Martin Scorsese and Spielberg were two directors with very different styles.
In terms of the art of film, Martin Scorsese was purer than Spielberg, and Spielberg was one of the most successful commercial directors in Hollywood. In terms of earning money, he was far above Martin Scorsese.
Although the two had different styles, this did not prevent them from having a very good friendship in private. Therefore, the task of discussing with Martin Scorsese about taking over the US version of "Infernal Affairs" naturally fell on Spielberg's shoulders.
Spielberg deliberately waited until nightfall in Yun Province before calling Martin Scorsese. It was already morning on the other end of the line. Martin Scorsese was enjoying coffee and reading the newspaper at his home in Los Angeles when he suddenly received a call from Spielberg, which made him very surprised.
When he picked up the phone, Martin Scorsese asked with a smile, "Steven, it should be night time in Hua Xia now, right?"
"That's right." Spielberg laughed and said, "You should really come here to experience it when you have the chance. I shoot in the mountains. The natural scenery here is really great."
"Oh, come on …" Martin Scorsese joked, "I'm just an old man. I'd better not go to the mountains. I'm not as young as you."
Spielberg laughed and said, "We're only four years apart."
Martin Scorsese smiled and asked him, "You're calling me from half a world away. You don't just want to chat with me, do you?"
Spielberg said, "To tell you the truth, I'm calling because I want to cooperate with you on a project."
"Oh?" Martin Scorsese asked curiously, "Is it related to the movie?"
"Of course," Spielberg said. Spielberg said, "The boss of Muye Technology, Li Mu, bought the remake rights of 'Infernal Affairs' from Warner Bros. and wants you to direct it."
Martin Scorsese asked in surprise, "Li Mu? My God, is it the young man from Hua Xia, Li Mu, who has a net worth of hundreds of millions? "
"Yes, it's him." Spielberg laughed and said, "You should know that our cooperation with Li Mu is quite close. The movie I'm shooting now is also invested by Li Mu."
"I know, Flying Tigers!" Martin Scorsese said, "I heard someone say yesterday that Warner bought the remake rights of a Hong Kong movie for 1.75 million US dollars. Not long after, someone bought it back for double the price. That should be the 'Infernal Affairs' you mentioned, right?"
Spielberg smiled and said, "You're quite well-informed. Yes, this is the film. Li Mu wants to invest and distribute it together with DreamWorks. I wonder if you're interested?"
Martin Scorsese said, "To be honest, I'm very interested in working with someone like Li Mu, but I'm not very interested in remaking a movie. Besides, it's a remake of Hua Xia's movie. Their movie industry level is much worse than ours …"
Spielberg asked Martin Scorsese, "Martin, have you seen this movie?"
"Not yet."
"Then take a look first." Spielberg said, "Take some time to watch it first and get a feel for it. The theme of this movie is a police film, and the setting is very interesting. I believe you'll like it."
Martin Scorsese thought for a moment and said, "This … I'm actually preparing for a movie project. It's about Howard Hughes. If the preparations go well, we might start shooting next year. Maybe there's a time conflict?"
Spielberg said, "Martin, put Howard Hughes aside for now. You can shoot his story whenever you want, but the opportunity to work with Li Mu is right in front of you now. You should also know that working with Li Mu can give you a lot of powerful resources. This is an excellent opportunity. If you don't believe me, take a look at the Makino Ticketing System. DreamWorks Animation has a stake in the Makino Ticketing System in North America. These are all resources obtained from Li Mu after working with Li Mu."
Martin Scorsese suddenly fell into a dilemma. He had wanted to make a movie about Howard Hughes for a long time. During this time, he was in the early stage of preparing to put his theory into practice. If he took on Li Mu's movie at this time, there was no doubt that he would have to postpone the movie he wanted to shoot.
However, what Spielberg said was right. Li Mu had powerful resources. Even top billionaires like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates might not be able to match Li Mu's resources in the media and entertainment industry. If he could build a relationship with him, he would definitely get a lot of resources in return in the future, so this was definitely a rare opportunity.
However, Martin Scorsese still felt a little uncomfortable about remaking a Hong Kong movie, because he was worried that Li Mu, as a Hua Xia person and a rich Hua Xia person, was deliberately throwing money to prepare a movie project for Hua Xia's movie to enter Hollywood. If that was the case, then he would become a springboard for Hua Xia's movie to enter Hollywood. He was, after all, a super famous director in Hollywood. If he really destroyed his reputation and endorsed Hua Xia's movie, then he would inevitably be laughed at by Hollywood in the future …
Listening to Martin Scorsese on the other end of the phone, Spielberg probably knew what he was worried about, so he said, "Martin, I'm not advising you to agree now, but I hope you can put aside your prejudices and understand this cooperation project. At the very least, you should find a copy of 'Infernal Affairs' and watch this movie from beginning to end. Personally, I think this movie is very suitable for you to direct, and I believe that with your ability, you can create a new height for this movie, and through this movie, you can also create a new height for yourself. So you must watch it first, and after watching it, if you are really not interested, I won't force you."
Martin Scorsese thought about it. Since Spielberg had already said so, if he still hesitated, it would be inappropriate, so he agreed and said, "I will go find a copy today and watch it."
Spielberg said, "This movie has not been released on DVD in the United States, but several big film companies, including Warner Bros., should have copies from the Hong Kong film company. You can borrow it from them."
“OK。” Martin Scorsese said, "I will make a call later and watch this movie as soon as possible."
…
When Martin Scorsese got the copy, it was nine o 'clock at night in the United States.
He called a film company that had close cooperation with him to look for it, and the staff of the company searched the warehouse for a day before finding a copy of the Hong Kong version of "Infernal Affairs" in an inconspicuous corner.
Then, Martin Scorsese sent his assistant across the whole of Hollywood to get the copy from the other company, and then across the whole of Hollywood to deliver it to him.
It was the morning of the next day, Hua Xia time. Makino Image sent the DVD from Yanjing to Spielberg, and it was delivered to Spielberg in less than 24 hours after the express delivery by Taobao 9 Logistics.
Coincidentally, the weather was not good for the shooting today. Originally, they were supposed to shoot the exterior scenes of the pilots at the airfield, but in the end, it started drizzling in the early morning and showed no signs of stopping.
The entire crew was resting in a resting area near the filming location.
Seeing that the rain would not stop for a while, Spielberg said to the assistant director, Ning Hao, who was in charge of the shooting, "Ning, it seems that the shooting in the morning is over. Help me inform everyone that the staff is on standby, and the actors can go back to the hotel to rest."
Ning Hao nodded and hurriedly went to give the order.
Spielberg called Leonardo and Tom Hanks over and said to them, "If you have nothing else to do, why don't we go to my office to watch a movie?"
The film crew booked half of the county party committee guesthouse in this small mountainous county. The conditions were limited, but even so, a few rooms were freed up for the film crew to use as offices. The film crew held meetings and the director reviewed the film in the office. Spielberg also had his own independent office, which was fully equipped.
Leonardo and Tom Hanks did not know why Spielberg wanted them to go to his office to watch a movie, but they knew that with Spielberg's level of professionalism, it would definitely not be for leisure. It would definitely be related to work, so the two agreed without hesitation.
When Spielberg, Leonardo, and Tom Hanks arrived at the office, Martin Scorsese, who was far away in Hollywood, had just received the copy. He took the copy to the basement of his villa, where he had specially built a screening room. It was fully equipped with the projection and sound equipment of a high-end cinema. For a great director like him, watching a movie like this was the best way to get the best feeling.
However, Spielberg and the other two, who were in the guesthouse in the mountainous area of Yun Province, had much simpler conditions. They could only rely on a small professional monitor and a DVD player to watch the movie.
Martin Scorsese had never seen "Infernal Affairs" before. He did not even understand the movie. He had a common problem with many Hollywood directors and actors. He always felt that the world's best movies and filmmakers were in Hollywood, so he instinctively looked down on non-Hollywood movies and filmmakers.
Leonardo and Tom Hanks had not seen this movie either. When the DVD player played the opening of the Huan Ya movie, the two of them saw Hua Xia's words appear on the screen. They asked Spielberg in surprise, "This is a Hua Xia movie?"
Spielberg nodded and said, "That's right. Treat yourselves as the audience and watch this movie carefully. If you have any comments or thoughts, we'll talk after watching it."
The two of them nodded and agreed.
The opening of "Infernal Affairs" contained a lot of Buddhist elements. This made Martin Scorsese, who was in America, and Leonardo and Tom Hanks, who were in Hua Xia, not very interested. So at the beginning, the three of them were a little uninterested.
At the beginning, Ceng Zhiwei, who played the role of a mafia boss, appeared in the temple, which made the three of them feel even more disappointed.
Westerners were mostly Christians. Although they were not fanatical about religion, they were relatively firm in their beliefs. Moreover, Western culture had been exported to the East for a long time, so Easterners were already used to seeing churches, statues, and priests in European and American movies. They even knew a lot of details about Christianity. However, the export of Eastern culture to the West had always been weak. When Westerners saw Buddhist content in movies, they actually did not buy it, and even had some resistance.
But fortunately, the three of them were able to continue watching patiently.
And when Ceng Zhiwei said in front of the camera that he wished his underlings all the best in the police department, the three of them suddenly sat up straight.
The mafia actually sent people into the police system? That was a little interesting!
None of the three of them had expected that just as they felt a little interested, they would gradually be drawn to the movie. Just as Li Mu had previously analyzed to Li Ziwei, the core setting of "Infernal Affairs" was genius. It was something that none of the previous filmmakers had expected. "Infernal Affairs", which combined an A, B, and AB plot, was enough to make everyone's eyes light up!
After the first two to three minutes of boredom and conflict, the three of them were completely engrossed in the movie that lasted for nearly a hundred minutes! !!
When Chen Yongren, played by Liang Chaowei, was suddenly shot to death in the elevator, the three of them were completely shocked. They had never thought that a Chinese gangster movie could be so exciting!
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