Chapter 227： All for money!

There are very few fighting scenes and special effects shots in the dark battle, but Nicholas and John are both the best actors, and they are handy to shoot. It went very smoothly. Zhang Dongcheng had to secretly rejoice that he was lucky, as if this drama did not encounter the low ebb of Nicholas's acting skills.

Two days later, The Matrix 2 finally held a launch conference.

Zhang Dongcheng had to suspend the crew of Dark War for a day to attend the press conference of The Matrix 2. The site of this press conference is still arranged in the large conference room inside the office building of Dongcheng Films.

Speaking of which, in just a few days, Dongcheng Films has been making constant moves. First, Zhang Dongcheng personally remade the Hong Kong film Dark War 1 at the launch conference. In the next few days, he launched The Matrix 2 again, and the **** of death came. The crew led by Huang Yiyu left Hollywood and went to Long Island to start filming.

This Long Island is not Long Island County in Yantai City, Shandong Province, China, but an island southeast of New York City. It is separated from the East River by Manhattan Island and the mainland in the west, the Long Island Sound in the north, and the Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. Covering an area of ​​4356 square kilometers, it is long from east to west and narrow from north to south. The stretch of beach on the South Bank has been turned into a park; there are a series of sand bars outside the bank, which are resorts for sightseeing and leisure. This is where Reaper 1 was filmed.

In one year, Dongcheng Films has developed from a small company with two or three big and small cats when it was just established, to a large company that started shooting three movies at the same time.

According to outside investment, the investment in The Matrix 2 will definitely not be less than 100 million. And even if the **** of death came, it would still need 30 to 40 million yuan. In addition to Zhang Dongcheng himself directing the secret battle, Dongcheng Pictures even boldly threw out more than 200 million yuan to shoot movies.

This is definitely a big deal in Hollywood. Even the production cost of Titanic, which is still in theaters and has never been painted, is only 200 million. That's it, it almost dragged down Twentieth Century Fox, and eventually had to pull Paramount.

From this we can see how enviable and jealous Dongcheng Pictures' actions are. You must know that Twentieth Century Fox is an established film company that has been established for more than 60 years, and it is also one of the eight major film companies. What about Dongcheng Pictures? Just over a year. There is no comparison between the two sides at all.

Everyone knows that Dongcheng Films can play like this because of the short-term film investment fund created by Zhang Dongcheng. With the existence of this fund, Zhang Dongcheng has no worries about investing.

But apart from him, those large companies don’t have the guts to play like this. It’s not that they can’t do it, but they don’t dare! First of all, movies with a general cost do not need to do this at all, and those large companies have no reason to set up some funds and distribute the money to others.

Secondly, if you really play too much, if you finally take off the play. The consequences are absolutely horrific, not only losing money, but also the reputation that may never be recovered in this life!

Many people were waiting, Zhang Dongcheng missed once, and finally played himself to death.

Unfortunately, they don't know what kind of self-confidence Zhang Dongcheng has. With the help of that old TV, which movie will lose money and which movie will make money, Zhang Dongcheng can completely predict the future.

If you know the three-day affairs early, you will be rich and honored for thousands of years. And Zhang Dongcheng knew more than three days? !

In just a few days, the large conference room of Dongcheng Pictures once again welcomed the visits of many media reporters.

On the rostrum, the Wachowski Brothers, Yuan Heping, Keanu Reeves, Michelle Yeoh, Jason Statham and other key members of The Matrix crew sat side by side.

Zhang Dongcheng sat in the middle position, and his left and right were brothers Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski.

"Everyone, The Matrix 2 is officially launched today. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but come one by one!" Zhang Dongcheng, the host, said immediately.

"Director Smith!" At this moment, Selena was the first to stand up. The reporter from the Los Angeles Film News became his supporter precisely because the Matrix interviewed Zhang Dongcheng once. "May I ask why you gave up the directorship of The Matrix 2 and turned to remake a Hong Kong movie?"

Zhang Dongcheng smiled, and then his expression returned to calm, and said: "It's very simple, I have discussed this issue with the Wachowski brothers. I like challenges, and I don't like constant repetition. That is simply a kind of challenge for me." torment.

The reason for choosing the Wachowski brothers is actually very simple. If I hadn’t appeared, I think maybe a few years later, the two of them would also shoot The Matrix. So why can't I just give the sequel and the third to them both? As for the secret war issue, today is the launch conference of The Matrix 2, please try not to ask questions that have nothing to do with The Matrix! "

"Thank you!" Selena nodded in understanding.

After Selena sat down, a man wearing rimless glasses and looking polite stood up. The eyeballs hidden behind the lens turned, glanced at the two Wachowski brothers sitting around Zhang Dongcheng, and continued: "Director Smith, according to what we know, you were the one who wrote the script of the Matrix movie." Bought it from the Wachowskis. So does that mean they didn't value The Matrix at all? How do you trust them to make a good movie when someone doesn't like it?"

This question is a bit like digging a hole. A bad answer may leave a grudge in the hearts of the Wachowski brothers.

Zhang Dongcheng did not answer, but gestured to Larry Wachowski to ask him to answer this question.

"I can answer this question for you!" Larry understood Zhang Dongcheng's meaning very keenly, and said immediately: "In fact, we had the idea of ​​bringing The Matrix to the screen a long time ago, but unfortunately at that time, it was rejected Limited to special effects and investment, we had to shelve this idea for the time being! Before Director Smith approached us, we still did not give up the idea of ​​wanting to shoot by ourselves.

Maybe it was God's arrangement, but in the end we still sold the script! But this does not mean that we do not value The Matrix, on the contrary, we value it very much. It is precisely because of this that we handed over The Matrix to Director Smith, because we believe that Director Smith can shoot him well! "

Larry even patted Zhang Dongcheng's **** at the end. While praising Zhang Dongcheng, he also refuted the reporter's statement that he didn't pay much attention to The Matrix.

"Next!" Zhang Dongcheng was very satisfied with Larry's statement, but nodded to the man calmly, motioning for another reporter to ask a question.

"Mr. Keanu. Not long after The Matrix was released, you immediately accepted the shooting of the second part. Do you feel bored?" This time the question was asked by a reporter from the Los Angeles Entertainment Weekly. The question doesn't have much depth, it can be said to be a gossip topic.

Keanu smiled, and then started talking.

All kinds of questions emerged one after another, but Zhang Dongcheng completely handed over the topic to the Matrix crew, and he refused to accept media interviews, otherwise the launch ceremony of The Matrix would become his own press conference.

After the launch conference of The Matrix, Zhang Dongcheng returned to the secret war crew again and started shooting the following shots. According to his idea, the films of Dongcheng Pictures will be released one after another in the future. The schedule is staggered, so that you won't be fighting against yourself, and at the same time, it will also allow the company to embark on a virtuous circle as soon as possible.

According to the plan, the first movie to be released is the American version of Dark War, and then Death came to pick it up, the third Matrix 2, and the last one is John Woo's The Bourne Shadow. Of course, before the Bourne Shadow is released, There may be another low-cost movie inserted in the middle, such as... Resident Evil?

Putting down the thoughts in his mind, Zhang Dongcheng devoted himself to the filming of the movie.

At this time, Dongcheng Pictures' actions also caused a lot of entertainment news.

The first to cheer for Zhang Dongcheng was naturally the Los Angeles Film News, which has developed into a partner of Dongcheng Films.

"The original team worked hard to create The Matrix II, and the filming started today, but Mr. Smith, who is well-known in Hollywood, gave up the position of director and handed it over to the Wachowski brothers, the screenwriters of The Matrix. People are a bit puzzled, but I believe his vision is not wrong! We have reason to believe that even if the director is changed, The Matrix 2 will still become a classic film!" - "Los Angeles Film News"

"Life requires constant challenges, and Director Smith clearly understands this. This can be seen from the fact that he voluntarily gave up the right to direct the sequel of The Matrix and turned to remake a Hong Kong police and gangster film!" - "Entertainment Weekly"

"Smith, who was dazzled by the victory, is destined to pay for his arrogance! Give up his best big-budget special effects movie and remake a Hong Kong police movie. Although we all believe in his director skills, everyone will Having one's own focus, this kind of novelty-hunting approach that uses short-term attacks to long-term results can only prove one's own stupidity in the end.

Maybe our director Smith will be brought down by the failure of the cop movie. I hope that he will not be able to get out of the shadow of failure by then! "—"Los Angeles Media News"

As Zhang Dongcheng's deadly enemy, Gavin's report seems to have seen the failure of the secret war.

Various reports either support Zhang Dongcheng, or are neutral, or like the Los Angeles Media News, completely slander. For a while, there were different opinions, like a hundred schools of thought contending.

At this moment, Zhang Dongcheng seemed like an ascetic monk who kept his ears shut and only read sage books. Turning a deaf ear to the news from the outside world, he focused on filming the secret battle.

On the set of "CUT!", what is being shot at the moment is the scene on the bus. Zhang Dongcheng frowned and called CUT. Then half-covered the heroine, Patricia beckoned. Said: "Stop for a moment, Patricia, come here!"

Patricia was stunned for a moment when she heard the words, and walked towards Zhang Dongcheng in embarrassment. Obviously, she knew that Zhang Dongcheng must have been dissatisfied with her performance just now.

"Your performance just now was a little too blunt!" Sure enough, when Patricia walked in front of Zhang Dongcheng, she immediately heard his advice. "In this paragraph, you have to show fear and fear, but you have to pretend that nothing happened. It's a test of your acting skills. I think you need to think about it!"

"That's how I acted just now!" Patricia's long eyelashes trembled, and she looked at Zhang Dongcheng in a daze.

Zhang Dongcheng smiled wryly, pulled her to his side, pointed to the scene shot just now in the camera, and said: "Look, your acting skills in this episode are too blunt, superficial, and people can tell that you are acting , It feels like a stage play!"

Although this is what he said, Zhang Dongcheng knew very well that it was all because Patricia's acting skills were not up to standard, and her foundation was still too poor after all. It's no wonder that since the mummy, there have been basically no masterpieces.

Even in The Mummy, he didn't show impressive acting skills, relying on his own appearance.

"Okay! I'll try!" Patricia giggled, watching her performance, and replied, "Actually, I think my performance just now was very good!"

Zhang Dongcheng could only respond with a wry smile! good? It's not an ordinary mistake!

Afterwards, as expected, Patricia still couldn't show that kind of panic. Of course, Zhang Dongcheng can also fool it casually. Anyway, Patricia's role is not important. Although it is said to be a heroine, it makes people feel It's more like a little bit more appearances, with a few lines of extras.

"CUT!" Zhang Dongcheng called CUT again, and said, "Patricia, I think you should really think about how to show the effect I want. And Nicholas, I feel that the more you perform It's getting worse. It seems... It seems that I'm out of shape, I hope you can adjust it!"

Nicolas Cage was stunned for a moment when he heard the words, then blinked his eyes in surprise and asked, "Why? Director Smith, I feel fine?"

For a moment, Zhang Dongcheng seemed to have a premonition. He looked at Nicholas in a black suit and felt that what he was worried about had finally happened.

It seems that Nicholas is the most unstable actor, with ups and downs, just like a football player with distinctive characteristics but not very stable!

Could it be that this guy got infected after Patricia's CUT several times? Is your condition down too?

If this is the case, then Zhang Dongcheng really has a big head!

In fact, Zhang Dongcheng's guess is correct, and Nicholas' state has indeed declined. But the reason was guessed wrong, because Nicholas was not infected by Patricia, but brought about by his own state of uncertainty. It's like dealing with it, always distracted, not knowing whether it is acting or thinking about something.

"cut!" Seeing the unsightly performance of Nicholas and Patricia, Zhang Dongcheng finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"Nicholas, what's the matter with you?" Zhang Dongcheng rubbed his forehead, with a bitter face, and asked: "This paragraph was obviously good just now, why is it not as good as it is now!"

"Why?" Nicholas blinked when he heard the words, with an innocent expression on his face, and said, "Sorry! Smith. I don't think I made a mistake just now, right?"

Seeing Nicholas' innocent appearance, Zhang Dongcheng shook his head, and after a moment of contemplation, he said: "It is true that you did nothing wrong, but you gave me the feeling that you were not acting at all, but reading lines according to the script. I think It is necessary for you to take a look at your performance for yourself and compare it with what you just did, I hope you can find out where your shortcomings are!"

As he spoke, Zhang Dongcheng waved to Nicholas, motioning him to come to the monitor and watch for himself.

Compared to the first time, Nicholas's state has been deteriorating, especially the performance just now, which was superficial and did not show the effect Zhang Dongcheng wanted at all.

After seeing his performance in person, Nicholas had to admit that he did perform poorly, but this state was not transferred according to his own wishes.

There is no way to self-regulate things in this state. Even if it is possible, it is not a simple matter, especially Nicholas, the king of bad movies, can he really adjust his state?

After watching his performance just now, even Nicholas himself had to admit that Zhang Dongcheng was right. His performance is indeed not as good as once.

But this time, Nicholas' state slipped instantly, there is a reason!

The reason is that this member of the Hollywood 20 Million Club lives an extremely luxurious life. He not only collects various collectibles, but also likes to buy luxury houses!

In 2010, American Entertainment News disclosed that actor Nicolas Cage had to leave his luxurious mansion in Bel Air, California, in order to make up for the huge tax owed to the US government. This 11,000-square-meter Tudor-style villa was purchased by Nicolas Cage in 2001 for about $7 million. In 2006, the price once soared to 30 million US dollars, which shows that it is a rare commodity. Despite the impact of the economic crisis, its selling price ranged from $19 million to $17.5 million to only $4.95 million at the final auction.

I bought a house for ten years, but in the end I didn’t earn a penny, and I lost two to three million dollars….

The former business manager named SamuelJ Levin had advised Nicholas many years ago that he must earn $30 million a year to satisfy this luxurious lifestyle, and mentioned in court documents that he had warned Nicholas not to buy Britain and Germany. The ancient castle, but the super movie star turned a deaf ear and insisted on going his own way.

And now, finally, something bad is coming.

As we all know, in June 1997, a massive economic crisis broke out. The evolution of this crisis is complex. By the end of 1998, it can be roughly divided into three stages: June to December 1997; January to July 1998; July 1998 to the end of the year.

Nicolas Cage, the guy who loves luxury, has been involved. In the first phase of this economic crisis, real estate plummeted, stocks plummeted, and all his assets seemed to shrink overnight. All of a sudden, he fell from a rich actor to a state of abject poverty. Of course, this may be an exaggeration. But this economic crisis has really put Nicolas Cage in a bad position.

Otherwise, as one of the top stars in Hollywood and a member of the 20 million club, he would not have asked for money without even reading the script when Zhang Dongcheng approached him.

Shoot for money! This shows how short of money Nicholas is at this time.

With the 20 million yuan paid by Zhang Dongcheng, Nicolas Cage's situation has improved to a large extent. Moreover, this time happened to be the stage when the economic crisis was in decline. Based on his own experience and his gambler mentality that refused to admit defeat, Nicholas made a small profit.

When you are in a happy mood, you will naturally be full of energy when you work.

It's a pity that he has just made money, so he can't wait for him to recover his losses. At the beginning of this year, the financial turmoil swept across again, and even developed into a financial crisis in the whole of Asia. It can be said that we will lose money no matter what we do. Facing the worst economic recession in history, Nicolas Cage's bad luck has been affected again!

Originally seeing an opportunity in the financial field, Nicholas immediately wanted to do a big job to get back the money he lost before. Greed is one of human nature. Nicolas Cage is naturally inevitable. Besides, he also accompanied a lot of money.

Wishes are beautiful, but reality is cruel!

Nicolas Cage just invested his own money in the financial market, and the second wave of the bitter financial crisis has begun! This time it was even worse! Not only was the previous investment all in vain, but even the 20 million manuscript remuneration Zhang Dongcheng gave him was also lost. It can be said that Nicolas Cage is not as good as he was before he took the film.

Under such circumstances, how could he feel better?

"Okay! Nicholas, I believe you have seen your own shortcomings. Then, I hope you can perform better later, at least recover the state of the first time, no problem?" Zhang Dongcheng patted Nicholas Kai Qi asked over his shoulder.

"I'll do my best!" Nicolas Cage smiled wryly. He's really not in the mood to make a **** movie right now! ****! He just wants to get his money back, even if he doesn't want the money he earned, as long as he can get back the money!

people! I always guess to make up for it after suffering a loss. Isn't everything for those colorful banknotes!

It's getting late now, and the sky is gradually getting dark. There is no way to continue filming Patricia and Nicolas Cage's opposite scene.

"Have someone bring in the fast food, let's have dinner first, and start filming the rival scene between John and Nicholas later!" Zhang Dongcheng flipped through the script while giving orders to the crew.

After dinner, the crew started working again.