Chapter 116: It's not that simple

Wu Yuchen walked to the plane door, nodded to the two flight attendants who showed him bright smiles, and looked at the family of three blocking the way in front of him:

"Lele, from now on you are going to be an American! Are you happy!"

"Happy!" The child also had a big smiling face.

Behind Wu Yuchen, there was no lack of a few people who hadn't gotten off the plane yet, starting to say:

"The air in this America is fresher than in the country!"

Thanks for the invitation, I'm in America, just got off the plane, surrounded by a group of sheep herders...

Actually, Wu Yuchen is also used to it. This kind of thing is very normal in this day and age. 10 years ago, there was even an incident where an entire performance troupe from *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* stayed in America and didn't return. It wasn't an isolated case, not worth mentioning.

Sony's headquarters is in New York, but Columbia Pictures is in Los Angeles.

Wu Yuchen didn't wait long in the reception room of Columbia Pictures before he saw a white man in a polo shirt with gray hair push the door and enter. He looked to be in his forties, with a burly figure, very enthusiastic, and took the initiative to reach out:

"Wu, welcome to Hollywood!"

"Mr. Franklin, very happy to meet you!"

Wu Yuchen shook hands with him and smiled. His mood was still quite good; at least he didn't look like someone who was very difficult to communicate with.

"Call me Jeff from now on. You know? You really surprise me. Even in Hollywood, I rarely see a director as young as you. You are younger than I imagined. Even Spielberg was far inferior to you at your age!"

"Jeff, thank you for your praise. Actually, I think so too~" Wu Yuchen said in a joking tone.

Jeff was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud:

"Wu, you are really different from the Chinese people I have come into contact with. I like you, this interesting guy!"

Wu Yuchen had already talked to Jeff on the phone several times before coming, but this was the first time they met formally. After a few pleasantries, the two talked about the problem of film preparation.

"I have already found three suitable filming locations according to your requirements, and you still need to go and see them specifically. And for the specific set design, I need you to give detailed requirements here. The announcement for open auditions has also been sent out, and the preliminary selection has started."

Jeff paused and then asked:

"Wu, according to what you wrote in your script, the father in the 60s should be a character around 30 years old, but you require finding an actor who is at least 40 years old here?"

Wu Yuchen nodded and then explained:

"Jeff, although according to the script, the father in the 60s is indeed 30 years old, we can't really find a 30-year-old actor.

This film integrates many elements, including father-son affection. We must distinguish this pair of father and son for the audience, letting a 30-year-old person play the father of another 20- or 30-year-old actor, which is not conducive to solidifying the label of the father character."

Jeff understood immediately after hearing Wu Yuchen say this: "What you said makes a lot of sense!"

Immediately, Jeff's eyes lit up, and he said to Wu Yuchen: "Wu, do you want to increase the success rate for our film?"

"Of course, there is no director who doesn't think so." Wu Yuchen didn't know why Jeff asked this.

"Male actors over 40 have many real big-name stars. I want to try to initiate invitations to them. You have to know that in Hollywood, the best way to increase the success rate of a film is to find stars with box office guarantees!"

"Jeff, our budget is only 25 million. How can we invite big-name stars? Even if we invite them, there won't be enough production funds."

"Oh no, no, Wu, you don't quite understand the operation of Hollywood. Although the committee initially only gave us 25 million, if we can invite A-list stars and then use this to negotiate with the committee, it is highly probable that they will increase our budget. After all, we are still only in the preparation stage!"

After hearing this, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but understand that production funds are not that rigid. If you can handle big-name stars yourself, then the company is also willing to add money for you.

"I want to invite Tang Mu Hanks, is that okay?" Wu Yuchen joked.

After *Forrest Gump*, Tang Mu Hanks basically became a god. His acting skills are naturally beyond doubt, and his age is also suitable. Which director wouldn't want to work with him?

"Of course! I will send the script to him right now. Not only Tang Mu Hanks, but also Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Pierce Bulusinan, I want to try all of these!"

Wu Yuchen opened his mouth, looking at Jeff's slightly excited appearance. He didn't see that this guy was so ambitious.

Mel Gibson's *Braveheart* the year before last had a global box office of 210 million, and he also had the *Lethal Weapon* series;

Bruce Willis has the *Die Hard* series, and in the last two years, he also had *12 Monkeys* and the soon-to-be-released *The Fifth Element*;

Pierce Bulusinan is the male lead of the *007* series, which also doesn't need to be said.

The few people he mentioned are all absolute A-list male stars who are currently popular in Hollywood, and they are all in their forties, with suitable ages.

"Jeff, then it's up to you!" Wu Yuchen smiled. If he could really pull in big stars, he would be happy to see it happen. Any one of these people could bring significant box office appeal.

Subsequently, the two talked about several other roles, which didn't require finding any big stars, just normal open auditions.

……

Just arrived in America, Wu Yuchen still had quite a few things to deal with. After separating from producer Jeff, he came to a nearby coffee shop. A man in his thirties saw Wu Yuchen and took the initiative to stand up and greet him:

"I think you must be the Berlin Best Director Wu. Welcome to Hollywood! You will definitely be able to achieve more brilliant achievements here! I am Carl Murphy from CAA. From now on, you can tell me all your requirements, and I will definitely do my best to help you complete them!"

Mixing in Hollywood, you can't do it without an agent, even if it's just a small actor running errands.

For a director like Wu Yuchen who has won Berlin Best Director and already has good film results like *Run Lola Run*, CAA is naturally very welcoming.

Wu Yuchen shook hands with him and sat down:

"Carl, can I come to you for services in all aspects?"

"Of course, any! We at CAA will fully guarantee the privacy of our clients, you don't need to worry about this at all." Carl Murphy explained.

Wu Yuchen nodded and asked him to help find a reliable financial agent for himself first. He planned to open a new account.

Last year, he bought more than 3 million worth of Yahoo, and now it has risen to a market value of 7 million. He now has nearly 30 million in his hands and plans to take another 10 million to buy Yahoo, and put the other 15 million into a new account to buy other technology stocks, such as Cisco, Microsoft, etc. The remaining 5 million will be kept as a reserve fund for the time being.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen talked to Carl about *Frequency*. After all, he is a newcomer to Hollywood, so there is indeed a lot of information he needs to learn more about from Carl.

When Carl heard Wu Yuchen say that Jeff was going to invite big-name stars, he didn't show a very happy expression. After thinking for a while, he said:

"Wu, if you can invite a big-name star, it is of course a good thing for *Frequency*, but perhaps it may not be for you."

"Hmm? How do you say that?" Wu Yuchen asked in surprise.

Carl didn't answer directly, but asked: "Wu, do you know that a small number of directors have always mixed in the independent film circle and are unwilling to step into commercial films?"

Wu Yuchen nodded. There is indeed such a group of people who only want to film art films, or film the films they want to film.

"Some directors have the ability to film mainstream commercial films, but they enjoy the feeling of being able to control themselves in independent films, where most producers serve the director.

But if you cooperate with the Big Eight to film mainstream commercial films, you have to listen to the company's command, you have to be controlled by the producer. If the crew has big-name actors, you also have to coax them, and you might even be oppressed by big-name actors."

Wu Yuchen understood what the other party wanted to express upon hearing this.

Carl's meaning is that if a big-name actor is found, the situation of the crew will be reversed. The greatest right to speak will very likely become the actor rather than the creator. Even if they ask you to change the play and change the plot, the production company will tacitly stand on the side of the big-name actor.

"Carl, continue." Wu Yuchen frowned and said.

"Wu, you have to understand that you and Jeff are different. Jeff is a representative of the production side, and his status is guaranteed. Inviting big stars is beneficial to him without harm. But it is different for you. Your power in the crew will be greatly reduced.

If you can accept it, then naturally it is best to find a big star. The appeal of a big star is unparalleled for the box office. As long as the box office can succeed, everyone is happy, and your first shot in Hollywood can also succeed.

And the situation I worry about most is that a difficult big name comes, and you, this Hollywood newcomer, have a conflict with them and are then kicked out of the crew. This is not without precedent."

Obviously, in Carl's view, Wu Yuchen comes from the Berlin Film Festival and is considered an art film director. It is possible that he has this rebellious personality and is unwilling to be controlled, so he naturally reminds him in place. After all, Hollywood is different from other places.

Wu Yuchen actually ignored this problem subconsciously before. After all, when filming before, the whole crew revolved around him, and he had the final say in the crew. Now that Carl mentioned it, he realized that it was indeed the case. Hollywood doesn't have the saying that the director is the greatest.

This reminded him of John Woo's experience.

John Woo's peak moment was *Mission: Impossible 2*, which he directed, with a global box office of 500 million US dollars. But as everyone knows, the *Mission: Impossible* series is Tang Mu Cruise's project, and he has the final say in it.

John Woo had a dispute with Tang Mu Cruise during filming. At that time, John Woo brought his own people into the crew, including the cinematographer. Then one time, this cinematographer filmed Tang Mu Cruise black in a certain shot. After Tang Mu Cruise saw it, he directly asked John Woo to fire him.

John Woo was naturally unwilling. This was his person after all, and John Woo had always had that kind of big brother style, wanting to protect his younger brother, so he was at odds with Tang Mu Cruise there.

In the end, of course, it resulted in him bowing his head. The cinematographer was fired, and he became a puppet on the set. It is rumored that John Woo wanted to quit twice in the middle, and then Terence Chang ran over to comfort him: "Filming it to the end is victory!"

It is conceivable how unhappy John Woo was during filming. Later, when he returned to China and accepted an interview, he talked about the Hollywood big names he had come into contact with, complaining that Tang Mu Cruise had the most things to do.

At that time, John Woo had already filmed *Face/Off* and had properly entered the ranks of first-line directors in Hollywood, yet he was still held firmly by Tang Mu Cruise. Then wouldn't he, Wu Yuchen, this Hollywood newcomer, be even more miserable?

Of course, John Woo didn't suffer this bitterness in vain in the end, being taken to fly by Tang Mu Cruise, becoming a big director with a global box office of 500 million.

At this time, Wu Yuchen was pondering, if he encountered something similar to being bullied by actors in *Frequency*, what would he do?

He wasn't unaware of when to compromise, but if things really reached the point where he was constantly forced to rewrite the script and the story was rendered unrecognizable just to highlight an individual actor, then he would definitely have to have a falling out.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen said: "Carl, I have an agreement signed with the production side. The director must be me. They cannot replace me."

"If you really fall out with the production side, this is very simple. Change a director to take over, and when the time comes, put your name on it.

Of course, this is just a worst-case scenario. Not all big-name stars are difficult to deal with. And big names are not that easy to invite." Carl shrugged after finishing.

Wu Yuchen smiled after hearing this: "Yes, some are worrying about nothing. These people might not necessarily take a fancy to my small project."

However, from this conversation, Wu Yuchen also realized that Hollywood is not that simple, and there are all kinds of doors and paths.

And after saying this, he really didn't have any expectations for what big-name stars would come. In itself, as long as you film well according to the script, it is highly probable that the box office will succeed. Not to mention breaking 100 million or something, but doubling to 50 million is not a big problem. But if a big star comes, it will create a lot of variables out of thin air.

Wu Yuchen thought to himself, and he actually had a good impression of this new agent of his. At least he was really thinking for himself, unlike some who would try their best to encourage you as soon as they heard there was an opportunity to cooperate with a big name.

Wu Yuchen had a thought and said: "Carl, if you have suitable actors, you can recommend them to *Frequency*, and I will consider them as appropriate. But they must be suitable. This is my first Hollywood film."

Carl showed joy upon hearing this: "Of course, I know what's important!"

……

"I want to build two identical room scenes, but there must be differences in the details of the placement and furnishings. One is the 60s, and one is the 90s, understand?"

Wu Yuchen was constantly explaining to the staff at the set scene. At this time, Jeff and the assistant director walked over.

"Director, auditions can start tomorrow."

This assistant director is actually the casting director of the crew, a crew role that many netizens are very envious of, because he can influence the fate of many small actors.

The workflow of a casting director is to list various conditions according to the director's requirements, and then send them to the actors' union and major agencies respectively.

The actors' union will routinely issue announcements, letting actors sign up themselves.

And major agencies, which are actually mainly the three, CAA, UTA, and WME, will actively recommend actors within the company who meet the conditions to sign up.

Then the casting director will summarize a list based on this, marking the prominent characteristics of each person.

For major roles and important supporting roles, the casting director actually has no decision-making power and can only provide the list to the director and producer. But for some small roles, most directors won't participate at all. This is where the power of the casting director lies, and they can use this power to make deals with many unknown beautiful actresses.

Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this and then asked producer Jeff:

"Jeff, how is the result of your contact?"

For this Jeff who has been quite good in attitude and like a good old man since the contact, Wu Yuchen is now also vigilant in his heart. At critical moments, the other party may not necessarily stand with him.

Jeff shook his head:

"Tang Mu Hanks is preparing for Spielberg's *Saving Private Ryan*, Bruce Willis is going to join Michael Bay's *Armageddon* next month, Pierce has also joined *Tomorrow Never Dies*, and Mel Gibson opened his mouth and asked for a 20 million fee. What a big-headed guy!"

"Oh, that's really a pity!" Wu Yuchen sighed with a heart that didn't match his words. He actually felt that it was better not to have so many variables. It would be best if the crew could be controlled by himself.

"Hehe, Wu, this is Hollywood's norm. Every popular A-list big star has dozens of invitations in their hands. It's normal not to be able to invite them. Our preparation cannot stop. Just audition according to the process."

Jeff was very open-minded and instead enlightened Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen nodded and then asked: "Jeff, how is the application for the police station and fire department?"

"The police station has already agreed to our filming application. The fire department still needs to negotiate with us regarding our filming location and process. They will cooperate only if they meet their requirements, but there should be no problem. Don't worry, we have experience in these." ===== CHAPTER 117 =====