Chapter 596： old detective

"Mr. Tommy Lee-Jones, nice to meet you. I enjoyed your performance in 'Desperados'."

Firefly Pictures headquarters.

It's already two o'clock in the afternoon.

In Lehman's office, a veteran male movie star, Tommy Lee Jones, was ushered in at this time.

That is, the old police detective in the Coen Brothers version of "No Country for Old Men".

On the sofa in the reception room, Tommy Lee Jones came over after receiving the role invitation, and was praised by a famous director who was at his peak, and he was quite proud.

And the "Desperados" that Lehmann mentioned is also the representative work that this person won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The role of the federal sheriff he played in it was very impressive.

As an actor who has never had a high point or a low point in Hollywood, Tommy Lee Jones is like a screw rooted in a huge running machine, not very important and unremarkable, but very powerful.

Therefore, he always appears in various works in the form of a supporting role, belonging to the type who does not recognize his face and seems to have heard of it when he watches movies.

Of course, Tommy Lee Jones' appearance is indeed unremarkable, neither handsome nor memorable, but his acting experience is very rich, the only one who can be called a "professional police detective" .

In his limited film works with good grades, he does often appear as a "sheriff".

Therefore, the role of the old police detective is not too suitable for him.

Moreover, the remuneration is affordable. After all, there has never been a hot spot to reach the threshold of a first-line actor.

On the other hand, people are now starting to develop behind the scenes. The first full-length feature film "The Three Funerals of Escada" was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes in June this year. Got Best Actor and Best Screenplay.

The two sat opposite each other.

There was something mild about Tommy Lee-Jones—a kind old man.

After reading the characters in the script, he was also delighted: "I like several of your films, and I have always looked forward to working together. I have no reason to refuse, Director Lehman."

Moreover, the script of "No Country for Old Men" has been repeatedly polished by Lehman and Ryan, and it is completely excellent. Ignoring Lehman's ambition to add in, just as a black-style crime suspense type film, "No Country For Old Men" is a good one. It's already very exciting, with an absurd sense of humour throughout.

Several protagonists in the film thought they could control the situation, but in the end the situation was out of control.

And the old police detective Ed, is an old detective with rich investigation experience and a lot of experience in the world, and his sophistication can also be seen from his conversations with young police officers.

But this seasoned experience didn't help Ed. The development of the situation failed to meet his plan. He couldn't catch the killer, and he didn't even meet him. He didn't even know what the parents were like. Later, Ed complained. The world is getting worse and worse. In the past, police officers did not carry guns, but now they do not carry guns.

It was because he discovered his powerlessness that he could not handle this case.

It can be said that Ed's image in this film is that of a police detective who worked hard to investigate the case, but in the end he found nothing, representing the human nature and rules of "goodness and integrity".

Obviously, Tommy-Lee-Jones also sees that his role is not a "dispensable" background board, but one of the keys to really promote the plot.

Therefore, Tommy-Lee-Jones suppressed a little heartbeat, and then said: "If I can't work together in such a movie once, I think I will definitely regret it in the future."

These words are full of confidence in the compliment.

Basically, I think I can handle Detective Ed.

Of course, Lyman had invited him over with the idea of ​​handing over the role to Tommy Lee Jones.

Although he has never been famous, and has always been used to be a supporting role, the addition of an old actor is extremely beneficial to the film. He has increased the upper limit of the performance space, and will not occupy the film's shooting budget.

The expenditure ratio of actors' salary can be reduced to less than 40%, that is, the expenditure of 10 million US dollars is still on track.

And Eddie's role can only be ranked fourth among the leading actors in several group dramas, adding up to no more than 15 minutes of footage, and Tommy-Lee-Jones starring in special effects like "Men in Black". A lot of them, and they only took 4 million US dollars. This time, 1.2 million will be done. It's really cheap.

In other words, acting actors are at a disadvantage in Hollywood. Even if they win the favor of the Oscars, it is only an improvement in their status, and the remuneration will not explode.

It's like a sentence Cage said, "A commercial film I'm taking now is more than what I've paid in the past ten years. It's too easy to make money."

With popularity, traffic, and the pursuit of capital, there will be a bigger gap between high-end actors and second-class actors in terms of remuneration and worth.

In the future, there will be some people who will get 20 million plus 20% of the box office share, and there will be some actors who will contribute **** scenes with only tens of thousands of dollars.

The unfair distribution of wealth is even more vividly exposed in Hollywood.

Of course, after Tommy-Lee-Jones verbally agreed to play, the specific contract negotiation still had to go through a brokerage company, and he would not communicate on his own. The latter is not necessary.

And Tommy Lee Jones signed with WME, which is known as the second millennium, which is the one with directors such as Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese. It is often suppressed by caa in multiple directions.

However, while not as large as caa, WME is actually pretty good. Corporate executives are deeply involved in White House politics, and many have access to another circle through WME, which is their core attraction.

After one contact, WME quickly agreed to put Tommy Lee-Jones on the cast of No Country for Old Men.

Because Tommy-Lee-Jones is not the trump card of their company's promotion, and the salary is difficult to raise, there is no need to bother.

But that's something to be happy about for the actor himself.

Tommy, who had read the script, had a feeling.

Compared to those classic works or memorable screen roles in the history of cinema, this slightly younger director has similar ambitions.

A western town, a logical and self-consistent story, involves everything through a murder case, and always wants to inject a thought into this fictional scene.

If it really succeeds, it may be sought after. Who would dare to assert that "No Country for Old Men" will not become a film history classic.

Tommy Lee-Jones has done a lot of work and looks at it with a higher eye, and the role of Ed is an interesting challenge even for him.

With these thoughts in mind, when the actor contract was signed, Tommy-Lee-Jones smiled and said, "Then, Director Ryman, I hope we can work together happily."

"Of course, I'm looking forward to it." Lyman also laughed.

With Tommy Lee Jones and Heath Ledger in place, the two great actors in the No Country for Old Men's blueprint are in place.

The remaining mine owner, Lehmann found David Strathairn to play.

This is also a powerful actor, whether it is the high-level pimp in "Los Angeles Confidential" or the news host in "Good Night and Good Luck", he always has a less positive image of pursuing fame and fortune, making a cameo appearance. The mine owner who buys and kills is also "playing in his true colors" for him.

Because this guy seems to have a nasty temperament elegant and cold, especially when he purses his mouth and deliberately smirks, he always feels that he is calculating and planning something bad.

And because it is a cameo, the role is the least among the five roles, and there is not much time on the screen, but it is all at the key point of the plot. David Strathairn's performance fee can be done with only 300,000.

Speaking of which, David is now getting fewer and fewer roles in his film career, and most of the time he has to mix in the TV drama circle, which is by no means a good mix. At 55 years old this year, he has no older Tommy. - Lee Jones is popular.

The reason is that although he has good acting skills, he has no achievements, and he cannot win the favor of the studio just by acting.

After all, Tommy-Lee-Jones and Will-Smith's "Men in Black" series have sold well at the box office, but David has no such qualifications.

For him, it's good to have a movie role looking for him, not to mention being selective.

Therefore, he was also the happiest of promises.

Just talk on the phone and it's settled.