Back in Los Angeles, Simon has to take care of the entire Daenerys Entertainment film business, but Hollywood's attention is still firmly locked by "Batman Begins" and the upcoming DC movie universe plan.

From January 19th to January 25th, "Batman Begins" was released in its fifth week. The film collected another US$31.63 million with a 23% box office drop, and the cumulative box office reached US$303.36 million, officially surpassing "Supernatural".

"Six Senses" became the annual box office champion last year.

In the words of some media, the profit brought by just one movie "Batman Begins" to Daenerys Entertainment is equivalent to the annual film business income of most Hollywood studios.

This is basically true.

Other studios can only be jealous of the crazy profits of "Batman Begins", but Warner Bros. Pictures can get a share of the follow-up plans.

Therefore, in the days since Simon returned to Los Angeles, Warner Bros. Pictures CEO Terry Semel, who hopes to advance follow-up plans as soon as possible, has been in contact with Simon almost every day, either by phone or directly coming to Santa Monica.

Some detailed negotiations between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner regarding the subsequent cooperation plan of the DC movie universe have also begun to accelerate amid this urgency.

Santa Monica.

The time is Friday, January 26th.

After seeing a piece of news in the "Hollywood Reporter" this morning, Terry Semel came here early this morning.

Some details of the DC movie universe plan are still being negotiated. However, due to Simon's full preparation in advance, the second Batman movie "Batman Begins" in addition to Adam Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Tommy

In addition to Lee Jones and other regular actors, even the actor who will play the villain Two-Face in the second film has been decided in advance. Now, the only problem is the director.

As long as this problem is resolved, the film can start shooting in the middle of this year and be released in the summer next year.

Since Simon confirmed that he will no longer serve as the director of the second part, many people in Hollywood have tried it out, including many first-line directors who hope to take over. Warner will participate in half of the investment in the second part. For its own benefit, it also asked Simon

Some candidates were recommended.

However, the director Simon confirmed surprised those in the know.

Jane de Bont.

If it were Simon's time and space, many people would immediately think of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" when hearing this name.

However, Jane de Bont is still just a photographer.

Although she made her debut in the 1960s and has shot more than 20 films so far, Jane de Bont has never served as a director.

Following the successful experience of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in memory, selecting suitable candidates from new directors to direct DC Cinematic Universe projects was Simon's plan from the beginning, and he did identify many potential stocks, such as Jane de Bont.

one of them.

In the original time and space, "Speed", which launched Jane de Bont into the ranks of first-line directors, was actually the first film he directed after changing his career as a director. The second film "Tornado" directed by de Bont was also the same

It was a global hit, which proved that Jane de Bont had the potential to directly switch to directing.

Compared with other new directors who have only two or three directed works, Jane de Bont has accumulated more experience in more than 20 consecutive works since her debut in the 1960s. Moreover, as a 'new director', Daenerys Entertainment

It would also be easier to negotiate a long-term package contract with Jane de Bont.

However, after Simon returned to Los Angeles last week to formally inform Warner of his decision, he immediately encountered opposition.

From Warner's point of view, Simon's appointment of a cinematographer who has not even directed a single film as the director of "The Dark Knight" is completely random.

The two sides were still negotiating privately, but Terry Semel did not expect that the "Hollywood Reporter" would suddenly publish the news.

Perhaps, many people are now curious about who Jane de Bont is?

After Daenerys Entertainment reported it, Warner investigated the details of Jane de Bont. Although this photographer has participated in the shooting of well-known movies such as "Die Hard", he has not even been nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

I have never received one. How can such a person serve as the director of a heavyweight film that two Hollywood studios have high hopes for?

Upon arriving at the Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters in Santa Monica, Terry Semel was told that Simon was not here. After asking, Semel hurried to the Daenerys Special Effects Headquarters in a nearby block.

As expected, Simon is here, and so is Jane de Bont, who has become the focus of many people's attention. Several people are gathering around a computer to watch something.

Speaking of which, Jane de Bont has certainly collaborated with Warner Bros. over the years since she debuted, such as the most recent one, "Who's That Girl," which won Madonna the Razzie Worst Actress two years ago.

As soon as Terry Semel said hello to Simon, Jane de Bont's mobile phone rang.

The 'new director' is obviously very busy today.

After saying sorry to everyone, Jane de Bont left to answer the phone.

Simon waited for De Bont to leave, and before Semmel could speak, he said: "Daenerys Entertainment has signed a three-film contract with Bont. Terry, this matter is non-negotiable."

Terry Semel looked like he was being choked. He paused for a moment and then said helplessly: "So, Simon, when the film is shot in the second half of the year, will you follow up the whole process?"

"Of course, Terry, I value the DC movie universe plan more than you do, so I also hope you can trust my judgment." Simon said, then turned to Semel and explained: "Also, Terry, Mark

·Silves, you should have seen it. In addition, this is Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell. They will serve as assistant directors on "The Dark Knight" together, and then they will direct "Superman" separately.

and Wonder Woman.”

Roland Emmerich, this name hardly needs much introduction. From "Day Alone" to "2012", Emmerich can be called the godfather of Hollywood disaster movies.

Speaking of which, Roland Emmerich is actually German. In 1984, Emmerich produced his first science fiction film "Noah's Ark Rules" and quickly became famous in the German film industry. He just recently tried

Entering Hollywood fell into Simon's hands.

Although Roland Emmerich in the original space and time began to decline after 2000, and there were failures such as the 1998 version of "Godzilla", the 34-year-old Emmerich is in the prime of his creative career.

age.

Moreover, although Emmerich's most famous films are a series of disaster films, he actually started out directing science fiction films, and his recent films starting with "Noah's Ark" are all science fiction films.

Simon has generally seen Emmerich's works in recent years. The director's increasingly scattered multi-line narrative style has not yet been determined. After a little polishing, it is still very suitable for him to direct "Superman".

As for Martin Campbell, this director has already made his debut in the 1970s and has rich experience in film and television production, but he has never created a blockbuster film.

Martin Campbell's famous work in the original time and space is "007: GoldenEye". He later directed another classic "007: Casino Royale". Both films were very successful. This is why Simon chose the other party as the character of "Magic".

Reasons for the director of "The Heroine".

"GoldenEye" and "Casino Royale" both proved Martin Campbell's ability to control big scenes, which is something "Wonder Woman" needs very much.

In addition, Martin Campbell is actually the director of the 2011 "Green Lantern" that failed miserably at the box office.

In Simon's memory, Ryan Reynolds' version of "Green Lantern" burned through a budget of US$200 million, and the global box office was only a little over US$200 million. As a result, Warner suffered huge losses and once delayed the development plan of the DC movie universe.

However, the failure of "Green Lantern", like many subsequent DC projects, does not lie with the director, but is the result of Warner's rush to launch the project without even finalizing the script in order to compete with Marvel. In addition to the lack of preparation for the plot in the early stage,

Apart from the mess, the film's technical details such as special effects and soundtrack are actually excellent.

And, ultimately, Simon is the one behind the plans for the DC Cinematic Universe.

The choice of Jane de Bont, Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell as directors, in addition to their own strengths, is also mainly because this can ensure Simon's absolute control over the series of projects. Just like Marvel

Like the movie universe plan, Simon will not give these directors too much free rein.

Therefore, although with the current momentum of the DC movie universe, Simon can definitely afford to hire first-line directors, but in order to fully implement his own will, he does not intend to do so.

After Simon's introduction, Jane de Bont also came back after making the phone call.

Everyone gathered in front of the computer again.

Only then did Terry Semel discover that what Simon and others were watching were new features recently developed in the Maya special effects software that had been integrated by Daenerys Special Effects Studio, which could simulate special effects such as the explosion and collapse of physical buildings.

Seeing a building shattered on a small computer screen, Terry Semel temporarily put aside his curiosity about Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell and asked Mark Silvers, President of the Special Effects Studio

Dao: "Can this be realized on the big screen?"

Mark Silvers nodded and said: "Some technical details of the synthesis of CG images and real people are still being perfected. By this time next year, there will be no problem."

Terry Semel understands why Mark Silvers said that.

The planned DC movie universe project will have a window period this year.

Starting next year, big screen works will be released at the rate of two movies per year.

Projects already confirmed for 1991 are "The Dark Knight" and "The Flash."

The projects in 1992 were "Wonder Woman" and the rebooted "Superman". The technology developed by Daenerys' special effects will probably be used in "Superman" or "Wonder Woman".

At this time, Simon said to the staff in front of the computer: "By the way, let's show Terry the special effects of The Flash."

The staff nodded and quickly produced a set of experimental shots.

Terry Semel immediately cheered up.

On the computer screen, a staff member participating in the test was running in a room, with looming electric lights wrapped around his body, and a faint sound of thunder could be heard from the speakers that were turned on.

A total of five heroes have been confirmed to participate in the first phase of the DC Cinematic Universe plan, namely Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Cyborg.

These five were chosen mainly because of the limitations of special effects technology in this era.

"Aquaman" and "Green Lantern" simply cannot be produced with current special effects technology.

In comparison, "The Flash" and "Cyborg" are easier.

In order to reflect the speed of the Flash, the production of the "Flash" movie mainly requires the use of high-speed photography technology. This technology has already appeared in the 1950s, although at this stage it is far from reaching the high-speed shooting of 3,000 frames per second many years later.

, but the existing technology plus CG special effects are enough to achieve a level of special effects that far exceeds the 50 cents in the previous stage of the "Superman" series.

As for "Cyborg", the shooting method will generally be a combination of model special effects and CG special effects.

In this regard, the liquid metal robot in "Terminator 2" and Schwarzenegger's robot endoskeleton in the original space and time are good references. Such technology can be realized in 1991. Simon believes that after two to three years of technical research,

It can achieve very outstanding steel frame special effects on the big screen.

In order to perfect the technical details of the special effects as much as possible, compared to the three superheroes "Wonder Woman", "Superman" and "The Flash" that have been launched in the past two years, the production of "Cyborg" will be relatively late, roughly
To be continued...