Chapter 152: Producer
The rights to the X-Men movie have been in Levi's hands for some time. Last year, the film Blade was released and has been quite successful. Its success has also proved whether the movie is excellent or not is not because of the popularity of comics but more because of the production level of the film.
Since there are no problems in the market, Levi naturally wants to make a movie. You must prepare early to avoid being in trouble when the copyright expires.
So now is the right time to make it. Enigma has the production rights, and because of Blade's popularity, there's a lot of interest in the superpower genre. In addition, Enigma Company has its own special effects department, and now that Levi is famous, there are also investment companies willing to invest in Enigma Company to make movies.
In addition, Levi has now accumulated some contacts.
Money, people, copyright, time, and the market are all ready, and the production of this movie should also be put on the agenda.
The development and growth of Enigma Company in the past few years are enough to make this kind of movie. What he wants to shoot is the X-Men in all heroic film.
The line between good and evil in The X-Men is the most blurred. The dispute between Professor X and Magneto and the ideal friendship are all intertwined.
This is not just a simple story of fighting bad guys to prevent the destruction of the earth. Different superpowers have their own stories. In addition to the friendship and love stories in the basic story, it involves a lot of sociological concepts on a deeper level, and many things can be dug deeper.
If this movie is handed over to other directors to shoot, it is probably just a simple story of the confrontation between good and evil. But leave it to Nolan; this movie may be very different.
Nolan is a creative director: the biggest advantage of such a director is that he can lead his team to weave a good story. Levi remembers the Batman reboot trilogy, where he told the story very well, which was very successful. Since a story like Batman can be woven into a good movie by him, it is not impossible for the X-Men with more complex character relationships to do better.
"If you really want me to direct... Then I have a few requests, and I hope you can agree."
After seeing that Levi really valued him rather than being polite, Nolan simply spoke.
Just now, he was still hesitating: he was not sure what Levi was thinking. But now he has a little understanding: superhero movies are original movies with big investments and high returns; as long as this kind of movie can be shot above the standard, it can make money compared to ordinary commercial films.
They have an accumulated comics audience and a strong publicity foundation, so they naturally have no worries about sales. It's not so much that Levi gave himself 70 million to make a movie. It is better to say that Levi invested 70 million to shoot the X-Men and let himself be the director.
Adapting such a comic into a movie is a lot simpler, but there is much less room for him to play. He has to discuss these aspects with Levi. Thinking of this, Nolan also put forward his own conditions for Levi.
"Say it, I'm listening." Levi nodded and signaled him to continue.
"I hope that I can choose the screenwriter and actors by myself. If possible, it is best for me to find the photographer and the soundtrack. I hope that you can refer to my opinion." Nolan began to speak, "You are also a director, and you must also understand that photographers, soundtracks, actors, screenwriters, these things are an important part of a movie, and these people must understand my opinion. Only then can a good movie be made."
These requirements are somewhat excessive; a new director asking to have his own team. Nolan himself feels a little uneasy.
However, no matter how uncomfortable he is, he insists on doing this: as a director, if there is no suitable screenwriter to conceive the work with himself, there are no appropriate actors to show what he wants, no photographer who understands the language of his lens, no soundtrack style he likes - without these, how can he make a movie?
At least he didn't immediately ask for the right to edit: he knew very well that that right couldn't be his, and it was useless for him to mention it.
These things are a fundamental insistence of a director.
Nolan knew Levi was also a good director, and the selected crew members should not be too bad. However, the best people Levi chose may not be suitable for his taking. It is always awkward for the director to refrain from using the people he likes.
The conditions he proposed, Levi pondered for a while, and then immediately said, "I can agree to some of these conditions, but I have to refuse some: for example, the crew, let me come to find them, I am more familiar with this side, you have not filmed in the United States, you may not be able to find enough staff. There are no other problems.
The soundtrack and screenwriting can be done by you.
As for the actors, I have some reference opinions, and I hope you can listen to them.
Moreover, in terms of the script, we are adapting the original script and need to pay attention to respecting the original.
Furthermore, I have some ideas of my own: I hope the film will be made into a series of films, so I think better arrangements are needed in these aspects; we can then conduct specific discussions."
Levi knows that every director has his own habits. Some directors can't use unfamiliar actors well; they have to use familiar talents to make good enough movies.
Nolan always has good ideas when shooting movies, but he doesn't have enough script autonomy, which makes his movie shooting timid. At the same time, Nolan was a director who started out shooting short films. He is not particularly good at shaping the image of the actors in the film and directing the acting skills. Therefore, he also likes to use his favorite actors.
Levi can satisfy all these aspects. Levi is also a director, so he knows very well what to do to make the director perform at his best.
"There is no problem with the script. My brother can adapt it." Nolan replied immediately.
After the answer, he realized that his statement seemed suspected of using power for personal gain. "My brother is a very good screenwriter, very good. He is very talented. He can help me..."
"You don't need to explain this," of course, Levi knows that his brother is a good screenwriter, which is one of the reasons he asked Nolan, "You can use him. I believe in your vision. Then on the actors, do you agree to my request?"
"I can accept the negotiation, but maybe I prefer to use British actors. I am British, and I am more familiar with the UK. I know those actors can perform well..."
Nolan expressed his opinion, and Levi nodded. Directors always like to use domestic actors. He can accept British actors. Moreover, he can even say that he is somewhat happy. The salary of British actors is generally lower than that of Americans. If more British actors are used, a lot of expenses can be saved. The film will look much better if all the money is spent on special effects.
"Then we can be sure... Oh, no, I have one more small request - action scenes; I need to arrange special martial arts guidance." Levi suddenly remembered something and added.
In his memory, Nolan's movies seem to have always been difficult to get rid of a big problem: the action scenes of his films can be described as rotten beyond description. Levi still remembers those uncomfortable action scenes in Batman and Inception.
Nolan himself doesn't care about these things. He is a director who relies on the structure to win and doesn't pay attention to the action scenes, but the rough action scenes don't meet Levi's aesthetics. He still wants to shoot better action scenes for the box office.
Coincidentally, Yuen Woo-ping is also in Hollywood now: The Matrix is about to be released, and this movie is also a sign that Yuen Woo-ping has officially entered Hollywood. It would be a good idea to invite him to serve as the action director of the X-Men.
Nolan found this proposal quite strange. He didn't value action scenes, and he didn't have any thoughts about it. However, since Levi agreed to his other requests, he couldn't say anything more, so he agreed with a nod.
He was very happy with the negotiation with Levi: Although the idea of forming a team by himself did not succeed, he also won enough autonomy, which is enough.
"Then, it's settled. Mr. Nolan, I hope we can cooperate happily, and I will wait for you to show this movie to me." Levi stretched his hand to Nolan, "I believe it's time for Enigma Corporation to shoot some big movies."
"Mr. Levi, I still have a question to ask." Hearing Levi's words, Nolan raised his eyebrows but still couldn't suppress his curiosity to ask. "You invest in me to shoot movies like this. Do you have any ideas for your own movie shooting? I always feel that you are not a person who will make big investment hero movies just for money."
If it is someone else, Nolan can understand making movies for money. However, he always felt that Levi's idea was not so simple.
"Would you believe me if I said no?" Levi asked rhetorically, "Of course, I have my own considerations. For me, one of the most important reasons for being a film producer is, of course, to accumulate experience. Shoot movies for your future and plan early."
*****
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