood movies.

This was very embarrassing and made her feel awkward.

It was precisely because of this that she chose to return to China in 2011. In addition, due to her age, there were few suitable roles available for her, so she quietly reduced her production.

By 2015, she was 50 years old.

When actresses reach this age, their prime is long gone and they either play supporting roles or disappear from the big screen.

When she was 50 years old, she starred in "Journey to the West: The Three Strikes of the White Bone Demon", and when she was 55 years old, she starred in "Win the Championship".

Looking at the actresses in the Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, none of them can still play the leading role in a blockbuster movie at this age.

For example, Zhang Manyu officially retired from the film industry at the age of 40.

In the future, in the era of self-media, many people born in the 00s and 10s, after seeing videos of Gong Li, will leave all kinds of sarcastic comments, saying that they don’t know this person at all. Whether in acting skills, status in the entertainment industry, or other aspects, she is far behind Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi, Tang Yan and other popular actresses of this era.

Little did people know that Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi and Tang Yan combined were far inferior to Gong Li in terms of status in the entertainment industry during their most popular era.

Whether domestically or internationally.

It’s just that in this era, Zhao Xiaodao, Yang Mi, Tang Yan and others are in their prime and are popular, but Gong Li is no longer young and her prime has long passed.

Wang Shu could hear the sadness in Gong Li's voice, and then said modestly: "I was also lucky. I happened to meet Matt Damon starring in "The Piano Tuner."

"You know, Hollywood has an obsessive pursuit of the Oscars."

"Matt Damon wanted to win an Oscar, and I had a biographical script that I was planning to film."

“It was an instant hit.”

Gong Li didn't believe Wang Shu's lies. She took a sip of juice and continued, "In my opinion, you had a plan in mind to write this biographical script."

Biographical films are a popular choice for Oscar-winning films.

Generally speaking, Hollywood producers and actors will be interested when they see biographies.

Then, once you are satisfied with the biographical script, your desire will turn into action.

This is because the producer can use the biographical screenplay to compete for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and this grand prize belongs to the producer.

With this honor, it will be easier for producers to attract investment in the future.

As for the actors, needless to say, they all want to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

In Gong Li's opinion, Wang Shu probably knew that biographical films would be popular at the Academy Awards, so he came up with the script for this biographical film.

Given Wang Shu's current fame and status in Hollywood, biographical film scripts are obviously more favored by producers and actors than other film scripts.

It was Wang Shu's idea that led to the creation of this biographical film script, and it was not just a coincidence.

Compared to other Chinese film directors who were invited to Hollywood to direct their first movie, and then waited for their chance like a headless fly, and returned home in disgrace when they couldn't wait, Wang Shu was obviously prepared.

Compared to those Chinese film directors who put their fate in the hands of others, Wang Shu took the initiative to take his fate into his own hands.

"Haha." Wang Shu stopped hiding it when he saw Gong Li expose his true identity.

Seeing this, Gong Li shook her head.

Although I seem helpless on the surface, I admire him in my heart.

As far as she knows, Chen Kaige, Chen Kexin, Wang Jiawei and others have been invited to Hollywood, but all of them returned home in disgrace after their first work flopped.

Like these people, Wang Shu was also invited to Hollywood to direct "The Piano Tuner".

Compared to those people who left their fate to others and waited for the results after filming their first movie, Wang Shu took the initiative to control his fate before "The Tuner" was released.

With this biographical film script, even if "The Piano Tuner" fails, Wang Shu will not end up returning home in disgrace, but will have another chance.

The conversation had been opened, and the two continued to chat about their own things while eating.

Gong Li, like an older sister, has been telling Wang Shu what he needs to pay attention to when he is in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and even the United States, so as to avoid suffering losses due to ignorance when he first arrives.

She never asked about the role from beginning to end because she knew that a director like Wang Shu, who had just come to the United States from China, would not have the right to choose the casting.

There was no benefit in her bringing up this matter other than making things difficult for Wang Shu and making the atmosphere colder.

After the meal, Gong Li turned around and said to Wang Shu before leaving: "Director Wang, let's get together often when we have time."

"Okay!" Wang Shu immediately responded with a smile and nodded when he heard this.

He understood what Gong Li meant.

Chinese artists are alone and powerless when they come to Hollywood, and need to gather together for warmth.

Furthermore, he is a director and Gong Li is an actress, so getting together often also means improving their friendship.

Gong Li's words obviously come from her optimism about Wang Shu's development in Hollywood.

Seeing that Wang Shu agreed without saying a word, Gong Li smiled back and left.

Wang Shu then returned to the hotel where he was staying.

Two days later, Wang Shu and Matt Damon met again.

"Shu, the investment has been obtained. If you have no objection, we can proceed to the contract signing process." Matt Damon said with a smile.

The general content of the contract was that Wang Shu sold the script of "The Wolf of Wall Street" to Matt Damon, and agreed that Wang Shu would direct the film.

Of course, I get paid by the director, so it’s not like I’m working for nothing.

This is the Hollywood model: independent producers purchase scripts, raise investment, find actors and form a crew.

Unless Wang Shu is a big Hollywood director, he will have the right to speak.

Otherwise, he can only take the next step by selling the script to an independent producer or a film and television production company.

As for his desire to enjoy the copyright of the script and other rights and interests at the same time, this is unrealistic.

The root of all this is that he is unknown in Hollywood and has no say.

(End of this chapter)