America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 758 751 I Object to Martin Playing the Male Lead

In the afternoon, Denis Villeneuve visited Davis Studio.

The Canadian director had signed with "Prince of Thieves" two months earlier and had been preparing for the shoot with Graham King since then.

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"Preparations are going smoothly; Graham has already led a team to Boston," said Villeneuve. His main purpose for visiting Martin today was not to report back on the progress of the crew: "Have you scheduled everything on your side? Martin, I need a definite timetable so I can plan the shoot according to your availability."

Martin asked directly, "Based on the preparations, when will the shooting start?"

Villeneuve replied, "Under normal circumstances, we would start in June. The shooting could last from 45 to 60 days because we need to shoot a lot of street scenes, which introduces some uncertainty."

For June, July, and August, Martin had planned to reserve these three months for Nolan's project, as per the original plan.

However, "Interstellar" was having serious issues. Multiple major companies had joined forces to invest in the project, and far from making things easier, they kept squabbling, which slowed down the preparation process significantly.

Warner Bros., in particular, was furious with Jon Berg because of Nolan's lawsuit.

This president, often hailed as a genius, was not opposed to teaching Nolan a lesson.

After some thought, Martin said, "I have no issues with the schedule on my side. You can plan the shooting based on that timeframe. It would be best to schedule my scenes earlier on."

Villeneuve confirmed, "I will work out the shooting plans as soon as possible and forward them to the studio."

He prepared to take his leave. Before leaving, he made a special point to remind, "Martin, especially with gun use, particularly the AK series firearms..."

Martin reassured him, "I have set times for practice every week."

Villeneuve found working with an actor like Martin truly relieved a lot of stress.

After sorting out the schedule with Martin, Villeneuve immediately took his leave as he still had to attend casting auditions in the next few days.

The leading actress was almost decided upon. Martin had personally recommended someone to join the cast: Alexandra Daddario from New York would play the lead female role, and even the supporting female role was cast.

Since this was a Davis Studio production, Martin had the most say in casting decisions.

The auditions that Villeneuve was attending were mainly for the male supporting actors.

In his office, Martin called Nolan to inquire about the progress of "The Martian."

"I'm fed up with these projects involving multiple major producers and scattered copyrights," Nolan complained on the phone. "Problems keep cropping up, and every time they arise, the project has to hit the pause button."

Martin asked, "So the issue is still with Warner Bros.?"

Nolan said, "I'm sick of Warner Bros.' Jon Berg and his bullshit team. They always have lots of creative ideas. Jon Berg, in particular, wants to bring his production experiences from 'Jack the Giant Slayer' into my crew."

This news was so shocking that even Martin was taken aback.

The Warner Bros. Team, they won't even let Nolan be?

At this point, Nolan couldn't hold back and let out an expletive: "I'll fucking quit as the director if he dares to do that—I'll fuck his whole family."

Martin asked, "Jack the Giant Slayer won't be released for a while yet; Jon Berg is already impatient to promote his success?"

Nolan composed himself, "He believes the movie will surely succeed."

Martin understood that this Warner Bros. president wanted to capture the essence of multiple cutting-edge versions and create a miracle.

Nolan mentioned, "Spielberg is taking the lead, and a meeting among the producers will be called soon. I expect we'll have results shortly."

"Chris, you go ahead," Martin said, ending the call.

......

Warner Bros. Studios established the "Interstellar" studio at the start of the year.

But the project's preparations were progressing slowly.

Initially, Director Nolan was busy with the final production of "The Dark Knight Rises" and had no time for anything else.

Subsequently, the Nolans joined the team, and Warner Bros. kept coming up with one genius idea after another, overwhelming everyone involved.

Jon Berg, the president of Warner Bros., obviously wanted to take control of the project.

Feeling extremely confident in his own abilities, Berg, since taking office, had undertaken medium-to-large investment projects such as "Gods of Egypt" and "Dark Places," most of which failed miserably.

It was only on a few smaller investment projects that they made any profit.

As a producer and one of the investors, Spielberg, who was also the initiator of the project, convened this coordination meeting.

The project involved huge investments, and the production company had high hopes. The heads of Paramount, DreamWorks, and Warner Bros. were all present, a testament to Spielberg's influence.

Also attending the meeting were the Nolans.

"We must have the final cut rights; this was agreed upon when the director's contract was signed," Emma Thomas said emphatically, as Nolan had significant clout.

She crossed her arms on the conference table and looked towards Jon Berg across from her, "This is a blockbuster with a production budget of $180 million, not an experimental film!"

Jon Berg could tell that the comment was directed at him and instinctively wanted to respond.

Nolan spoke up before anyone else, "If you don't trust me, I can resign from the director's position."

Bob from Paramount quickly intervened, "I have always believed that you are the most suitable director."

Spielberg, who appeared to be amiable, spoke up, "It's best to leave the filming and production to the professionals."

"Fine, Chris can have the final cut rights," Jon Berg conceded, but his stance hardened, "However, I disagree with the choice of Martin Davis for the lead actor."

Nolan argued assertively, "Martin's acting skills, image, and market appeal are all top-notch in Hollywood. He's the most suitable lead actor."

Jon Berg reminded, "Don't forget that his acting fee is also the highest in the industry! A 20+20 deal will drain our profits, and is the choice of lead actor really crucial for this film?"

Bob took a neutral stance on this issue; Martin Davis was a suitable choice, but not indispensable.

Paramount had created a series of classic commercial successes through its collaborations with superstars but had also experienced the frustration of half the profits going to one.

Indeed, he was thinking about Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible series.

Paramount had once become a mere worker for superstars.

Spielberg, with a fondness for teaming up with big-name stars in blockbuster films, said, "The draw of a superstar can bring immense publicity and advertising value, especially a superstar like Martin, who has enormous market appeal."

Though Jon Berg was objecting for the sake of it, he had prepared plenty of reasons and excuses, "Have you forgotten which film won Martin Davis the Oscar for Best Actor? It was also a space film, and he played an astronaut! Playing similar roles in two consecutive films..."

"The lead character isn't an astronaut first and foremost, he's a father!" Nolan cut off Jon Berg's words, "Moreover, this film won't be released until at least 2014. By then, Martin will have several films out, so the so-called overlap in roles is a non-issue."

Jon Berg's face soured upon being interrupted, "But it still carries a huge risk. With a production budget of $180 million, why are we still discussing pre-production issues? Because we must eliminate as much risk as possible!"

He was also prepared: "If you insist on casting a superstar for the lead role, I think Tom Cruise is more suitable. At least he has a daughter; he has built a family and understands how to be a father and shoulder family responsibilities!"

Even Spielberg found these arguments sensible, for the film's theme wasn't about space at all.

Nor was it about exploring black holes or the mysteries of time and space.

All these were just the surface; inside was the same Hollywood mainstream movie formula unchanged for over twenty years.

Spielberg spoke plainly, "Tommy is also very suitable."

Hearing Tom Cruise's name made Bob uncomfortable. Although Paramount had just collaborated with Tom Cruise on Mission: Impossible 4, it insisted on including the character Brandt against popular opinion, with plans to replace Cruise with the more compliant and less popular Jeremy Renner.

But the plan didn't work. The audience still only recognized Tom Cruise and Ethan Hunt, and Paramount had no choice but to continue working with Cruise, however reluctantly.

This didn't mean Paramount wanted to collaborate with Tom Cruise on other big productions.

Sumner Redstone, the true head of Paramount, had personally disparaged Cruise a few years earlier. If not for Cruise's resilience, he would have been crushed.

Bob immediately objected, "I think Tommy isn't suitable. His understanding of family and father-daughter relations is distorted due to the Church of Scientology. This not only can't help him shape the character but will become a hindrance."

Spielberg, older and more tempered, acted as a mediator, "How about this: we invite Martin and Tommy for a screen test for the role."

"I disagree," said Nolan, opposing it outright. He had never worked with Tom Cruise but knew that Cruise could be difficult on set.

Martin had worked with him back to back, and they had developed a mutual understanding, often conveying what to perform and how to shoot with just a glance.

Nolan looked at Spielberg, "Steven, when we signed the director's contract, I said that having Martin play the lead was a precondition for me to direct this project, and you agreed at the time!"

Jon Berg declared, "I oppose casting Martin Davis. If he's the lead actor, Warner Bros. will pull out of the project."

Since Warner Bros. was one of the copyright holders, their withdrawal would mean a halt to the project.

Spielberg, who chaired the meeting, was at his wits' end. In the midst of it all, he also suggested that DreamWorks acquire the rights held by Warner, but Jon Berg rejected the idea.

In the end, the meeting concluded without reaching a consensus.