American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

Page 619

"Then I will look forward to the release of your movie."

"let us wait and see."

After giving Hughes the most movie expectations, William Wyler turned and left to mingle with the other party guests.

On the other hand, looking at the soon-to-be-departed William Wheeler, Hughes casually explained to Xu Fu, "William is a good man, but the financial situation of Universal Pictures behind him has been mediocre for a long time, so William should only be in charge of some simple films for a long time to come."

Xu Fu firmly believed this.

As Hughes noted, although William Wyler made several films during the Great Depression, the vast majority of them were unknown and mostly low-budget Westerns.

This is also related to Universal's strategy, because due to the Great Depression, the entire film industry was not making money, so low-budget films could avoid losses as much as possible and guarantee box office revenue.

Looking at the group of people at the banquet from where William Wheeler was, Hughes said in a low voice, "It's not just Universal; all the major studios in Holwood are in bad shape right now, which is one of the reasons why I don't know much about the film industry."

Holliday believed that Hughes's aircraft repair hangar was a complete scam, but from another perspective, if Holliday was making money anyway, why would he spend so much effort producing his aircraft?

Besides directing and producing, he also owns hundreds of cinemas in Los Angeles. He has a keener grasp of the pulse of Hollywood movies than some audiences. This year, ticket prices have been declining and cinema revenue has been falling sharply. It is precisely because he has seen this that Hughes has devoted more of his energy to the aviation industry.

Chapter 720 Katharine Hepburn

"Of course, our Titanic will be an exception."

Despite the difficult overall situation in the country, this did not affect Hughes' confidence in his film.

This also shows that he is a very vain person.

Next, in Hughes' performance, Xu Fu saw Gloria Swanson, Holliday, the queen of the silent era, at a party, but now seemingly showing signs of being replaced by sound films. She had a smile on her face, but a hint of sadness in it.

As an actress, Gloria Swanson is exceptionally talented and adept at understanding and appealing to the public's psychology and values. Consequently, her clothing choices, both on screen and in her daily life, are frequently featured in fashion magazines, and her every move is widely reported.

However, the advent of sound films ended Gloria Swanson's fame. Although she appeared in several sound films, her transition was never successful, and she eventually had to secretly leave the film industry.

Later, Gloria Swanson's line when she returned as a washed-up actress in Sunset Boulevard perfectly illustrated the impact of spoken-word films on silent films: "We don't need dialogue, we have expressions."

But Greta Garbo, an actress from the same silent film era, was much luckier.

Xu Fu and Walter watched Greta Garbo's major sound film, "Grand Hotel," in which she performed brilliantly, transitioning from the silent film queen to the sound film genre.

Greta Garbo wore a sweet smile at the banquet, a stark contrast to the sadness in Gloria Swanson's eyes as she stood beside her.

Of course, besides these silent film era actresses, many male stars were also present, but Xu Fu didn't pay much attention to them, only vaguely recognizing a few famous ones, including John Barrymore, who had previously starred in *Grand Hotel*, and Douglas Van Bunker, son of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the inspiration for the prince in *Snow White*, whom Xu Fu had met before at Disneyland. Although, according to Hughes, the father and son didn't have a good relationship, and even a long-standing hostility,...

Aside from the star-studded Holliday, Xu Fu interacted most with the directors at the gathering.

As William Wheeler noted, there were many directors at the party who were more famous than him.

During this time, Hui Fu met John Ford, the only director in the history of the "Young and Dangerous" series to win Best Director four times. He was known for making Westerns, but none of his four Academy Awards were for Westerns.

It is worth noting that the Great Depression economic crisis was used as the backdrop for John Ford's Oscar-winning film, The Grapes of Wrath.

However, John Ford's films during this period were still mainly Westerns, and the great director was adapting to the transition from the silent era to the sound era, so he did not receive an Oscar nomination.

When Xu Fu saw it, he was discussing the difficulties of Westerns in the talk show era with Frank Capra, a director signed with Columbia Pictures who started making talk shows in 1928 and made ten talk shows in just four years, almost all of which were comedies.

Also participating in the panel discussion was director George Fitzmaurice, who, although not as famous as the other two, had worked on several films and had a brief mentorship relationship with Alfred Hitchcock.

Xu Fu was so eager to contact the director because he had a plan of action.

During his visit to Disney Studios, Xu Fu also inquired about Paramount Pictures from Luo Yin. He learned that Paramount's internal operational problems were quite serious, with losses exceeding $2000 million and the company on the verge of bankruptcy. It was said that the New York Federal District Court intervened in the investigation and, upon confirming that the company was unable to operate, immediately declared Paramount bankrupt.

Once Paramount is declared bankrupt by the court, a long restructuring process will begin, which will be Xu Fu's opportunity.

To be precise, due to bankruptcy, Paramount spent two years completing its restructuring.

Meanwhile, Xu Fu had ample time to prepare. Naturally, once he decided to take over the bankrupt Paramount Pictures, he would need enough directors and actors to support the studio. Therefore, the gathering before him was an important occasion for him to make contact.

This is one of the reasons why he agreed to fly to and from Los Angeles on Hughes's plane.

It is not recommended to establish your position in Holliday Forest.

Even Howard Hughes, his uncle Rupert Hughes, was a famous screenwriter for Holliday.

"Xu Fu, I think I've found the perfect man for the Titanic's leading lady!"

On one side, just as Xu Fu was making contact in Hull Town and introducing himself to the principal through the person involved, Hughes walked over from the other side, looking somewhat flustered.

"where is it?"

Noticing the change in Hughes's facial expression, Xu Fu apologized to director Robert Z. Leonard.

Following Hughes's directions, Xu Fu spotted an actress in the crowd, whom he considered an oddball; she wasn't gathered with the others, but stood alone, silent. She had a rather delicate nose, which gave her a kind of heroic air.

“I asked Katharine Hepburn, who is currently signed with Thunder and has no experience in making movies, only in Broadway plays.”

Upon hearing this name, Xu Fu glanced at Hughes beside him, a flicker in his eyes.

When people mention Hepburn, many think of Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday," but before that, Hollywood already had its own queen, Katharine Hepburn.

In fact, it's only outside.

Katharine Hepburn wasn't exactly beautiful, especially among good guest beauties; her cheekbones were a bit high, and her cheeks were slightly sunken.

The reason why such a woman, who is not conventionally beautiful, was able to stand out in Holliday Wood's story is because of her unique artistic temperament, intelligence, and superb acting skills.

Clearly, Hughes was simply attracted by Katharine Hepburn's aura.

Xu Fu was not too surprised by this, and indeed, some turbulent things happened at the Holliday Hotel afterward.

Their relationship even came close to marriage, but unfortunately, Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn were from two different worlds, and they eventually drifted apart not only emotionally but also professionally.

However, relationships in Hollywood are inherently complex. If Xu Fu remembers correctly, Katharine Hepburn also had a real relationship with John Ford—yes, the very director he had just met and talked to at the party. Their relationship was even more turbulent and, unfortunately, ended in destruction.

It was after this breakup that Katharine Hepburn later got together with Hughes.

In just one night, Holliday-Xu Fu met three key figures, and a Holliday-style relationship was formed between them.

It is worth noting that Katharine Hepburn should have been married by this time, which means that the entire story of this subsequent relationship took place after the other party signed a divorce agreement with Goodwood.

Of course, Katharine Hepburn was still a newcomer to the theater world at the time and had not yet had time to truly make a name for herself in Holloway.

Hughes immediately fell in love with Katharine Hepburn and wanted to play her as the female lead in the movie "Titanic".

Perhaps this is the charm of Katharine Hepburn herself.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but outwardly, Xu Fu did not show much difference; he raised his head, met Hughes's gaze, and then smiled and replied, "You are the director of Titanic."

Chapter 721 Deeply Rooted in People's Hearts

Xu Fu's answer clearly gave Hughes confidence. With a confident smile on his face, he walked towards Katharine Hepburn, who was standing nearby.

As Hughes approached Katharine Hepburn, John Ford, who was standing to the side, paused slightly. He was also attracted by Katharine Hepburn's unique aura and wanted to try to invite her to his latest film. However, he seemed to slowly walk ahead of Hughes.

Nearby, watching the two people who had stood up and were chatting and laughing, Xu Fu glanced into the distance.

As he said, Titanic is a film that belongs to Hughes, so whatever actors he chooses to star in it has nothing to do with Xu Fu.

Katharine Hepburn was no slouch in acting; she received 12 Oscar nominations and won 4 Golden Globe Awards throughout her life, making her a truly deserving actress.

Although at this point, the latter had only appeared in one film called "Bill's Divorce," making him a complete newcomer to Holliday.

"So you've been here all along, Mr. Xu Fu."

As Xu Fu was deep in thought, he suddenly noticed movement behind him. Turning around, he saw William Wyler again, accompanied by an introduction from a stranger: "Let me introduce you. This is director WC Van Dyke, the director of the recently filmed Tarzan."

After introducing William Wyler, Xu Fu exchanged greetings with the director in front of him, who had two flamboyant ears, and then revealed his purpose.

"I'd like to know if Mr. Xu Fu has any ideas about remaking a Superman movie."

It's not hard to see from between the lines that WCVanDyke is clearly after the Superman in Xu Fu's possession.

During the silent film era, a total of eight films related to Tarzan were made, but they did not cause much of a sensation until W.S. Van Dyke's film "Tarzan" was released, which not only caused a real sensation at the box office, but also starred Johnny Weissmüller.

He successfully brought the classic character Tarzan to the big screen, so it's fair that Superman, one of the most popular animated characters in modern times, should also be able to do the same. Compared to Tarzan, Superman's character is more complex and his setting is closer to science fiction, both of which present a challenge for WC Van Dyke.

What does WSVanDyke mean?

Hearing the expectation in WSVanDyke's tone, Xu Fu raised an eyebrow.

He did have the idea of ​​making a Superman movie, otherwise he wouldn't have been so interested in Paramount's project. However, he didn't realize that Hollywood had already recognized Superman's value. WCVanDyke was no small director, especially after the success of Tarzan.

"I hope Mr. Xu Fu can give me the copyright to the Superman movie."

After introducing Xu Fu to WC Van Dyke, William Wheeler quietly left. He had close ties with Universal, while WC Van Dyke was currently working with MGM and had little interest in film adaptations.

"If Xu Fu-Xu Fu says yes, I guarantee I will make a Superman movie that you will like. We will ask Maureen O'Shaughnessy, who gave an excellent performance in Tarzan, to play the female lead, and Johnny Weissmüller, who played Superman and Tarzan, can also play the role."

Before becoming an actor, Johnny Weissmüller was a stunning national swimming champion who not only won Olympic gold medals but also broke world records 67 times. He's muscular and looks really good in a swimsuit and on the big screen.

It's clear from WCVanDyke's casting choices that they intend to continue the success of Tarzan with "Superman".

Frankly, if Xu Fu didn't have his own plans, he would be looking forward to the release of WCVanDyke's version of Superman.

The only regret is that for Xu Fu, Superman is not only the power he holds, but also the key to his ability.

So it's clear he won't easily give up the Superman rights. WCVanDyke may have achieved success with Tarzan, but that doesn't mean he can make an equally successful Superman movie.

Furthermore, Johnny Weissmüller's image as Tarzan is already very deeply ingrained in people's minds, and Xu Fu is worried if he really agrees to play him in the film.

When he receives the silver badge, it will be a big problem; he doesn't want to experience another accident like Hoover's. A Superman with a Tarzan-like face isn't what he's hoping for either.

“I’m sorry, Mr. WSVanDyke.”

After careful consideration, Xu Fu ultimately rejected WSVanDyke's proposal.