Three Hundred and Eighteen - Universal Repeats Its Old Tricks

Peter Jackson seemed to have been put into a euphoria. After Nina called Jimmy and asked for the address of the agency, he couldn't wait to rush to the simple suburban building.

To make this movie, the investment of money and time required is still very long, and that’s if everything can be prepared smoothly.

Wayne remembers clearly that in his previous life, a lot of behind-the-scenes news broke out because of the movie's popularity. The first person to collect the film and television rights of "The Lord of the Rings" was actually the big fat man Harvey Weinstein. However, many unexpected situations occurred. In the end, the investment and distribution became New Line Cinema.

However, some media did report an interview with Harvey Weinstein. He himself said that it was indeed because he was chased by Peter Jackson that he let New Zealanders find investment channels on their own.

No matter how great achievements New Line Cinema created in its previous life because of this series, it has nothing to do with it now. This will become Wayne's capital to deepen his status and influence at Warner Brothers.

If a director directs a film with a box office of hundreds of millions of dollars in North America, even if the director is a novice, he will become famous because of it. If you want to invite him to direct another film of the same type, the price you have to pay will be much higher.

Even in this era, if you want a director to direct the same type of film again, the salary will quickly rise from hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than millions of dollars, and it may even involve post-production sharing.

This is just a work of the same type. If it is a sequel movie, it will become a money-making spree for the director.

So for the "Lord of the Rings" series, he is going to let Peter Jackson make all the preparations, even if the preparation time is extended, he will directly sign a trilogy contract and film all three trilogies at once. come out.

In this way, even if the movie becomes a big hit afterwards, at most it will only give the other party some incentive cash.

It is impossible for Wayne to provide the copyright to Warner Bros. for free, and investment issues will inevitably be involved. As a film company boss, he had considered these things in advance.

Not only Peter Jackson, the director, but also all the actors involved in the project will receive the same treatment. If he is unwilling to sign a trilogy contract in advance, he will not hesitate to choose young actors who have not yet come forward.

Wayne made a clear distinction between the two aspects of his career plan. After picking up a camera, he became a pure film director. His main job was to shoot good films and be responsible for the investment of the production company.

But after putting down the camera, he will immediately switch to the state of a producer and film company owner, working hard to win more benefits for himself with the projects he invests in, even if the process is full of exploitation and oppression, this is the natural instinct of a capitalist.

There are many such examples in this circle, such as the good old Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and even Tom Hanks, who has always been honest and honest, and the handsome and charming Tom Cruise. Having their own film company, taking off the guise of a superstar, they are actually a group of film businessmen.

"How's it going? If you have any opinions, you can put them forward directly."

Gilmour had been reading the script after the New Zealanders left, but he read it very slowly, or very carefully, thinking from a work perspective while watching it.

More than an hour passed unknowingly, and it wasn't until he read the entire script, picked up the cold coffee and drank it in one sip that Wayne spoke.

"The ultimate in violent aesthetics!"

Gilmore closed his eyes and thought about it for a while, constantly simulating the final scene in his mind, and subconsciously gave his own evaluation. "This is the ultimate romance in the eyes of men, but of course, this story is very unfriendly to fans other than men."

"What? Is it really that good?"

Before Wayne could say anything, Naomi Watts looked at the Mexican director with a ghostly expression on her face and asked in surprise. She had just read this story, but she didn't feel the aesthetics of it at all.

In her opinion, there is nothing in this story except Chi Luoluo's ugliness, countless swear words throughout, and the bloody violence that breaks out at the slightest disagreement.

"Ms. Watts, this kind of realistic genre film has always been a carnival for a certain group of male movie fans." Gilmour shrugged, glanced at Wayne, and explained patiently.

"The Maltese Falcon is like this, and this story is like this. But I believe that under the direction of Mr. Greenberg, the film's audience will be greatly improved. He is good at this, isn't he? And the Academy will like this. Full of the violent aesthetics of art.”

Gilmore is actually very clear in his heart that no matter how good the film is, it may not be able to escape the category of R-rated gangster film, which may make the already small audience even smaller.

As long as you think about it carefully, you will understand that this typical realistic film is definitely aiming for Academy Awards, and its original intention is not for commercial interests. If the goal is more box office, why not just make superheroes?

"You're right." Wayne smiled and nodded, and the other party saw through his intentions almost at a glance. "This type of movie is very regionally specific. Maybe except for North America, it is difficult to get overseas movie fans to buy it."

It is difficult to lose money on this movie. He has long had the idea in his mind. Through his continuous success over the years, he has gradually gained a "brand effect" recognized by movie fans. These fundamentals can guarantee that this kind of investment can be made blindfolded. The investment will definitely be recovered.

But at the same time, it is just as difficult to make big money with this film as before. After all, his first goal is still the statuette.

"Do you need me to help you draw the storyboard?" Gilmore felt excited when he thought that the first Hollywood project he participated in was to compete for the highest award in the academy. Wayne shook his head. "It will take a while. Don't worry now. You can still spend some time during the holiday. After the project is officially launched, it will become very busy."

There will basically be no changes to the script, but there is still a long time before filming starts, and he cannot guarantee whether he will suddenly add some other elements on a whim.

He has read a total of four versions of this story, the original version in Xiangjiang, the book version, the Bangzi version and the North American version.

If it were for Bai Yueguang, who once felt peaceful in his heart, then the Xiangjiang version would definitely be the most poetic, and the Bangzi version is actually pretty good too. Unfortunately, this is North America, and given the purpose of the film, he was destined to have no other choice.

"holyshirt..."

The two women who were reading newspapers and magazines were chatting in whispers, but Naomi Watts suddenly exclaimed with an incredible expression on her face, and even Nina looked amused.

The assistant lady pursed her lips, stood up and handed over a newspaper. "Boss, something interesting is coming!"

"what?"

Wayne took the newspaper and saw the huge headline at first glance. 'Missing notice: Three female college students from Princeton University have lost contact with their friends and family for two weeks because they were searching for the secret of witches. Please pay attention to those around you...'

Seeing this, he was also amused. "It's really interesting. Universal Pictures really doesn't let go of any successful experience. It wants to completely copy that marketing plan."

As long as he sees this, he can be sure that "The Witch 2", filmed by the original director, is probably very close to its release date.

There is nothing wrong with Universal Pictures doing this. The essence of Hollywood is to copy success, summarize all the successful elements, and copy it like an assembly line.

But the result may not be what they want to see. The interval between the release of the first film and the release of the first film is too short. In such a short period of time, it is impossible for movie fans to forget the anger of being deceived. Wayne is not optimistic about this time. marketing plan.

Even if "The Ghost Story" did later copy "Blair Witch" and once again made a lot of profits through viral marketing, it was done after a gap of several years, after the public had forgotten the feeling of being deceived.

This humble report was just the beginning. At the same time, executives from Universal Pictures were also looking at this newspaper.

They spent tens of millions of dollars to purchase all the copyrights to "The Blair Witch Project." They are now counting on the film to be released smoothly and achieve the desired results to bring back the company's blood as soon as possible.

Relevant personnel from the distribution department of Universal Pictures, as well as the film and television production supervisor responsible for "Blair Witch 2", gathered in a conference room and were discussing the distribution of the film.

The people sitting in this conference room are all professionals in the industry, and they have all watched this film more than once.

Frankly speaking, this film is the same garbage as the first film in terms of storyline, production techniques, shooting quality and actors' performances. In their eyes, it is simply useless.

If it weren't for the huge success of its predecessor, no one would be willing to believe that this kind of film would have any commercial value.

But what happened to be bought together with this piece of garbage was a marketing plan of astonishing value. This marketing plan details the measures to be taken at every step, as if it is teaching you step by step to make money.

The professionals in the conference room all had a strange illusion after watching it. This was the chef in a three-star Michelin restaurant, making a bowl of shit-like food.

"What do you think? It doesn't matter, just tell me."

CEO Ron Meyer, who was sitting at the head of the conference table, looked at everyone and said.

"There is no need to discuss the quality of the film. Isn't this marketing plan what we value most?" Film producer Clete Singer looked around and took the lead in pointing out the key points.

"This marketing plan has proven its worth. I found out through the fat guy Harvey that this thing was indeed created by Wayne Greenberg. I have to say, he is indeed a production genius!"