Chapter 217 - Fat Face Jon

The early morning sunlight in Los Angeles always carried a hint of lethargy in it, shining warmly on people and straight away making them sleepy. John, the janitor of the underground parking lot of MGM's headquarters, just sat in his position and dozed off, but his head had just been tilted to the side, and before the harangue in his mouth had a chance to droop down, he was awakened by the sound of a crisp horn.

A cool black supercar with streamlined luster was stopped by the parking lot entrance drop bar, John yawned and poked his head out of the post, then was stunned by the luxurious sports car in front of him.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously to make sure that he was not dreaming, the black supercar in front of him is indeed the legendary Bugatti Veyron 16.4, and the car also looks a little familiar, but John has just been woken up, his head is still a little dazed, and for a moment actually did not think about it.

The window of the black supercar slowly fell, the face revealed inside made John's heart steeply raised.

"Mr. Felix...why you?"

Lin Mingyang, who was sitting inside the car, smiled at him in a friendly manner. The other party had a look on his face that was clearly not awake, if it was usual it would probably leave Lin Ming Yang with a bad impression of sneaking off to sleep at work, but at this time he sympathized with the other party a little, it seemed that he wasn't the only one who had been woken up early in the morning.

"Hey man, is the parking space inside full?"

John sniffed and tapped his head, hastily retracting it before raising the drop bar. As he drove in, Lin Ming Yang nodded at him, the faint smile on his face more or less soothing the other party's apprehensive mood somewhat. Although this was only Lin Mingyang's subconscious action, and there was no special meaning in it, it still put John at ease quite a bit.

Lin Mingyang at this time can not have the heart to speculate on what a small person will think, after finding a vacant space to stop the car, he wanted to go directly to his office through the underground parking lot staff elevator, but this elevator needs identity card verification, Lin Mingyang body has nothing with him, can only be at the elevator door cursed a foul language.

Just as he was looking at the elevator and preparing to find another passage, a voice suddenly sounded behind him, "Mr. Felix?"

Lin Ming Yang turned around and found that it was Ecks' assistant, Cord, who was holding the car keys and a piece of information, apparently just coming back from outside.

Discovering that the man at the elevator door with a big grin wearing pajama slippers was really his boss's boss, Cord froze there, half speechless, Lin Ming Yang running to the company in these clothes, this is also too "weird" right!

Lin Ming Yang subconsciously looked towards himself, and then realized why Cord was staring at him with such a strange look, he shrugged and explained: "Ecks woke me up from bed, he told me to get here within ten minutes, saying that an important person would be coming over, and I didn't have a chance to change in a hurry... "

He touched his chin with some embarrassment, "And didn't even shave...can you get this elevator?"

"Sure!" Returning to his senses, Cord hastily nodded his head, and Lin Ming Yang sidestepped away, allowing him to scratch his work card on the detector, and the elevator doors automatically opened.

The elevator sent the two directly to the top floor of the executive office area, Lin Mingyang so "flaunted" wearing pajamas, stepping on slippers from the front of the crowd drifted past, every place will attract surprised stares. Lin Mingyang himself does not care, but followed him behind the Koder is like the back, until into the office of the Eckers, Koder this long breath of relief.

Ecks was busy reviewing a piece of information on the computer, without lifting his head, he said, "You're on time this time, but our guest will have to wait for half an hour before he comes over."

"How did you know it was me coming?" Lin Ming Yang asked curiously, from the moment he came in he was staring at Ecks, but the other party didn't even look up at him.

"Only a guy like you would walk in with a big grin without knocking..." after finishing the work at hand, Ecks froze as soon as he looked up, "Why did you come here in this outfit?"

Lin Ming Yang had an innocent expression on his face, "You're the one who told me to rush over right away."

"Alright, I admit I'm defeated by you!" In front of Lin Ming Yang's "rascal", Ecks could only "raise his hands and surrender", he asked Cord to go outside immediately to help Lin Ming Yang buy a suitable outfit.

As Kode was about to go, Lin Mingyang called him back and added, "Don't forget to buy another razor...I haven't shaved yet today!"

Cord reminded of his own accord, "Then do you still need breakfast?"

Only then did Lin Ming Yang feel a little hungry, "Oh, I almost forgot, then you should stop by and buy me some more food back, thanks!"

Only when Cord left did Ecks stand up angrily and questioned, "What kind of place do you think I have here?"

"Take it easy, I promise that today was definitely just an accident!" Lin Ming Yang had a hefty bad smile on his face, but Ecks couldn't do anything about it.

He took out a folder from his own drawer and tossed it to Lin Ming Yang, "This is the script that was sent over from Marvel's side, saying that they want you, the big screenwriter, to take the time to read it."

Lin Ming Yang took the script in his hands, but didn't rush to turn it over, "You should have already read this script, I want to hear your opinion first."

"In terms of storytelling, this 'Man of Steel' should be considered one of the best in its category. If Martin Scorsese's The Aviator was a realistic biography of Howard Hughes, then Iron Man is Howard DeHughes exaggerated by the comics. The film's protagonist, Tony Stark, is a manufacturing tycoon who is dashing and plays with countless of the world's finest, while at the same time being a leader in arms manufacturing, with a reputation at the top of society, with the same millions of dollars as Batman, and with a spacious residence that is none other than the headquarters of his own research and development."

"From a comic book fan's point of view, the adaptation of Man of Steel can be regarded as the most complete so far to restore the essence of the comic book, in which the journey of the birth of the hero and the psychological changes of the hero are described very well, from the playboy, the king of war to the super steel hero changes are delivered clearly and persuasively."

"In addition to the characterization, I also saw reflections on weapons, violence, and terrorism...for the weapons one makes to kill innocents indiscriminately, or even endanger one's own life in turn, such plotting has to be a great irony to reality."

Eckles used at least three or more of the highest tenses in this assessment, and it's not easy for a script to get this kind of praise from him.

Lin Mingyang shrugged, "Is this script really as good as you say?"

"As a matter of fact compared to those scripts you wrote, it can only be considered medium." Ecks gently patted his office chair with his hand, "In the past, when I evaluated a movie, I relied on my personal preferences only, whether it made money or not was the producer's business... Sitting in this position, commercial interests have to be the first criterion for me to consider."

"The ass determines the head?"

Lin Ming Yang's words caused Ecks to freeze for a moment, and then reacted as he nodded, "That's pretty much what it means...All in all, I think it's a script that will make money when it's made!"

"For a movie based on a comic book like this, the director and the lead actor are the main pillars of the movie...I'm already the one who promised Stan Lee the lead role in this movie, so who is the director?" Lin Ming Yang, who was flipping through the script, suddenly thought of such a question.

Ecks replied, "The director is on his way...he's the important guest I was talking to you about."

Lin Ming Yang couldn't help but complain, "When we were filming Spider-Man, Sam Raimi personally went to my house...now that I was woken up early in the morning and couldn't even change my clothes before rushing over in order to meet the director, why do I feel like I'm going back in time the more I live?"

"In the past, it was others who needed you to help them make money, now it's you who wants others to help you make money...Don't you have an idiom in China called 'courtesy to the wise'? You should understand the reasoning better than I do."

At this bitter persuasion from Ecks, Lin Ming Yang scratched his head, "Alright, I accept your opinion, but who is the director that Marvel has found?"

"Jon Ferrue."

What Lin Ming Yang Ecks heard from his mouth was a very unfamiliar name, seeing the puzzled expression on his face, Ecks went on to explain, "Jon Feiju is a third tier actor in Hollywood, and has been appearing in comedies for a while now as well. You must find it hard to believe that this somewhat crappy actor is actually a director. Writing, directing, acting and producing, he can do all four in one movie, which is not very common even in Hollywood, where talent is everywhere. To paraphrase a popular saying, those who can act better than him may not be as good at directing; those who can direct better than him may not be as good at acting."

"So he's a second-rate actor and a first-rate director?"

Eckles shrugged, "A first-rate director isn't really a first-rate director at the moment; he made a successful comedy movie four years ago, and the huge success of the comedy movie 'A Christmas Elf' that he directed four years ago should be considered one of the greatest moments in his directing career."

Lin Ming Yang was a bit puzzled, "He's carrying a trust of up to '150 million dollars' from Marvel, isn't there anything special about this guy?"

Eckles had no firm conclusions about the director either. "Perhaps the very reason Marvel is looking at Jon Ferrue is because he hasn't yet been smothered in the bad habits of so many Hollywood money-burning blockbusters, and because of his humble and sincere attitude. Jon Ferrue himself is said to be immensely passionate about comics themselves. And having also starred in "Nightcrawler," he naturally has his own unique understanding of what it takes to make a costly movie adaptation of a comic book."

----

Cord bought Lin Mingyang a line of clothes, and after changing in Ecks' office, Lin Mingyang took a razor and prepared to go to the washroom to shave, and just as he went out the door, he came face-to-face with a middle-aged man who had a stout figure but a slightly chubby face.

The other person looked towards him curiously for a couple of moments, but Lin Ming Yang didn't care at first, and when he brushed past him the man suddenly shouted.

"Mr. Felix?"

Lin Ming Yang stopped in his tracks and turned around in confusion, "And you are?"

The chubby-faced middle-aged man grinned, "Jon Felix, nice to meet you!"

The corner of Lin Ming Yang's mouth immediately raised a smile, enthusiastically walking up ready to shake the other party's hand, but in his heart, he was complaining, "How did you give bump into each other at the place?"

Faced with Lin Ming Yang's enthusiastic hand reaching out, the smile on Jon Ferru's face suddenly became a little awkward.

Discovering that his expression was not right, Lin Ming Yang looked downwards and realized that he actually had a razor saved in his hand, he smiled apologetically and hurriedly changed his hand, causing Jon Ferru to only be able to use his other hand to shake hands with him, a feeling that was indescribably awkward.

After shaking hands Jon Ferru carefully asked: "Mr. Felix, you are ready to shave your beard?"

Lin Ming Yang nodded: "I got up too hastily this morning and forgot..."

Jon Ferru stopped Lin Ming Yang: "Never shave, I think you look great with your beard now...this kind of disheveled feeling is exactly what is needed to star as Iron Man Tony Stark."

Lin Ming Yang touched the stubble on his chin, "So you're going to let me play an uncle in this movie?"

Jon Ferru squeezed and waved his hand, "I just think that superheroes in comics don't always have to be young, handsome young men...don't you think you have a deeper flavor with a beard?"

"As you wish!" Lin Mingyang shrugged, then threw the razor in his hand into the trash can next to him. Lin Ming Yang patted Jon Ferru on the shoulder and introduced him into Ecks' office.

As soon as Lin Ming Yang came up, he asked in a somewhat "aggressive" manner, "Mr. Jon, I heard that it was you who recommended to that old man Stan Lee that I should play the lead role in 'Iron Man'...may I know why?"

Ecks sent him a wink, but it didn't work, Lin Ming Yang was still staring at Jon Ferru, looking like he had to know the answer.

"Regarding the role of Iron Man, in fact, at first, I don't think you were the person Marvel recommended...I was once involved in Nightcrawler. In Marvel's comics, the comic book character of Nightcrawler was no worse than Spider-Man in terms of popularity, but while Spider-Man was a huge success, Nightcrawler was a complete failure. I think the main reason for this is that the movie spent too many dollars on bringing in big stars at the expense of doing the due diligence and heavy lifting on the movie itself."

Jon Ferru wasn't trying to pull away from the conversation by analyzing why Nightcrawler failed; he was setting the stage for his next analysis:

"Obviously, the Man of Steel's qualities are that he's first and foremost a highly charismatic 'man' rather than a masked 'superman'. As an ordinary human without any superpowers of his own, his abilities all come from his battle armor."

"So that mechanical battle armor will be the focus of the film's presentation?" Lin Mingyang suddenly interjected at this time.

Jon Ferrue shook his head, "I can't say that, I think the 'human' factor is the most important in shaping the character of 'Iron Man', and the representation of his battle armor is not just a visual gimmick. For viewers unfamiliar with the 'Iron Man' comics, the battle armor may be the biggest selling point; but for fans familiar with Marvel's line of comics, the armor is the same prop that is inextricably linked to Tony Stark's character."

"Although on the surface there seems to be a strong contrast between a normal, ordinary human being and an all-powerful battle armor, and there seems to be an insurmountable space in between, and the battle armor might overpower the main character if it is not well represented; in fact, the battle armor is a part of Tony Stark's character, because he invented and created it, and it is nothing more than an externalization of his own intelligence and will. externalization only."

For this answer, Lin Ming Yang was obviously satisfied, so he nodded and gestured, signaling Jon Ferru to continue what he had just said.

"Then let's go back to the character of 'Iron Man' Tony Stark... To be precise, Iron Man's essence is an inventor who has both money and intelligence, flamboyance and poise, and then awakened to the fact that 'the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility'. the greater the power, the greater the responsibility' of the inventor."

"For the actor playing the role, the first step was to be able to play the 'human' side of Iron Man behind the mask, and Tony Stark falls into that category of a very charismatic playboy. In terms of the sharp and humorous dialogue of the main character, which is his most characteristic feature in the script, this is very similar to you in reality. The mode of blocking the next sentence with short, witty remarks with a little bit of cleverness and conceit was your specialty when dealing with journalists' questions. I guess this role is relatively easy for you to play, you don't need to save up your energy to show any acting skills, just think about how to relax and perform your own charm."

Jon Ferru looked at Lin Ming Yang and said sincerely, "No matter from that aspect, you are the right person to star as Tony Stark, but if you were asked to act in this movie, the pay would definitely have to be over 20 million dollars, which is something the movie would find hard to afford. So in the beginning, I was trying to find an actor who was good value for money... but in the end, Marvel Comics decided to work with MGM, so I don't have to go through the trouble of looking for another actor!"

"The investment for this movie is made by Marvel, and MGM is only responsible for production and distribution..." said Lin Ming Yang with a "sly" smile, "so the paychecks still have to be paid! "

Hearing Lin Mingyang speak to himself in such a joking tone, Jon Feijoo was relieved. He was just a director recommended by Marvel to MGM, whether he could take the job or not still had to, ultimately, depend on Lin Ming Yang's mood.

Lin Mingyang this off Jon Feiju should be considered to have passed, but the side of the Ecks has not yet made a statement.

"Iron Man seems to have a shrewd, capable, sexy and charming female assistant by his side...this role should be considered the female number one in the film, does Mr. Jon have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Eckles' question looked like a solicitation of Jon Ferru's opinion, but it was actually a quizzing question in mind.

Jon Feiju smiled slightly, "Since the role of Tony is confirmed to be played by Mr. Felix, the female lead naturally needs an actress of the same level as him...I suggest inviting Ms. Kate Beckinsale to play the role."