Sequel ambitions

"Congratulations," Neal beamed at Andy, his smile brimming with genuine warmth. It was a hearty congratulations for the remarkable success of Renly's first commercial film. For a newcomer actor from an independent art film background, this achievement was truly rare and marked a significant step forward.

Andy sat contentedly on the sofa, feeling completely at ease. The office's air conditioning was refreshingly cool, and it relaxed him entirely. His tone reflected this relaxation as he replied, "Congratulations."

This congratulatory exchange revolved around the impressive box office performance of "Fast 5", where Renly had gained fame but Universal Pictures had reaped both fame and fortune, especially Neal, as the leading producer.

Andy's gaze then shifted to Michael Fordray, and he added, "Congratulations." Michael responded with a smile, nodding appreciatively.

"We've just wrapped up our meeting for "Fast 5"," Neal cut straight to the point, no longer indulging in pleasantries. After all, Andy had to pick someone up at the airport later, and they had only thirty minutes. Besides, all the formalities and probing had been done earlier; there was no need to continue beating around the bush.

"In the minds of Vin Diesel and me, the sequel is a certainty," Neal stated, a fact known throughout Hollywood. "But how to unfold this story is an immensely challenging task. On one hand, we hope to replicate the narrative structure of the fifth installment; on the other hand, we don't want to repeat ourselves. We aspire to elevate the film to grander, more exhilarating heights. To achieve this goal, we've had numerous discussions, and Vin has offered many valuable suggestions."

Andy raised his chin slightly, nodding with a knowing look. "It seems that during the promotional period, certain individuals didn't have much leisure."

Previously, due to a series of confrontations within the cast and crew, initiated by Andy himself, Ron Meyer had issued a direct order from the top echelons, compelling Vin to be more cooperative. But now, it appeared that Vin still played a crucial role in the negotiations for the sequel. Did this mean that Dom's suave and solo car-chasing scenes from the fifth installment would continue into the sequel? In contrast, would it be challenging to give Hobbs a more substantial role? After all, even Brian, portrayed by Paul Walker, had nearly become a background character.

Neal's two sentences held profound implications and conveyed a wealth of information. Andy understood, and so did Michael.

Michael showed no change in expression, nor did he flinch. He calmly picked up the conversation, "We hope the sequel can bring more surprises. It's not just about faster cars and larger spectacles; it's also about a more thrilling story and action sequences. In other words, in the sequel, the car racing scenes will be even grander and more exhilarating than in the previous films."

Andy remained unperturbed, offering a courteous remark with a friendly smile. "That sounds truly exciting. I can't even begin to imagine what more thrilling car chases will look like."

Michael nodded in satisfaction. "In our view, the fifth installment was just a transitional work. The bigger story lies ahead. Even Ron has high expectations for the sequel; he hopes we can make this film comparable to "The Italian Job" and "The French Connection"."

Both of these are classic crime films that feature a plethora of high-speed car chases. The former, released in 1969, garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and was later remade as "The Italian Job" in 2003. The latter, released in 1971, swept the Oscars the following year with wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and more. In 2014, it had a similarly titled remake.

Andy's smile blossomed, and he exclaimed in an exaggerated manner, "This is a benchmark that's hard to match."

Comparing the "Fast & Furious" series to these two films, in Andy's eyes, seemed almost audacious. The ambition appeared to be overly inflated. However, whether this was Andy's true sentiment or a strategic move remained unclear. Universal Pictures' thoughts about the sequel were inscrutable.

Michael, as if oblivious to the sarcasm in Andy's words, nodded in agreement. "Ron hopes this film can embody pure car culture and integrate it into a pure action movie. He wants this series' culture and spirit to become a model for future films."

"Wow," Andy made no further comment, but his exclamation held a wealth of diverse information. As for how to interpret it, that was up to Michael and Neal.

In Michael and Neal's brief opening remarks, they conveyed the same message: the sequel would be more grandiose. However, their emphasis differed—Michael focused on the "film" aspect, while Neal centered on "Vin Diesel".

What did this mean? There could be various interpretations, but in Andy's view, it was a signal from Universal Pictures that in the sequel, car chases would be the absolute focal point, with others relegated to supporting roles. This implied that they wouldn't be granting Renly a more significant role, at least not in terms of compensation. Neal's implications also indicated that in this project, Vin still played a crucial role. Clearly, the confrontational situation between Vin and Renly was not good news.

Of course, this was just Andy's initial interpretation, made in the blink of an eye. Specific details would require further investigation, consideration, and negotiation after returning. It was not as straightforward as increasing the compensation bracket, much like the earlier tug-of-war with Dwayne Johnson.

However, it was evident that Universal Pictures had already taken the initiative. This was not surprising, given the competitive landscape of the six major Hollywood studios.

Michael seemed satisfied with Andy's response, nodding gently, and then he turned to Neal, wearing a faint smile. Neal took the lead in the conversation, continuing, "Over the past period, we've been discussing the story, starting from the framework and then delving into the storyline. This isn't an easy task, and we need the wisdom of many."

"From the first installment to the present, we have Gary Scott Thompson, Chris Morgan, who joined us from the third film, and the two new producers, Clayton Townsend and Alexander Dostal, along with Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, and myself," Neal explained. "We've been in constant communication, striving to craft a script that's more reasonable and more epic."

Neal's words were lengthy and filled with dense information. Andy keenly noticed one piece of information within them: Vin Diesel. This was the second time Neal had emphasized Vin's role, which was truly intriguing. Not because of Neal's repeated emphasis, but because he was doing so in front of Michael.

If Neal simply wanted to caution Andy, he could have done so privately during their conversation. But he chose to do it in Michael's presence, and during the discussion of the grand plans for the entire film, which added an element of mystery. It seemed that there might be hidden dynamics between Neal and Michael worth uncovering.

The larger the film crew, the more complex the interpersonal relationships became. Not to mention the infamous production disaster "Waterworld" in cinematic history, where a significant part of the failure was attributed to the inability to coordinate internal relationships within the crew. Even in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, there were constant disputes, and Jerry Bruckheimer's autocratic style caused numerous problems.

"I now believe Michael's words. The car chase scenes this time will be beyond imagination," Andy remained composed, offering polite words while listening attentively.

Neal couldn't help but chuckle lightly and then nodded in affirmation. "Yes, we will have more roaring vehicles, more characters, and character relationships will be reorganized. It's an unimaginable undertaking. Currently, we have conceived at least one hundred and fifty to two hundred pages of the script."

In Hollywood conventions for genre films, one page of the script roughly equated to one minute of the finished movie. So, this was a conception of one hundred and fifty to two hundred minutes. Although there would be significant differences between the conception and the final product, this aspect revealed Universal Pictures' ambitious aspirations.

"So, we've started to consider whether to split this sequel into two parts?" Neal's words sparked a glint in Andy's eyes.

Warner Bros. had successfully split the final installment of "Harry Potter" into two parts, and Summit Entertainment was planning to do the same for the fourth installment of "Twilight". This trend was gaining momentum. For film critics, it was a disaster, but for commercial box office, it was a lucrative strategy.

Universal Pictures was indeed coming in strong, opting for a double release from the start. One could imagine the waves of excitement and anticipation "Fast 5" had stirred within Universal Pictures. With a North American box office of $300M, plus the entire franchise, this had given them more confidence and unleashed greater creativity, eager to create their own flagship project.

"In other words, the sixth and seventh installments are actually one story. We plan to shoot these two movies back-to-back. The car culture, character stories, and vehicle modifications in the films will be truly refreshing," Neal continued to explain.

Michael immediately added, "In these two works, the character Luke Hobbs plays an important role, and we have high expectations for Renly."

After such a lengthy and intricate setup, the focus had finally arrived. However, in Andy's eyes, Michael's earnest words carried no weight. He chuckled lightly and said, "Participating in this film has been a delightful journey. With the film achieving such remarkable success, Renly is thrilled. Being able to be part of the creative process for the sequel makes it even more interesting."

Grinning on the outside, keeping secrets within.