American fame and fortune

In the director's office, Martin looked at Robert Eggers curiously.

If memory serves me correctly, the bearded assistant director was Natasha's client.

However, when the crew was filming, Martin had a good impression of him and felt that his abilities were acceptable.

Among the assistant director team, apart from Steve Downton, is Robert Eggers.

Robert Eggers tentatively said: "Martin, I wrote a script myself. Can you help me read it?"

Martin nodded: "Of course."

Robert Eggers opened the briefcase he brought, handed over the bound script, and said: "I... I have made an experimental film before, and I checked a lot of information about witches in New England, and then I came up with this. script."

Martin took the script and looked through it carefully. He found that the script was very complete. It was obviously a revised version. The content was roughly that the "Mayflower" carried a group of people to New England, and one of the families came to an inaccessible place. The story of the wilderness that was settled and then cursed.

It involves the most common element of Western horror thrillers - witches!

Seeing Martin finish flipping through the script, Robert Eggers quickly said: "This is adapted from a true event, which happened 62 years before the famous Salem witch hunt."

He was afraid that Martin would classify his script as an original film, so he added: "It is documented."

That's not what Martin is concerned about: "What about the production costs?"

"If I were to shoot, 3 million to 4 million US dollars would be enough." Robert Eggers did not forget to highlight himself: "I plan to shoot the film first, and then go to the Saint-Denis Film Festival to gain a certain reputation at the film festival... …”

At this point, he suddenly stopped, because the opposite person was a good operator of movies.

When Martin was about a third of the way through the script, he realized that he had an impression of the plot because he had seen it, but the specific response to the movie was not clear.

He briefly recalled that the one he remembered most clearly was the heroine, whose appearance was particularly recognisable. In the early stage, she was recognizably beautiful. In the later stage, she had plastic surgery and was even more recognisable, but her face looked like a goldfish.

In my previous life on the Internet, someone called me Goldfish Girl.

Later, Goldfish Girl seemed to be very popular?

"Your agent is Natasha, right?" Martin nodded when he saw the other party and put away the script: "I will have someone contact her."

Robert Eggers' anxious heart felt much more relaxed, and he quickly said: "Okay, okay."

He thought to himself that if he followed the path arranged by Natasha, he would finally be on the right track.

If I hadn't gotten to know Martin well and proven myself to be a capable and reliable person at work, I probably wouldn't have gotten the script into Martin's hands.

Who cares about a new screenwriter like myself and a director who has only made experimental films? Hollywood grabbed a lot of them.

Robert Eggers had just left when Louise came in from outside.

Martin asked her to wait, called Jessica and Natasha respectively, and asked them to discuss the project with an investment of up to US$4 million.

Louise was a little curious when she heard Martin call, and pointed to the script on her desk.

Martin nodded slightly.

Louise opened it and read it, and after a while she said: "Horror and thriller type?" She was experienced, and it was not difficult to see the creator's style from the script: "That's not quite right, it's a bit literary, right? This is for movies. Festival?"

Martin put down the phone: "Assistant director Roberto Eggers' work, he wants to write and direct it himself."

"Robert Eggers?" Louise was deeply impressed by him: "An assistant director with outstanding work ability and great ideas."

She reminded: "The film should be shot according to the style of the script, so it is best to control the scale of investment."

"The production budget is up to $4 million," Martin said.

Louise pulled up a chair and sat across from him. Thinking of Martin's bet with Leonardo, she asked, "You won't be obsessed with winning awards in the future, right? The profitability of a company whose main business is running Oscars is worrying. "

Martin is very clear about this: "Before Harvey Weinstein entered the company, he actually encountered an economic crisis. The Weinstein Pictures was not very profitable, defaulted on debts from many banks, and the copyrights of many award-winning films were mortgaged."

In his previous life, there were several companies in Hollywood that specialized in competing for Oscars, not to mention Weinstein Pictures. Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures won many Oscars, but went bankrupt due to poor profits. Later, the rise of A24 seems to be winning Best Picture Oscars one after another, but in the end it is still looking to sell itself.

The two chatted for a while, and Martin thought of Ponyo, whom he remembered from "The Witch". There were two other works that impressed him most about Ponyo, one of which was "Split" in his previous life.

The other one is about chess. The Chinese title is translated as "Queen's Gambit", but the English title doesn't seem to be that. He can't remember exactly what it is.

Martin simply asked Louise: "I remember reading a report somewhere. During the Cold War, an American female chess player defeated the world champion of the former Soviet Union. It may also be a novel or documentary literature. I read it at that time, and now I think about it. It seems to have great potential for adaptation.”

Louise is a leftist, so she understood immediately when she heard: "Adapted into a drama with a female lead?"

Martin nodded: "A movie or TV series with a woman as the absolute protagonist is a woman who has made great achievements internationally."

Louise recalled: "I remember there was a similar script in Hollywood... Well, I saw it many years ago. Let me think about it carefully. It should have been in the 1990s. I don't know the details. "

The nineties? It's not a surprise to Martin. He himself has encountered many examples of similar scripts that have been circulated in Hollywood for more than ten or twenty years before being filmed and produced.

Louise picked up the phone and called her assistant to ask her to check the relevant content.

Martin also called Thomas and the studio.

Maybe it was too long ago, and by the time I got off work, there was still no reply.

Martin didn't care and asked people to continue looking for him later.

After all, there are so many scripts and purchased copyrights in Hollywood that it is normal to not be able to find them for a while.

The next day, Martin came to the studio where the "Split" crew was located.

The scenery is being set up here, and the set team is transforming the huge Studio No. 1 into an underground residence that will serve as the main scene of the movie in accordance with David Fincher's requirements.

There is also an iron cage among them.

David Fincher came out of the innermost cage and saw Martin standing in front of the cage and said, "There will be a person in there by then."

Martin said: "A beautiful woman?"

David Fincher won the Oscar for Best Director, and started cooperating with Netflix. Now his works are all in line with business: "Not only the box office, but also the figure must be good enough. He should not be over 20 years old, and it is best to be under 18." age."

Young and beautiful female characters are standard features in horror thrillers.

Martin reminded him: "Eighteen-year-old actresses with excellent acting skills are hard to find."

This supporting actress who is locked in a cage has the most roles besides the male protagonist, and her emotions are quite complicated, which requires a certain level of acting skills.

David Fincher said: "Most of the most spiritual female child stars in their teenage years will have mediocre acting skills by the time they are seventeen or eighteen years old, and their figures and looks are often not as good as expected..."

This is a common phenomenon in Hollywood, Martin responded: "Have a big audition."

David Fincher nodded: "Looking back, I asked people to advertise in the Screen Actors Guild and the media. The actor base in Los Angeles is large enough. As long as we are willing to give them a chance, it is not difficult to find the right actress."

Martin agreed: "Actors are easy to deal with." He said to Bruce, who was following him: "Call Thomas and ask WMA to recommend some people."

David Fincher glanced at his watch and said, "The people from Netflix should be arriving soon."

Martin walked towards the door of the studio: "The founder and chairman of Netflix are visiting. Let's go over and greet him."

The two came out of Studio 1. After waiting for a few minutes, a four-wheel electric vehicle drove over. Reed Hastings got out of the vehicle and quickly walked to Martin and David Fincher.

He smiled at David Fincher and nodded, then shook hands with Martin vigorously: "Long time no see Martin, you are now the leading superstar in Hollywood."

Martin smiled and replied: "I can only count one of them, but Netflix is ​​the well-deserved number one in the world in streaming media."

David Fincher invited Reed Hastings and his team to visit the studio.

The two parties walked around the studio and then went to the office area on the other side.

Reed Hastings sat in the reception room, glanced at Martin, and said: "I heard David talk about your new project, the role of multiple personalities, which means you have to play multiple roles in one movie. A different role.”

He deliberately made a joke: "The crew should pay you more."

David Fincher added: "Martin's studio is the largest investor in this project."

“I can give myself a few more paychecks,” Martin said.

Reed Hastings stopped joking and said seriously: "Netflix would like to bear some of your extra salary."

Martin said with a smile: "My studio's film distribution contract with Disney Pictures is signed until 2019, and I can no longer earn the salary from Netflix."

Reed Hastings is a man with ambitious goals: "We can talk about film cooperation again after 2019."

He thought: "You only signed a film distribution contract?"

Martin knows what he means: "Because I wasn't interested in TV series in the past."

Before the real rise of Netflix, few popular stars in Hollywood were willing to make TV series, even if the salary was high.

For example, in "House of Cards", the male protagonist is also the outdated Kevin Spacey.

Reed Hastings said: "Martin, if one day you are interested in a TV series and want to film and produce a TV series, Netflix is ​​always waiting for you."

Before Martin could speak, he specifically mentioned: "You are now among the top individual shareholders of Netflix, and Netflix's stock price is not stable..."

In addition to buying individual shares in recent years, Martin has also invested in Netflix's three financing and stock expansions, and holds nearly 5% of Netflix's shares.

Netflix’s current market capitalization is just over US$40 billion, and Martin’s investment in Netflix has increased nearly eightfold over the years.

When he first invested, Netflix's market value was only a few billion dollars.

Martin has recently been busy with the promotion of "Interstellar" and the post-production of "Shark Tank". He also has to prepare for multiple personality roles. He didn't pay much attention to the situation at Netflix and asked: "What happened?"

It was something that was obvious. Reed Hastings said directly: "In addition to the hugely successful "House of Cards", Netflix has also invested in an epic masterpiece."

When he heard about the epic movie, Martin had a bad feeling. Because of his past life, he has epic type syndrome.

In his eyes, epic poetry is about the same as death.

Director Ridley Scott definitely understands this.

Reed Hastings added: "Marco Polo's streaming service on Netflix this summer has a very poor reputation, and membership demand is not high. Netflix has invested US$100 million in this project, with an average of one episode produced. Funding is US$10 million.”

Regarding the value of the stock in his hand, Martin said directly: "I personally suggest that you avoid epic themes in the future."

Originally, Netflix's stock price had been soaring after "House of Cards", directly breaking through 40 billion US dollars. Once "Marco Polo" came out, the rising momentum of the stock price was not only interrupted, but also began to fall.

Reed Hastings said with heartache: "We will no longer engage in epic series. Netflix will no longer engage in epic series."

He looked at David Fincher: "When you finish the filming of this movie, come back as soon as possible to host the second season of "House of Cards"."

David Fincher nodded: "No problem."

Reed Hastings asked Martin again: "As a shareholder, do you have any suggestions?" He seemed to value Martin particularly: "The stock price of Netflix is ​​waiting for a savior."

Martin would not take such words seriously, but the rise in Netflix's stock price was also related to his vital interests. He thought for a while and said: "I have a creative intention here. For the time being... it has not been confirmed yet. I will wait for a while." Bar."

Reed-Hastings asked, "What type?"

Martin said: "Modern type, we can discuss it after I have a plan?"

Of course he would not tell Reed Hastings the relevant content, and the cooperation would also involve selling the finished film to Netflix.

Reed Hastings had full confidence in Martin and said: "You must inform me as soon as possible."

Martin responded casually: "No problem."

One of the purposes of Reed Hastings coming here today is to express his importance to David Finch and discuss cooperation intentions with Martin.

These went relatively smoothly.

The three of them had lunch together, and Reed-Hastings went to visit Davis' studio.

In the reception room, he looked at the poster of the "John Wick" series and asked Martin: "Last time I read the news, this series is preparing to expand into a broader universe. Have you considered a TV series?"

Martin knew that Chad had made relevant plans and said, "Netflix has sent a professional team here to talk to Director Chad Starsky."

"No problem." Reed Hastings felt that he had gained a lot.

The same is true for Martin. Netflix is ​​a good buyer. The cost of purchasing series premieres is far more than that of traditional TV stations.