Chapter 41 43. Things about filming a movie (asking for monthly tickets and rewards)

In the new week, several newspapers indeed released photos of Gal Gadot, some of which were her solo photos, and some were photos of her walking with Eric.

The title is: "Girlfriend or heroine?", and the accompanying text has completely exposed Gal Gadot's resume. One has to admire the efficiency of these paparazzi.

Eric estimated that paparazzi would be stalking her in a few days, so he reminded her and told her to adapt to the life of a celebrity in advance.

In MGM, in Charlie Cooper's office, several people were gathered for a small meeting.

"Eric, how's the script going?"

"I finalized the outline more than a month ago, and the first draft was delivered to me last week. I received some comments and am currently polishing it."

Charlie Cooper nodded. "Then speed up the process. I am communicating with the Ministry of Defense. I estimate that there will be news within this week, but we must also be prepared and come up with some bargaining chips to impress the military."

"Money is only one aspect, but it is not the most important. After all, an F22 is more expensive than the total investment of our movie, so we need a killer weapon that can attract the military."

Everyone started discussing it, but it was no exaggeration to say that the US military in 2002 was invincible. After discussing for a long time, everyone's attention was finally focused on Eric.

You have to propose solutions for the requests you have made.

Eric pondered for a moment: "There are two most powerful weapons in this world, one is money, the other is public opinion."

"If you can't make a fuss about money, then you can only make a fuss about public opinion. I want to ask everyone a question. Although 9/11 has been over for a year, do you think the impact of this incident has ended?"

Bordeaux shook his head instantly: "I don't think so. No, definitely not. Before 9/11, we always thought we lived in the safest country."

"But after 9/11, no American thought that anyone could attack us, even directly on our homeland. Even young people like me felt panic at times."

Volvo feels the same way: "Young people are fine, but middle-aged and elderly people like me feel it most deeply. If you observe carefully, you will find that the gap between people seems to have widened. This is a manifestation of inner influence."

"Also, the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan has been going on for a year, but the effect is not good. We have not caught Ben Laden. The EU is supporting us, and many countries are supporting us, but it seems to have turned into a tug-of-war there. People call it the graveyard of empires!"

"That's right. The impact of 9/11 is not so easy to eliminate, and the public has begun to question the military. This is our breakthrough point. We need to win over public opinion." Eric said firmly.

"Tell the Department of Defense that Transformers will show the positive image of the U.S. military to the greatest extent possible, and there will be enough shots and enough time."

"There won't be any issues that damage the image of the military. The film will highlight their heroic fighting skills and their spirit of sacrifice, and the audience will applaud them after watching it."

"Also, there will definitely be a scene in the movie where planes crash into buildings, similar to 9/11, but we will eventually win, and the military will play a key role in the process."

"In a word, this is a movie, but it is also a military propaganda film, and it is a propaganda film that will be shown all over the world."

After listening to Eric's idea, the others agreed without hesitation. This approach was simply perfect.

Charlie Cooper also smiled and said, "Eric's idea is very good, let's execute it. Another thing is the choice of special effects company. Currently, Industrial Light & Magic and Weta Digital have both given quotes."

"Industrial Light & Magic quoted $60,000 per second, and Weta Digital quoted $70,000 per second. We needed to make a choice."

Before anyone else could express their opinions, Eric had already made his decision: "Choose Weta Digital, there is no doubt about it."

Production manager Julio frowned, "But Industrial Light & Magic's price is lower. Transformers involves too many special effects shots, and the final film may have more than a thousand."

"Even if each shot is calculated at 3 seconds, the budget will still be over budget. I am worried whether $100 million can meet the needs of these Autobots."

The first thing the producer has to consider is the cost. Eric understands him, but as it is MGM's first blockbuster and also the first film he will direct, he demands perfection.

Almost everyone in the film and television industry knows that although Industrial Light & Magic is more famous and has been established longer, if we simply compare the technical levels, Weta Digital, which came later, is better.

The reason is very simple. Weta Digital is a company founded by Peter Jackson. As a great director from New Zealand, the New Zealand government strongly supports his company.

I don’t know how much subsidies there are every year. It’s all because of “The Lord of the Rings” that boosted New Zealand’s tourism industry.

Relying on generous government subsidies, Weta Digital offers the highest salary packages in the industry.

It gradually attracted a large number of special effects talents, and even employees of Industrial Light and Magic frequently changed jobs. George Lucas even complained about this.

Moreover, the wealthy Weta Digital not only poached people, but also had better equipment than Industrial Light & Magic. It is said that their rendering farm is more than twice as large as that of Industrial Light & Magic. However, this should be a joke and not that exaggerated.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Anyway, in today's special effects industry, Industrial Light & Magic has been on a downward trend, while Weta Digital has been on the rise, so it's obvious who to choose.

Eric said: "Julio, I know you are worried, but special effects are the soul of Transformers."

"What plot, what male and female protagonists, those are secondary. What the audience wants to see is a bunch of steel robots fighting each other."

"You can save money on other things, but you can't save money on this. You even have to pay more. I hope you understand."

Julio wanted to say something else, but his father interrupted him: "I also prefer Weta Digital. If we don't do it, we'll do it the best. This is our first big movie, and I want it to be a success. I will ask Peter Jackson to give me a friendly price if possible."

Then he looked at the marketing department and asked, "How is the contact with the enterprise?"

"Boss, we have already communicated with GM, Ford, and Chrysler. All three parties are very interested. This is a better opportunity to showcase ourselves than Fast and Furious or 007."

"As long as the special effects are done, I guarantee that when I show it to them, they will compete to send their cars to me."

"In addition, businesses of motor oil, lubricants, tires, glasses, mobile phones, home appliances, etc. are also being contacted and will give you the results as soon as possible."

"Okay, then everyone keep up the good work. I hope the crew can start filming normally within two months!"

(End of this chapter)