Birth of an actor

The comics were changed too much, they thought the movie wasn't about the real Hulk, and the director didn't understand the comics.

All in all, although "The Incredible Hulk" has not yet been released, it seems to be doomed to a gloomy future-the trial screening encountered bad reviews, and there are not many movies that have reversed after the official release, but if the rate of negative reviews is really high to a certain level, don't dream There will be a counterattack, because the probability of occurrence is so low that it is almost negligible.

Universal has high hopes for "The Incredible Hulk", but now that the film's prospects look too bad, they have begun to think of other ways, such as delaying the release time and re-editing the film, and buying some film critics to get some good reviews. He refused to let go of selling the copyright of the Hulk back to Marvel, and now he is willing to sit down and negotiate the price with Willot.

Of course, Universal's current attitude is still inclined not to sell copyrights. Willlott's first repurchase offer was rejected. When planning, Universal took much longer to consider.

It is very difficult to get back something that has been sold, especially after everyone has seen its value.It was just two meetings. William never thought that Universal would nod now. At least until "Hulk" was released and it was obvious that the cost could not be recovered, Universal would change its eyes from looking at sweet potatoes and switch to dealing with hot potatoes. Try to get rid of it.But when the time comes, Willot will definitely give another price.

——That's right, William knew all kinds of bad reviews about "Hulk". Although Universal used public relations methods to cover up all kinds of reviews, it was for the outside world, and various gossips in the industry had already been flying around.

When he went to Universal headquarters, William also met Ang Lee, who came to the company for some revisions before the movie was released. Perhaps because he has been under a lot of pressure recently, he looked tired and out of spirits.However, when he saw William, Li An still showed a smile, and deliberately stopped to chat with him for a while, mainly talking about a few recent work schedules, and also said that he would ask him out for dinner in a few days.

William thought Ang Lee was just talking politely, until a few days later he actually received a call from Ang Lee asking him to meet at a restaurant in China Town.

There are two large Chinatowns in New York, one is in Manhattan, the other is in Flushing, Queens, and there is a small Chinese community in Brooklyn. However, as long as "Chinatown" is mentioned in New York, it generally refers to this one in Manhattan. , because it has the longest history and the greatest reputation, and it is also adjacent to Wall Street and Broadway, and its geographical location is irreplaceable.

Li An booked a table in the corner of the Qilin Golden Pavilion. This is an old-fashioned tea restaurant with a great reputation in New York. When William found Li An through the crowded lobby, he was wearing a baseball cap. Sitting on the seat facing the wall, William sat next to him without taking off his hat.

"This is my favorite restaurant, and the Cantonese-style morning tea is very authentic." As if worried that William would not be used to such a noisy and lively occasion, Li An waved for a dim sum cart to come over, and strongly recommended: "Filming a movie in New York I often invite the crew to dinner, no matter what nationality, there is no one who doesn’t love the shrimp dumplings, siu mai and char siew buns here.”

When Li Anzheng was introducing, William was familiar with the way from the trolley to the bottom of the steamer, and quickly set up a full table, and explained to the surprised Li An: "Actually, I have been a regular customer here for a long time. Yes, every time I come to Chinatown, I must visit.”

Li An smiled: "It seems that I chose the right place."

William gave him a thumbs up.

To keep a low profile, the two not only chose seats in the corner facing the wall, but also wore their hats on when eating, but Li An was recognized by the clerk and exchanged a few words with each other in Chinese.

William could understand everything, but he didn't interject. He just teased after the clerk walked away, "You are much more famous than me." The clerk recognized Li Ang after a glance, but didn't recognize him.

"It's limited to this restaurant. I live nearby, come here a lot, and I'm familiar with the restaurant owner."

"How did I remember you had a villa in Larchmont?"

"I just bought a house near here. After all, it is next to Chinatown, so life is more convenient. And after 911/[-], many Chinese families in Manhattan moved to Flushing. The housing prices near Chinatown are much lower than in previous years."

William and Li An have known each other for a long time, but they haven't met much. This time, the purpose of the other party's invitation to dinner, William had guessed, but when the meal was about the same, when Li An really took out a script and handed it to him, he still couldn't help it. Surprised, especially when he saw the name.

"Brokeback Mountain?" William didn't open the script to read, not because he wasn't interested, but because he was no stranger to the contents. "All we have is Brokeback Mountain." He whispered the dialogue.

Li Ang was a little shocked: "Have you read the script? No, no, you have read the novel?"

William nodded: ""Brokeback Mountain" won the O. Henry Short Story Award in [-]. I only came across this novel after that. The most memorable thing is this line of Jack's dialogue."

Writer Anne Proux wrote the short story "Brokeback Mountain" in [-] and published it in "The New Yorker". The novel won the O. Henry Award in the second year.What William didn't say was that he had actually approached Anne Proulx and wanted to buy the film adaptation rights of the novel, but he was a step too late. Proulx had already authorized the film adaptation to Hollywood screenwriter Anna Ossana And Larry McMurtry, when William found the screenwriting partner again, they had also given the script to GoodMachine producer James Shams.

GoodMachine is an independent film production company. It started with the production of Ang Lee's first film "Pushing Hands" at a low cost of 49 US dollars. Last year, it merged with two other independent film labels to form Focus Pictures and was acquired by Universal Group. .One of the founders, James Shams, is good friends with Ang Lee. He also undertook all Ang Lee's films from "Pushing Hands" to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and "Hulk" also participated.

Every time it happened to be a step late, William thought that "Brokeback Mountain" would not be destined for him, but he didn't expect that the script would be in his hands again after going around, which cannot but be said to be a kind of fate.

"I was also deeply moved by this dialogue, and it was this relationship that prompted me to complete this movie."

"So this is your next movie? Are you going to wait until the Hulk promotion period is over?"

"Actually... this is not my project." Li An smiled helplessly: "My friend James Shams owned this script a few years ago, but he has not been able to successfully approve the project until recently. I just showed the script to me. You know, although "Hulk" has not been released yet, I already feel that I am not suitable for making too commercial movies. I want to find my best creative mode, "Brokeback Mountain" It was the best option I could find, but no one wanted to invest in it yet."

Then Ang Lee also briefly talked about the twists and turns encountered in this script: "The adaptation and writing process of "Brokeback Mountain" were very smooth, and the screenwriters Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry only spent three months. Just finished the script, and then James Shams found it.Over the past few years, although the company has undergone two acquisitions and reorganizations, and personal positions have changed again and again, James Shams has never given up on the idea of ​​making "Brokeback Mountain". As soon as investors heard that the script was about a love story between two men, they immediately refused to invest in it. Some people questioned whether Shams had something wrong with his head, otherwise, why would he want to pull tens of millions for "Brokeback Mountain" in a whimsical way? US dollar investment, but also want to find well-known actors to star in, this kind of script can spend millions of dollars to find a few unknown actors to complete the filming, and it will be released smoothly.

Not only funding, but also directors and actors are problems. Gay-themed movies are a hot potato now, let alone a few years ago. If it wasn't for the award, no one would be willing to do it.Among the directors that James Shams was looking for, there was someone who really wanted to participate, that is, Gus Van Sant, who had filmed "Booty Sky" and "Good Will Hunting", but because of the delay in finding If you don't come to invest and find suitable actors, you will give up in the end.

Perhaps because it has become an obsession, James Shams paid attention to the "Brokeback Mountain" project. Although he and Ang Lee have been friends for many years, he still became famous in Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". , Filmed "Hulk" again and had the experience of directing large-scale productions before showing the script to Ang Lee.Ang Lee read the script and the original novel, and was really moved by the story. In addition, filming "Hulk" was not a good experience, and new creations were needed to relieve emotions. He hit it off with James Shams, and both Want to get this project off the ground.

However, although the director is fixed, the funding and starring roles are still blank.Focus Pictures currently has three ongoing movie projects, none of which are small productions. The company's financial resources are already tight, and it is the right choice to find a partner to share the risk. That's why the dinner invited by Ang Lee today-in fact, James It is not that Shams and Ang Lee have never sought out the parent company Universal, but Universal is not interested in "Brokeback Mountain" at all, and there is no investment of one dollar, and the distribution has to be handled by Focus Pictures itself.

"So, do you want to ask if Willot is interested in investing? Or am I interested in scripts?" William finally just asked.

"I want to know both answers." Li An said with emotion: "Do you know who was the first thing that came to mind when I read the script and the novel and conceived the images of Ennis and Jack in my mind?"

When William shook his head, Ang Lee started to solve the riddle, with an embarrassed smile: "Actually, it's you. All I thought about was you dressed up as a cowboy on Halloween. For a while at the end of last year, newspapers were all over the place. It was this - and I thought 'what the hell, isn't that the cowboy I'm looking for?' So when James asked me if I had found the right actor, I was the first to mention you, James I thought it might not work, you wouldn't make this kind of film, but I knew you were a young man who loved experimenting and you didn't lack courage, so I told James, I must talk to you."

"I can answer you now, I am very interested in both investment and acting." William replied clearly, without any hesitation in his tone: "I will not return the script to you, I will take it back and read it carefully. "

Li Ang is Chinese, with introverted emotions, and he will not yell excitedly when he encounters some happy events like Americans, but when he heard William's affirmative answer, the problem that had troubled him and his friends for a long time was solved at once, and he could not bear it. I couldn't help laughing out loud, my brows were stretched, and my expression was relaxed. I felt that today was the best day in a few months.

After the meal, the two said goodbye to each other.What William said earlier seems to have set a flag. The clerk recognized Ang Lee before but not him, and he was even ridiculed by him.But now, just stopping at the entrance of the restaurant for a moment to say something special, several diners queuing up outside have already recognized William, and under the exclamation of those people, the entire team soon found out, At the moment, some people jumped up excitedly.

If William hadn't played by ear, quickly returned to the restaurant with Li An, and fled through the back door, they would definitely have been photographed by the media who heard the news, or tourists with cameras.As long as the private meeting between him and Ang Lee hits the news, some media will naturally speculate that they are talking about cooperation, and then the project "Brokeback Mountain", which has not yet been finalized, may be forced to be exposed in advance.

William decided to go back and arrange for people to implement the cooperation with Focus Pictures as soon as possible. The contract should be signed as soon as possible, and he is very interested in "Brokeback Mountain" and intends to star in it, and he should also tell his agent.

Amon Goffman is now looking for a script that suits William every day, and his hair is graying a few strands of worry.But "Brokeback Mountain" will never be in the list of scripts that can satisfy him, because the subject matter is too sensitive and it is too easy to attract criticism. Maybe after knowing William's wishes, he will try his best to prevent William from acting.

"Only actors who want to win awards will play gay roles! Don't mention Tom Hanks, he hasn't won a statuette when he played "Philadelphia Story"! You are already an Oscar winner!" The Jewish agent absolutely would say so.

Thinking of this, William suddenly had a headache—he hasn't come out to his agent yet!Should we talk about "Brokeback Mountain" first, come out first, or both?