"As a fan of MGM, I went to the cinema yesterday to watch chronicle. It's hard to imagine that it was made for only $15 million. It's excellent in all aspects and worth watching."
"chronicle is not so much a sci-fi movie as it is an educational film reflecting the psychological problems of teenagers. Although it doesn't preach directly, it does a great job in this regard."
"Neill Blomkamp is indeed someone cultivated by Eric Cooper. The film's direction, lighting, storyboarding, and other aspects are all very mature, completely lacking the rawness of a new director."
"The film delicately portrays the transformation of Andrew's thoughts and journey, which deeply touched me. The found-footage style brought a strong sense of realistic impact. It's excellent!"
"Oh my god! After watching chronicle, I was terrified by Dane DeHaan, who played the male lead. He delivered astonishing acting."
"Where on earth did the director discover this actor? Such acting from a newcomer! I was completely shocked by his desperate roar."
"chronicle is a very profound film about family relationships. I'm going to recommend it to my friends."
"I didn't watch chronicle, but I watched the conjuring 2. As a sequel, it didn't disappoint; the movie is still excellent."
"James Wan once again did an outstanding job directing. the conjuring 2 further upgraded its scary elements. Even if you're a seasoned veteran, you'll definitely feel your heart racing."
"Please, James Wan, don't put all your energy into the conjuring. Go back and direct saw. The third installment is already showing obvious fatigue. If there's no new creativity, I can't imagine what the plot of the fourth movie will become."
"I agree. James Wan isn't even credited as a producer for the fourth one. I predict it will be a bad movie."
Undoubtedly, both chronicle and the conjuring 2 were embraced by the market.
Especially since there hadn't been any new releases for two months, MGM's fans poured their enthusiasm into these two films.
While not exactly rave reviews, they were certainly excellent works.
As commercial films, both achieved IMDb scores above 7, guaranteeing quality and reputation.
Good word-of-mouth was reflected in the box office, and with the release of the weekly box office numbers, the potential of the two films could be roughly determined.
the conjuring 2, without any suspense, took the championship. James Wan's golden reputation, coupled with over 3,500 cinemas.
The summer season is also the hottest period, and multiple factors combined allowed the film to rake in over $58 million at the box office.
chronicle had fewer opening cinemas, with only over 2,600.
As a low-budget work by a newcomer, if it weren't for Eric's influence and MGM's reputation, having 1,000 cinemas in its opening week would have been a blessing.
Fortunately, the film performed well, breaking the $40 million mark in box office, securing the runner-up position with $42.77 million.
The success of both films once again proved to the market that the old master is still the old master!
Current MGM is indeed the undisputed number one in the world.
Among them, chronicle, due to a change in director, was not only more profound than the original.
The ending of the film was also adapted, and the male protagonist, Andrew, was not completely killed by his cousin.
His cousin thought he had killed him and turned to flee.
He then reawakened during the police's transportation of the body, broke free, flew into the sky, and has been missing ever since.
This was naturally to lay the groundwork for a sequel.
In fact, there's still a lot to explore in this movie, such as the strange stone that gave the trio superpowers.
It was buried by the government, which might imply that the government was also paying attention and secretly researching it.
For example, after the male lead and his cousin were exposed, would the superhumans secretly researched by the government take action?
As long as they wanted to film it, even a shallow sequel could rake in money. At least, it would be better to extract the remaining value before abandoning this IP.
However, the original version was shelved because director Josh Trank later went on to direct Fantastic Four 2015, and messed it up.
Not only did he mess it up, but his personality and temper were also problematic. He had a big falling out with Fox, which led to him being disliked by the entire industry.
Coupled with other reasons, the project was put on hold and never brought up again.
Frankly, Eric quite liked this movie, and a sequel would be good.
"Well done, Neil, you've delivered an excellent answer sheet," Eric praised over the phone.
"Hehe... I'm still improving faster by learning from you, Director."
"Stop buttering me up. Where did you find this male lead? His acting is really good."
"Are you referring to Dane DeHaan?"
"Yes, him, Dane DeHaan."
"He's a newcomer who just started this year. Although he's already 19, he previously only performed in small stage plays and hadn't been exposed to the big screen."
"With $15 million, I couldn't afford to spend lavishly, so I could only use newcomers."
"And then this kid came to audition. You know what? He didn't even have an agent. God knows where he got the news."
"But you liked him!"
"Yes, boss, I liked him at first sight! His appearance is very suitable for such a sorrowful role, especially his fierce eyes, which are so much like a child who has been suppressed for a long time."
"So after the interview, I decided he was the one. By the way, why don't you guess what his salary is?"
"$20,000?"
Eric offered the going rate, which, though small, was the rule in Hollywood.
A newcomer with no experience, even if he's the lead, can only get this price.
If you're a newcomer and a supporting actor, congratulations, cut it in half again.
You might have to spend half a year in the crew, including pre-training and filming.
What if my living expenses aren't enough?
Hehe, that's your own problem.
Too little?
Many people beg for this opportunity. Even if it doesn't lead to instant fame, as long as it's passable, the next film's salary will start at at least $100,000. Big productions will be more generous, and two or three hundred thousand is normal.
"No, it actually only cost $10,000. His salary as the male lead was the lowest among all the actors, even less than extras who worked a few more days."
"You're going too far! Be careful the union doesn't come looking for trouble and make the company clean up your mess!" Eric couldn't help but curse, listening to Neil's eerie laughter.
"Don't worry, boss, Dane not only didn't have an agent, he wasn't even in a union. He might be now, but when he signed the contract, he was a complete novice."
"Besides, what could I do? You only approved so little money. If I didn't economize, I wouldn't have been able to film the big final battle."
"You little rascal are blaming me for your mistakes! 95% of directors never even get a three to five million dollar investment in their entire lives."
"Fortunately, you did a good job, so I can approve a bit more budget for your next project."
"Are you planning a sequel to chronicle, or do you have new ideas?"
"I haven't decided yet. At least let me rest for three months first," Neil replied after a moment of hesitation.
"Alright then, put work aside for now. Contact Kevin Feige from Marvel and give him Dane DeHaan's contact information."
"What? Wait, boss, are you saying this kid is about to hit the jackpot?"
"Hmm, there's a role that suits him quite well. I want him to try out for it."
"Which role?"
"Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin."
Since an agreement has been reached with Sony to jointly develop the Spider-Man copyright, MGM will not be polite.
You have the first generation Tobey Maguire, and I'll make the Amazing second generation Andrew Garfield version.
Dane DeHaan played the young Green Goblin Harry in the Andrew Garfield version, and he received good reviews, though overall not as excellent as the James Franco version.
But this isn't an actor problem, it's a script problem.
The young Green Goblin only appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, portrayed as Peter's childhood friend, but there was little narration of their friendship.
Instead, a clumsy reason was given: he had been out of the country.
Without any foreshadowing, after a few minutes of simple plot, the two best friends actually broke up.
The reason for their breakup was that Harry was dying from a family genetic disease and hoped to use Spider-Man's blood to treat himself, but Peter refused.
Come on, that's your best friend, your brother you grew up with. You're just going to let him die? Are you still Spider-Man?
Although there are risks, trying is always better than just waiting to die.
Anyway, the entire script was written by a brain-dead person, and it even made Harry kill Gwen. You can't imagine how Sony executives made that decision.
And it's well-known in the industry that Sony's original desired ending for the movie wasn't Peter realizing his responsibility and getting back on his feet.
Instead, he would meet Mary Jane, then forget about Gwen's death, and find love again with Mary Jane.
Yes, Sony planned to introduce Mary Jane at the end to be the female lead of the third movie.
One can imagine, if it were filmed this way, Peter Parker would definitely be cursed by the audience as a complete scumbag.
And why was there no third The Amazing Spider-Man movie? Do you really think it was because of the box office?
In fact, the second movie alone brought Sony over $200 million in gross profit from the box office. The reason for not making a third movie was that its reputation was ruined.
So, it can't be filmed like that!
In Eric's vision, Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man definitely needs to be integrated into the Marvel Universe, otherwise, such a popular character as Spider-Man would be wasted.
But he can't be Iron Man's son; that would be too demeaning and would lower Spider-Man's prestige.
Even though we are poor, we have integrity!
So how to integrate it? The answer lies with the Green Goblin father and son.
Oscorp is an industrial giant that can contend with Stark Industries, but one focuses on energy and military, while the other is on biopharmaceuticals.
Don't be fooled by the movies; Norman Osborn's power is actually very strong, and the resources he can mobilize are vast.
Given that the original Avengers 2: Age of Ultron was so bad, Eric definitely wouldn't use it.
It's better to directly adopt the Dark Reign timeline as the main plot of Avengers 2.
The Dark Reign storyline, with some adaptation, is very suitable for a movie.
The comic tells of The Avengers losing official trust, Norman Osborn taking advantage of the opportunity to rise to power, and assembling a group of villains to form the Dark Avengers.
Then, to maintain his authority, he began to aggressively crack down on opposing forces and eliminate dissidents.
Including X-Men, the official Avengers, Asgard, and Molecule Man Owen, all were attacked by the Dark Avengers.
Of course, filmed as a two-hour-plus movie, it definitely can't involve all of these, and many characters must be cut.
For example, Sentinels and Molecule Man shouldn't appear. Many people consider the Ancient One to be the strongest hero, but in front of them, he would only be the youngest of the young.
If Earth has experts of this level, would Thanos dare to come?
The conflict still needs to revolve around the Dark Avengers, X-Men, and the official Avengers, culminating in a big final battle.
The heroic Spider-Man once again defeats the Green Goblin—perfect!
This way, popular characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man can be integrated into the Marvel Universe, and a wonderful story can be told.
If the script is polished well, it will definitely be much better than the rubbish Age of Ultron.
Time flew to the end of June, and the summer box office was in full swing.
With its impressive performance in the first week, chronicle's screening scope instantly expanded to over 3,600 cinemas.
After a month of intense competition, it has already grossed $127 million at the North American box office, an absolute blockbuster.
Dane DeHaan also became famous in one fell swoop, becoming a hot young actor.
Privately, he had already accepted the invitation for the young Green Goblin. His salary certainly couldn't be $10,000 anymore.
Instead, it increased 150 times to $1.5 million, which was a fair deal, and he signed a contract for four movies.
In contrast, Andrew Garfield, as a newcomer to the big screen, despite being the new Spider-Man, only received a paltry $50,000.
This was also because he had appeared in a small supporting role in a TV series; otherwise, it would have started at $20,000.
the conjuring 2 performed even better, grossing $153 million in North America.
It has also been released in some countries, achieving impressive results, with a cumulative global total of $239 million.
James Wan, that man, he's always so reliable, everyone who uses him praises him!
Dragon Ball also completely wrapped up. Eric wasn't present in the middle, so some shots were reshot, otherwise, it should have been finished last month.
As a movie that follows the manga, the editing difficulty was extremely low.
He only handled it for one day and then handed it over to the assistant editor. Unless their brain was as abnormal as Sony's, it was impossible to mess up the editing.
136 Boulevard.
In the living room, the sounds of intimacy were constantly singing a symphony.
Little Liu was lying on the round table, and Eric was attacking her body with the tactics of Jin Ke prick Qin Wang.
As for Old Liu, he was naturally sent away by Little Liu, who said she found a concert for him to enjoy.
"No, I can't, I can't, Eric, why do I feel like you're lasting longer and longer?"
"That's natural. Did you think my trip to Huaxia was for nothing? I exercise every day now, otherwise, how could I handle you?"
"Phew, I don't need you to worry about me. Every time, you haven't even finished, and I'm already done. Do you have other intentions?"
"How dare you doubt me!"
Eric glanced at the phone next to him, then slapped her butt.
Feeling the accelerating rhythm, she widened her eyes and opened her mouth forcefully: "I am coming! I am coming!"
Crack!
Ah!
Just as she threw her head back, the door suddenly opened, and Old Liu walked in.
The loud, clear sound reached her ears, and she stared dumbfounded at the scene.
In her mind was the message Eric had sent her.
"Something urgent, come back quickly!"