America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 929 - 867 Epic Equals Death_2

Chapter 929: Chapter 867 Epic Equals Death_2

Chapter 929: Chapter 867 Epic Equals Death_2

In the Nineties? Martin wasn’t surprised, as he had encountered many similar scripts that circulated around Hollywood for ten to twenty years before finally being produced.

Louise picked up the phone and called her assistant, asking her to look up the relevant information.

Martin also called Thomas and the studio.

Perhaps because the script was so old, they hadn’t received a reply by the time they left work.

Martin didn’t mind and instructed his staff to continue the search.

After all, Hollywood had too many scripts and purchased rights, so it was normal to not find something right away.

The next day, Martin arrived at the “Split” film set in the studio.

They were setting up the scene, and the set design team was transforming the huge Studio One into the basement residence that served as the main setting of the movie.

There was also a cage.

David Finch emerged from the deepest part of the set and seeing Martin standing in front of the cage, said, “There will be a person locked in here.”

Martin asked, “A beautiful woman?”

Having won the Oscar for Best Director and started a collaboration with Netflix, Finch’s work was now fully commercially driven, “Not just box office, her physique also needs to be good, and she mustn’t be over 20, ideally eighteen.”

Young and beautiful female roles were standard in horror thrillers.

Martin reminded him, “It’s hard to find an eighteen-year-old actress with outstanding acting skills.”

The female supporting role locked in the cage had the second most screen time after the male lead, and her emotional range was quite complex, requiring a certain level of acting skill.

David Finch said, “Those child actresses in their teens, by the time they reach seventeen or eighteen, most of them end up with mediocre acting skills, and their figures and looks often leave much to be desired…”

It was a common phenomenon in Hollywood, and Martin added, “Let’s hold a widespread audition.”

David Finch nodded, “I’ll have my people put up ads in the actors’ guild and the media. The base of actors in Los Angeles is large enough; as long as we are willing to provide the opportunity, finding the right actress shouldn’t be difficult.”

Martin agreed, “The actor issue is easy to solve.” He told Bruce who came along, “Call Thomas and have WMA recommend some people.”

David glanced at his wristwatch, “Netflix’s people should be arriving soon.”

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Martin walked towards the entrance of the studio, “The founder and chairman of Netflix are visiting. Let’s go meet them.”

The two exited Studio One and after a few minutes, a four-wheel electric car drove up, and Reed Hastings got out quickly approaching Martin and David Finch.

He nodded with a smile at David and then gave Martin a firm handshake, “Long time no see, Martin. You’re now Hollywood’s leading superstar.”

Martin responded with a smile, “I’m just one of them, but Netflix is undeniably the world’s number one in streaming.”

David Finch invited Reed Hastings and his group to tour the studio.

After touring the studio, they proceeded to the office area nearby.

Sitting in the reception room, Reed Hastings looked at Martin and said, “I’ve heard from David about your new project, a character with multiple personalities, which means you need to play several different roles in one film.”

He joked, “The crew should pay you multiple salaries for that.”

David Finch joined in, “Martin’s studio is the biggest investor in this project.”

Martin added, “I could pay myself a few extra salaries.”

Reed Hastings turned serious, “Netflix would like to handle your additional salaries.”

Martin said with a laugh, “My studio has a movie distribution contract with Disney Studios that lasts until 2019. I won’t be able to earn Netflix’s salary.”

Reed Hastings was a man with ambitious goals, “After 2019, we can talk about a movie collaboration again.”

He pondered, “You only signed a movie distribution contract?”

Martin understood his meaning, “Because in the past, I wasn’t interested in television series.”

Before Netflix truly rose to prominence, few of Hollywood’s top stars were willing to act in television series, even for high salaries.

For example, in “House of Cards,” the lead actor was the has-been Kevin Spacey.

Reed Hastings said, “Martin, if one day you become interested in television series and want to produce one, Netflix is always ready for you.”

Without waiting for Martin to speak, he specifically mentioned, “You are now one of the top individual shareholders at Netflix, and currently, Netflix’s stock price is not very stable…”

Over the past few years, Martin had not only bought scattered shares but had also invested in Netflix’s three financing expansions, holding nearly five percent of Netflix’s shares.

Currently, Netflix’s market value had just surpassed 40 billion US Dollars, and Martin’s investments in Netflix over the years had overall almost increased eightfold.

When he initially invested, Netflix’s market value was only a few billion US Dollars.

Martin, recently busy with the promotion of “Interstellar” and post-production of “Shark Beach,” had to prepare for multiple personality roles and hadn’t paid much attention to the situation at Netflix, asked, “What happened?”

It was just some issues out in the open, and Reed Hastings said directly, “Aside from the hugely successful ‘House of Cards,’ Netflix also invested in an epic production.”

Hearing about the epic production, Martin had a bad feeling because, due to past life connections, he had a syndrome related to epic genres.

In his eyes, epic almost equated to demise.

Director Ridley Scott would certainly relate to this.

Reed Hastings further stated, “‘Marco Polo,’ which aired this summer on Netflix streaming, has poor reviews and low member demand. Netflix invested 100 million US Dollars into this project, with an average production cost of 10 million US Dollars per episode.”

With the value of his shares at stake, Martin directly suggested, “I personally recommend avoiding epic genres in the future.”

Originally, after “House of Cards,” Netflix’s stock value had been soaring, breaking through 40 billion US Dollars. With the release of “Marco Polo,” not only was the upward momentum halted, but it also began to decline.

Reed Hastings, deeply hurt, stated, “No more epics, Netflix will no longer handle epic series.”

He looked at David Fincher, “When you finish the production of this movie, come back early to oversee ‘House of Cards’ Season Two.”

David Fincher nodded, “No problem.”

Reed Hastings then asked Martin, “As a shareholder, do you have any suggestions?” He looked quite considerate of Martin’s opinion, “Netflix’s stock price is waiting for a savior.”

Martin wouldn’t take these words seriously, but the rise in Netflix’s stock price also related to his personal interests. After thinking a moment, he said, “I have a creative idea here, it’s not yet finalized… Let’s wait a little while.”

Reed Hastings inquired, “What genre?”

Martin responded, “Modern type, let’s discuss it once I have something more concrete, shall we?”

Of course, he wouldn’t disclose the details to Reed Hastings. The collaboration would just involve selling the finished series to Netflix.

Yet Reed Hastings was very confident in Martin, saying, “Be sure to notify me as soon as possible.”

Martin casually replied, “No problem.”

One of Reed Hastings’s purposes today was to express his consideration for David Fincher and discuss cooperative intentions with Martin.

These were going quite smoothly.

After sharing lunch together at noon, Reed Hastings especially went to visit Davis Studio.

In the lounge, looking at the “John Wick” series posters, he asked Martin, “I saw in the news last time, this series is planning to expand into a broader universe, have you considered a television series?”

Martin knew Chad had plans related to this and said, “Netflix can send a professional team here to talk with Director Chad Stahelski.”

“No problem,” Reed Hastings felt greatly rewarded.

Martin felt the same way, Netflix was a good buyer; their fees for buying the premiere of a series were far above what traditional television stations offered.