Chapter 49: Enlisting Support
When the plane flew across the sky, what Levi and Bob, beside him, were talking about on the plane was the writing and birth of a new script.
"Recently, I have been thinking that we should start preparing for filming." On the plane, Levi and Bob talked about their ideas, "A while ago, we made TV series because we needed to gain a foothold in Hollywood. Now that we have a foothold, I naturally think about how to go further. I still want to make movies. Compared with TV series, movies are what we should pursue, isn't it?"
The TV series has been filmed for half a year, and Levi has almost adapted to life in Hollywood. In the past six months, CSI's ratings have been stable, and both funds and reputation have accumulated a lot. Therefore, Levi was also eager to advance and was thinking about filming.
Although they now have a high income from producing TV series, TV dramas are not as good as movies. In terms of profit, the top-rated TV series has a lot less revenue than the top-grossing movie.
The income of a TV series is at most three times or four times that of the invested capital. A TV series with an investment of 100 million dollars can earn 300 to 400 million dollars from various peripherals to maximize the income. And if it is a movie with an investment of 100 million, if the production effect is good, then the income will be very impressive. For a movie with an investment of 100 million, it is not surprising to have a box office of 300 to 400 million; it is quite normal. According to statistics in 1995, the percentage of movie box office revenues accounted for only about 30%—and, after the 21st century, this ratio has dropped to less than 10%.
[A/N: This ratio specifically refers to action movies and superhero movies with large investments.]
The huge difference in income between the two is obvious. Not to mention that apart from income, TV series are not as good as movies in other aspects.
In terms of influence, movies can be screened globally, and it is difficult for TV dramas to have such a degree of promotion. From an artistic point of view, when shooting a movie, the director can arrange the shots, sets, and plots according to the ideas he wants to express and what he needs. At the same time, the shooting of TV series usually has to accommodate the actors, time, and the stars' guest appearances. Which one is more artistic is clear at a glance. What's more, the production of TV dramas basically has to spend half a year on the set every day. They can't do anything except TV dramas. The shooting cycle and investment are also more significant than those of movies. Tired of work, less money, and a bad reputation—this is why TV drama workers work hard to get into movies, and film practitioners who participate in TV dramas, are basically just playing the roles for funds.
"I've been thinking about it recently. Half a year ago, we chose to invest in TV dramas in order to make a comeback. Now, the TV drama is doing surprisingly well. We have money in our hands, and the doors are open. We shouldn't be honestly obsessed with filming TV dramas. I can't be considered a real director if I don't even shoot a movie. I also thought I should make a movie if I have the opportunity."
Levi and Bob were talking, and his words were also somewhat tentative.
He wondered what Bob thought.
"I was also thinking just now, if we really want to make a movie, I think we should be able to get an investment..." Even though he didn't promise, he didn't directly refuse. It can be seen that since there is money now, he is indeed much more cautious, "It's just...Nick, in my humble opinion, if we make a movie, we need a good script. If we don't have a good story, it's hard to make a movie successfully. Nick, I know you have always been searching, but don't worry too much. It is enough for us to find a good script within two years. Moreover, if we want to go ahead right now, we already have the right to adapt two novels, isn't that better?"
'Two years...' Levi laughed but didn't say much. What came out of Bob's words was not so much prudence as conservative.
Six months ago, they had nothing. A group of people with no money are fighting to the death. They can choose to use various means to do things regardless of the cost. The company half a year ago is already so poor anyway. Whether it is making TV dramas or movies, as long as there is a way out, they will all do it, and now, they are already rich. Unfortunately, Levi also doubts whether his friends will agree to throw all their money into making movies. People with precarious income are willing to bet their lives to do a job that earns millions of dollars, but it is difficult for people with millions of income to take risks and invest.
Levi also knew that such a situation might happen, so he wanted to test the attitude of his friends before starting to shoot the movie.
It took half a year for Levi to let his collaborators begin to understand the habits of his lens language, what kind of shooting techniques he is accustomed to using, and his narrative skills in writing scripts. Preparation helps a lot. The people around him influence the level of a director. If the level of the production team is high, it is convenient for the director to shoot. If the production team does not cooperate, no matter how good the director is, he will not be able to play well.
Making a good movie is only possible if his team supports him. Before shooting a film, the most important thing is to persuade others to help him. In this regard, there is absolutely no compromise.
George Lucas said once: "Film shooting is not a process of persistence, but a process of giving up." During the shooting process, various unexpected situations may change the filming process of the film. Some things are uncontrollable, such as the weather, such as funds, such as the lack of technical conditions. These are easy to cause regrets. Therefore, in Levi's view, if you want to keep your movies with the effect you want to the greatest extent, don't give up where you need to fight. The support of his friends is very important.
The first person he notified about filming was Alexander. For his idea, Alexander agreed with both hands because Alexander knows very well that the income brought by movies would exceed that of TV series.
Enigma is a small company. If a small company wants to grow big, it still needs to consider making movies instead of being nostalgic for TV series production. Big companies are different from small companies in this aspect. Columbia, Fox, and Disney all choose to make TV series. This is because the risk of film investment is greater than that of TV series. Although they may make a lot of money, they may also lose a lot. These big companies hold the TV network in their hands, and they have the media, and with the media as their backing, the entire industrial chain is in their hands. He doesn't know how much their income is compared to TV drama production companies, but he knows it is a considerable income, and since there is little risk, they invest funds in TV drama production. And if a small company does not want to make its own movies but is obsessed with the success of TV dramas, it is not a big problem to work honestly for a lifetime, but it is very difficult to make a lot of money. Even a gold-medal TV drama producer like James L. Brooks still has to consider investing in the movie market and making movies to make money because the income of the two is different.
Alexander was easily persuaded, while Bob seemed to be a bit lazy. Fortunately, Levi had already figured out how to convince him.
"Let's put those two novels aside for now. I don't like pure romance films like 'The Notebook.' I guess I can't make them well. And 'Fight Club' needs high shooting skills if you want to turn it into a movie. I guess it is difficult for me to shoot now." To his friend, Levin didn't care to say that he didn't have enough confidence in shooting Fight Club - if he hadn't seen the one filmed by Fincher, it would be fine. With the shadow of that one in his memory, it is difficult for him to shoot his own style, "I am thinking of another script; to be precise, it is an idea. I need someone to write the script for me— Do me a favor, the income of this script may not be very good, but I can guarantee that this script is definitely an Oscar-level script!"
Now that Bob has money, it won't be easy to impress him with money. Then, he can only convince by the idea of being famous. TV dramas are indeed very profitable, but the reputation of TV drama screenwriters is far inferior to that of film screenwriters. For a screenwriter, what could be more attractive than an Oscar?
While talking, Levi also took out the script he had made during this time from his bag—the script was very thick and bound together hastily, it didn't seem like he had prepared it seriously, but it could be seen that it had been carefully drafted with long hours of preparation.
Film script writing is not an easy process. Compared with TV scripts, it is more complicated. To write a script for a TV drama, you only need to use simple words to mark the demeanor and tone of the characters. Anyway, it's just a TV drama. Choked voices and tears all express the sadness of the characters. Who cares too much about the difference? One episode needs to be filmed in a week, and there are too many requirements. No matter how strong the screenwriter and actors are, they can't do it.
The movie script is different, and the movie script needs to be more detailed. No matter how sloppy it is, the movie script has to be drawn for the sub-shots and the set. For a movie, there is a big difference between the close-up and long-range shots and the head-up shots of the same scene. Sometimes, it all shows the director's intention; the camera can speak, and these cannot be sloppy.
Therefore, in many cases, movie scripts look more like comic strips than written expressions. Because the creation time is very long, and some scripts are messy and difficult to print so many times, manuscripts are used instead of printed editions.
Maybe Levi's script was well prepared and impressed Bob. Bob sat up straight, took Levi's manuscript, and flipped through it, "Nick, is this script original or adapted?"
"It's not an adaptation. This is a script I created myself. The name of the script is "The Lives of Others."
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons Cherif Doghri and Abdishakur Hasan.
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