1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 77 Edward Norton

For three days in a row, I was unable to get in touch with Julie.

Xu Shengjie had a vague idea in his mind.

However, he didn't have time to think about these things, because he had a lot of other things to do.

Danny Airo provided him with a list of people from various departments of the production crew.

"Run Julie!" has a small budget, but a large cast. According to the script, there are 24 actors in total (excluding extras and other temporary roles). Ten are the core actors, the male and female leads have already been cast, and with Dani Airo, seven more actors are needed.

These actors need to have acting skills and some experience.

In addition, based on departments such as production, cinematography, art direction, sound recording, special effects, visual effects, costumes, and makeup, approximately 100-130 behind-the-scenes personnel are needed. Of course, not all of these people need to be vetted by Xu Shengjie and Danny Ai Luo; they only need to find the heads of these departments, and the rest of the staff will be recruited by them.

East Broadway Apartments.

Xu Shengjie and Danny Ai Luo sat at the work table, flipping through resumes.

Meanwhile, Charlize Theron and Winnie Chow were either tidying up, preparing coffee, or buying food.

"This person is not bad!"

Xu Shengjie took out a resume from the resumes and handed it to Danny Airo.

"Oliver Wood?"

Danny glanced at Xu Shengjie. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, that's him."

"It's alright. He was the cinematographer for 'The Young Master' before, so his skill level isn't too bad."

However, isn't his seniority a bit too low? Perhaps we could find someone with more experience, like…”

Dani Airo went through resumes, trying to find a more suitable photographer.

"Louis, that's him!"

Xu Shengjie laughed and said, "His skill level is good enough, and the key is, he's cheap! If you hire a senior photographer, your budget will be exceeded. Besides, I'm a newbie, and of Chinese descent, do you think those veterans will listen to my commands?"

"Low experience is no problem, the key is to follow orders. I don't want to waste my energy on endless infighting..."

Louis is Dani Airo's name within the Gambino family.

Soldier Daniel Louis Airo!

However, after entering the film industry, he changed his name to Danny Airo, and the name Louis gradually became unknown.

He thought for a moment and praised, "Jeffrey, you're right, let's do it your way."

Oliver Wood may be a stranger to the average person.

But Xu Shengjie remembered this person—the future cinematographer for "The Bourne Identity" and "Face/Off." And the shots he took in those two films were precisely the shots Xu Shengjie most desired for "Run Julie Run."

"Let's choose the sound engineer."

Xu Shengjie took out another resume and handed it to Danny.

Danny glanced at it, indicated his approval, and placed it beside him.

Zhou Wenqiong took it and categorized it with Oliver's resume. Meanwhile, Theron returned from outside, bringing four large cups of steaming hot coffee.

"The air conditioning in this room is a bit too strong."

Xu Shengjie looked up and smiled, "That's why we need hot coffee."

"I just checked at a supermarket on Hong Kong Island, but they didn't have the coffee brand you wanted. However, I bought another Italian brand of coffee powder. I don't know if it will suit your taste. This brand is more famous in Italy."

"You're the boss, you make the decisions."

Charlize Theron used to be a model in Milan, so she is naturally more familiar with Italian coffee brands.

Xu Shengjie...

He knows nothing about coffee!

The coffee at home was bought by Julie before, and to be honest, Xu Shengjie didn't even remember the brand.

Why am I thinking about Julie again?

Xu Shengjie frowned and slapped himself.

Work, why are you thinking about women!

Zhou Wenqiong, Theron, and Danny all looked at him with suspicion.

"It's okay, I was just a little distracted. Let's continue."

"Marko A. Costanzo? Who is that?!"

"The sound engineer for Goose Pond Assassination Order is very experienced in creating tense and oppressive sound effects."

"Uh~"

Theron nodded, offering no further comment.

This is not someone that a small, undebuted young artist like Karami can evaluate.

After all, "The Goose Pond" is a film starring big names like Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. It was released at the end of last year and grossed $190 million in North America, close to $200 million.

"He must be very expensive."

Zhou Wenqiong asked.

"It won't be too expensive. Marco debuted in 88 and has been honing his skills on set ever since. Last year and the year before, he worked on two sets, 'The Young Escort' and 'The Goose Pond Assassination Order.' Director Pakula greatly admires him, but his price isn't high."

Danny Airo explained to Zhou Wenqiong.

Xu Shengjie looked up at him and thought to himself: This guy will probably be the sound engineer for Men in Black 2 and Killer of the Flower Moon in the future.

Wait, man in black?

Xu Shengjie seemed to suddenly remember something, stood up from his chair, and said to Theron, "Sally, could you please give me that dark green notebook in front of me?"

"this?"

Theron picked up the A16 notebook in front of him and asked.

"Yes."

Xu Shengjie replied, and Theron then walked around the worktable and handed the notebook to Xu Shengjie.

"Louis, you guys watch first, I'm going to jot something down."

As Xu Shengjie spoke, he opened his notebook.

The paper inside was the grid-patterned paper, with half of the front densely covered in writing.

He found a label, pasted it onto a blank page, and then wrote the words "Men in Black" on it.

He was using Chinese.

However, as soon as he finished writing, he frowned, tore off the label, then tore off the blank page, shredded it, and threw it into the trash can.

They were so focused on the Men in Black that they forgot they were based on a comic book.

It seems to have been serialized since 90... Xu Shengjie has no memory of it, but the original owner's memory fragments contain information about this.

It seems the original owner was a huge fan of this comic!

"What's wrong with you?"

Zhou Wenqiong asked.

"It's nothing, let's get back to work."

What can Hsu Sheng-chieh say? That he "failed to plagiarize"?

"As for set designers, I recommend Leslie E. Rollins."

Dani Ailuo handed a resume to Xu Shengjie. "Although he is young, he is very experienced, has participated in many film crews, and has a good reputation. However, he has no experience working independently, but his skills are not bad, and the key is that he is very cheap."

Xu Shengjie took the resume, but before he could even look at it, the phone suddenly rang.

He put down his resume, got up, walked over, and picked up the receiver.

"This is Jeffrey Xu."

"Mr. Xu?" A strange man's voice came from the phone, sounding a little nervous and tense.

"I am Edward Norton, a Broadway actor. You may have heard of me."

He introduced himself in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Xu Shengjie was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Mr. Edward Norton, of course I remember you, my leading man."

I've been wanting to get in touch with you for a while, but Julie suddenly went to Los Angeles, so I haven't been able to reach you. I'm so sorry.

Edward Norton visibly relaxed on the phone.

"I should be the one contacting you, but I have a performance in the past two weeks, so I don't dare to be distracted."

My performances ended this week, so I apologize for bothering you... um, I was wondering if I could pay you a visit and have a chat with you in person?

"Of course, now?"

"I have time now."

"Then come to my place, I live on East Broadway..."

Xu Shengjie then gave the address, which Edward Norton quickly wrote down, saying he would be there soon.

He lives off-Broadway, very close to Xu Shengjie's place.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Shengjie returned to his worktable and sat down.

"Jeffrey, what do you think of this guy?"

"Leslie?" Xu Shengjie closed his eyes, searched his memory, and actually found information about this person.

In the future, he will become the set designer for "A Beautiful Mind".

Wow, Daniara is amazing...

The people I found are cheap and capable, and more importantly, although they are currently unknown, they all have representative works to protect them in the future.

"Let's go with him, I think it's fine."

"OK, then the set designer is taken care of."

Dani Elro then placed the other people's resumes aside.

"Next, it's time to choose a stylist..."

"I know her, Francesca Paris. She worked on the set of 'Who is that girl?' back in '88 and has been working as an assistant on various film sets ever since. We even worked together on the set of 'Children of the Cornfield' earlier this year."

She's amazing!

Xu Shengjie seemed a little absent-minded at the moment.

"Jeffrey? Jeffrey?"

"Uh, sorry, I was spacing out just now."

"Are you tired? We've been busy all morning."

"Um, I am a little tired."

He smiled and nodded to Theron to express his gratitude.

Danny Airo also noticed something was amiss, so he said, "Then let's take a break."

"Jeffrey, is Edward Norton coming over in a bit?"

"Yes!"

"Well then, Vivian, Sally, and I are going out to eat. Do you need us to bring some back for you?"

"Okay, whatever you like."

Xu Shengjie also felt that his performance just now was somewhat unsatisfactory, so he took a sip of coffee and nodded in agreement.

……