Tokyo Literary Godfather

Daniel Ellison looked at Ruan Minxiong, smiled, and handed over the script.

Ruan Minxiong took the script and said: "Thank you very much...but I may need time to read it. I only have thirty minutes, and my shooting work today is not over yet..."

"It doesn't matter." Daniel zipped up the briefcase, "You can take the script with you. I'll give you two days. Just contact me directly after reading it. Oh, by the way, this is for you."

Daniel took out his business card from his business card holder. The business card was very simple, with only his name and his phone number.

Ruan Minxiong put away his business card, Daniel smiled at him again, and then walked out of the coffee shop.

It's really interesting. I really reached an agreement with Kei Fujiwara, but in a way I didn't expect...

At twelve o'clock in the evening, Daniel was ready to fall asleep. He had trouble sleeping, perhaps because of too much work pressure or because of his dependence on coffee, so he took two sleeping pills before going to bed.

After turning off the lights, he lay there for fifteen minutes. He just felt sleepy. When he was about to fall asleep, the harsh ringing of the phone broke the silence and woke him up from his sleep.

Daniel suddenly woke up, cursed an American curse, punched the pillow, and picked up the phone receiver.

"Mr. Ellison, excuse me, I am Ruan Minxiong. I have read the script of "Saw" and it is very exciting. For a low-budget film, this is a nearly perfect score! Whether it is the setting, the design of the mechanism, the plot of step-by-step exploration, and the final twist, it is all just right. There will definitely be a lot of people willing to go to the theater to watch this movie. I hope you can trust me, I will I can shoot this work well!”

Daniel was confused for a moment as he listened to a series of rapid-fire words coming from the phone. He pinched Shangen, suppressed his irritable emotions, and said: "Very good, Ruan, this is a good thing..."

"But I have to tell you one thing in advance, that is, the production budget of this movie is not high, only 2.5 million US dollars, and the shooting period is not allowed to be too long, only three months at most. Do you still feel that you are Can you do this job?"

"Mr. Ellison, when I was in Santa Monica, I remember you and Mr. Altman talking about a production budget of 3 million US dollars..."

Daniel Ellison cursed silently again, good boy, you overheard it all.

"Yes, yes... I'm sorry, it's too late now, I'm a little confused. Of course, if necessary, I can indeed increase the production budget appropriately, but I still hope that the budget of this movie can be controlled Below 2.5 million, the time can be within three months as much as possible..."

"If I can promise you that, will you be willing to let me shoot this movie and the subsequent works in this series?"

Kei Fujiwara was originally inclined to choose this Asian director, and after Altman Green refused, there was naturally no other particularly good candidate except him. If he is so enthusiastic about this film, Daniel Ellison is naturally willing to watch it. When he arrived, he said: "Of course there is no problem, I can promise you in advance, if you can guarantee..."

Just listen to the director's promise that he won't go over budget or anything like that. Anyone who believes it is a fool. This is not Daniel's first day as a producer. Naturally, he knows this. The first lesson as a producer is to never believe the "lie" told by the director that he will never go over time or over budget.

But he suddenly reacted and asked: "Ruan, I remember I didn't tell you that "Saw" would be filmed into a whole series. How did you know?"

Not only did Daniel not tell Ruan Minxiong, nor did he tell Ultraman Green, but Kei Fujiwara did have this idea when he wrote the script. Kei Fujiwara's idea is obvious, he just went to saw the big tree with a knife.

That is to say, you can get huge profits at low costs.

Film company bosses all over the world have had this kind of dream of sawing a big tree with a small knife, but almost all such dreams are delusions. There may not be even one such film out of a thousand films. Too many such films will make it worse. Damage the morale of producers and production companies.

Daniel was also optimistic about Kei Fujiwara's past performance and personal talent, so he was willing to test the waters. But he only plans to make it this time. Regardless of whether the film makes a profit or a loss, he does not plan to make such low-cost films again.

And Kei Fujiwara’s idea is not just to expect high profits from this movie that costs one to two million. Kei Fujiwara also told him that as long as the first part of "Saw" makes a small profit, Even without losing money, even if he only earns half a million, he can continue to shoot the second and third movies. If he adds up, he will slowly build up an audience for this series of movies.

As the number of die-hard fans continues to increase, maybe one day a certain part of this series will suddenly achieve high box office.

This kind of thing has happened before. A certain movie series is almost unknown, but if it can be filmed one after another for many years, it can really accumulate fame in the end. And with luck, maybe one of the films in this series will achieve an unusually high box office.

If you can't cut a big tree with a small knife, just cut it a few more times.

When Kei Fujiwara wrote this script, he obviously left a hook. The story in the first part did not tell the story thoroughly, but it did not give the audience a feeling of no beginning or end. If the box office revenue of the first part is decent, as long as it can reach a box office of about 5 million, the second part should be filmed.

"It's my guess." Ruan Minxiong replied, "This story has the potential to continue, and the first story model in which a murderer imprisoned his victims using mechanisms and asked them to find ways to escape can also be infinite. If the copy can achieve good commercial results, it would be a waste to only make one film."

"Well... you are very keen. The producer does have this idea." Daniel Ellison also admired the person on the other side of the phone. "Well, since you like this script, let's find a time to meet tomorrow. Come on, tell me your shooting ideas, and after the shooting of your short film is completed, we can officially start work."

"Okay, Mr. Ellison...thank you again for your trust."

After hanging up the phone, Daniel turned off the light and fell asleep again, but he couldn't fall asleep anyway.

"Damn..."

The next day, Daniel arrived for his appointment on time with dark circles under his eyes, looking listless. Ruan Minxiong didn't seem to have slept well either. His hair was messy and his eyes were pale blue, but he seemed to be in good spirits, without Daniel's sluggishness.

"Mr. Ellison, I have read this script several times. Mr. Fujiwara is indeed a genius! If there is a chance, I hope to meet him!" Ruan Minxiong said excitedly to Daniel Ellison as soon as they met. .

"Yes, yes, yes, geniuses. If you have a chance, you have a chance." Daniel Ellison replied perfunctorily. The lack of sleep made him unable to think clearly, so he could only echo others stiffly.