Chapter 31

Bruce Willis? Richard?

Looking at the smiling headshot on the webpage, Ye Wei felt more and more that it was a perfect fit. Currently, Willis is the best choice after Hanks, and in some ways, he might even be more suitable. This 48-year-old man is a member of the $25 million per film club and one of the top male actors in Hollywood today.

From the Broadway stage to television and then to the big screen, Willis became one of the iconic action stars of the 1980s and 1990s through the "Die Hard" series. He has a massive following worldwide and is a favorite of overseas distributors. If you think he has no acting skills just because he is famous for his cool and tough image, you are wrong.

Willis is far more than just an action star. He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for "Moonlighting" (1985), received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for "The Color of Money" (1989), and was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor four times. His range is broad, from comedic roles to caring fathers and grumpy veterans, all of which he handles with ease, earning him much praise. This is not surprising, given his Broadway background!

In the mid-to-late 1990s, as the trend of muscular action heroes began to wane, and audiences either lost interest in special effects-laden action blockbusters or preferred action-comedy films like Jackie Chan's "Rush Hour," traditional action stars like Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme sought to transition, or else they would decline. However, their range was not as broad as Willis', making their transitions less successful. For example, Stallone, despite an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for "Rocky" (1976), saw mixed results with "Cop Land" (1997) and a complete failure with "The Expendables" (2000), and he is still struggling.

In contrast, Willis' status has only risen. While his highest single-film salary may not match Schwarzenegger's, his commercial value is actually higher. He can play a caring father in "Armageddon" (1998), a grieving psychologist in "The Sixth Sense" (1999), and a middle-aged man in "The Kid" (2000). These roles helped him successfully navigate the changing tides of the film industry, keeping him in the $25 million per film club.

Why is he more suitable in some ways?

Consider his pivotal role in "The Sixth Sense," a thriller that grossed $670 million worldwide and received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The film's director and writer, M. Night Shyamalan, was only 28 at the time.

Shyamalan is a legend in his own right, having made over 40 home short films by the age of 17 and receiving Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at 29. He is now one of Hollywood's top thriller directors. However, at the time, he was just a struggling newcomer whose debut film, "Praying with Anger" (1998), made only $280,000 on a $6 million budget.

Yet, Willis starred in "The Sixth Sense"! Despite his $20 million salary, this choice revealed something about him: his excellent taste in films and his willingness to give young directors a chance. Not everyone has the interest or courage to trust a 28-year-old newcomer, and this is crucial!

Another point: Shyamalan is of Indian descent. Racial discrimination and bias are real, and Ye Wei has experienced this firsthand. Some people believe that Asians cannot excel in certain fields, but Willis does not seem to be one of them.

A few years ago, Willis even made a guest appearance in "Friends" for three episodes! Although it was due to a bet with Matthew Perry, not every superstar would have the leisure to do so. His willingness to take risks, both in his career and personal life, is evident.

Moreover, he has never shied away from playing fathers, middle-aged losers, or comedic roles, and he even dared to die on screen. This guy is not narrow-minded!

"Wow!" Ye Wei couldn't help but exclaim, startling Toto, who opened his eyes and looked up.

If any of these stars were to agree to star in "Little Miss Sunshine," it would undoubtedly be Willis!

However, the difficulty has not diminished. Convincing Willis is harder than a high school student convincing Bill Gates to fund a software project. Software can be judged by its creativity, but a film's success is unknown until it hits theaters.

No one said this would be easy!

Ye Wei took out a notebook and wrote down the main targets: Richard, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis; for the grandfather role, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro; for Cheryl, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock.

The top priority: Bruce Willis!

Tap, tap! The ballpoint pen tapped on "Bruce-Willis," and Ye Wei felt a surge of excitement. Sheriff, you will be amazed by Brother Wei!

He really wanted to discuss this great plan with Willis right away, but how could he make the connection? He looked at the computer screen. While IMDbPro had Willis' contact information, using his middle school identity to contact his agent through official channels would be suicidal...

"A ninth-grader asking Willis to make a movie? April Fool's Day hasn't even arrived yet!" The agent would hang up immediately, and Willis would never know about it.

So, he needed to find another way, a shortcut. He thought about his current connections in the film industry: Kevin Thomas? Or the people at Focus Features?

Forget it! Ye Wei picked up his phone, pressed a few buttons, and stopped at a name in his contacts: Lily Collins.

She might be able to help. Her father is a rock star, and her mother is the president of a prominent women's club. If she doesn't have the connections, she can easily find them.

It was only nine o'clock, and Ye Wei dialed without hesitation. After a few rings, Lily's slightly British-accented voice answered, "HELLO, jerk."

"Hi, beautiful, good evening. Do you have time to chat?"

"Um... not really, I haven't finished my homework yet..."

"Wow, didn't you let your nanny do it for you?" Ye Wei exclaimed. The homework at Harvard-Westlake is indeed heavy, with over an hour of assignments daily, and even more on weekends. Students often have to dedicate one night to homework.

"Never." Lily's voice sounded a bit annoyed, "I'm not a spoiled celebrity's daughter. My mom sent me to Harvard-Westlake to get a rigorous education. But she doesn't know there are students like you here." She laughed.

"What about me? I've already finished my homework, more diligent than you." Ye Wei's tone was serious. He now spends no more than 10 minutes on homework each day.

Lily, who knew this, laughed, "That's great, smart kid. Do you know how to solve this math problem? It's like this..."

"No, no, no, don't say it! I signed the honor code, 'My conscience is my guide.' Telling you the answer would make me feel guilty, so I can't."

"Come on, please, tell me!"

"Okay, I'll tell you quietly..." Ye Wei explained the math problem, teaching her both the fish and how to fish. Lily was enlightened, and he continued, "Now, let's talk about the main targets for the big stars. I have a list."

Lily, who had decided to support his dream, asked with interest, "Who are they?"

Ye Wei read out the list, and finally, he laughed, "And Phil Collins, Richard." Lily immediately scoffed, "Him? His acting is terrible. You must not have seen his two awful films, they were disasters."

"You mean 'Buster's Mal Heart' and 'Supergrass'?" Ye Wei checked IMDbPro as he responded.

"How do you know!? Have you seen them? Oh no..."

"I've seen thousands of movies, but not those two. I found them on IMDb, but I did see his screen debut, 'A Hard Day's Night,' and he was great."

"A Hard Day's Night" (1964) was actually the Beatles' first film, and 13-year-old Phil Collins had a small role as one of the fans. At the time, he hadn't even started his rock career. Later, when he became a rock star, this early appearance became quite interesting and magical. Paul McCartney said he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, he was good in that." Lily tried to suppress her laughter, "You know he was an extra, right?"

"What! Really? I always thought it was a movie with a bunch of rock stars."

"No..."

After laughing for a while, they both calmed down. Ye Wei then got serious and explained his top target and the reasons. "Do you have any connections to Willis? Ideally, a chance to meet him in person."

Lily hummed, thinking, "I know his eldest daughter, Rumer Willis. She's a tenth-grader at Wildwood School. We're not close, but we are friends. I've chatted with her and her mother, Demi Moore, a few times at the Beverly Hills Women's Club."

"That's great!" Ye Wei stood up excitedly, pacing around the room, "I feel like we're on a fast track!"

"Don't get too excited yet." Lily stopped him, "I'm not very close to Rumer Willis. She might not be willing to help, and I don't know how well she gets along with her father. Maybe..."

Ye Wei remembered that Willis and Demi Moore had divorced a few years ago, and there was a possibility that Rumer had a strained relationship with him.

He quickly checked Rumer Willis' IMDb profile and said, "It should be fine. She appeared in 'The Whole Nine Yards' (2000) with Willis, so there shouldn't be a problem. Also, Rumer is clearly not my type, so you can relax."

"Who cares!" Lily rolled her eyes, "You can do whatever you want. But besides me, who else would support you? When I told my mom at dinner, do you know what she said?"

"What?" Ye Wei was curious.

"She said, 'You're either a genius or a madman! Either way, you're dangerous, so be careful.'"

"Oh, that's very wise. I'm too hot, like a bomb ready to explode. You should listen to your mom and be careful."

"I will!"

They laughed and chatted for a while. Since Lily had Rumer Willis' phone number, they decided to call her immediately. Ye Wei waited nervously, pacing around the room, hitting the punching bag, doing sit-ups, and juggling a soccer ball. After nearly half an hour, drenched in sweat, his phone finally rang. It was Lily!

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