Chapter 257

Nicole Kidman's movements paused upon hearing this, and Jennifer Connelly also entangled herself beside Wu Yuchen, wanting to know the news. After all, if the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean" were to be started, it would definitely affect the shooting of "The Hours," as the energy of Wu Yuchen, the director, was also limited.

"Hey, Wu, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, got bitten." Wu Yuchen patted Nicole Kidman's head gently, signaling her to be at ease.

"Damn it, what are you doing?" Spielberg obviously guessed roughly.

"That's not important. Is it so urgent to start the sequel to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?" Wu Yuchen pulled the topic back to the point.

Spielberg no longer focused on the minor details: "Of course, the market is very eager for 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' and we should build the sequel quickly now."

Wu Yuchen asked: "Steven, have you settled our Captain Jack?"

"Now the global box office of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is almost set, and Depp's agent has also begun to contact us. I think our parties can start sitting down and talking."

"Did Depp's agent say what conditions he wants?"

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and said: "Steven, now is not a good time for negotiations. You tell the other party that if they dare to propose such conditions again, there is no need to talk at all. Let him cool off for a few months first!"

Of course, there is another situation that needs to be considered here, and that is whether "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" will achieve the same success as the first one?

Wu Yuchen nodded: "That's right, shooting two films back-to-back will save a lot of costs and time. It's like that in every respect!"

Spielberg fell into a brief silence and thought, then asked Wu Yuchen: "Wu, are you sure you want to do this?"

Wu Yuchen also understood the potential meaning of Spielberg's question and smiled confidently: "Steven, don't worry, the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' trilogy will not fail!"

"Steven, listen to me! If we are in a hurry to start 'Pirates of the Caribbean' now, we can only be manipulated by Depp and his agent. They know we want to make this money, but Depp actually also needs this role; it was Captain Jack who sent him to become an A-list star. It just depends on who can hold their temper; we can't show that we are impatient!"

"He shouted out a 20+20 treatment."

Wu Yuchen immediately pacified him: "Hey, Steven, don't be excited~ Listen to me, I have my plan."

Wu Yuchen shrugged: "Steven, to tell you the truth, I don't have a plan to shoot 'Pirates of the Caribbean' this year."

The so-called 20+20 is a 20 million salary plus a 20% share.

"Two films back-to-back?"

If the second and third installments of "Pirates of the Caribbean" are shot separately, then the third installment will have to undergo another salary negotiation, and by then, the actor's salary will be harder to negotiate than the second installment, but shooting two films back-to-back will avoid this situation.

Spielberg nodded: "Yes, but this treatment is impossible, and the other party is also waiting for us to counteroffer."

"Do you have any other project more important than 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?"

Hearing Wu Yuchen say this, Spielberg also knew it made sense, but still asked: "Wu, then when do you plan to shoot?"

Wu Yuchen sneered upon hearing this: "Heh, that's really a lion's opening of the mouth."

"A few months? That's too long! What month do you plan to shoot 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?"

Spielberg knew Wu Yuchen's meaning. Needless to say, the time and costs saved in crew preparation and shooting, even the actor's costs would be the same.

Wu Yuchen replied: "Next year, I will shoot 'Pirates of the Caribbean' next year, and it will be two films back-to-back."

"What? No shooting plan? Why? Everyone is waiting for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' now!" The voice of Spielberg on the other side went up directly; this was the most profitable live-action film of their DreamWorks now.

You have to know that the film itself is very risky. The first one is a hit, and the situation of the sequel being a bad film is common in Hollywood. If the reputation of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" rots, maybe it can still make a lot of money relying on the popularity of the first one, but the third one will definitely lose money. And now what Wu Yuchen said about shooting two films back-to-back is to let the investors take this risk.

"Okay, Wu, I believe in your decision."

Wu Yuchen smiled and hung up the phone, and the two women beside him immediately asked him: "Wu, are you going to shoot 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "Rest assured, I always keep my word; I won't break my promise to you. I will start preparing in these few days and shoot 'The Hours' as soon as possible."

Just when Wu Yuchen was still happy here, Michael Eisner was having a headache. Originally, he thought Harvey could win a big award with "Chicago" at this Oscar, and then he could have a presentable result to promote, but he didn't expect to swallow a big goose egg.

Since Harvey failed here, he only had to put more energy into Pixar, settling the renewal contract with Pixar. But Jobs at Pixar wasn't easy to deal with either; for these few months, he had basically ignored the negotiation invitations issued by Disney, looking like he wouldn't listen to anything, which also gave Eisner a headache.

But even if it's difficult, he has to talk now, and it's best to strive for good conditions so that the shareholders can be satisfied.

Just when Wu Yuchen had already found someone to start preparing for "The Hours," Spielberg came to visit again.

"Wu, your new film, why not cooperate with DreamWorks? Weren't we very happy in our cooperation on 'A Beautiful Mind'?"

Spielberg heard that Wu Yuchen was about to set up a new crew to start shooting, so he couldn't sit still and immediately came to Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen invited him to sit down and explained with a smile: "Of course not, Steven, my cooperation with you on 'A Beautiful Mind' was very happy."

After "A Beautiful Mind" won the Oscar for Best Picture, it also used this momentum to promote globally and reap box office profits.

Spielberg spread his hands: "Then why didn't you choose us? But chose Fox?"

"Because I still have to shoot a film in the second half of the year, which is a Chinese-language film. It and 'The Hours' will both be Oscar-contending films. By then, I want DreamWorks to help me operate it."

"You can completely hand over both films to our DreamWorks~"

"Oh, Steven, after that previous experience, I don't dare to do that anymore. I think it's better for me to ask the PR teams of two companies to do the two films separately. I hope you can understand me!"

Before, he was backstabbed by Disney because the PR for both "The Sixth Sense" and "Traffic" was handed to Disney, which resulted in that kind of thing happening. Therefore, Wu Yuchen didn't dare to play like that again this time, even if he now had a good relationship with DreamWorks.

Spielberg rubbed his eyebrows with a bitter smile upon hearing this, and then said: "Okay, I understand your thoughts. But you can completely cooperate with us on this 'The Hours'."

If possible, he would of course want to cooperate with Wu Yuchen on "The Hours," not his Chinese-language film; local films are destined to be more profitable than Chinese-language films.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said: "Steven, it's precisely because I believe in DreamWorks' ability that I intend to hand this Chinese-language film to you. And there will be no shortage of opportunities for us to cooperate in the future!"

He wasn't worried about falling out with DreamWorks. With "Pirates of the Caribbean," his relationship with DreamWorks would be in a honeymoon period; after all, the interests of this project were big enough.

And cooperating with Fox on this "The Hours" could also be considered as him expanding his social circle and influence.

At present, he had already established many relationships in Hollywood. Needless to say, DreamWorks, and Sony also had cooperation with him because of "Spider-Man." He believed that after "Spider-Man" was released, Sony's emphasis on him would be raised to another level. Universal was the overseas distributor of "Pirates of the Caribbean," and they were also asking to purchase the Universal Studios authorization for "Pirates of the Caribbean" from them.

Since he had made an enemy of Disney, he naturally had to make as many friends as possible before Eisner stepped down. In Hollywood, interest relationships are the most trustworthy.

Just when Wu Yuchen was shooting "The Hours," the overseas box office share of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was finally sent over.

This time, "Pirates of the Caribbean" overseas box office totaled 480 million US dollars. According to the 27% share of the film side, it was about 130 million. First, 12% was distributed to Wu Yuchen, the director, which was 15.6 million, and then DreamWorks and Miracle Pictures would distribute it proportionally. In short, Wu Yuchen and Miracle Pictures each received 15 million and 49 million this time.

However, Wu Yuchen didn't pay too much attention. After checking the money after it arrived, he threw it to the back of his mind. Now this sum of money couldn't produce much impact on him. In addition, he was shooting "The Hours" and didn't want to cause too much interference because of this.

This time, as he said, "The Hours" found Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Connelly, and Meryl to play these three roles. Meryl naturally wouldn't refuse when she heard it was Wu Yuchen's invitation, and she happily joined the crew.

Therefore, this time, there was basically no time wasted on casting, and the crew completed the preparation and started shooting in two weeks.

In essence, "The Hours" is also a biographical film, because its female lead is the famous British female writer Virginia Woolf in history, but the original novel interpreted her from different angles. At the same time, there are two other female leads in the novel. The stories of the three women are intertwined. In every time and space, women are suppressed, but more of it is resistance and the expression of freedom.

To put it bluntly, this is a feminist film that fits the current trend of the times. Although it tells history, it expresses female freedom and liberation. So it's very reasonable that it could win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Three actresses, if we talk about acting, objectively speaking, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Connelly are not bad, but Meryl Streep is truly a notch stronger than the two of them.

But it's a pity, she doesn't have any intimate relationship with Wu Yuchen. When the crew goes to declare for Best Actress, the ones reported will be Jennifer and Nicole. Hollywood is just so realistic!

"Nicole, what I want is a pioneer of feminism who wanders on the edge of madness and sobriety and is brilliant in writing. Your current state is not right; it can't convince me at all, and it can't conquer the Oscars!"

On the set, Wu Yuchen was explaining the play to Nicole Kidman. Encouraged by the Oscars, Nicole also worked hard, not only reading all of the writer Virginia's works but also trying to make herself look ugly in terms of styling, completely different from the bright and beautiful image she had whenever she appeared on the screen before.

"You should ponder my words carefully and find your best state before shooting your scenes." After Wu Yuchen finished saying this to Nicole Kidman, he left her alone to think, and then greeted the crew to end today's shooting.

"Hey, guys, rest tomorrow, continue the day after tomorrow!"

This wasn't Wu Yuchen leaving time for Nicole Kidman to find her state, but that he, the director, had to take time out for a day. No way, "Spider-Man" was about to be released, and the whole crew had to start publicity.

In fact, as a producer behind the scenes, he didn't need to show his face, but who made him famous now? Not only were his previous films big box office hits, but he had also just won the Oscar for Best Picture and already had many fans, so Sony naturally wouldn't let him go.

Even though Wu Yuchen had already pushed away most of the publicity schedule, he still had to run to participate in the recording of a TV program tomorrow. He couldn't escape it, so he could only helplessly stop the crew for a day.

"Wu, we all know that you created the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' world, and I heard that there is a perfect trilogy plan. But I just heard that you also customized a trilogy plan for 'Spider-Man'? Is that so?"

Facing the host's question, Wu Yuchen was unhurried and smiled: "That is indeed the case."

The host asked again: "Director Wu, you are truly different! We all know that many directors or screenwriters are only accustomed to making a one-film plan. Why did you make a trilogy plan all at once?"

Wu Yuchen explained:

"The trilogy plan is the best way for me. Take 'Pirates of the Caribbean' for example; one film actually cannot fully unfold its worldview. What I want to tell is not just Captain Jack, but the entire pirate world.

The same logic applies to 'Spider-Man.' Although many fans already fully understand the Marvel worldview, I think one film is not enough for Peter Parker. From a boy growing into a mature superhero, Peter Parker needs to experience a lot!"

After listening, the host asked boldly: "Wu, aren't you afraid of failure? You know many viewers don't have this patience, so directors condense their talent into one story. What if your first one fails? Wouldn't the trilogy be out of the question?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head with a chuckle: "'Pirates of the Caribbean 1' can succeed, 'The Lord of the Rings 1' can succeed, and 'Spider-Man 1' can of course also succeed. And, I think it will achieve a box office result even more explosive than the former two!"