1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 64 Seeking Help

"Phone Booth" had already been developed long before.

Xu Shengjie even created a partial storyboard, and the story outline was already complete.

However, he took a break for a while to focus on writing the script for "Run Julie!". When he picked it up again, he was initially a little rusty, but he quickly found his rhythm, and his writing speed increased several times over.

He wrote 10,000 words in one Sunday afternoon.

If this typewriter hadn't ultimately fallen short of a computer, he might have been faster and written more smoothly.

Julie came home that evening.

Three days apart feels like three autumns.

Naturally, there were bound to be fierce exchanges between them.

"Jeffrey, I've invited an actor for you."

Julie nestled in Xu Shengjie's arms and suddenly spoke.

"An actor? Who's that?"

"Have you heard of Edward Norton?"

A very talented Off-Broadway actor, I think he's a graduate of Yale University's history department. My teacher said his acting is outstanding. He also helped me a lot; I got this role thanks to his recommendation.

Edward Norton?

Overwatch Club!

This is a future Hollywood A-list star, having appeared in numerous films and received multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

A talented actor.

But he hasn't debuted yet?

If I debut, I won't waste my time on Off-Broadway.

He has acted in many movies, but for Xu Shengjie, the one that left the deepest impression was "Fight Club".

Yes, that's the translation of the name of Taiwan Island.

In mainland China, it's called "Fight Club".

He's actually hanging out off Broadway?

"That sounds impressive. A top student from Yale's history department? What are you doing off-Broadway?"

"I'm not too sure about that. It seems that after he graduated, he was hired as a consultant by a New York branch of a Japanese company in Osaka, but he didn't seem to like it, so he went to Courtney Love's band to be a guitarist."

After that, I went to New York and participated in various stage plays on Off-Broadway.

Courteney Love was a female singer from the San Francisco area of ​​the United States in the 1980s.

However, she got married in 92 and faded out of the music and film industry...

Xu Shengjie asked curiously, "Would he be willing to act in my movie? I'm a newcomer."

"Tch, him too... Although he's somewhat famous off-Broadway, he's a complete newcomer in the film industry."

His acting is really good, and it's cheap too.

"How cheap?"

"I estimate it should only cost around 30,000 to 50,000 yuan."

"You mean, let him play Manny?"

"May I?"

Xu Shengjie wasn't too concerned about bringing in a single seedling.

The actor who played Manny in "Run Lola Run" is a second-tier German actor.

It's cheap, but definitely more than 50,000... This film had a budget of $175 million, and it's said that all the staff were from the director's company. The biggest expense was the actress Franka Potente's salary.

Xu Shengjie had read in a tabloid article that Franka's salary at the time was 300,000 marks.

That's around two hundred thousand US dollars!

This price is not low for a German actor, but for an American actor of the same caliber, the salary would be between 300,000 and 500,000.

This is also why Xu Shengjie was determined to use Julie.

Despite having starred in one movie, Angelina Jolie's salary was actually very low.

All things considered, fifty thousand would be enough! If you hire Edward Norton, the combined salaries of the two leads would only amount to one hundred thousand dollars.

This way, there will be more funds available for filming.

But isn't his status a bit too low?

Xu Shengjie had previously thought about whether he could find a third-tier actor.

But a third-tier actor, where is the fragrance of Edward Norton!

"Okay, we can talk about it depending on his schedule. Also, I spoke with Spike Lee yesterday, and he introduced me to a producer, Danny Airo. And my funding should be in place by August or September, and if everything goes smoothly, we'll start filming at the end of September or the beginning of October. You'd better start working out now and be prepared to suffer."

In Run Lola Run, the running time is 72 minutes.

This can be very tough, even painful, for actors, especially actresses.

In "Run Julie Run," Julie's workload will only increase, given Franka's experience as a veteran actress. As for Julie... regardless of her future acting abilities, she's currently a newcomer.

"Danny Airo?"

He's a formidable person. I heard he's very influential in New York and apparently has some gang connections.

However, if he's willing to be a producer, there won't be any trouble whether you're in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or even Harlem... Speaking of which, when did you become so close to Spike?

Why would he help you?

"Talented people always appreciate each other; you don't understand!"

"I have no talent... but that's not what you said just now."

Upon hearing this, Julie immediately became excited, flipped over and straddled Xu Shengjie, saying, "You have no idea what my talent is like."

After she finished speaking, she bent down.

hiss!

Xu Shengjie suddenly opened his eyes wide and gasped.

……

Sunday night was a sleepless night.

Xu Shengjie fought until dawn before finally falling into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, Julie was no longer beside him.

There was a prepared breakfast in the kitchen, along with a note: I'm off to rehearsal. Jeffrey, your talent is nothing special.

I'll talk to Edward and see what his attitude is.

Don't wait for me tonight, I'm going to see Jon. He's become so talkative lately, it's driving me crazy!

Is my talent really that limited?

I don't know who was begging for mercy last night.

Xu Shengjie couldn't help but sneer, and first made a cup of coffee with a moka pot.

The hot, concentrated soup warmed my body.

He stretched his body and turned to walk towards the worktable.

Just then, the phone rang.

It was a call from Robert Gottlieb.

First, he told Xu Shengjie some good news: the manuscript for "Buffett" had been approved.

Doubleday Publishing offered a very good deal: 8% royalties and an initial print run of 30,000 copies.

This is indeed a good thing for a newcomer.

For ordinary newcomers, which is about 6%, the print run is 10000-15000 copies, and for 30,000 copies, it's very friendly.

However, the method of calculating royalties in the United States is different from that in China.

In China, royalties are generally calculated based on the number of copies printed; while in Europe and America, they are calculated based on the actual number of copies sold.

A $20,000 prepayment isn't much, but it's very friendly.

Later, based on the actual number of copies sold, you will receive a certain amount of money depending on how many copies you sell.

Therefore, Xu Shengjie didn't feel particularly excited. It was only $20,000... He could earn millions of dollars in August.

"That's settled then, Robert. Thank you for your hard work."

"Ha, that's nothing... There's more good news: Jason has recommended your book, 'Canal Street Metro Station,' to Random House."

Jason and Alberto's book received rave reviews, and they've decided to publish it under Random House... I'll be signing the contract with them in the next few days, and if there are any issues afterward, they'll contact you through me.

Hey, that's good news!

Xu Shengjie now has some understanding of the American publishing industry.

Random House is a large publishing house.

In addition to its main publishing house, Random House, it also owns brands such as Doubleday Publishing and Knoff Publishing.

The Anchor Books that Robert mentioned earlier is a brand under Doubleday Publishing.

Yes, it means something like a series of books.

When it comes to publishing, Random House is undoubtedly the best choice because publishing under the Random House name allows them to access more resources, more promotion, and more publicity, giving them a significant advantage over other publishers.

Xu Shengjie hung up the phone, also very excited.

It's finally done!

It was fortunate that he hired Robert as his literary agent; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to achieve such speed.

When people are in high spirits, they are full of inspiration. Sitting at his worktable, Xu Shengjie felt his inspiration surging like a turbulent river.

However, just as he was engrossed in his work, the phone rang again.

He frowned, walked to the phone, grabbed the receiver, and shouted, "Who is it? Speak!"

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

"Who is it? If you don't answer, just hang up."

"Is this Jeffrey? I'm looking for Mr. Xu Shengjie."

It was a woman's voice, speaking Mandarin with a soft, Wu dialect accent.

Xu Shengjie paused for a moment, feeling that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Who is it? I am Xu Shengjie."

"Jeffrey, I'm Zhou Wenqiong, do you remember me?"

"Sister Lan Yun, it's been so long! What made you think of calling me?"

On the phone, Zhou Wenqiong's voice trembled slightly, as if she had encountered something terrible.

"Jeffrey, could you please do me a favor and save Wang Dajun?"

……