Four Hundred - I'll Talk to Him

In the past three weeks, "The Matrix" has not only achieved a box office of nearly 170 million US dollars in North America, but also successfully topped the weekly box office for two consecutive times.

The film's performance in the overseas theater market is also good. In regions including English-speaking audiences, movie fans are very enthusiastic about this action science fiction blockbuster with a strong cyberpunk style.

Of course, this is an R-rated film after all, and the audience problem does exist objectively, and the film's reputation is not like the one-sided praise it receives in North America.

The main point of controversy is actually the Internet. The concept of Internet in the movie is not difficult for North American audiences to understand. The acceptance of computers and Internet in this land is already quite high. When this scope is expanded to the whole world, Things are not that simple.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Internet was a relatively unfamiliar term in many parts of the world. Even in many smaller European countries, moviegoers had no idea what the Internet was.

The reason why more movie fans are willing to go into the theater is entirely because of the novel fighting scenes, alternative use of special effects, handsome men and beauties in the strong cyberpunk style, and the refreshing feeling the movie brings to them.

"The overseas box office is conservatively estimated at around US$150 million, plus US$170 million in North America. The performance of "The Matrix" completely exceeded our expectations." Jeff Robinoff did not talk about Paramount again. and "Mission: Impossible", but instead brought the topic to "The Matrix".

"The forecasts made within the company are relatively close to the results given by third-party forecasting companies. They both believe that the total global box office of "The Matrix" will be around US$400 million."

“Box office numbers are far from the most important thing!”

Bruce Rosenblum lit his cigar and flicked the blowtorch from the coffee table to Wayne's face. He first closed his eyes and enjoyed a big sip of the strong fragrance. When the smoke blew out of his nose, he continued:

"For "The Matrix," the main source of revenue is peripherals, as well as the operation of various offline channels after it is released. The box office share of the theaters, and what is finally in our hands, does not account for the total profit. Ten percent. Wayne, you are going to make a lot of money this time, how about it, when are you going to treat me?"

"How about Saturday?"

Wayne's hearty agreement came out. When he imitated Bruce Rosenblum, lighting a cigar with a blowtorch and closing his eyes in enjoyment, Warner Bros.'s distribution director and CEO were stunned.

Everyone could tell that Bruce Rosenblum's words just now were just a joke to draw the relationship between them, but unexpectedly, they received a positive response.

At this time, Nina, who had been silent, opened the leather briefcase she carried with her and took out three formal invitations. Under the surprised eyes of the two people, it was placed on the coffee table in front of them.

"Wow, a celebration party for our little princess!" After Jeff Robinov picked it up, he understood what was going on. "You came here today just to give this gift?"

"There is a reason for this." Wayne opened his eyes happily, savoring the fruity aroma in his mouth. It was only now that he slowly adapted to enjoying cigars.

"Bruce, give me the extra share and give it to John. This party won't be too big. It's just our own people. Look, isn't the treat you asked for coming?"

"Phew, it seems that I'm going to have a headache in the past two days. I have to choose a suitable gift for our little princess..." Bruce Rosenblum deliberately lengthened his voice. Everyone present knew in their hearts that this It was him who was deliberately trying to bring the relationship between the two parties closer.

"As long as you don't give away money." Wayne shrugged and said with pride on his face: "I have made a lot of money for Fendi. Okay, let's talk about business. For "The Matrix" "What do you think of the second and even the third part?"

This was the main purpose of his coming here today. The rounds of testing by Steven Spielberg and Townsend Rothman in the past few days set off an alarm in his heart. Wayne had reason to believe that there were more people. Staring at Zack Snyder.

The main creative team of "The Matrix" ended their overseas promotional tour yesterday and all returned to Los Angeles and disbanded.

Jeff Robinov put away his smile, tightened the muscles on his face, and said: "We must continue to shoot. There is no doubt about it. We can't make this a business that can create profits of hundreds of millions." The series has been postponed indefinitely, and my opinion is that it is best to start preparations for the second part as soon as possible!”

"What do you think of the second and third series filming?" Wayne had already thought that he would get support, so he simply expressed his thoughts.

Bruce Rosenblum squinted his eyes and said: "I think it can be considered that there are many benefits of double shooting. It can save a lot of production funds and reduce the salary of the crew and creators, but the double shooting will cause a greater loss." We cannot ignore the risks.”

As he said, set shooting is also a common method in Hollywood, and there are definitely many benefits. For example, a stable crew and creator will help the film maintain consistent production standards. Continuous shooting can save part of the financial investment. Two films can be produced together with the creator. When negotiating a contract, it is also helpful to lower the price.

But there are also considerable risks involved. The conventional practice of Hollywood production companies is to summarize the success factors and commercial selling points of a movie after it is successful, and then continue filming with the same routine.

If the film fails, then naturally all subsequent plans will be put into limbo because of the need to stop losses in time.

The biggest risk of double-shooting is here. The production company has no chance to try and make mistakes. If the theater market of the second part of "The Matrix" is cold, or encounters a dark horse at the box office or a strong competitor in the same period, it is not impossible. The possibility of a bust.

Every movie is like a gamble before it is released. No one can guarantee what will happen. Maybe just a little intervention of social factors can make a huge difference in the box office of the movie.

For example, in the year before 9/11, war films, horror films, plasma films, and other films with violence and war scenes produced by countless Hollywood film companies were ignored because of the collapse of the Twin Towers and the anti-war sentiments of the North American people.

Accidents like this happen all the time. Who can guarantee that all the movies that hit the streets are shoddy stuff?

However, Sony Columbia was lucky enough to successfully produce the world-saving Spider-Man in the summer release of the year after 9/11. At that time, the people of North America were extremely disgusted with war and bloodshed, and wished that every ordinary person had anti-war sentiments.

Therefore, this superhero who saves the world has won the cheers of countless ordinary movie fans. Other Hollywood companies also realized that the people needed superheroes, and then countless comic book characters were successfully brought to the big screen, and all of them achieved good box office results.

"Wayne, talk to Zach first."

Jeff Robinoff thinks more and understands that if the "Matrix" package shoot is to be as successful as possible, it mainly depends on Zack Snyder's reaction.

And now the first movie he directed has grossed over 100 million in North American box office, and Zack Snyder is very popular in the industry. No one knows what he thinks. Whether he will expand or change his mind because of his sudden huge success. possible.

"I will talk to him. I hope Zach has not been blinded by the media's boasting and praise." Wayne shook his head. This is just one aspect of worry. He believes that after getting off the plane from Los Angeles International Airport, There are countless temptations placed in front of Zack Snyder.

"The project review and investment for the second two parts of "The Matrix" are not a problem for the company. As long as you get Zack Snyder over there, I promise to push forward all the early work as quickly as possible." Jeff Robinov looked towards Wayne beside him had some words that he didn't say, so he immediately gave Bruce Rosenblum a wink.

Regarding the issue of "The Matrix", the two Warner Bros. executives reached a tacit understanding early on, so Bruce Rosenblum did not hesitate at all and asked directly: "Wayne, what is the investment model for the last two movies? Should we follow the same approach as the first one?

If possible, Greenberg Studio and Warner Bros. would each contribute half of the funds, and the distribution of the film would be handed over to the company's distribution department. Of course, the copyright would also belong to Warner Bros., just like the first one, and all rights and interests generated after the film is released. Warner Bros. and Greenberg Studios also each share 50% of all profits..."

When it came to business, the Warner Bros. executive put on a different expression, one that was no longer as enthusiastic as before.

The last two parts of this series are destined to be more successful than the first part, and everyone in the industry can see this. The first part of "The Matrix" mainly weaved the background of the world and laid a solid foundation for the subsequent sequels.

When it comes to the subsequent investment ratio and income, every one percentage point more or less represents huge benefits that ordinary people cannot earn in their lifetime.

When the business comes to this point, Bruce Rosenblum and Jeff Robinoff will only consider the interests of Warner Bros. They will not relax because of their personal relationship with Wayne, nor will they Treat him as a major shareholder of his own company.

"Ha, it seems you are really afraid of Jimmy!" Wayne's teasing voice sounded, and the smile on his face temporarily broke the somewhat solemn atmosphere just now. "Don't worry, I will tell Jimmy that no matter how successful the first part is, the cooperation model for the next two parts will not change. Greenberg Studio will only get the deserved investment proportion and subsequent short-term income." .”

Obviously, these two Warner Bros. executives represent the concerns of most shareholders, fearing that Wayne will once again ask for a larger investment ratio because of the huge profits from the first film.

Now seeing that he didn't want to get anything more, the two executives breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Yes, Wayne is still as greedy as ever, but he still maintains the bottom line of sharing interests, which is one of the reasons why he quickly achieved great success.