[US Entertainment] Actor

In late April, the temperature gradually rose day by day, and the boys and girls on the streets of Los Angeles put on T-shirts and hot pants, and the youthful atmosphere instantly attracted countless eyeballs.

As the location of the Hollywood headquarters, Los Angeles is never short of handsome men and women. Countless young people are looking for weak chances of becoming famous in various studios, drama clubs and even on the streets. Hospitality, repair workers and even masons.

Fame is mostly dependent on luck.

Julia Roberts is a favorite example of the landlord, Uncle Johnson. The 19-year-old Roberts relied on her brother's relationship to play a small supporting role in a movie, but at the age of 23, she had already become the most popular first-line actress in the United States with "Pretty Woman". The leading actor in "Pretty Woman" is Richard Gere, who has become popular in the 80s, but Roberts is just one of the many unknown actresses. The reason why she can get this important role is that she was the producer at the time girlfriend.

The fame history of big stars is often full of all kinds of magical colors, just like they always claim that they accompanied their friends to audition after they became famous, but they were picked by the director's eyes. No one cares about the beginning, but everyone cares about the result.

Just like until now, no one cares who Julia Roberts' girlfriend is, the only thing they care about is what value Julia Roberts can create.

In any case, Julia Roberts became an instant hit. "Pretty Woman" not only won a global box office of 4 million US dollars, but also allowed Roberts to receive his first Oscar nomination.

But what if Roberts wasn't the producer's girlfriend at the time?The movie might go to an actress of Richard Gere's stature, and the $2000 million club would be missing a major female member.

2000 million US dollars has always been the benchmark for measuring a star's worth and status. Once an actor's salary can break through 2000 million US dollars, he will become a top figure among Hollywood's first-line stars.

In short, superstar.

Although Ebert and his agent Lynn have strong ambitions for his career, they have not yet considered the issue of becoming a member of the $2000 million club. It must be a perfect combination of strength and luck. Luck The role played is even stronger than its strength.

Why is Julia Roberts famous and not Juliet Roberts or someone else?

Among other things, the nominees for the Oscars every year are recognized as capable, but how many of them can enter the 2000 million dollar club?

Among the living first-line stars, Arnold Schwarzenegger received a salary of 3 million US dollars when he filmed "Terminator 3000", and the two famous Toms are also frequent visitors to the 2000 million US dollar club... The probability that the male stars will get a high salary Much higher than female stars, so far, only Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz are on this list.

This year, "Spider-Man", which raked in US$4 million in the United States, set a box office record, but the salary of the actor Tobey Maguire has only risen to US$1700 million, which is still not enough to meet the basic requirements of the US$2000 million club. Wire.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the plants on Ebert's balcony have grown extremely lush. He occasionally waters the flowers and plants, trims the leaves, and then cleans up the mud and stains in the dead corners of the balcony. Of course, this is just when he is free. things that will be done when.

Since late April, Ebert has been in a busy state. "Pirates of the Caribbean" has already started promotional work in major cities across the United States. As one of the leading actors, Ebert must of course also participate in it.

This movie was Disney's largest investment in 2002. Even though the Disney company did not have full confidence in the prospects of this movie, Disney still showed the greatest sincerity in terms of publicity. Added millions of dollars more than the average commercial film.

"It's easy to understand." In the lounge, Johnny Depp threw the tissue stained with cosmetics into the trash can, "This movie was originally intended to cooperate with the project of promoting Pirate Paradise. If the movie is successful, it will be Everyone is happy, and if it fails, Disney can always make that money back from tourists."

Johnny Depp said it easily, but as a leading actor, he bears much more pressure than Keira Knightley and Albert.At the beginning of filming, Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s rambunctious words in the media have cast a shadow over the prospect of Jack Sparrow’s role. Johnny himself does not have a very rich experience in filming commercial blockbusters. The various difficulties that pirate movies have faced in Hollywood in recent years... In any case, in the first two months of the movie's release, Johnny Depp's life may not be too easy.

Of course, the atmosphere in the lounge is still very harmonious.This is the first gathering of the three leading actors after the filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean" last year. The three will conduct joint promotion in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles. When May starts, each will have an independent promotion task.

Keira Knightley arrived in New York from her home in England just a month ago. After filming "Pirates of the Caribbean", Keira's work focus has shifted to Hollywood. Recently, she has rented a luxury apartment in New York. I have made plans to stay in New York for a long time.She also paid great attention to the success or failure of "Pirates of the Caribbean". She is very aware of the role of a successful commercial film in her future career. A world-renowned actress, her development in Hollywood can really go smoothly.

This year, in addition to "Pirates of the Caribbean" released in July, another movie "Love Actually" in which Keira participated will also be released in North America during the Christmas period.In Ebert's impression, this movie is also a classic family carnival romantic love story. The movie brings together many first-line big names in the British film industry, including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson and others , Alan Rickman, who died in 7, also played a role in it.

The director and screenwriter of "Love Actually" Richard Curtis is also a legend in the British film industry. Although "Love Actually" is the first film he directed, his screenwriting career is absolutely prestigious. , Representative works include "Mr. Bean", "Notting Hill", "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and so on.

At least in terms of shooting experience, Keira Knightley is much luckier than Ebert.Now it happens to be the fault period of the roses of England in Hollywood. Kate Winslet has been making films, but since "Titanic" in 97, she hasn't released many films with high gold content. The outstanding performance in "Pirate" immediately made her take over the banner of her predecessors and become the frontrunner among the British actresses in Hollywood development.

Because it is rare, so precious, even if Keira Knightley does not participate in too many British movies, Keira Knightley can immediately become a first-line actress in the UK.

Ebert was not so lucky.In Hollywood, the intensity of competition for male actors is far greater than that of actresses. Among other things, the 41-year-old Tom Cruise still holds three, four, and five films in the "Mission: Impossible" series. , he first participated in this movie at the age of 34, 34-year-old Will Smith starred in "Men in Black 2", 32-year-old Matt Damon starred in the "Bourne" series last year, and Tony Bee Maguire also received the main role in the "Spider-Man" movie at the age of 27, which is still factored in by Leonardo DiCaprio's recommendation.

In the future, when 53-year-old Tom Cruise starred in "Mission Impossible 5", the audience will still buy it, but he will be paired with Rebecca Ferguson, who is only 32 years old.

In Ebert's view, if these Hollywood seniors are unwilling to retire, it will be difficult for newcomers to succeed.Especially since he is only in his early 20s this year, in the eyes of film company executives who pay attention to box office accumulation, he is just a little boy with no hair. How can they feel at ease to give the main role of a blockbuster movie to a young man?

So in the future, only in those commercial films that use all newcomers, or in those series of movies with low-cost investment and high returns, can we see newcomers.

The most classic examples are the "Hunger Games" series produced by Lionsgate and the "Twilight Saga" series produced by Summit Entertainment.As for other commercial blockbusters, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey and other post-[-]s actors come and go.

After thinking about this long list of content in his mind, Ebert felt a lot of emotion in his heart. In any case, commercial blockbusters with high quality and good reviews are hard to come by. Only he has truly proved his box office appeal. Those film companies Only then did he have the courage to hand over the leading actor of a big production to him.

Of course, considering that Jennifer Lawrence, who was in her early 20s, has already been crowned an Oscar queen, and Adrien Brody, who is 29 years old, broke the age of award-winning actors. What is the gap in competitiveness between male and female actors in Hollywood? How much, the answer is already very obvious.

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Ebert's exchanges with Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley didn't last long. After participating in several promotions in New York and Los Angeles, the three parted ways and started a nationwide promotional tour.

After the "Pirates of the Caribbean" crew coordinated with Lynn, Ebert's first promotional stop was "Saturday Night Live". ", "Fake God", "The Matrix" and other blockbuster films, the producer of "Saturday Night Live" still set aside a program in June and handed it over to Ebert.

"Wow, even if Disney had any doubts about your participation in "Pirates of the Caribbean" before, this program is enough to dispel all their doubts." Lynn said triumphantly, "Your appearance broke the "Saturday Night Live" ratings record, they naturally want to enjoy the feeling of a significant increase in ratings."

However, after reading the list of guests for these episodes of "Saturday Night Live", the manager couldn't help but frowned: "This year's summer vacation is really blown up."

Last year, "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones" were released in turn, which made Lin En see the popularity of the summer file, but seeing the title of this year's film, he still fell into a long silence.

"To be honest, even if the gold medal producer Jerry Bruckheimer is famous, I dare not have [-]% hope for the prospects of "Pirates of the Caribbean"."

On May 5, with an investment of 2 million US dollars, "X-Men 1.1" starring "Wolverine" Hugh Jackman was released.

On May 5, "The Matrix 15: Reloaded" with an investment of 1.27 million was released.

On May 5, "Fake God" produced by Universal Pictures, starring Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston, with an investment of 23 million US dollars, was released.

On May 5, the Disney animated film "Finding Nemo" was released, on June 30, "Fast and Furious" was released, on June 6, "The Hulk" was released, and on July 6, "Terminator 6" was released.

Movies in May may not have much impact on the prospects of "Pirates of the Caribbean", but several films in late June and early July are strong contenders for "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the box office, not to mention the July 5 "Pirates of the Caribbean" "The Pentium Era" will also premiere in North America. If the performance of several blockbuster films is too strong, "The Pentium Era" may suffer a devastating blow.

In addition to several films with an investment of more than 1 million US dollars, there are also several films with considerable box office potential that will also become direct rivals of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Age of Pentium", such as "Very Small Spy 3" produced by Miramax. ", "Charlie's Angels 2" starring Cameron Diaz, produced by Columbia Pictures, and the sequel to the box office hit "Legal Blonde" in 01, these films are menacing, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and " Whether "Pentium Era" can survive is still unknown.

However, considering the sequels of "Pirates of the Caribbean" one after another, and considering the thriving pirate paradise in Disneyland, Ebert is quite optimistic about the prospects of this movie.

Lynn couldn't help but wondered: "Why are you not worried at all? Johnny Depp just appeared in the supermarket tabloid a few days ago, and those reporters described him as 'with drooping eyes, and he has no confidence in movies'."

Ebert showed a nasty smile: "Don't forget, I am 'Lucky Ebert'."

Ebert never allowed others to mention this silly-sounding nickname, but he didn't have any pressure to mention it himself.Thinking of all the feats that Ebert had achieved before, Lynn couldn't help raising his eyebrows: "Maybe you are right, but I didn't underestimate this movie. Although it doesn't look like a movie with a champion, it even 'Sea Biscuit' could win a horse race, and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' could be a box office hit. Besides, I've seen the trailer, and it's much better than I thought it would be."

In early May, Disney Pictures released the trailers of "Pirates of the Caribbean" on several major TV stations. The image of Johnny Depp proclaiming "I'm Jack Sparrow" with an orchid finger is refreshing. The scene of a living person turning into a skeleton under the moonlight also made the audience who couldn't react screamed loudly. Those media and professionals who thought that "Pirates of the Caribbean" followed the previous pirate movie style couldn't help but speculate.

They judged that this is a magical reality movie, and Johnny Depp's exaggerated interpretation has also broken through the fixed pattern of commercial blockbuster male protagonists. Judging from the trailer, this movie seems to have something to look forward to.

Of course, there are media who are optimistic about this movie, and there are media who think that the future of this movie is unpredictable.

Several film critics on the film review website "Rotten Tomatoes" believe that the current Hollywood blockbusters are all full of industrial special effects, and the scene where pirates turn into skeletons in "Pirates of the Caribbean" may be just to make up for the lack of plot content in the film. It could also be a stack of flashy special effects without much substance.

North American audiences are picky. They love the grotesque pictures and strange scenes in movies, but if the plot of the movie is too empty, the audience may not buy it.

The writer of "Entertainment Weekly" also expressed the same doubts. He thought that the trailer of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was qualified, fresh and very attractive to the audience, but the plot of pirates turning into skeletons rarely appeared in the same type of movies , maybe just a publicity stunt for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Talk about the plot came to a head after Ebert appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

After Ebert participated in "Saturday Night Live", audiences across the United States became more and more curious about this movie. The search volume of Yahoo search terms related to "Pirates of the Caribbean" doubled within a month. Even Ebert himself benefited from this, and he was on the top ten of Yahoo's searches that day.But "Saturday Night Live" is a performance-based show after all, and even though Ebert is playing the show in the name of promoting "Pirates of the Caribbean", the audience still knows little about the details of the movie.

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is different. This talk show gives the host and stars a lot of convenience. They can speak freely on any movie-related topics on the show.

This time, without any instructions, Ebert took the initiative to bring up topics related to the two movies "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Age of Pentium".In fact, he thinks that "Pirates of the Caribbean" needs more publicity than "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Sitting in the brightly lit studio, Ebert sat opposite the host Jay Leno, chatting about all kinds of interesting things that happened during the filming process.