Chapter 105: With the French

  Said hello to Spielberg and shouted at Natalie, the group returned to the hotel and came directly to the living room of Ryan's suite.

  With Nicole's introduction, the two sides were considered to have met. The three people who came with her were Frenchmen Jean Reno and Luc Besson, as well as his assistant.

  "You all sit for a moment, I have something to discuss with Ryan."

  After the waiter brought coffee and hot tea, Nicole directly pulled Ryan into the bedroom. The bright smile disappeared without a trace, and her beautiful face was trending towards becoming an iceberg.

  "What's wrong, Nicole?"

  He closed the bedroom door and saw the Australian girl's sunny face turn cloudy, his heart beating slightly.

  "Ryan, what were you thinking? Why did you write this script? God, a twelve-year-old girl falls in love with a middle-aged hitman. What is wrong with you?" Nicole pinned him to the small couch, glaring down at him.

  "..." She didn't let him finish, and continued, "Or are you starting to enter a rebellious phase, with a mind full of absurd thoughts? Do you know that such works will trigger huge controversy?"

  "There's no box office without controversy." Ryan muttered under his breath, noticing the knife-like gaze coming his way, and quickly shut up.

  "Box office? Not a single word Natt said was wrong, at such a young age, you're already...” Nikki hadn't specifically studied Chinese and obviously couldn't think of how to say "coppery smell", “And is this the script you specially prepared for Natt? This will put her under tremendous pressure.”

  "Alright, Nicole, the arguing and pressure are only directed at me. Besides, it's just a fairy tale about an assassin." Ryan couldn't understand why Nicole was so angry, as he had made some changes to the plot and Ms. Sherry hadn't opposed them.

  "A fairy tale?" Nikki's eyes widened, "Little girl and killer sleep together, middle-aged man bathes the girl, oh God! Ryan, have you been peeking at Lolita..."

  "Wait a minute!" Ryan's eyes widened even more, "I didn't write this plot..."

  These are obviously plots from the previous life movie, and even the bathing scene was cancelled under Natalie's strong opposition. I deleted these overly sensitive things myself, how...

  Nikki's movements were quick, taking out the script from her handbag. Ryan quickly flipped through it, his face getting darker and darker as he read on.

  The script was not a copy he had mailed, but a typed version with many added scenes, including the feelings of the girl and the killer that he had specially revised, which were changed back. The most excessive part is that there is also a scene where Leon bathes Matilda.

  Damn it! Ryan cursed and didn't need to ask, he also knew that Luke Besson must have modified the script on his own.

  Not mentioning whether it involves infringement or not, as long as he shakes his head, none of these plots can be realized.

  What are these French people thinking? Would they die without those scenes in the movie? Doesn't he understand that making such a film would likely result in an NC-17 rating in North America, and put the actress who plays Matilda and himself as the author in a huge storm.

  "It wasn't me who wrote that..." Ryan quickly explained to Nicole, and the Australian girl's face looked a lot better.

  As soon as the two of them walked out of the bedroom and into the living room, her gaze towards Luc Besson changed.

  It turns out that in this life, the few years of common life, Ryan and Nicole Kidman influenced each other, and both personalities have changed a lot compared to their previous lives.

  Surrounding the sofa, the atmosphere between people was slightly awkward. After drinking a sip of coffee, Luc Besson's gaze fell on the boy opposite him.

  He had heard of him, and had watched "The Sixth Sense" and "Terminator 2", and was deeply impressed by his performance in them, especially the peculiar structure of "The Sixth Sense", which suited his taste.

  At first, he was surprised to learn that the script came from a young boy's hand, but he didn't pay much attention to it. After all, there were too many geniuses among Jews.

  To say the least, after "Sixth Sense", he, like most Hollywood filmmakers, focused on commercialization, whether it's "Home Alone", or later "Terminator 2" and "The Bodyguard", all of which are purely commercial productions.

  Luc Besson is different from the vast majority of European directors, clearly operating in a Hollywood commercial mode, and the impact on the European film market will be greater and greater, and it will not take a few years to completely capture the European market.

  What about our European counterparts? All they can do is constantly criticize Hollywood for being commercial and self-important, but does that accomplish anything?

  But who are the ones who really think they are superior? Probably those who disregard the audience's feelings and shoot self-indulgent works.

  He is a very ambitious and charismatic person. If Hollywood movies can make a splash in the European market, why can't his own works enter the North American market? Why can't he himself break into Hollywood?

  To open up the American market, a work that is both to his own taste and in line with American concepts is needed. Since filming "Atlantis", he has been thinking about it, but can't find the right inspiration.

  Until recently, his actor and friend Jean Reno brought him the script for Léon, which included a few renderings that showed Léon was based on Reno's image, that little girl...

  He glanced at Natalie sitting next to Ryan, was this Matilda? She looked too young and too frail, not even a small bulge on her chest, completely flat.

  Luc Besson immediately vetoed Natalie's image, if Ryan knew what he was thinking just now, he would definitely wash his face with hot tea.

  Ryan sat quietly on one side, as for the negotiation, it's better to leave it to professional Goldie, he just kept flipping through that machine-printed script.

  After a long time, Nicole pulled him, Ryan smiled apologetically at the other side and said, "Mr. Bai Song, I can hand over 'Killer Leon' to you for operation, and I can also help you connect with the American production team."

  After all, with his experience in his previous life, Ryan knew that this guy was not well received by European filmmakers and had always wanted to develop in Hollywood.

  Luc Besson made a gesture of invitation, he was not only a film director but also a businessman, and would not be foolish enough to think that the other party was really an innocent young man.

  "At the time, several setting drafts were also mailed together with the script. I don't know if you've seen them or not," Ryan asked.

  "Of course, I can see that Leon is modeled after Jean."

  "Yes, I was impressed by Mr. Reno after watching Nikita." Ryan involuntarily glanced at Jean Reno's big nose, and the other smiled kindly.

  He smiled back with the same brilliance, this time looking at Natalie and saying, "Two aspects, one is that this script was written for my best friend, and Matilda's idea came from her. Two is..."

  Ryan put the typed script on the coffee table, "Remove those added plots inside!"

  Luc Besson's face didn't look good, the changes and additions to the script were all from him, being asked by a boy so much younger than him in front of everyone, he wouldn't feel happy about it, if this script wasn't really attractive, the other side was almost guaranteed box office in North America, he really wanted to leave directly.

  "It seems like you know what the other person is thinking," Ryan continued, "Mr. Besson, if I'm not mistaken, you want to use this film to open up the American market, right?"

  "That's right." It's no secret in European film circles that he wants to make it big in Hollywood.

  "I don't know how you view the American audience, but this subject matter is somewhat sensitive in today's American society. If it were placed in Europe, this kind of Lolita-style romance might not provoke a negative reaction from audiences, but in North America it would be different. The US is indeed very open-minded, but that only applies to a few coastal states. If the script were to be turned into images, it would invite huge controversy. If the film were to be completed and then rated NC-17 by the MPAA, it would be doomed."

  "The most touching part of this story lies in the emotions, but there are many ways to express emotions. Sometimes, subtle and ambiguous emotions can be more moving."

  Luc Besson's face showed a thoughtful expression, he wasn't unaware of compromise, but giving up those plot points, really...

  "Don't forget, the one participating in the filming will be a ten-year-old girl!" Ryan had some words that he couldn't say out loud in front of Natalie. If Luc Besson really insisted on this, then he'd just take back the script.

  The film would not necessarily fail without him, Hollywood has many movie companies waiting to invest in his screenplays, and past achievements have given him a lot of confidence.

  Of course, that's just the last resort; as long as possible, keeping the original team is the first choice.

  How to choose between ideals and interests? For a director who runs a film company, it's not difficult.

  Besides, although they have some connections in Hollywood, with Ryan Jenkins as their own matchmaker, it will definitely be much more convenient.

  "Okay." Luc Besson chose the market.

  However, the Frenchman's little personality came out again, "I hope to hold an audition for the role of Matilda in New York."

  Ryan's face didn't look good, if it wasn't for his own good friend, why bother wasting so much saliva with the other party, if Natalie couldn't play Matilda, he'd rather let this movie disappear forever.

  Luc Besson shot back, "I just spoke with Miss Natalie a few sentences ago and I know she has very rich acting experience. I think Miss Natalie would not mind participating in the audition and getting this role based on her own strength rather than being Ryan Gosling's good friend."

  This was obviously a ploy to get her riled up, but Natalie had a strong competitive streak and a pride of her own. Just as Ryan was about to say something, she yanked his arm hard, almost toppling him over onto the couch.

  "Ryan..." Natalie looked over, Ryan opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it again.

  "I agree to attend the audition." Natalie jutted out her chin.

  Whatever, Ryan shrugged his shoulders and thought it was just to maintain Natalie's self-esteem. With her acting skills, wasn't it easy for her to get this role?

  Besides, he will find someone of his own kind to be the film manager.

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