American fame and fortune

The personnel changes at Warner Bros. are gradually becoming chaotic. Rumors are spreading everywhere, and Martin has received relatively reliable information. Warner Pictures' spokesman Alan Horn is about to leave and prepares to join Walt Disney's Disney. Films, serving as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

In the first decade of the new century in Hollywood, Warner Bros. dominated the scene.

In the next ten years, Disney is likely to be the only one.

Martin held an internal meeting in the studio, discussed with Louise several times, and made two preparations.

Every time there is a change of power, there is always the fall of a prominent figure belonging to the previous generation.

No one wants to be the one who falls.

On this day, Ali Emmanuel called and asked Martin to meet.

Because Martin was in the Gone Girl studio at Warner Bros. Studios, he rushed over.

The two made an appointment to meet at a cold drink shop.

When Martin arrived, Ali had already arrived.

In addition to him, there is another person, Mark Wahlberg.

Martin doesn't have any embarrassment. After all, the person who stole Mark Wahlberg's role in "The Departed" was Matt Damon, who has nothing to do with him.

Wahlberg took the initiative to shake hands with Martin: "I'm new to WMA, so I'll give you more advice in the future."

Martin shook hands with him: "You're welcome."

Wahlberg was straightforward: "Actually, we have something in common, we don't like Matt Damon and his gang."

Martin was slightly startled, then understood what was going on and laughed: "This is a good point in common."

The two sat down and Wahlberg took the initiative and said: "I have heard a lot about the Foot Gang and the Face Gang. I hate the Foot Gang deeply. When I auditioned for "The Departed", the crew originally confirmed that I would play the role of Ding Genan. He had a role, but under the operation of the Football League, he was snatched away by Matt Damon in the end."

Martin's expression remained unchanged: "The Foot Gang are indeed a bunch of bastards!"

Wahlberg was obviously trying to please Martin: "It's a pity that bastard Matt Damon didn't go in with Harvey. I've heard from many friends in the media that there are many victims and media who wanted to be exposed, but were Damon and Ben Affleck put pressure on him and finally had to compromise."

"These are moral issues, not legal ones," Martin said.

Some time ago, he focused mainly on Harvey Weinstein and ignored others.

After all, Harvey is the core of the Foot Gang, and it will be easier to deal with the rest if he is eliminated.

"I'm not going to let Damon go," Wahlberg said.

"He will definitely be greatly affected in the future." Seeing Wahlberg licking endlessly, Ali quickly interrupted him and said to Martin: "Old friend, I have been annoyed to death by Natalie Portman recently. , she complained to me all day long."

Martin knew what he was talking about: "David Fincher and Gillian Flynn, the author of the original film, both cast Charlize Theron in the last audition, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Ali said: "I understand, she is still not good enough. When I go back, I will stop Natalie and prevent her from troubling you."

Enough with the foreshadowing, he suddenly changed his tone: "Mark read Marcus's autobiography of "Lone Survivor" and saw the script from me, and was very interested in Marcus' prototype character."

Wahlberg immediately followed and said: "I have played many roles of soldiers, such as "Edge Warriors", "The King of Gold", and "Sniper of Life and Death". I have experienced long-term military and firearms training, and I am more qualified than other actors. Advantage."

Originally, he also approached Saoirse Ronan, who played his daughter in "The Lovely Bones", and wanted her to help.

But Saoirse Ronan is slippery than a fish, talking a lot of nonsense in the scene, but does not come to her teacher.

Ali looked at Martin and said, "Give Mark a chance, he's great."

Martin thought for a while, Mark Wahlberg should be able to do it, so he took out his mobile phone and called Marcus and producer Akiva Goldsman respectively in front of the two of them, and recommended Mark Wahlberg. Berg.

The rest is simple, let Mark Wahlberg prepare for the audition with makeup.

After hearing this, Mark Wahlberg simply went to the nearby studio of "Lone Survivor".

Ali stayed to drink tea with Martin.

Martin said: "You have been making a lot of moves recently. Did you just poach this person?"

Ali simply said: "It has been a while. He has a wide range of acting options and is very promising commercially. He can play serious roles as well as shitty ones."

He put Wahlberg aside and added: "The person I want to dig the most is Christopher Nolan."

Martin introduced the two of them, and that was all he could do without being overly involved. He asked, "Nolan's attitude has not relaxed?"

Ali said: "Not yet, but CAA's forcing Nolan has created a huge crack. As long as I persist, the crack will expand and collapse the entire wall."

Martin smiled: "I hope you can dig down the entire wall soon."

"I will." Ali finished a cup of tea, said goodbye and left.

Behind the counter of the cold drink shop, Mia had been observing Martin, waiting for the two people to leave. Seeing that Martin was about to leave, she quickly picked up her bag and looked for it.

Martin had already seen Mia and said hello: "Long time no see."

Mia said carefully: "Martin, can you take a few minutes to chat?"

Martin had known Mia since he was a young actor. There was nothing urgent at the moment and he pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down and chat."

He asked: "I remember you left here to concentrate on your career in Hollywood?"

Mia was embarrassed to laugh: "There is no way, life is forcing Sebastian to concentrate on creation, but the works he wrote are too classical and do not conform to the current trend, and he lost his job in the Smoke House. I can only think Ways to make more money.”

Martin nodded slightly. These two people are just microcosms of the tens of thousands of low-level actors and actresses in Hollywood.

Throughout Hollywood, there may be hundreds of thousands or millions of employees, but only a minority among the few can make it.

"My acting talent may be average." Mia was quite helpless: "I got a role with lines, but it still didn't change my situation, and my acting career didn't improve at all."

Martin knows that this is the case for most actors in the industry: "Many times, hard work may not necessarily result in equal rewards. I have had a similar experience, but I have better luck than you."

Mia nodded and said: "Martin, do you remember what I mentioned last time? I want to try to write a script. I have been writing in my spare time, but the story I wrote feels bad. , overturned again and again.”

Martin asked: "Written the right story?"

Mia opened the bag she brought and took out a manuscript and handed it to Martin: "I can't write a fantasy story, so I simply adapted a script based on my experience with Sebastian, and now I've written the beginning. , can you help me take a look?"

Martin took it and found that it was a handwritten manuscript. He kindly reminded: "Next time, keep the original manuscript and only provide a copy. If someone takes your manuscript away, you will lose the lawsuit."

Mia was not even a formal screenwriter, so she was not prepared for these, so she nodded quickly: "I remember."

Martin quickly browsed and found that the heroine in the script was indeed very similar to Mia, and could even be said to be similar to many low-level actresses in Hollywood.

As for the male protagonist, the Sebastian that Martin saw was just a pianist who played music in the Smoke House, and he didn’t know much about the others.

The heroine is an actress and playwright at the bottom of Hollywood. She works part-time as a waitress at Warner Studios. She often needs to take time off to attend auditions, but has not received any significant roles. She can only support herself through part-time work.

The male protagonist is naturally a pianist who plays in the restaurant. His ideas are too old-fashioned and he has been insisting on jazz music.

The two met because of a traffic jam. Later, their identities as down-and-outs in Hollywood resonated, and they came together to encourage each other in their careers.

The last scene of the manuscript is very familiar to Martin. The hero and heroine visit the Griffith Observatory at night and confirm their relationship.

There is no more after that.

It is obvious that the script is not yet completed, and even in the completed parts, a layman like Martin can see that there are many problems in scene design and conversion.

Mia is a newbie and it's normal for problems to arise.

Martin asked: "Not done yet?"

Mia said directly: "I was writing and writing, but suddenly I lost confidence, and there were differences between me and Sebastian about the script."

She elaborated: "Sebastian read the script and felt that it would be more suitable to incorporate jazz and other musical elements into it and design it into a song and dance genre. However, musicals have long since declined, and I think romantic comedies are better."

Martin nodded slightly: "The story is not bad."

Because of her experience of working at the bottom, the stories Mia wrote resonated with Martin.

And Martin saw the shadow of a movie that once impressed him, "La La Land" starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

Martin was deeply impressed by that film. On the one hand, it was relatively close in time, and on the other hand, it caused a huge mistake at the Oscars for Best Picture.

Black Lives Matter, a gay man who won the best picture, said "La La Land" when the guests announced the results.

Is there any interior in it? Martin didn’t know that he had forgotten the titles of the Black Lives Matter gay films, but he always remembered “La La Land.”

Seeing that Martin was silent, Mia asked, "Is it worthless?"

Martin thought for a while and said, "The script you wrote is very rough and needs to be revised in many places."

Mia lowered her head, thinking about leaving Los Angeles and returning to her hometown.

Martin's words continued: "This way, Mia, you finish writing the entire script first."

Mia raised her head, her eyes filled with brilliance again, and promised: "I will continue to finish writing."

Martin glanced at the counter and said: "I need you to concentrate on your creation. You quit these part-time jobs and go to my film and television studio to find Jessica. You have met her."

Mia nodded: "I know."

"She will give you a full-time creative job, and you can write the script with peace of mind." Martin said in advance: "In addition, there will be a buyout for the copyright of the script. You are a newcomer, and the price will definitely not be high. I will give you the Screenwriters Guild An above-average buyout price for a new screenwriter.”

According to the new agreement signed by the Writers Guild last year, the maximum script for a new screenwriter is thirty thousand dollars.

Mia responded immediately.