Three Hundred and Sixty-Two-Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, Warner Brothers Is Such a Big Deal.

As for what happened on Saturday, everyone in the industry knew what was going on. No matter what the purpose was, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. were working together to squeeze Universal Pictures' projects.

And the man behind all this is the crazy young Hollywood boss.

Less than a day after the media released the report, the general news was almost spread. Even the reasons why 20th Century Fox did this have been analyzed.

The reason is very simple, it is the greater good.

The current investment in "Independence Day" is US$75 million, and it will most likely exceed 100 million including the investment in promotion and distribution. This is the head project of 20th Century Fox this year, but it is being used to compete with Universal Pictures.

No matter how much it loses at the box office this summer or how much risk it takes, that young man’s commitment will always foot the bill.

The peripheral sales of "Batman Begins" are in the hundreds of millions, as well as the video tapes that have been selling like hotcakes for more than half a month. These are the basic operational capabilities of the production company and can be copied in full.

The premise of copying is to ensure the success rate of superhero movies. This kind of omni-channel profitability is comparable to animated feature films, but the production cycle is far shorter than that of animated feature films. Warner Bros. has made several other giants jealous. source.

The guarantee for the success of comic-book superheroes is undoubtedly Wayne Greenberg, who turned this niche film into a summer carnival for movie fans.

Unless Universal Pictures achieves the expected success at the start of this summer season, other giants will not easily take action in the face of huge investments in comic-book superheroes.

Everyone seemed to be watching a farce, privately laughing at Wayne for making a fuss out of a molehill and driving the two giants crazy at the expense of others. At the same time, they were waiting indifferently for the arrival of the summer season, eager to see the three giants dog eating dog.

However, what is unexpected is yet to come. Saturday is just the beginning. Early on Sunday morning, Warner Bros. happily announced the release dates of the remaining projects it has invested in.

Some people who were still watching the show yesterday found out with ugly faces the next day that they were not outsiders, but were all involved by that dark madman.

"What does Warner Bros. want to do? Go crazy with Wayne Greenberg?"

Mel Gibson, who has been busy with awards season activities, came to Paramount this time to discuss the issue of a movie-pulling reception. Unexpectedly, he unexpectedly discovered that Warner Bros.'s big move actually involves more than one or two companies.

Disney's major production "Ransom" starring him was announced to be released in mid-June more than two weeks ago. As a popular candidate for this year's Oscars, Disney's distribution company Buena Vista Pictures regarded him as a movie star early on. the main publicity point.

Looking at the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times in my hand, the headline above is the report that Wayne Greenberg's new project, "The Departed" will premiere in mid-June.

Even if this is not the Batman that fans are expecting, no one dares to underestimate his project. Yes, this is not a commercial blockbuster in the traditional sense, but Wayne's movies have never followed the laws of the market, right? ? Who knows if this realistic gangster film will explode at the box office!

"motherfxxker! sonofthebxxxh..."

Even though he knew this was aimed at Disney, the Australian movie star still kept spouting all kinds of curse words, causing the president's secretary who was walking aside to frown.

Everyone knows that Hollywood celebrities have one image in front of the public and another image behind them, but the contrast is as big as that of Australians, and secretaries really don’t see it often.

"Mr. Gibson, Ms. Lansing, the meeting is over."

"ok."

Mel Gibson stretched out his hand to rub his face, stood up, straightened his suit, grabbed the newspaper and followed his secretary into the office.

The first thing he saw after coming in was the first female CEO in the history of Hollywood, holding up a newspaper with the same ugly expression, and both of them were watching this morning's Los Angeles Times.

After the secretary gently walked out of the door, he did not disturb Shirley Lansing. Instead, he sat at his desk and took out the newspaper he had just finished reading. He wanted to know what other news would make this legendary female manager His face was ugly.

Until a few minutes passed, Mel Gibson couldn't help but murmur in surprise. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Warner Bros. is such a big hand, Wayne Greenberg is such a big hand!"

"I feel the same way."

A woman's voice came, and when I looked up, I found that the woman was holding a coffee cup and the newspaper I had read was on the table.

"Okay, let's get down to business." Shirley Lansing didn't continue the topic. She put down her coffee and looked at him and said, "Tomorrow night at five o'clock, the cocktail party will be held at the Beverly Four Seasons Hotel. We have invited a large number of academy members. , specific public relations matters..."

"I am ready."

Mel Gibson doesn't care about anything else. The upcoming Oscar is the top priority, and everything else is not as important as this. "My agent helped me find a lobbying firm, and I will personally spend three million dollars in public relations fees to ensure that 'Braveheart' always appears in media reports."

"Paramount will fully mobilize its media resources. You don't have to worry about this. Please contact the public relations department for specific plans."

After a brief exchange between the two, Mel Gibson ignored the news reported in the newspaper and left the office and went straight to the public relations department.

Shirley Lansing picked up the newspaper again, stared at the news, and fell into deep thought.

"The Departed" opens in mid-June, the same weekend as Disney's "Ransom," which has nothing to do with Paramount.

But "Mission: Impossible", released at the end of May, is their top production this year, and Tom Cruise can be said to be the biggest box office guarantee.

In a schedule that other companies avoid, Warner Bros. packed the year's most anticipated blockbuster "Twister" on the same weekend. This is what makes Paramount CEO feel sick.

Since the failure of "Ambition" a few years ago, big companies in the industry have understood one thing. Superstars are not completely guaranteed to be box office. No one can say which film will suddenly be ignored by movie fans.

Otherwise, the combination of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will not encounter Waterloo.

You know, since "Top Gun" became a hit, any film he has participated in, no matter what type, the audience seems to only recognize his handsome face, and it has basically never failed at the box office.

The only time in recent years that the production company lost money was the film "Pulse Earth". However, this movie reminded all production companies that superstars are not always easy to use, otherwise Shirley Lansing would not feel irritated.

"The Matrix in mid-May, the same weekend as Universal Pictures' "The Incredible Hulk." The end of May, "Twister," in the same weekend as Paramount's "Mission: Impossible." The same weekend as "The Departed" in mid-June. The weekend is set against Disney's "Ransom."

Oh, let’s see, there’s also “Independence Day” on June 28th, and the target of the squeeze is “The Fat Professor” from Universal Pictures. At the end of July, "Machete Kills" directed by Joe Schumacher and starring Samuel L. Jackson will be released, and Miramax's "Until Dawn" will be released on the same weekend. "

Naomi Watts had a big belly and held a signature pen in her hand. While comparing the newspapers of the past two days, she playfully connected different movies in the notebook.

After several months of self-cultivation, the woman had reduced her physical activity a lot and did not put on a few extra kilograms of fat. Leaning on the deck chair on the balcony, except for her obviously protruding belly, the rest of her body was still so thin.

At the end of the movie, she reached out and pushed Wayne, who was reading the script carefully next to her, and asked curiously: "I heard that the director of "Until Dawn" and Quentin, who starred in it, are both Your admirers, if you want to bully that big fat man, why don’t you wait until The English Patient announces its release date?”

"Nami, this is not a game!"

Wayne put down the script of "The Lord of the Rings" and reached out to stroke the golden retriever lying at his feet. After making sure that it was just asleep, he looked helplessly at the Australian girl and explained.

"Warner Brothers is not my company alone. We can only schedule films during the prime time of the summer season. We have delayed announcing the release date until now. The distribution department has already had a big conflict with the theater alliance."

Things are far from as simple as outsiders see them. No matter how important Wayne is in Warner Bros. and how many shares he holds, getting the company to accompany him in this drama is not as easy as it seems.

What he lost was not just the X-Men series from 20th Century Fox. Jeff Robinov helped him convey the commitment to the Warner Bros. board of directors, which was far more important than planning the overall situation and being a producer for the X-Men. many.

Without the huge benefits promised, other board members and executives would not go crazy with him even if they owned a large stake in Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. has a high probability of finally making a profit from this kind of madness. Others don’t know this. In people’s general understanding, even if a movie is optimistic before it is released, it is also a gamble.

And what kind of chain reaction this will cause, even Wayne himself is not sure. No one can say for sure whether there will be an accident that will hurt both parties or completely defeat them all, so the price to pay will never be small.

"My dear, are you a little too anxious?" Naomi Watts observed his face and cautiously advised: "Maybe we can wait for the opportunity without provoking the hatred of all companies at once. Now the summer vacation is completely blocked. You messed it up."

Reaching out a hand to gently caress the woman's belly, Wayne looked into her eyes and raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm a lunatic too?!"

The Australian girl didn't need to answer, he got the answer from his facial expression, and he suddenly smiled. "That's right. Even you think I'm a hornet's nest and I'll go crazy at the slightest touch. What do you think other people will think? I just want to tell everyone in the circle, don't take my ideas lightly!"