Chapter 400: A New Look

Chapter 400: Chapter 400: A New Look

Time flew by to May 2004, a month after the Paramount meeting that finalized the casting and location scouting for Transformers.

As a hired director, the level of agency was much lower than on projects where she invested her own money; at least she did not have to follow up on information constantly, as most trivial matters were left to the producer, Jerry Bruckheimer.

In fact, he was not the original producer, but out of the importance placed on the project, Paramount changed personnel several times during the film’s pre-production before finally setting their sights on Jerry, who had worked with Irene on Pirates of the Caribbean.

After receiving the invitation, Jerry discussed the relevant situation of the project with Irene in earnest before accepting, which made Irene’s work much easier afterward.

In the afternoon, the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Echo Pictures office were wide open, and the wind, carrying the sultry sea breeze of California, poured into the room, ruffling the neatly stacked project files on the desk.

Irene had just finished reviewing the finalized script for Saw II and the mid-term data from the Twilight fan polls when the office landline rang with the dedicated internal line for Paramount executives.

It was the Marketing Director, Lamb Williams, calling personally to synchronize the finalized list of human lead actors.

"Irene, after three rounds of auditions, theatrical audience surveys, and deliberations by the production department, the human leads for Transformers have all been finalized. I am now sending the official list to your work email. The female lead, male lead, and military captain have all been decided." Lamb’s tone was light, carrying satisfaction with this cast lineup. "For the military captain, we are keeping Hilary Swank, whom you selected; we made no changes throughout the process. The male and female leads were selected entirely by Paramount, and they will coordinate with your shooting schedule accordingly."

Irene thanked him in response.

After hanging up the phone, she clicked on her email to download the attachment.

The moment she opened the actor profile document, her gaze fell on the column for the actor playing the male lead, Sam Witwicky, and her fingertips subconsciously paused.

Chris Evans.

The clear, neat name was printed above the physical file, accompanied by the latest one-inch acting headshot.

At only 23 years old, Chris had clean-cut features, neat blonde hair, and a sunny, upright appearance, naturally possessing that refreshing, righteous American youth vibe—the very image of the future global heartthrob, the national sweetheart, and the first-generation Captain America of the Marvel Universe.

Irene felt a surge of astonishment in her heart, but she calmed down instantly, quickly sorting out the logic of capital and connections; it was not entirely without warning.

In the previous life, the original Transformers was able to cast Shia LaBeouf as the male lead.

Although the external publicity claimed that Michael Bay admired the street-smart vibe and humorous acting style the other party brought, believing he could well balance the film’s core of seriousness and humor, and that Shia LaBeouf, as one of the hottest young actors at the time, fit the image and age of the "Sam Witwicky" character setting perfectly...

The truth was that Shia LaBeouf was the godson of Steven Spielberg, one of the three giants of DreamWorks and a top Hollywood director.

The entire project was deeply controlled and invested in by DreamWorks, directed by Michael Bay, with Steven Spielberg as producer.

Everyone had to accommodate Spielberg’s personal bias to help his godson rise, which is how Shia was finalized as the human male lead.

But in this life, the overall situation had changed completely.

The Transformers project had no connection to DreamWorks.

Because of Irene’s intervention, it was changed to a joint production controlled by Echo Pictures and Paramount.

Michael Bay was no longer the director, and Irene took over the directing duties entirely.

Without the checks and balances of DreamWorks, and with no need to consider the feelings or face of Steven Spielberg, Paramount naturally would not bother to promote Shia LaBeouf.

Eliminating this exclusive connection hire was already within Irene’s predictions.

She had long been certain that Shia would be out, but she never expected that the replacement finalized by Paramount would actually be Chris Evans.

Irene quickly recalled Chris’s acting resume as of 2004, her memory crystal clear.

Back when auditioning for the actor to play Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean, Chris had also applied with all his might.

His sunny and handsome appearance was up to standard, but his acting skills were relatively lacking, and he lacked the melancholic, artistic British vibe the role required, so he ultimately lost out, and the role went to Henry Cavill.

Even though he lost the audition, Irene still had a deep impression of Chris’s beauty.

Among the new generation of Hollywood actors, his facial recognition was in a league of its own; clean and dazzling, it fit her aesthetic perfectly.

Three years later, the two met again as collaborators on the Transformers project.

Irene could not help but sigh in her heart; the Hollywood circle was indeed small to the extreme.

Round and round they went, and all the new generation artists would eventually meet.

After calming down from the surprise regarding the male lead casting, Irene’s gaze moved down to the name column for the female lead, Mikaela Banes.

This time, she was completely stunned, even raising her eyebrows slightly, her eyes full of disbelief, almost dumbfounded.

Scarlett Johansson.

The future Black Widow of Hollywood, a talented actress who became famous young and possessed both allure and coolness, had actually landed the famous "vase" role from the previous life.

In the previous life, the character of Mikaela Banes was a typical "vase" in Hollywood.

Michael Bay used the camera to utilize her hot body to attract the audience, full of the male gaze.

But this time, with Irene directing, she could even change the Special Forces captain to a woman—how could she possibly keep a "vase" female lead?

She combined the personality of the original cartoon’s female lead, Carly, and reshaped her into a partner who could fight side-by-side.

In the script, there was a plot where Sam tried to protect her in the traditional way, but Mikaela was always one step ahead of him; when Sam was cornered by the Decepticons’ grunts, it was Mikaela who drove the tractor-trailer, ramming through, and subdued the enemy with an electromagnetic pulse gun.

There was also the final battle, where Sam needed to carry the AllSpark and climb the high building, but was blocked by Bonecrusher.

It was not Sam protecting Mikaela and telling her to leave first; it was Mikaela who actively suggested, "I will go blow up its legs, you take the chance to charge up."

There was absolute trust between the two, not one-sided rescue.

Only such a female lead would attract thoughtful and intelligent actresses to play her.

At least, Scarlett Johansson understood this key point.

However, at this moment, Irene still had an absurd illusion, unable to tell whether the project in her hands was the special-effects blockbuster Transformers or Marvel’s Captain America 2.

The core characters of the future Marvel Universe, Captain America and Black Widow, had gathered on the Transformers set ahead of time in 2004.

Although the two had co-starred in the low-budget campus comedy The Perfect Score as early as 2001 and were already familiar with each other’s acting rhythm, possessing basic chemistry and not collaborating for the first time...

That low-budget youth comedy had a very low production scale, with an investment of less than ten million dollars, and its audience was limited to local teenagers, as niche as an ant.

But Transformers, with an investment of over $100 million, global distribution, and competing for the annual box office champion, was an elephant-level top-tier commercial production.

The two scales were worlds apart.