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Chapter 648: 408: Be Prepared and Easily Solved
Chapter 648: 408: Be Prepared and Easily Solved
Chapter 648: Chapter 408: Be Prepared and Easily Solved
“Mr. Diaz, I’m over here.”
Harrison Clark shouted, raising his hand.
As James Diaz looked up, the gloom on his face quickly vanished.
The electric cart clumsily made a turn and headed towards Harrison.
“Mr. Clark, it’s been a few months since we last met, and I could hardly recognize you. When I first heard of you, you were an incredible musician. Just when I was considering how to invite you to create a theme song for my movie, you became an internet superhero. And when I was wondering how to get you to join my cast as an actor, you suddenly transformed into a scientist. I even suspect you might have one of those aliens from Men in Black controlling you,” James joked.
Harrison laughed, “Barry Sonnenfeld is a remarkable sci-fi director.”
“Yes, I admire him too. But I think I’m even better,” James winked.
It seemed the seemingly elegant and gentle James had a playful, American sense of humor.
Harrison gave a thumbs-up, “Absolutely.”
They chatted leisurely for a while.
Harrison was slightly disappointed.
It turned out that James had already finished shooting the main scenes for the day, and the actors had left the set to attend to their own matters.
The crew was dismantling the backdrop they had just finished filming and preparing to set up a new one.
Director James was taking some time off from his busy schedule to casually chat with Harrison.
No wonder he invited Harrison over; it must have been his downtime. From what Harrison had seen on the internet about James’s filming, there was no way he would slack off and entertain guests during work hours.
James was known for his near-obsessive attention to detail.
There were many legends in the film industry about Director James.
His output was scarce, but nearly every film became a classic, filled with various ingenious ideas, and both critically acclaimed and box-office hits.
He was also very passionate about utilizing new technology, so much so that even a documentary-style romance film he directed would incorporate a whole basket of new technologies and open a new chapter in film technology.
Another one of his masterpieces, Asuda, a classic produced eleven years ago, still boasted up-to-date special effects till today.
Its groundbreaking use of CG technology created a dreamlike visual experience, with precision and aesthetics that were considered the pinnacle at the time and remained relevant till 2020.
Asuda also ushered in the era of 3D movies, leading to a rapid revolution in global theater projection equipment.
Unknown to many, he was also a seemingly humble but in fact extremely controlling, jealous, and self-confident stubborn “madman.”
Of course, in Director James’s mind, Harrison might be considered even madder than him.
James was a heavyweight in the sci-fi field, while Harrison, at such a young age, had already become a heavyweight in the scientific world.
If one were to draw an equal sign between genius and madness, there was no doubt that Harrison would be the “maddest” person in the world.
As the two proceeded further, another secured door appeared before them. A middle-aged woman in a suit approached cautiously, “Mr. Diaz, according to our confidentiality requirements, we cannot allow unrelated personnel to see our set…uh…Dr. Clark? Welcome! Hello, I am the head producer of Soren Film Productions, my name is…”
Harrison smiled and casually greeted her, considering it enough as an introduction.
As his fame and influence grew, Harrison found he no longer needed help from others to show off.
Just by putting his face out there, he became a walking prop that immediately impressed others.
In the rest area on the second floor of the set, James brewed some Earl Grey tea for Harrison, which he had received from a Chinese actor while he himself took a steaming cup of caramel latte.
They quickly got to the main topic. James unlocked the fingerprint lock of the safe behind him, revealing a worn and significantly thicker printed copy of the English script for Across the Starry Sky.
One glance at the script and Harrison knew this man was a workaholic.
Despite still filming, James had managed to turn the script into this state in just two to three weeks. Surely he must have been working 48-hour days!
James opened the script.
Harrison caught a glimpse of various red and blue doodles on the pages and raised an eyebrow.
He thought to himself, with so many notes, this guy’s bad habits haven’t changed, and his control-freak nature was truly strong.
Then, the two began discussing the script.
James showed a definite interest in directing Across the Starry Sky and was even willing to seek investment himself.
Of course, Harrison wouldn’t agree.
He laid out his conditions.
He would handle the investment without any help, and he would offer James and his team the highest single-film directing fee in history. However, the usual box office net profit sharing that most Hollywood directors cared about was off the table.
It wasn’t that Harrison was stingy.
He knew very well the terrifying box office results that Across the Starry Sky would achieve: $6 billion.
With a net profit of between $20 and $25 billion, he would be paying too much if he followed the industry standard for profit-sharing.
If he offered the 1% he had in mind, it would indeed amount to over $20 million, which was generous. However, others might not recognize this and might feel insulted by the offer, causing negotiations to stall.
It would be better to add the 20 million directly to the fixed expenses, making both parties happy.
Director James was satisfied with Harrison’s offer, but that was not the focus of their conversation.
Although he admired Harrison’s script, he still wanted to add many of his own ideas and was unwilling to follow the script completely.
How could Harrison agree to this?
Wasn’t this making trouble?
The script had already been thoroughly refined, able to withstand the test of time.
The box office had soared to 6 billion, what more did he want?
Could it possibly reach 10 billion after the changes?
There should be some basic laws to boasting.
James was a director with a strong desire for control, and Harrison was even more of an investor and chief screenwriter who wanted everything under his control.
He didn’t want to change a single word or detail.
Despite Director James’ insistence with written notes, Harrison was unyielding.
At times, Harrison thought James’ suggestions made sense, but recalling the final product in his mind, he couldn’t agree.
How should it be put?
Some segments might seem better once changed in a certain time frame of the movie, but stretched throughout the entire film’s pacing, it might not be an improvement.
Some things that were considered flaws at the time, in numerous later analyses by film critics, miraculously turned into virtues that contributed to the movie’s success.
A good film, like music, is a true art filled with variables, that cannot be pursued in isolation but should be considered holistically.
Also, a significant part of James’ opinions came from considerations of the current special effects technology.
He believed that the current computer rendering capabilities would not be enough to create the scenes Harrison described in his script, no matter how much the investment was expanded.
Since it couldn’t be done, he wanted to change the script and compromise the plot to accommodate the level of special effects.
James himself was not someone who would easily compromise, but having been in the film industry for longer, he had more experience, and was not as “idealistic” as Harrison.
Harrison’s continued refusal, often unreasonable and impolite, threatened to derail the negotiations.
James sighed and seemed regretful, shaking his head with a bitter smile, “Mr. Clark, it seems that we should have gotten to know each other better before discussing this partnership. I understand your persistence, and I respect your choices, but if you continue to be unyielding, unfortunately our collaboration may not happen.”
He was genuinely regretful.
At the same time, he had no disrespect for Harrison.
It was just that years of experience in the industry told him that if a producer approached a film with such an attitude, work would be impossible to carry out.
Harrison was not surprised by this.
When he decided that controlling everything was key to making his movie, he knew it would be difficult to win over top-tier directors with real talent.
It seemed as if the negotiations were on the verge of collapse.
But it was still within his control.
Harrison knew how to hook the other party.
“Mr. Diaz, don’t rush to make a decision,” Harrison smiled, “I know your biggest regret about Asuda.”
James was surprised by the sudden shift in topic but didn’t deny, “Many people know I was dissatisfied with the 3D effects. Limited by technology and budget, I couldn’t create the beautifully extended scenic visuals I wanted.”
Harrison nodded, “You must have thought that there would be a chance to achieve that in ten years, right?”
“Yes. However, it’s been ten years now, and although our computer capabilities have improved. The performance of professional graphics rendering cards has increased tens of times, but it seems it’s still not enough. I’m already 66 years old, and I worry I won’t live to see the day.”
Looking at James’ sudden shift from excitement to listlessness, Harrison smiled, “I can assure you.”
“Hmm?”
“Because I’m going to make it happen.”
“Ah?”
“Mr. Diaz, let me share a secret with you. Besides writing The Madman’s Conjectures Collection and inventing New Materials, I also dabble in electronic computer hardware. However, my real expertise is in artificial intelligence programming. I will develop a rendering engine core with self-taming ability and powerful autonomous learning capabilities. The visuals you pursue will become a reality within four years at most. I will show you what the special effects engine of the next movie era will look like.”
James thought he heard wrong, “You mean you’re going to advance the entire industry’s special effects level?”
“Yes, just like I pushed other industries, it’s not difficult. Do you think I can’t do it? In addition to personally writing the program kernel, I also plan to invest 500 million US dollars within two years to build my own Starlight Studio. At the latest, in two months, you will see the preliminary engine, and I will try to take on some special effects rendering projects at that time. Of course, I can guarantee that the special effects level of Across the Starry Sky will be at least five times higher than the current standard.”
“Are you joking?”
“Do I look like I would joke? Or are you doubting my ability, Mr. Diaz?”
James: “I’ve read The Madman’s Conjectures Collection and discussed it with friends in the scientific community.”
“Oh?”
“So I know you always deliver.”
“Yes.”
Watching James’ eyes gradually brighten, Harrison slowly smiled.
It was a done deal.
Coming prepared made things this easy.