Chapter 389 The Power of Hollywood Continues to Grow
Seeing that the young boss was so high-spirited, Andy Albert and David Bigelman naturally responded jokingly, "It must be us."
"Yes, it's us." Tang Huan knocked on the table, "Have you ever calculated, how many movies with promising prospects are in our hands this year, is it significantly more than last year, and last year we not only got out of the predicament, but also We were completely elated, and among the top ten North American annual movie box office rankings, we occupied three seats."
Andy Albert and David Bigelman nodded approvingly. They were not flattering, that was the case.
In addition to Spielberg's "e.t. Alien" and ""-"Haunter" for United Artists and MGM respectively, United Artists also has a series of films similar to "007" that will be launched this year, namely - Sylvester? Stallone's "" - "Rocky 3".
As early as 1976, when the first film of "Rocky" was released, the response was enthusiastic, and it was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won the Oscar for Best Picture, Oscar for Best Director, and Oscar for Best Editing three times. Awarded.
Sylvester Stallone, who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor, has since established his position in Hollywood.
It is no exaggeration to say that "" is the same as "007", it is a bottom-of-the-box program of United Artists, and it is full of gold.
In addition, Sylvester Stallone's other movie "d" - "First Blood" is expected to be released this year, and Tang Huan will naturally not let this movie go.
Due to Hollywood's mature risk-resistant operating mechanism, many successful films at the box office were produced at the beginning of production. It is not so glamorous, and it is often due to financing difficulties due to being unfavorable, or conflicts due to disagreements between different investors. This is the case with "First Blood".
Tang Huan, who has always attached great importance to intelligence collection, also pays attention to collecting various information in Hollywood. Moreover, the image of Timely Rain's nouveau riche is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so more and more filmmakers are trying to ask for help.
After Tang Huan saw the report documents about this project, he found that Warner also had a small investment, so he unceremoniously kicked the other party out and participated in it himself.
Tang Huan was very polite to another participant, Orion Productions, and even offered an olive branch, because Gein's company was established by the group of executives who left United Artists. He hopes that the other party can return.
Of course, Tang Huan took a fancy to the potential of Orion's production, and its performance in the past few years has been remarkable. Among the top ten films at the North American box office of the year.
MGM's "Conan the Barbarian" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Previews began on February 19 in Houston, Texas, and have so far taken place in 30 U.S. cities.
Although the movie has been changed again and again due to too many violent scenes, fans have always been interested in it. This can be seen from the popularity of the preview.
In the capital, District of Columbia, traffic jams were caused as moviegoers lined the streets; in Denver, Colorado. Movie tickets sold out quickly; in Houston, about a thousand spectators were disappointedly turned away because they couldn't get tickets.
"From the market research, the vast majority of the audience is white males, and well-dressed, not the kind of punk in leather, but there is a clear feature, the muscles are bulging. Obviously, they are not interested in the violence of this fantasy theme. Movies. Not your usual soft spot."
David Bigelman introduced it very carefully, because this is MGM that has been decadent for many years. After regrouping, he was responsible for the first important film, whether he can make a comeback in the film field. It depends on whether you can get a good start.
"According to the plan, "Conan the Barbarian" will first be fully released in Spain and France, and then return to the United States, and will deliberately avoid competition from other high-budget and big-production movies in the summer."
"Okay, if the global box office of this movie exceeds 100 million, I will come out together with the consortium in the Middle East to reward everyone." After listening to the report, Tang Huan nodded and promised.
After finishing all the major issues ahead, Tang Huan began to specifically ask about the release status of the movie "Shaolin Temple".
"This movie now has a box office of about 15 million US dollars. Many viewers appreciate the long-shot fighting scenes very much. As a non-English niche work, it is quite successful."
Andy Albert knew that his boss paid more attention to the performance of this Chinese film, so he did a lot of homework, and he answered very fluently at this time.
"Do you think, based on the reaction to this movie, works of this kind will win a regular audience in the United States?" Tang Huan asked thoughtfully.
"It should be possible. After all, Bruce Lee's movie attracted attention at the beginning. Among the audience of "Shaolin Temple", there are even some EA game players who came here for the name. In addition, I have to say that the enthusiasm of the Chinese audience is very high." The views expressed by Andy Albert from outside the Chinese-speaking cultural circle sound very pertinent.
"After a few months, I will recommend two more movies from Xiangjiang to watch." Tang Huan said with a smile.
"In fact, compared with those Japanese Bushido movies, Chinese kung fu movies are not inferior. The former landed in the United States relying on Japan's growing economic influence, but you are a powerful Hollywood boss who wants to promote a few movies. It's not difficult to be an actor." After such a long contact, Andy Albert seemed to regard himself as Tang Huan's confidant, and he closed the door to talk, directly pointing to the essence of the problem.
"I won't mess around. Hollywood rules still have to be followed, and I have to listen to your suggestions seriously." Tang Huan laughed loudly and waved his hands.
...
After Pan American, an insurance giant, acquired almost all of its assets, it has been intending to change its name to Pan American Films to expand its influence. As a result, it was strongly opposed by the senior management of Luan Mei, so that the conflicts between the two sides became more and more serious. deep, and finally led to the collective exodus of the United Artists in 1978.
Among them. Chairman - Arthur G. Ream, President and Chief Executive Officer - Eric Preskov, Chairman of the Finance Committee - Robert Benjamin.
Obviously, these people are the pillars of United Artists, but Pan Am doesn't buy it. He insisted on forcing them away, and was criticized as stupid by the outside world. The United States was badly hurt.
To be honest, these high-level executives who have left belong to the well-deserved elites of Hollywood, and the old money that United Artists is now eating such as "007" and "Rocky" are all accumulated by others.
Three people like Arthur K Lim, Eric Preskov, and Robert Benjamin entered United Artists as early as 1951, and they passed the excellent performance according to the VAM agreement. Buy shares of United Artists from Chaplin and Mary Pickford, the founders of United Artists, at a low price, and make them publicly listed.
The most dazzling achievement of their team is 1975's "onsnest" - "Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", 1976 "" - "Rocky", 1977 "" - "Annie Hall", three consecutive won the Best Picture Oscar.
So after these people established the Orion Production Company, they also performed well. But some capital accumulation must rely on time to precipitate, such as the distribution network.
At the beginning, Orion Production Company solved this problem by cooperating with Warner. For example, the comedy film "Arthur", which was the top ten box office in North America last year, was produced by Orion. Released by Warner Bros.
However, the cooperative relationship between the two parties does not seem to be harmonious, so that this year. There are signs of parting ways.
Naturally, Tang Huan would not let go of the opportunity to poach the corner of his old rival, not to mention the deep relationship between Orion Production Company and United Artists.
In this way, Tang Huan invited several founders of Orion Production Company, that is, the ex-United Artists executives who had left, to get together on the yacht.
The ship queen Christina is the best at this kind of luxury toys. Tang Huan didn't bother at all, and just took it and used it.
On a yacht far from land, blow the wind. Fishing seems to be really not bothered by secular disputes. But in fact, this enjoys the tranquility of the foreshadowing. It is precisely for the next secular dispute.
Everyone knew what the purpose of this trip was, so after being arty, formal negotiations started.
The initial contact, of course, has been done by subordinates before, and Tang Huan, the big boss, came out purely for the final final decision——Yes or no, give me a quick word.
Of the several founders of Orion Productions, Robert Benjamin passed away in 1979.
That is to say, in the same year, the Joan Hersholt Humanitarian Award was awarded to Robert Benjamin, which shows his achievements. Unfortunately, his wife can only come to the Oscars to accept the award on his behalf.
At present, Eric Preskov and Mike Medavoy are responsible for most of the daily operations of Orion Production Company. Inquire about specific matters.
"I heard that Orion Productions intends to acquire companies to form its own distribution network." After tasting the fresh fish carefully cooked by the chef, Tang Huan went straight to the point.
"Don's news is really well-informed, and we do have this plan." Eric Preskov confirmed the news frankly. It has to be said that the previous contact between the two parties was relatively pleasant, so there was no psychological conflict between the two parties. , and even have a strong interest in cooperation.
"As I said bluntly, the acquisition of a company is only the first step of capital operation, and the next resource integration is the key. The company's industrial structure is not only entertainment, but also other fields such as broadcasting electronics. Orion is bound to need to lay off employees and integrate assets. Make frequent adjustments in other aspects, but these tasks are not your expertise."
Tang Huan expressed his opinions bluntly, "These irrelevant matters will distract you for at least a year. During this period, once it fails in the film field, what will the shallow-rooted Orion Production Company do to resist it?" Risks, those financing alone may not be enough.”
"Any company has to go through the risk of this kind of transformation. Orion Productions has a very promising prospect. Our management team is also experienced. I believe these small difficulties will disappear soon."
Eric Preskov had a lot of experience in United Artists before, and he participated in successful cases such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", so he answered with confidence in his tone.
Tang Huan smiled slightly, and decided not to hit the confident Eric Preskov anymore, but to lobby from another angle.
"You and Warner, it seems that the cooperation is not as close as imagined. Warner and I are old rivals, and I know their greed,"
However, the cooperative relationship between the two parties does not seem to be harmonious, so that this year, there are signs of parting ways.
Naturally, Tang Huan would not let go of the opportunity to poach the corner of his old rival, not to mention the deep relationship between Orion Productions and United Artists.
In this way, Tang Huan invited several founders of Orion Production Company, that is, the ex-United Artists executives who had left, to get together on the yacht.
The ship queen Christina is the best at this kind of luxury toys. Tang Huan didn't bother at all, and just took it and used it.
On a yacht far away from the land, blowing the wind and fishing, it seems that you are really not bothered by secular disputes, but in fact, this pavement for enjoying tranquility is precisely for the next secular disputes.
Everyone knew what the purpose of this trip was, so after being arty, formal negotiations started.
The initial contact, of course, has been done by subordinates before, and Tang Huan, the big boss, came out purely for the final final decision——Yes or no, give me a quick word.
Of the several founders of Orion Productions, Robert Benjamin passed away in 1979.
That is, in the same year, —Joan Hersholt Humanitarian Award was awarded (to be continued)