American fame and fortune

West Hollywood Medical Center, nursing unit area.

Hugh Jackman entered a luxurious ward with a bouquet of flowers, greeted the people who came out, and walked towards the hospital bed.

He glanced at Bryan Singer who was lying on the hospital bed. He saw that his face was extremely haggard and his hairline was severely receding, and he asked, "How did it end up like this?"

Bryan Singer sighed: "I was tortured by Warner Bros. Pictures and gave me a heart attack."

The two have collaborated several times in the "X-Men" series. In Hugh Jackman's impression, Bryan Singer is a person with strong ability to withstand pressure. Isn't it like this?

He asked curiously: "What happened?"

"For the latest project I was looking for, "Jack the Giant Catcher," Warner Pictures sent six producers to direct the filming." Bryan Singer burst into tears: "Do you know how it took me more than a month to get here? ?”

Hugh Jackman expressed relief: "Isn't the filming finished? You made it through."

Bryan Singer had something he wanted to say, but he hesitated and ultimately didn't say it.

Those six producers still have to participate in the post-production of the film, which is still several months away. If he, as a director, continues to be involved, he will not only suffer a heart attack, but he will most likely go to see God.

This project is not about shooting and making a movie, but about wanting the life of a director!

Hugh Jackman didn't stay for long before saying goodbye and leaving.

Just after he left, Jon Berg, the president of Warner Pictures, came over with his close assistant McDonald to visit Bryan Singer in person.

Seeing McDonald, Bryan Singer had veins popping in his forehead and didn't want to speak.

Jon Berg expressed some condolences and asked the key question: "When will you be discharged from the hospital? The whole crew is waiting for you to start post-production."

Bryan Singer thought to himself, I was tortured to the point of being hospitalized, why don’t you guys let me go?

But if you want to do this, you can't say it out loud. After all, it involves a contract and breach of contract will be very troublesome. Bryan Singer said: "I'm sorry about the work. I have a heart problem. The doctor recommended a period of rest. Can post-production be postponed?”

Jon Berg couldn't help but frown. Every extra day of delay would lead to huge losses.

Bryan Singer was lying on the hospital bed, looking as haggard as he wanted.

Although it was partly an act, after the final filming of "Jack the Giant Slayer" it became clear that he had heart problems.

It was tortured by those six producers.

Jon Berg couldn't wait for a long time, so he lightly patted Bryan Singer on the shoulder: "You can rest in peace and don't think about work anymore. Leave the post-production of the project to Warner Pictures."

After hearing this, Bryan Singer felt inexplicably relieved, as if his heart was weighed down by a huge boulder, and he felt relieved all of a sudden.

He no longer wanted to participate in the "Jack the Giant Catcher" project, let alone meet those six people again.

Bryan Singer said: "Sorry, Jon, I delayed work on the project."

Jon Berg waved his hand magnanimously: "It doesn't matter. You can rest in peace and recuperate. I will come to visit you another day."

Without Bryan Singer, he still has six producers available. Besides, for many film projects in Hollywood, the director is only the shooting director and has no power to participate in post-production.

In Jon Berg's eyes, it's not a big deal that Bryan Singer doesn't participate in post-production.

Watching the two people from Warner Pictures leave, when the ward door closed, Bryan Singer's haggard face disappeared a little, and he felt a rare sense of relief in the past two months.

Finally free! Finally free from Warner's torture!

Jon Byrne got into his car and was thinking about post-production on Jack the Giant Slayer.

McDonald asked the driver to drive and looked at his immediate superior without speaking rashly.

Jon Berg recalled the previous big production. "Pharaohs and the Gods" was released just over a month ago, and it basically ended its screening worldwide. The North American box office was only a pitiful US$48.75 million, and the global box office combined barely exceeded it. $100 million.

The sales of DVDs, which have been released in North America in advance, are so disastrous that they can be ignored.

Huge losses inevitably occurred. Fortunately, he was lucky. His immediate boss, Kevin Tsujihara, still supported him, and through clever means, he worked with Daniel from the distribution company to put the responsibility on Christian Bale.

Jon Berg is a CEO who can learn lessons from experience. Thinking about the poor market response to the final edit of "Pharaohs and Gods", which he personally edited, he felt that this film must be made cautiously, and it would be difficult to explain if it messed up. .

If one person's power is limited, can he bring together the wisdom of many people?

Every hit Hollywood movie is not the work of one person alone, but the result of teamwork.

Therefore, he never thought that Martin Davis was very important.

Jon Berg came up with a good idea and said to Macdonald: "Please notify the crew and ask the crew to make several copies of all the scenes shot by Bryan Singer, including you and David Dawkin." All the producers, each edited a version of the movie."

McDonald had already tasted the sweetness of the power of the crew in Atlanta. He wanted to participate in the post-production, so he quickly responded: "Yes, President, I will notify them right away."

Jon Berg also warned: "The main line and basic plot of the story cannot be changed."

Although he didn't understand what his boss was thinking, McDonald responded repeatedly: "Okay, I will tell them."

Jon Berg's idea is actually very simple. Let experienced producers edit several different versions, and then hold several more test screenings to select the highly praised clips and eliminate those that are generally criticized. For the critical part, on the basis of maintaining the main plot, he combined the favorable parts of the seven versions, and then personally directed the editor to complete the final edit!

(It is said that Suicide Squad is a product of this.)

The film produced in this way is a combination of the best parts, which will inevitably increase the chance of success and bring about a box office hit.

Jon Berg thinks this is a genius idea, and it might change the future production model of Hollywood!

The self-doubt caused by the commercial failure of "Pharaohs and Gods" disappeared without a trace in an instant, and his full confidence since taking office has returned!

At this moment, Hollywood micromanager Jon Berg is truly online!

…………

Pacific Pictures has cooperated with Warner Bros. for many years, and they still cooperate today. Warner's internal news cannot be hidden from Louise at all. Martin has long told her to pay attention to the matters related to "Jack the Giant Catcher".

Not long after Warner Pictures issued a formal decision, Louise got the relevant news.

Martin, who was at Disney Studios, also got the news and was stunned for a moment: "Jon Berg is definitely a god in the film industry. He can think of such a good way to improve the success rate."

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses: "A good idea? It's really a good idea. I can't understand why Warner Bros. hired him as the president of Warner Pictures? Because he is Kevin Tsujihara's brother-in-law?"

Martin couldn't think of any explanation other than this: "Maybe you hit the key point?"

Louise shrugged: "Who knows, I have been working with Warner Bros. for more than ten years, but now I can't understand Warner more and more."

"People and things in the industry are constantly changing." Martin asked: "Warner didn't invite you to the premiere of "Green Lantern"?"

Louise shook her head and asked, "You didn't receive the invitation either?"

Martin said: "I originally wanted to go to the premiere, but there was no invitation letter. Warner is more stingy than before."

But Louise analyzed: "Last time you went to participate in "Pharaohs and Gods", the film failed commercially. Maybe they regarded you as a bad star."

Martin shrugged: "I am a standard lucky star."

Louise smiled and said, "Yes, you are my lucky star."

The crew was about to start filming again. Martin lifted his astronaut helmet and walked into a separate cabin.

The set quickly became quiet, and Louise just watched the filming. Ridley directed and dispatched the crew in an orderly manner, and the crew's work went very smoothly.

It's mid-June, and Warner Bros. held a massive world premiere for "Green Lantern."

This is the opening masterpiece of the DC movie universe. Almost all Warner Bros. executives, headed by Kevin Tsujihara, were present to help out.

The production cost of the film alone was as high as 200 million US dollars!

Even though the word-of-mouth response from the two test screenings was relatively average, in the current market context of superhero movies, not only Warner Bros. is confident, but even several theater companies believe that there will be no problem at the box office, mobilizing nearly 4,000 theaters in North America. Open painting.

The crew also tried their best to attract attention.

Just a week before the film was released, actor Ryan Reynolds was revealed by TMZ to be living with actress Abbie Cornish.

Later, the news that the two officially announced their relationship attracted a lot of attention.

At the premiere, DC Films director Hamada faced many media reporters and was full of confidence.

"Among the many superhero comics, Green Lantern's setting is more interesting than Spider-Man, Superman and Batman. It imagines that the entire universe has a huge Green Lantern Corps, and each member manages a sector!"

Hamada smiled particularly brightly: "We have used the most outstanding special effects technology in Hollywood so far. Even the Green Lantern's suit is also generated by CG, which gives him a dreamy feeling close to the future, and at the same time reflects the Green Lantern's personality. unique!"

On the other side, Kevin Tsujihara did the same, telling the media about DC's ambitions: "We have a complete Justice League universe plan. After this "Green Lantern", the Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Films such as Martian Manhunter will be launched one after another, and fans will soon see these familiar comic book heroes on the big screen. They will form the Justice League and defend the entire universe to the death!"

There is no doubt that these are expressing the confidence and importance of Warner Bros. and DC Comics in "Green Lantern" to the outside world, allowing the fans accumulated by the comics to buy tickets and enter the theater together with passers-by.

However, the North American box office of 42.75 million US dollars in the opening weekend indicates that a new box office tragedy has occurred.