"Martin?!"
Spielberg exclaimed when he heard the name. He smiled and said, "To be honest, he is the most suitable director for this movie in my opinion!" “
After saying that, Spielberg added, "Martin's style is more realistic, and his tone is more cold. His overall style is very suitable for the movie 'Infernal Affairs', and he will definitely be able to portray the image and conflict between the police and the mafia in America in a very American way. I believe that if Martin were to direct it, this movie would definitely be even more successful. I believe that Martin himself will also be very interested in this movie. This content is very suitable for him.
Li Mu nodded. As a big shot director in Hollywood, Spielberg must be very familiar with his peers in Hollywood, and he must be able to see things more clearly than Li Mu. Since he was so optimistic about Martin and believed that Martin would be interested in the script of this movie, this matter was basically settled.
So Li Mu asked him, "Steven, I will arrange for someone to send you a DVD today. When you are resting, ask Leonardo and Tom to watch this movie together. Don't tell them what I want to do first. Let them watch it first, get a feel for it, and ask them what they think of the movie. Then let me know."
Spielberg asked in surprise, "Why, you want them to act in this movie?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "I really can't hide anything from you."
Then, Li Mu said frankly, "That's right, I do want them to act in this movie. Leonardo will play the undercover police, and Tom will play his boss. They will be partners."
"Understood." Spielberg thought for a moment and said, "I think it's good. Leonardo is suitable for such a relatively complicated role. As for Tom, he can play whatever role you want him to play. This guy is practically the best actor on this planet!"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to help me see if they are interested in this movie. If they are, I will talk to them."
"Okay." Spielberg nodded slightly and asked, "What about the other main actors? Do you have a rough idea? Especially the one who acted opposite Leonardo. "
Li Mu said, "Matt Damon, what do you think?"
Spielberg thought for a moment and said seriously, "Matt is a good actor. I have worked with him in 'Saving Private Ryan' a long time ago. But Li Zong, to be honest, I don't think Matt is very suitable for this role."
Li Mu asked curiously, "Oh? Why do you say that? "
Spielberg said, "I have seen the Hong Kong version of 'Infernal Affairs'. I think that if you want to remake this movie in Hollywood, no matter how much you change it, the background of the story can't be changed. For example, the undercover police officer was originally a bright, handsome, and promising young man. But because he accepted the undercover mission, he became depressed and unkempt. This is the big contrast of this character, and Leonardo can portray this contrast very well.
"But the dirty policeman who provides intelligence to the underworld, he should have been a self-deprecating, hooligan. But after he succeeds in the police world, he has to become bright, beautiful, and always maintain a perfect image in front of others. If you are not prepared for this setting, then the image and temperament of the actor must be very high. Matt is indeed a good actor, but … to be honest, he is not that handsome, and being a hooligan … to be honest, I don't think that's his strength."
Speaking up to this point, Spielberg said seriously, "Li Zong, in addition to in-depth understanding of the actor's acting skills, personality, and character, in fact, a lot of times, you have to be more superficial. Look at his appearance, the temperament he visually shows to others. Like Matt, he is very good, so I chose him to play the role of Ryan in 'Saving Private Ryan'. But James Cameron would never choose him to play the male lead in 'Titanic' ten thousand times. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Hmm …" Li Mu frowned, thinking about Spielberg's words, and fell into silence.
When he watched "Infernal Affairs" in his previous life, Li Mu did not notice this problem. He just felt that although the framework of the two films was generally the same, they were given their own unique cultural characteristics. When Hua Xia's audience watched the original version of "Infernal Affairs," they would more or less feel that the American version of "Infernal Affairs" had no content. But when Americans watched the Hong Kong version of "Infernal Affairs," they would feel that there were too many twists and turns, and the way it spoke was somewhat genteel, pretending to be deep, and lacked passion.
However, Li Mu was relatively objective. He felt that both films were excellent films, and based on different cultural perspectives, there was no need to compare who was better or worse. Just like in the plot of Cheng Long's "A Tale of Two Dragons," even if they were twin brothers, if one grew up in a Western culture, and the other was thrown into the streets of Hong Kong to struggle, the two would have completely different personalities. You couldn't always say that the one who grew up in the West who could play the piano was definitely better than the one who grew up in the streets of Hong Kong.
But now, after Spielberg's words, Li Mu really felt that Matt Damon in the American version of "Infernal Affairs" did not quite match the portrayal of this character.
In the Hong Kong version, when the two were young, one was Chen Guanxi, and the other was Yu Wenle. Both of them were very good-looking. After a few years of undercover work in the underworld, Yu Wenle had tempered into the decadent Liang Chaowei. There was no need to film how Liang Chaowei had been living undercover for a few years, but the transition of this image and temperament showed how hard it had been for Liang Chaowei during those years of undercover work.
As for the handsome and slightly ruffian Chen Guanxi, after a few years, he had become the equally handsome, sunny, well-dressed Liu Dehua. It was enough to show how well he had been doing in the police field in the past few years. The good guys were down and out, while the bad guys were cool and unrestrained. This contrast could not be said to not be strong.
However, Matt Damon really could not be considered a handsome guy. So, in terms of image and temperament, a person like him was basically not suitable to play the role of a successful person in the upper class. So, if he were to play the role of Liu Dehua in "Infernal Affairs", it would more or less be lacking in image and temperament.
What Spielberg meant was that Li Mu needed to find a character like Liu Dehua, who was handsome, successful, and nice. Only in this way could Li Mu play out the contrast between the character before and after, as well as the sharp contrast between the character and Leonardo's character.
Just think about it, if Liu Dehua in the Hong Kong version of "Infernal Affairs" was replaced by Cheng Long, it would indeed not be quite right …
After Spielberg pointed out this layer, Li Mu immediately gave up on the plan of using Matt Damon. However, he could not think of a suitable actor in such a short time.
So, he said, "Why don't we contact Martin Scorsese first? If he takes on this movie, let him choose the role. What do you think?"
Spielberg immediately said, "Li Zong, based on my understanding of Martin, he will definitely take on this movie, and he will definitely let Leonardo play the male lead. This coincides with your point. But, to be honest, Martin's taste in choosing actors is not very good, so I suggest that you don't let him choose the core role."
Li Mu nodded. "I understand, we have to choose a handsome one."
After saying that, Li Mu asked him, "What do you think of Brad Pitt?"
Spielberg laughed and said, "He is very handsome, but he is not suitable to wear a suit and tie and play the role of a young and successful person."
Li Mu thought about it and felt that his brother's unkempt appearance was indeed not very suitable.
Johnny Depp was also quite handsome, but it was also not suitable.
Tom Cruise? Forget it, he was the one who suppressed him, so he would not use him in any of the movies he participated in.
Keanu Reeves? This big brother was handsome, but he was already 39 years old this year. He was obviously not the same age as Leonardo. Also, this big brother always gave people the feeling that he was full of righteousness, so it was easy for him to play the role of a bad guy …
Li Mu thought for a long time but could not think of a suitable candidate, so he smacked his lips and asked Spielberg, "Steven, about this role, do you have any good suggestions?"
Spielberg thought for a while and asked Li Mu, "Have you seen Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor?"
"Yes."
Spielberg laughed and said, "Then you should know the actor who has worked with him a lot, Ben Affleck, right?"
"Ben Affleck?" Li Mu searched for an impression of this actor and suddenly felt enlightened.
"You mean, let Ben Affleck and Leonardo act together?"
"Yes." Spielberg laughed and said, "Ben Affleck, his acting skills are OK, and his image and temperament are OK. In a suit and tie, he can definitely play the role of a successful young man, and he can also control his evil side. Also, he is about the same age as Leonardo, so it should be very suitable for him to act together with Leonardo."
Li Mu nodded in agreement and said, "Then put him as the first choice. When the time comes, we can ask him to come over and audition."
“OK。” Spielberg laughed and said, "Next, let DreamWorks contact Martin. We have a very good personal relationship, so if he has no problems, then try to let him form the production team. After all, directors like to work with production teams that work closely with each other. As for the other actors, we can discuss it when the time comes. The most important thing now is to first confirm Martin's intention, then start to adapt the script. We hope to remake this movie and get good results in Hollywood and the North American market, so the adaptation of the script is very important."
"That's right." Li Mu very much agreed and said, "The script is very important. After Martin agrees to cooperate, I will communicate with the original team of 'Infernal Affairs' and let them participate as appropriate."
After that, Li Mu said to Spielberg, "Steven, when the time comes, I will trouble you to produce this movie."
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