Six Hundred and Forty Seven - Paramount Is Also Interested in Starting the Summer Season

"Wayne Greenberg, this name is a money printing machine that runs 24 hours a day!"

Sony Columbia CEO Oga Xiong, after just finishing the high-level meeting, looked at the marketing department's survey data on "Batman: The Dark Knight" in his hand, Chi Luoluo's jealousy was written on his face.

"Red."

He threw the analysis data on the table, picked up the phone and said to the secretary outside the door: "Inform Roland Emmerich that I will go over in a moment to visit the progress of the work on "Godzilla"!"

"Okay, sir."

Paramount Pictures, the only one of the six giants in the Los Angeles area that is still in Hollywood, Iron Lady CEO Shirley Lansing, who is known for her tactics and tough style, has a similar piece of analytical data on her desk. She is over middle-aged, wearing a set of high-end women's professional skirts, leaning on an office chair with a complicated expression on her face.

"The DC movie series has only been developing for a few years?! If we look at the current situation, the global market size of the entire series may have already reached tens of billions of dollars!"

In Shirley Lansing's eyes, Paramount has never been any worse than Warner Brothers. Even though Warner Bros. has temporarily secured its No. 1 spot among the six major studios in recent years, she has never felt powerless. If she can lead Paramount and quickly get back on track from the turbulent acquisition crisis, she can continue to lead Paramount and steadily move towards the leading position of Hollywood film companies.

But what is happening now is obviously worse than what she expected in the previous two years. If Warner Bros. is good at sequel movies, and the market size of the DC series rapidly expands to more than 10 billion, it means that it is not just the beginning of the summer season. It was forcibly occupied.

Shirley Lansing has always looked very far and dared to make bets at critical moments. For example, "Titanic" is still a global hit. Everyone in Hollywood regarded 20th Century Fox as the A funny joke was made, but this woman dared to take a decisive action and get involved in this big ship when no one expected it.

The size of the Hollywood market is so huge. The reason why the major giants both cooperate and secretly compete, and have frequently and tacitly squeezed out medium-sized film companies in the past two years, is that the main reason is very simple, because if you take an extra bite, it means that others will Just take one less bite.

Judging from the current situation, Warner Bros. is no longer taking one more bite, biting the biggest piece of fat and not letting go. Rather, it tyrannically dominates this market where the revenue generated by each film is the same as that of a successful animated feature film. What’s even more incredible is that each DC superhero comic book movie has generated more revenue than the last.

"Boss, Mr. Ryder and Mr. Freeman are here."

Just as Shirley Lansing was looking out the window and thinking confusedly, there was a gentle knock on the office door, and the secretary's calm voice came in at the same time.

"Invite them in."

Lowering his head to check his attire, the Paramount CEO put back his random thoughts, smiled and shook hands with the two people who walked into the office. After a few pleasantries, the conversation between the three of them got down to business.

“I have a new idea for the release plan of Clash.”

Shirley Lansing picked up the coffee cup and glanced at the two men across the desk with squinted eyes. Her voice was always strong, as if she was not discussing with the two, but making an unquestionable final decision.

However, as long as you have a little understanding of Paramount Pictures and have worked with this giant, you will get used to the strength of this Hollywood iron lady. Mimi Ryder, the director and producer of "Collision", has collaborated with Paramount once or twice. He turned his head and glanced at the black actors beside him, nodded slightly and said:

"Shirley, just tell me that Paramount's arrangements have been made."

Shirley Lansing put down her coffee cup, and as soon as she spoke, the two people across from her were stunned. "The scheduled schedule of "Crash" has been adjusted from mid-August as we previously agreed, to early May, the beginning of the summer season!"

"What?"

"Early May?"

Nowadays, among all the film professionals in Hollywood, one principle is basically very clear, that is, unless necessary, do not believe in evil, take a movie with tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars invested, and go to the beginning of the summer to compete with that dark lunatic. .

As the best-selling, longest-lived, and most market-savvy super director in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg, even with the sequels of blockbuster movies, still didn’t benefit from that lunatic’s hands, let alone other movies. people?

No one who has big ambitions in this period is making movies for the so-called art. Who is not making movies to make a lot of money? Why take the risk and compete with that madman again? It's better to just stay away from him. They would rather compete with other companies' big investments in the crowded period later than wade into the muddy waters in May!

"Don't worry, listen to me."

Waving to the two people who looked surprised, Shirley Lansing talked about the news she had received before. "Twentieth Century Fox's "X-Men" will be released in August as expected!"

Speaking of this comic-book superhero that has been watched by everyone outside, her face flashed with a strong look of ridicule. "Listen, this is not a parody that Universal Pictures whipped up out of the blue.

Who in the industry doesn't know that in order to ensure the success rate of the opening episode, 20th Century Fox gave Wayne Greenberg a box office share of no less than 20 points! The purpose is for him to write, produce, and control the direction of the film! I speculate that this film will be no less anticipated by movie fans than "The Flash" when it is released this summer. "

Hearing this, the two men sitting opposite nodded silently. They all understand that in the past two years, there has been an obvious shortage of comic-book superhero movies on the market. Even if Wayne Greenberg is a well-known fast shooter in Hollywood, he can only shoot one at most in a year. Obviously, he is not satisfied with being hung up. Movie fans who have developed an appetite cannot satisfy the growing market demand.

However, film companies that hold the copyright of superheroes simply do not dare to produce them easily. The example of Universal Pictures illustrates a problem very well. Without Wayne Greenberg's personal participation, no one can figure out the success now. Where is the point.

Even the best imitations of Hollywood studios are not easy to use on DC superheroes. It is precisely that young dark director who is one of the most difficult to imitate in Hollywood.

What worries film companies even more is actually the production cost. Any superhero chosen at random cannot be produced with tens of millions of dollars. Superheroes mean big special effects, big scenes, and big investment. When the success rate cannot be guaranteed, everyone is waiting silently.

Twentieth Century Fox is the focus of all companies' wait and see. As we all know, Marvel's superhero system is very different from DC's. The style of the "X-Men" film and whether it can be accepted by the market have become the focus of many companies.

Director Bryan Singer did not come from Wayne's team, and the films he shoots will certainly not be in the same dark style as Zack Snyder's. Only when such a film is put into the market can To a certain extent, it illustrates the true performance of comic-book superhero movies outside of the DC series.

"But......"

Morgan Freeman, who had just made great progress in his career and started to receive invitations from major film companies, frowned slightly and said hesitantly: "But even if we release it in early May, it will take at least two weeks. It’s time to meet “The Flash” and Sony Columbia’s ambitious “Godzilla”..."

"A little over two weeks is enough!"

Hearing the black movie star's concerns, directors Mimi Ryder and Shirley Lansing both laughed. The Paramount CEO put one hand on his desk, tapping it rhythmically, and explained with a smile:

"This is more than two weeks without any other big projects! If "Collision" performs well, there is no need to worry about the subsequent box office. If there is no fierce competition, the box office performance will be average... "

The two men understood the subtext, and that's what happened. Without strong competition, the box office performance would be very mediocre, and it would be a failure no matter what time it was put into. If there is no competition, the theater foundation is laid in the early stage, and the word-of-mouth effect is relied on later, it may not be possible to get a share of the "Flash" and "Godzilla" siege.

But in Morgan Freeman's heart, there was always a voice that was frantically warning him that Wayne Greenberg's advantages were never so easy to take advantage of!

Shirley Lansing's eyes were very poisonous, and she could see the concerns in the eyes of black movie stars at a glance. She understood that Morgan Freeman, who had returned to the public eye in the past two years, was still the gentleman that movie fans loved and had different opinions about the film. Little box office appeal.

The most striking feature of North American audiences is that they have a very high tolerance for Hollywood stars, or they are very sober. Similar things happen all the time. Even if a star standing in front of the stage violates his moral bottom line, he will disappear from the public eye for two years at most.

When you return to the public eye again, you may be able to repent or turn around. The general attitude of the public is to forgive, and it is not uncommon for people to even take advantage of previous mistakes and advance to a higher level in their careers.

"Don't think I'm taking a big gamble."

The hand knocking on the desk suddenly stopped. Shirley Lansing picked up the coffee cup and stood up. The sound of high heels sounded. Under the gaze of the two men, she slowly walked to the large window, with her back to the two men. People said: "The internal test screening of "The Flash" at Warner Bros. caused more controversy than the outside world thought!"

The two men behind them all knew that when they reached the position of CEO of the six giants, as long as they wanted to know, it would be difficult for the people in the industry to keep secrets from them. The two looked at each other, and Mimi Ryder looked at the woman's back and asked tentatively: "In the internal test screening of the movie, the executives think the market prospects are not ideal?"

"There was a lot of debate."

Shirley Lansing nodded and continued: "If Wayne Greenberg will fail, then this "The Flash" must be the one with the highest probability of failure! From the information I learned, the style of the film The transformation is so bold that some shareholders even think it has completely departed from Greenberg’s film style!”

This is why Shirley Lansing is willing to take a gamble. Examples of famous directors who want to pursue more and rashly change their directing styles are not uncommon in Hollywood.

Of course, the success rate is pitifully low. Normally, this kind of thing will only happen once. After the failure, those directors will wake up and pick up the weapons they threw away.