Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 563: The Monkey King vs. Superman? (6K)

A bar in Los Angeles.

There was soothing music playing around, and Chen Linfeng looked at the two people opposite him.

Walter Hamada, and Alex as the middleman.

"We haven't seen each other for a long time, Chen."

Walter Hamada started by trying to get close to him, "Joker is a success beyond all of our expectations. You were right after all."

"Haha." Chen Linfeng smiled appropriately, "I finally lived up to everyone's expectations."

Walter Hamada also laughed twice, but he felt that the laughter on the other side was a little bit wrong.

After a brief greeting, he told the purpose of his visit today.

"Joker is now a huge success, and it's time to make great strides forward based on this. Chen, do you have any plans for the sequel to Joker?"

Chen Linfeng shook his head. "You know, I just thought of this story at first, and then I thought it was more consistent with the story of the Joker, so I came to you to seek the copyright."

"This is a complete story, and there are no plans for follow-up."

Walter Hamada heard this, glanced at Alex, and said nothing.

Alex said, "Chen, Joker is so successful now, and the ending of the movie didn't say there must be no sequel. I think we should be able to find a way to develop the subsequent story, right?"

Chen Linfeng shook his head. "That's not the case. Arthur has completely become a clown. If we continue to tell stories in a similar style, it will become completely cliché."

"If the story is told from the perspective of a regular Joker, describing a real villain, the audience will be disgusted from the bottom of their hearts. I won't make such a movie, and the box office won't be high."

Alex listened carefully to Chen's thoughts and said thoughtfully, "In other words, you think that Joker is not suitable for a sequel?"

"Yes," Chen Linfeng said, "but this is just my personal opinion. Maybe there are better screenwriters or directors who can come up with a suitable solution."

After listening to Chen's story, Walter Hamada felt disappointed.

how so.

Before coming, he had high expectations.

"Joker" has grossed over 12 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie so far this year.

For a movie like this, the sequel doesn't need much promotion, and naturally there will be many fans of the previous work who will be looking forward to it.

Especially since the script was written by Chen.

But now this greatest hope has been shattered.

The sequel will have a completely different effect whether Chen is named in it or not, there is no need to think about it.

Walter Hamada asked unwillingly, "Is there really no possibility to continue the story?"

Chen Linfeng shook his head, "Anyway, I have no other options."

"Well, then I can only do as you say and give up like this." After hesitating for a long time, Walter Hamada had no choice but to give up.

Chen Linfeng looked at him strangely.

There were traces of this person's involvement behind the previous "Joker", and it is possible that he was also the driving force behind the historic sequel.

I didn't expect that he would give up so decisively now.

Walter Hamada's thoughts at this time were simple. Since the best storyteller in Hollywood said so, he shouldn't think too much about it.

Authority has this kind of final effect.

After giving up the main purpose of today, he asked again, "Chen, do you think the new DC movie can incorporate the Joker you created into the new DC movie universe?"

Chen Linfeng asked curiously, "Can you invite Leonardo for a villain role?"

"And Leo doesn't seem to like acting in superhero movies."

This is true. Leonardo feels that superheroes are not challenging and will solidify the impression of actors.

This is quite scary for an actor.

Just like Robert Downey Jr., after playing Iron Man, when he acts in other movies, everyone will still think he is Iron Man.

Full of dissonance.

"Well, maybe changing an actor would work, right?"

Chen Linfeng spread his hands, "As long as you are happy."

"No, Chen, I want to use the Joker story you filmed as his origin story. Do you think that's appropriate?"

"I see. Then the Joker may be positioned more as a rebel against the rich, rather than a representative of chaos. He is just a fun guy."

"Yes, that's right, that's what I mean."

"That's fine. I think it's okay to change the style, as long as you design a good story."

"So how do you think the DC movie universe story should unfold?" Walter Hamada looked at Chen Linfeng with burning eyes.

This is what he had always wanted to ask.

DC movies have become increasingly inferior to Marvel movies.

In the past, DC's movies were far more famous than Marvel's. Superman and Batman were much more famous than many Marvel characters back then.

Every DC person wants to change this status quo and return to past glory.

Chen Linfeng said with a headache, "I don't know even if you ask me about this."

“No, you are the best screenwriter, you must have your own ideas.”

Chen wrote the story of "Joker" and inserted the story of Batman's childhood into it.

Hamada believed that Chen must have sufficient understanding of their DC story.

Looking at him like that, Chen Linfeng felt like he had committed a serious crime if he didn't say something.

He thought for a moment and said, "Superhero movies are nothing more than the process of creating villains, crises, and heroes saving the world. You have already done this, so there is no need for me to explain more."

"The only thing I can suggest is to suppress the scale of the story as much as possible and limit the location of the story to the Earth of a single universe."

"This……"

"You know what I mean. It's best not to touch things like the multiverse and timeline."

Chen Linfeng thought of the crappy thing called the Time Management Bureau that Marvel created after the first stage ended.

When the story becomes abstract concepts like timelines and multiverses, the audience's sense of immersion disappears.

Even if a timeline or a multiverse is destroyed, it doesn't feel real.

It is far less threatening than Thanos's snap of fingers, which brings a stronger sense of threat to people.

“Also, find a DC superhero other than Superman and Batman to start the story with.

Although these two are deeply rooted in people's hearts, they are no longer fresh to the audience. They are suitable as subsequent additions to consolidate fans, but not suitable for drawing people into the pit.

As long as you tell a good story at the beginning, success is not far away.”

Chen Linfeng said encouragingly, "This shouldn't be too difficult for you. Of course, Green Lantern should be a surprise."

Walter Hamada's eyes lit up. The two points the other party mentioned were things he had never thought of before.

As one of the leaders of DC, he successfully took over after the failure of the "Green Lantern" project.

Now within DC, his position is similar to that of Kevin Feige in Marvel.

After taking over the task of creating the DC movie universe, he was extremely anxious and didn't know how to unfold the subsequent story.

Chen is worthy of being Chen.

Walter Hamada looked into Chen Linfeng's eyes and said seriously, "Chen, why don't you help me build the entire DC system? Everything can be done according to your ideas."

"Like the two opinions just now, or other ideas, I'll listen to you."

"what do you think?"

I don't think so.

No, we just came out to chat. I saw that you drank a drink like me, so how come you are drunk?
Chen Linfeng was shocked. "Why is it that serious? I'm just an ordinary director and have never done anything like this. Why did you come to me?"

Alex was equally shocked. Before coming, Mr. Hamada had never said anything like this to him.

But after hearing Chen Linfeng's refusal, he couldn't help but complain, "Chen, how can what you do be considered an 'ordinary director'?"

"A genius like you doesn't need experience at all."

Huh? Why didn't I know that I didn't need experience?

Upon hearing this, Chen Linfeng wanted to argue with him.

"Alex is right," Hamada said, "Chen, you are a truly rare genius. I know and believe in your talent."

Do you know it clearly or do I know it clearly?

Chen Linfeng, "No, I'm not good at this, and my work is already full, I don't have time to do this."

This time he was not playing hard to get, but he really was not interested and did not have the time.

Moreover, Hamada said nice things and did everything according to his own ideas.

If this is true, then what is the use of Hamada? He might as well just abdicate and let him do the job.

Besides, it is unclear whether Hamada himself has this authority.

Warner is in a mess in this regard. The failure of the DC movie universe in the past had a lot to do with this organizational chaos.

In the final analysis, they are just treating him as a tool, maybe they just want to use him to increase their voice.

This little day is very bad.

Chen Linfeng guessed the other party's intention and refused decisively.

Hamada tried to persuade him for a while, but felt that it was no use, so he decided to try again after a while, and if that didn't work, he would try a third time.

Chinese people all like the plot of "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage", so it would not be a bad idea for him to learn from Liu Bei's actions.

On the other side, Chen Linfeng didn't know that the other party was trying to trick him.

But he has decided to release today's news to scare Disney.

See? Your partner is about to be snatched away again. Why don’t you pay more attention to it and get more resources?

Just as he expected.

Three days after the discussion in the bar, just after finishing filming in the afternoon, the executive producer of "Infinite World" Bruckheimer approached her.

"Chen, would you like to have a drink together sometime?"

"No, I don't drink."

"Um, I mean, let's find a place to talk?"

Not long after, the two sat down at a bar, along with Marvel's Kevin Feige.

Kevin Feige found him and indeed talked about Warner and DC.

"Chen, I heard that you want to join the DC camp and help them with strategies?"

"Huh? Who told you that?" Chen Linfeng pretended to be surprised.

"A friend told me. He works at Warner," Kevin Feige said vaguely.

Chen Linfeng was skeptical.

Didn’t he hear the news I released? Could it be that Warner really didn’t keep the secret?
Chen Linfeng thought about it and decided that in order to avoid being suspected, he asked Sister Mei to "casually" chat about the relevant topic with her friends yesterday.

Maybe it really isn’t that fast.

"Warner is really a bit of a failure. There are too many traitors inside," he thought.

"That's true, but I hadn't agreed to it at that time." Chen Linfeng deliberately emphasized the word "not yet".

Everything is possible, and the possibility of cooperation is not ruled out.

So tell me your conditions now.

Kevin Feige naturally understood what he meant, "Chen, DC is not suitable for you."

"Oh?" Chen Linfeng asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Warner's top brass is too divided. Their ideas about DC are not consistent, and everyone wants to follow their own set of ideas."

"But they have already changed their president this year, and the other two parties are out."

Chen Linfeng knew much more about the mess at Warner and DC than anyone else, but he was still very curious about what the other party would say.

"No, the core issue has not been resolved. Only two representatives have resigned. The two parties holding the same views are still there, especially Time Warner, which has many problems..."

As a former poacher, Kevin Feige knew a lot about Warner, and he kept explaining to Chen Linfeng about the unreliability of Warner.

Chen Linfeng didn't comment and just listened.

After Kevin Feige finished speaking, he began to argue, "But these are just speculations, aren't they? And if a director with enough authority joins, it may not be impossible to convince everyone."

"Blizzard and the World of Warcraft movie are similar examples."

This is true. After all, the film industry is all about people.

If there was someone with enough ability and prestige to sort it out, DC might really rise.

Kevin Feige couldn't help but remain silent. This was exactly the situation that he and the Disney executives were worried about.

Bruckheimer couldn't help but ask, "Chen, you already have the Warcraft project, do you still have the energy to take care of DC?"

"That's why I hesitated and didn't agree to it at that time."

Chen Linfeng has given me enough hints. I am still hesitating. Please give me some benefits so that I won’t agree.

The timing is actually very clever.

DC is considering a reboot after the failure of Green Lantern.

There have been fierce conflicts within the company, but they have just calmed down.

It looks like it's thriving.

Only Chen Linfeng knew that the new president was also a worthless person.

Until the 2020s, when he traveled through time, the DC movie universe was still a mess.

There is no sign of resurgence.

Kevin Feige didn't know this, so he was indeed a little worried. Chen joined DC and revived the entire project.

Marvel and DC have been sworn enemies for many years.

Moreover, for them, only when one company is the dominant power can they maximize their interests.

Chen Linfeng was still chatting with Bruckheimer. "Actually, I have also heard about the issues between DC and Warner that Mr. Feige mentioned, but which big company doesn't have these internal struggles?"

"But this is only temporary. Once you succeed, those different opinions will naturally follow the voice of success, and the opposing voices will disappear immediately, just like Marvel."

"No, you said success once is not enough."

"Then succeed more times."

“How can it be so easy to succeed?”

"Jerry, believe me, it's not that difficult."

"you……"

Kevin Feige was silent for a long time, listening to the conversation between Chen and Bruckheimer.

Hearing this, he finally couldn't help it.

Kevin Feige gritted his teeth and said, "Chen, what do you need to do to make me promise not to bother with DC's projects anymore?"

Chen Linfeng was cheered up, the void card making technique actually worked.

He smiled, leaned back on the sofa, and said comfortably, "I have some knowledge of Marvel's stories."

"I have always felt that the descriptions of China in many comic stories are not very good. They are neither Chinese nor interesting."

"So, what do you think about increasing the proportion of Chinese heroes and retelling the stories of Chinese heroes?"

"You want the Chinese part of the Marvel world?" Kevin Feige blurted out, "That's impossible."

"Why not?" Chen Linfeng said seriously, "Since you can't do it well, it's only right for me to help you."

“Just like Doctor Strange, he was taught by the Ancient One, and the Ancient One was a wizard from the Himalayas. The Himalayas do not have an important position in the Chinese mythology system.

In the eyes of Chinese audiences, this setting is actually very strange.”

“If I were to set the setting, even if the main story remained the same, I would set it in Kunlun Mountain and give Doctor Strange some magical powers.”

"The title of Supreme Mage can be changed to Holy Guangwu Great Accomplishment Supreme Heavenly Master, or simply Great Heavenly Master."

Chen Linfeng has always had the idea of ​​filming a Chinese mythology story and then releasing it worldwide.

But this approach can easily lead to boycott from Hollywood.

This does not change because of his status. In other words, the more successful he is in Hollywood, the less likely the major companies will let him get his wish.

He had tried this before, and the result was certain.

He was a little unwilling to just release it in the country.

Until 2025, China's excellent mythological films will still not be able to go abroad.

It’s not that we’re not good enough, but that we don’t have the channels.

But if we use Marvel's skin to tell the story of Chinese mythology, it should be much better.

Besides, if characters from Norse mythology can join the Avengers team, why can’t Chinese gods?

Do you still want to make money in China?

As the domestic market grew larger and the level of special effects reached a certain level, this idea in his mind became more intense.

Now that he had found the opportunity, Chen Linfeng finally said it out.

Kevin Feige's expression changed drastically.

I never expected that the other party would come up with such a suggestion.

His first reaction was that it was absolutely impossible.

The entire Marvel project belongs to him. If Chen joins in, who will he listen to?

This person's weight is a bit too big.

"Chen, your idea is good, but if you change the story like this, the comic book audience may not be satisfied."

"No, the movie is in the DCEU world, which is different from the story in the comics. In this world, there are two more heroes in the Avengers team, isn't it normal?"

Chen Linfeng smiled and said, "Logically, this does not exceed the setting of the story."

Kevin Feige felt very embarrassed and felt like he was shooting himself in the foot.

The argument that the story was changed in order to facilitate changes and give the audience a sense of freshness has now become the other party's excuse.

Chen Linfeng saw that he was reluctant.

So he kindly advised, "It's okay, don't feel embarrassed. If you don't want to, it's okay. I can go find Walter."

"He had promised me before that the entire DC universe could be developed according to my ideas. I think he should be able to accept this idea."

"It just so happens that there is a big problem in the Justice League, which is that the combat power of the superheroes is not matched."

"Superman is too strong and difficult to match. If I add a god like Sun Wukong, he and Superman can be roughly balanced. Even if he is slightly inferior, he can be balanced with Wonder Woman."

"Hey, if Superman temporarily turns evil for some reason and the two sides fight, wouldn't that be the basis for a movie?"

Chen Linfeng clapped his hands excitedly, as if he had come up with a good idea.

Looking so impatient, he might as well tell Walter Hamada about it.

Kevin Feige was shocked.

As the Chinese film market continues to improve, there have been discussions within Marvel about whether or not to introduce the setting of the Bureau of S.H.I.E.L.D.

By the way, he was familiar with some Chinese mythology.

It is well known that the popularity of the hero Sun Wukong in China is probably equivalent to the popularity and status of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and Iron Man in North America.

It's totally national level.

The story Chen just told sounded very interesting.

Regardless of how it performs in Europe and the United States, at least in East Asia, the box office will definitely be $2-3 million.

Plus the box office in Europe and the United States.

Popular mythological figures from the East and the West unite to fight Superman.

Fuck, he thinks North American audiences will love it.

If DC is really brought back to life, it would be a huge concern.

Kevin Feige was in a very difficult situation.

He was worried that Chen's entry into the Marvel project would affect his voice.

But he was also worried that Chen's advice to DC would lead to DC's resurgence and make it a powerful enemy.

This question is so difficult to solve, FXXK.

Bruckheimer, who was standing by, felt the dilemma in Kevin Feige's heart.

Because if he put himself in their shoes, he would feel embarrassed too.

Chen is now one of the top figures in Hollywood. His undefeated record is so terrifying that no one dares to underestimate him.

Seriously, even if there were no other factors, Chen said he wanted to join Marvel's project and offer some ideas.

I guess Disney’s top executives would be very excited.

No matter how successful Marvel is now, they want to be even more successful.

Moreover, in recent years, the only person who can compete head-on with Marvel every year is Chen himself.

Even if he is recruited, it would be of great significance if he could make fewer original films outside.

Although this is unlikely.

Because everyone knows that Chen has a lot of stories in his head, and it is a threat to write scripts for others and let his subordinates shoot them.

Just like the "Taken 2" which is still in theaters.

Seeing that Kevin Feige couldn't think of anything to say, Bruckheimer used the strategy of procrastination and said,
"I don't think this matter can be decided by just one of us here. Why don't we let Mr. Feige go back and discuss it with the Disney executives, especially Mr. Iger, and then we can talk about the follow-up."

"I have no opinion."

Chen Linfeng nodded and said, "My idea about this matter is that it's all right. I just want to design some stories related to China. I like Chinese myths.

Specifically, whether they appear in a Marvel movie or in the DC universe, for me, it doesn’t make a big difference.”

Kevin Feige looked grim.

He is threatening me, you see, he is threatening me!

(End of this chapter)