Chapter 36

Little Scarlett Johansson is acting opposite a female actress and learning how to perform while looking very serious.

Monica Bellucci flipped through the script in her hand, glanced at Little Scarlett Johansson, and asked with some surprise, "Where did Helen find this young actress?"

"She seems very talented and very serious."

In Hollywood, the most troublesome are not the big-name stars or the members of the $20 million club, but the young actors and equally difficult animal actors.

A young actor with talent and seriousness will never lack opportunities in Hollywood.

Of course, exceptions are those who age poorly.

"Helen knows her mother, a somewhat famous Jewish producer," Ryan didn't hide this fact.

Being able to have Little Scarlett Johansson join the cast naturally made him feel proud.

Even though she is still a girl of less than ten years old, her ability to get into character is faster than some adults, as if she were born to be an actress.

At least in the future, there won't be worries about finding a suitable young actor. Perhaps when little Scarlett Johansson grows up a bit more, she can fully invest in shooting "Lost in Tokyo" with Sofia.

He didn't want to just be a director; it was necessary to invest in other films.

"A Jewish producer?"

A hint of envy flashed across Monica Bellucci's face as she said, "An enviable background."

In Hollywood, never underestimate the influence of Jewish people. Even an unknown producer still has a wide network.

For example, the famous Steven Spielberg, one of the three giants of DreamWorks, is Jewish. And in major film companies, distribution companies, media companies, even on Wall Street and in top banks, there are plenty of Jewish people.

DreamWorks was founded in October 1994, which means it hasn't been established yet.

Moreover, the Jewish community is known for its unity and likes to help fellow Jewish newcomers. Otherwise, Gal Gadot wouldn't have had such a smooth development in Hollywood in her previous life.

"The Jewish community has always been like this," Ryan said with a faint smile, not saying much.

On the other hand, Monica Bellucci felt a bit regretful in her past life. Her background wasn't particularly remarkable, and her breakthrough work, "Malèna," was only invested in by an Italian film company, with not so ideal North American box office earnings, just over $14 million.

Of course, as a distribution company, Miramax Films could still make a big profit, but it's unknown if Harvey Weinstein ever noticed her!

According to rumors about Harvey Weinstein, he probably wouldn't let go of such a tasty morsel.

But Monica Bellucci seemed to have not received a nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars, so there probably wasn't much interaction with Harvey Weinstein.

Who is Monica Bellucci? She has captivated almost all the men in Europe, acknowledged as a goddess. Even Harvey Weinstein wouldn't dare to force himself on her.

Most likely, Monica Bellucci didn't plan to return to Hollywood again, so she didn't need to pay attention to him.

As for Harvey Weinstein's reputation, it's needless to say. Tyrannical, lascivious, swindler, rapist, there are countless terms to describe him.

Fortunately, Ryan didn't need to deal with him.

"Is 'Saw' still distributed by 20th Century Fox?" Monica Bellucci couldn't help but ask.

She knew Ryan's last film was distributed by 20th Century Fox. She also knew he had registered a studio, and both films were self-financed by him alone.

A film distributed by one of the big seven film companies was completely different from one distributed by a small or medium-sized distribution company. Monica Bellucci, who had been in Hollywood for some time, naturally understood the difference.

Facing Monica Bellucci's question, Ryan smiled and said, "Who knows! Before the film is released, no one can be sure."

"Of course, I also hope to continue working with 20th Century Fox as the distributor. After all, our last cooperation was very pleasant."

The last film was a full buyout of the rights, so "Saw" wouldn't be the same.

But negotiating profit-sharing distribution with 20th Century Fox was definitely not an easy task.

Hearing Ryan's words, Monica Bellucci hesitated slightly and said softly, "Mr. Carter Eisner wants to meet you."

If it weren't for Carter Eisner being a decision-maker at Touchstone, and Touchstone being a distribution company under Disney, she wouldn't want to bother with these matters.

Carter Eisner!

"Touchstone Pictures under Disney?" Ryan was slightly stunned, then looked deeply at Monica Bellucci, couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Women who could thrive in Hollywood were indeed not simple.

"Yes," Monica Bellucci nodded reluctantly, her expression somewhat forced.

"Being able to meet Mr. Carter Eisner, I naturally couldn't ask for more."

Ryan withdrew his gaze, saying lightly, "After the filming of 'Saw' ends, I will definitely go to meet Mr. Carter Eisner in person."

There are no secrets in Hollywood. Whether it's the success of the last film or the preparation and filming of "Saw," it's hard to hide anything from everyone, especially one of the big seven film companies like Disney's Touchstone.

Of course, Ryan wouldn't refuse to contact Touchstone, but now wasn't the time.

The reason was simple: he was currently cooperating with 20th Century Fox. Unless 20th Century Fox explicitly refused profit-sharing distribution, he wouldn't approach Touchstone.

He didn't want to inexplicably offend one of the big seven film companies in Hollywood.

In other words, 20th Century Fox could reject Ryan, but Ryan had no qualifications to reject 20th Century Fox, unless the conditions given by 20th Century Fox far exceeded his bottom line.

In fact, Touchstone wasn't the first to contact him. Several small distribution companies had already contacted Helen long ago, but there had been no further contact.

"Okay, let's continue shooting," Ryan stood up, not wanting to continue the conversation further. "Next time something like this happens, you can just talk directly to Helen."

To this, Monica Bellucci could only smile bitterly. Faced with the behemoth Touchstone, she dared not refuse at all and could only reluctantly speak up, possibly even offending Ryan as a result.

As for Helen!

Perhaps talking to Helen would be a bit better, but the ultimate result would be the same.

The current scene being filmed is the one where Xiao Scarlett Johansson is with her parents. There aren't many shots.

Ryan is personally operating the camera, capturing the continuously improving acting skills of Scarlett Johansson, deliberately giving her a few more shots.

Although Scarlett Johansson is young, her acting skills are slightly better than Edward Norton's.

This made Edward Norton very embarrassed. Faced with a girl of less than ten years old, he couldn't show any discomfort and could only console himself continuously.

Ryan's filming seems very casual, not at all professional. Many people in the crew think he's messing around, that he could just let the cameraman do it, but he insists on doing it himself.

However, when they have some free time, Sofia walks over and sees that Ryan's shots are very precise, his hands steady as a rock, and the images extremely clear.

"Very good technique," Sofia Coppola said with some surprise, stealing

a glance at Ryan, feeling a bit frustrated. Ryan's filming technique is actually much stronger than hers.

You know, she comes from a family of performers, while Ryan has only filmed one pseudo-documentary, using a handheld camera.

There aren't many scenes in the apartment, and filming is finished in less than half a day, so the crew needs to move to the next location.

Apart from some minor problems at the beginning of filming, the rest of the time has gone very smoothly. It's much faster than Ryan's estimated shooting schedule. In just eight days, they've already finished shooting most of the scenes.

At this rate, it's estimated that the crew will wrap up in another five days.