Chapter 1104 Two Acquaintances

After watching the demo of "American Pie", it was time for lunch, and the afternoon continued, with Amy Pascal, who had returned to work after maternity leave a few days ago, and discussed some work affairs by the way.

Today is March 3.

on Monday.

Easter in 1997 was March 30th, and on March 21st a week earlier, the Easter schedule will start. At that time, it will be the three films of Daenerys Entertainment, "Terrorist Ghost", "Hurricane Rescue" and "Hurricane Rescue". Cable Repairman, and MGM's Xenogeneic 2.

In addition, this year's 69th Oscars is March 24.

The Oscars in the 1990s were still at their peak, and even if this year was still a small year for Daenerys Entertainment's intentional awards, Simon would not completely ignore it.

The last is the recent box office status of the movie.

The Star Wars series, which opened on January 30, briefly seized control of the North American film market, and soon gave way to films produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

In the four box office weeks ending on February 27, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" was re-released for a month, and the cumulative box office exceeded 100 million, reaching 103.37 million US dollars. According to the box office trend of the past weekend, this The first Star Wars movie still has a box office capacity of about 20 million US dollars at most, and the total domestic box office of this re-screening is about 120 million US dollars.

In addition, the second "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back", which opened on February 21, after the first film consumed most of the fans' feelings, the box office in the first week was only 21.46 million US dollars, and it is estimated that the domestic volume is only about 50 million.

In comparison, "Bj's Single Diary", which was released on February 14, earned $37.62 million in the first week, and the box office drop was well controlled at 23% in the second week of its release from February 21 to February 27. It collected another 29.03 million US dollars and easily won the single-week box office championship.

In the past weekend from February 28 to March 2, the decline of "Bj Singles Diary" slightly increased to 33% year-on-year, and it still made 12.73 million US dollars.

At the same time, two and a half weeks after its release, the film's cumulative box office reached 79.38 million US dollars, which is only 20 million US dollars away from breaking 100 million.

Considering the reputation of "Bj's Single Diary", the film will still have a good curve until Easter, and the subsequent box office is conservatively estimated to be no less than 50 million US dollars, which also means that the film's domestic box office is at least 130 million US dollars.

Because the popularity of Julia Roberts is obviously higher than that of Renee Zellweger, and Hugh Grant, one of the male protagonists, did not encounter a scandal of being caught prostitutes in this time and space, and his popularity plummeted, so this new version of "bj" The Single's Diary cost $10 million more than the original's $25 million to make, at $35 million.

Now, just two and a half weeks after its release, Daenerys Entertainment has recovered all production costs in North America.

The total marketing budget for the three British films in February is 20 million US dollars, even if 15 million of them are included in "BJ Singles Diary", it will be two weeks at the latest. It will also enter a profit cycle.

For the other two films, as of the past weekend, the cumulative box office of "Two Smoking Guns" has reached 23.13 million US dollars, and the box office of "Following" has also reached 19.19 million US dollars. For the two projects, the budget of the former is equivalent to less than 2 million US dollars, and the latter With only 3 million US dollars, and an additional total of 5 million US dollars of publicity, the total box office of more than 40 million US dollars since February 7 has also begun to bring considerable profits to Daenerys Entertainment.

This is only North America.

The most successful point of Daenerys Entertainment's packaging strategy in February was in the UK.

The complicated emotions that have been entangled for a long time between the United Kingdom and the United States need not be repeated. In short, these three films can be regarded as "winning glory for the country", and their distribution in the United Kingdom has been very successful.

Even if the box office data in the UK in a short period of time cannot be compared with that of North America due to the size of its own market, according to the recent box office trends reported by the UK, even if the UK box office of "Bj Singles Diary" cannot catch up with North America, it is equivalent to There is not much suspense in breaking the billion dollar.

The other two small films, emerging British filmmakers and the excellent quality of the film itself, are more popular in the UK than North America, and the UK box office is expected to surpass North America.

Not to mention a series of blockbuster films that were released at the end of last year and still continued, three consecutive box office dark horses broke out in the first small period of the year, which made Daenerys Entertainment show a kind of '' in front of other Hollywood studios. Your uncle is more contemptuous than before.

During the meal, regarding the success of the three films in February, Amy again couldn't help but half-jokingly and half-seriously asked why Simon's vision for selecting films over the years was so precise?

"The key is to be one step ahead of others," Simon also replied with a smile: "In the film industry, from silent to sound, from black and white to color, at each stage, the types that can be discovered have actually reached the extreme. It can move forward. The recent re-screening of the Lucas Star Wars series is the most typical case. If this film is placed in the present twenty years later, it is difficult to say. For Daenerys Entertainment, cg special effects and 3D Animation is an advance in technology, and the concept of the movie universe is an advance in innovation. Besides, the three films this time can be said to be a small innovation in marketing on the premise that we have three excellent films. "

Although Simon was a little concerned about him, Amy still showed a thoughtful expression, and said after a while: "In this case, the technologies such as 3D and imax that Daenerys Entertainment has been promoting

, should be our next innovation and breakthrough, right? "

"certainly."

In recent years, Simon has been investing in the research and development of technologies such as 3d and imax, and has carried out small-scale promotion. For this reason, he also bought the Canadian company imax. "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" at the end of the previous year was a first appearance of imax, with only 26 imax screens in North America, and contributed more than 50 million US dollars to the box office of Super Bat War.

After the great success of imax in the super bat war, the total number of imax screens worldwide has rapidly exceeded 100 in the past year, and this number will double this year. Among them, the two Jinshu Studios invested by Simon in China each have an imax theater.

After the success of the two pilots, the second batch of 20 cinemas that are being planned, imax will also become the standard.

With the rapid increase in the number of imax screens, the once very expensive conversion and copying costs have become more and more acceptable to studios after being evenly amortized, making this shocking movie playback mode more and more popular.

As the owner of imax, Daenerys Entertainment's advantages in this regard can be imagined.

Compared with imax, the promotion of 3D technology will be much slower, mainly because 3D shooting and projection technology are not mature enough, so Simon postponed the timetable of this technology, and plans to make efforts again after 2000.

These things are in Daenerys Entertainment's plan, but Amy didn't talk about it, and instead said: "Helen Fielding has completed the conception of the second part of "Bj's Single Diary", the subtitle is 'The Edge of Reason' , to explore the story of Brigitte and Mark after they were together. According to the agreement, we have priority. I had a phone call with Helen, and she also hopes that the sequel will be launched with the second part?"

Simon recalled the box office of the sequel to "Bj's Single Diary", which was tepid in North America, and still sold well in the world, and nodded: "You are responsible for this matter, um, I remember that Julia signed 5 films with us at the beginning. There should be a film contract, right?"

"Starting from "Steel Magnolia", "Pretty Woman", "Sleeping with the Enemy", "Pangan Assassination Order", and the most recent "Bj's Single Diary", there are exactly five." Amy said, seeing her home The boss looked back on the past and smiled, "Does it feel like time flies?"

"Yeah, I'm 29 years old."

It's a bit strange to hear this feeling on someone.

Amy rolled her eyes slightly, and continued: "The five contracts have been completed, and you gave Kate Beckinsale the "Shakespeare in Love" that Julia had always wanted to play last time. Leah's side may not be very easy to talk about."

"Let's talk about success. We can't develop a lot of projects here, and there is no shortage of this one."

Amy nodded.

It was just a joke just now. She has been in charge of Daenerys Entertainment for so many years. In terms of dealing with celebrities, Amy's attitude is completely the same as that of her own boss.

Daenerys Entertainment doesn't need to accommodate any filmmaker right now.

So I talked about other things again: "The script of the "Bad Thing" last time has been snatched by Paramount, and it is planned to be produced under the Orion label. It plans to invest 30 million US dollars, and it also wants to be used as this year's award. The film will be released at the end of the year, and now many stars are in contact, even our 'Batman' is interested, I also read the script and think it is very good. Simon, why do you imply that Ella gives up?"

Simon asked back: "What do you think is good?"

"A very complete black crime story with great creativity, suspense and pacing, isn't it?"

Simon also had to nod.

Amy asked, "So what?"

Simon thought about it and said, "It's mainly because of the screenwriter Peter Berg, who insists on writing and directing himself, but I'm not sure about the other party's ability. You know, although I'm always happy to support new people, the premise is that they must Prove yourself first, just like the two British directors this time, the budget of the two films combined is only $5 million, which is acceptable to me. As for the Peter Borg, he has neither director nor any film As a professional, I want to control tens of millions of dollars in investment with just one script, no matter how good the story is, I would rather give up."

Amy didn't have any objection after listening to her boss's explanation.

Not to mention the $30 million from Paramount, even if it doubled several times, Daenerys Entertainment can afford it now and can afford it.

However, this is not a matter of money, the key is time, to be precise, the schedule. To invest in such a project, you must be given corresponding schedule resources. At that time, the loss of 30 million will be second, occupying a period of time, and the result will fail. For Daenerys Entertainment, the potential loss may be even more.

The rapid development and growth of Daenerys Entertainment over the years is, in the final analysis, a large number of successes that correspond to the trade-offs accumulated by the many failures of other studios.

Thinking this way, just using a fork to pick up some pasta on the dinner plate, Amy suddenly remembered the project that her boss proposed some time ago: "Simon, in this case, should you be more cautious about "Ghost Story"? , this is an idea that you personally proposed, I believe there must be many directors that Hollywood is willing to take over, so there is no need to use a new person?"

"Have you seen Lin's work?"

Amy shook her head: "No, why don't I take some time to look at it at night?"

"No, you still have more time to take care of your son," Simon smiled and said, "First of all, I am very optimistic about this director

, He is the exact opposite of Peter Berg, who we just mentioned. He graduated from a standard film school and is very pragmatic. He is only 23 years old this year, and he has already made two feature films. There are so many people in Hollywood who dream of becoming famous overnight, but very few are really willing to work hard. "

Amy listened carefully, feeling quite emotional, and asked, "What's next?"

"Secondly, in order to pursue a sense of realism as much as possible, this project is best done by new people."

"I've read your memo, but I think it's right for the actors to use newcomers, but the director doesn't really have to?"

"The same goes for the director," Simon said, "because the film itself still needs to give people a more youthful quality. If it is a famous Hollywood director, it will inevitably have some deep-rooted stereotypes. Oh, so, shooting Lin, who has made two feature films, may be a little too mature, but, you know, I can't find a real rookie either."

Amy followed with a smile: "Anyway, you are staring at it yourself, it must be fine."

"Yeah, after watching the sample of "American Pie" in the afternoon, it is the production meeting of "Ghost Records". I will have a good chat with them."

Amy nodded slightly, and then continued: "Also, Brian is working on "L.A. Confidential", the first male protagonist that has been decided, Hugh Jackman, you should be very optimistic about him, right?"

"Well," Simon cut the lamb chops on the dinner plate and curled the corners of his mouth: "Actually, I have been looking for some actors in recent years, not very deliberately, but I have been doing it all the time. Guess, what am I preparing? "

Amy thought for a while, and suddenly a flash of inspiration: "Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

"Bingo, this is heart-to-heart connection. I want to give you a raise."

Amy smiled and said, "Boss, I will take it seriously."

"Then just forget it," Simon continued to joke, and then said, "It's one of them. As for which role he is suitable for, it will be kept secret for the time being."

Amy raised another objection: "But, Simon, if you make the candidate you're looking for too popular, you won't be able to use it in the future, and you won't be able to sign a long-term contract."

"I'll pay attention."

When the two said this, they enjoyed a quiet lunch before Amy said again: "Also, boss, we should also arrange some acquisitions this year, Blockbuster, or, remember that boss you mentioned before, Lei Shi Viacom in the East?"

"Not for the time being. For Blockbuster, this year's work is to divest directly-operated stores and authorized stores, sell authorized businesses, take the initiative to slim down, and reduce the resistance to our future wholly-owned acquisitions. As for Viacom..." Simon thought Thinking of the enviable mtv and showtime TV stations of this media company, I can only shake my head: "The timing is not right for the time being, mainly in the stock market."

Amy thought for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

"And if you know Redstone, you should know that it is very difficult for us to get Viacom."

"Redstone is very tough, I know that, but Simon, he's 73 years old."

Simon remembered a tough old man in his 90s who reluctantly resigned after he was still clinging to power 20 years later until he was asked by the court for a mandatory psychiatric examination, and shook his head with a smile: "This shows that you still don't know Lei Shidong. ."

"It's a big deal, we'll take over hostilely."

"If I remember correctly, the Redstone family's control of Viacom was supposed to be a dual-class model."

"This is troublesome."

"So, Redstone can only take the initiative to sell Viacom to us."

Amy thought for a while, then shook her head again: "Mtv under Viacom is very profitable. If, as you said, Redstone is tougher than I thought and wanted him to take the initiative to let go, the possibility is very low."

"Actually, I have been doing it for years," Simon said. "Redstone has always wanted to acquire Hollywood studios, but he has failed every time, and there will be no chance in the future. In the future, the media industry will be diversified. In the world of chemical giants, Viacom only relies on the cable TV business, and it is difficult to develop for a long time..."

Simon said here, and did not continue, but Amy showed a knowing smile.

Whether it's mtv or showtime, which is still developing at this time, Simon is determined to win. Under the overt or covert sniping over the years, Viacom has missed the opportunity to grow into a comprehensive media group, and it would be too easy for Daenerys Entertainment to target Viacom.

First, the roots of the Redstone family are National Entertainment Corporation, a theater company.

Now Daenerys Entertainment wants to suppress a theater company...

Gee.

Then there is Viacom, whether it is mtv or showtime, it is a cable station.

America Online, which is controlled by the Westeros system, has begun a trial operation of cable TV operators.

Simon's plan is that after the collapse of the new technology bubble, AOL will rapidly expand its cable TV business through large-scale acquisitions, and strive to grow into the largest cable TV operator while remaining the largest network service operator. As long as this goal is achieved, Viacom's cable channels will also be clamped by the AOL platform.

Daenerys Entertainment can also create a similar cable station on its own to compete with Viacom.

Through a multi-pronged approach, Viacom will either sell it voluntarily, or go to the most extreme bankruptcy liquidation, and then be acquired by Daenerys Entertainment.

Of course, both options take time.

Compared with Redstone, Simon has the least shortage.

is time.

Don't be afraid for three or five years, and slowly boil it.

After chatting like this, lunch was almost at the end, and Amy brought up one more thing: "Universal Studios in Rome, Simon, you should go and see."

"You are very relieved to stare at me," Simon said with a smile, thought for a while, and then said: "I don't have time this month, next month, after Easter, I have accumulated a lot of things, and I should go to Europe again. "

After lunch, the two of them went to work on their own.

Continuing to spend two hours watching the "American Pie" sample and discussing the follow-up, followed by the "Ghost Record" production meeting.

During this time, after getting the brief idea written by Simon, Justin Lin has completed the script.

In fact, this could have been handed over to a more professional screenwriter. Justin Lin was not good at it either in memory or after contact. However, for that reason, Simon needed a real green texture and handed it over to professional screenwriters and scriptwriters. It may be easier to fall into a fixed routine than professional director operations.

In order to avoid this situation, Simon also specifically told Justin Lin not to watch any horror movies during the writing of the script, especially Daenerys Entertainment's Conjuring Cinematic Universe series.

Just write it according to the way an ordinary person hits a ghost.

In the past month or so, the script has been completed, and the selection of actors has also ended.

For actors, Simon requires both as much new talent as possible and acting skills, so Simon's casting director Linda Vargas conducted a small selection in some performing arts schools in Los Angeles and New York, and the final candidates are performing arts schools. student.

It is both coincidence and deliberate that Simon chose two 'acquaintances'.

All are female characters.

One was named Amy Adams and one was named Jessica Chastain.

Amy Adams is 22 years old this year. She came from the bottom and never went to college. She just studied acting part-time at a private performance school in Los Angeles.

Simon's requirements for the heroine are to have a beauty of about 70 points and to bring some gloomy temperament suitable for the atmosphere of horror films, so this Hollywood actress who once made Simon feel very suitable for playing a female pervert murderer is very lucky to be Conscientious Linda selected.

Lucky and unexpected.

Because she knows Simon's preference for choosing actresses, Linda will always considerately prepare some candidate lists for her boss, otherwise it is difficult to say whether the actress can be shortlisted, and Simon is not interested in deliberately looking for any big names in memory. star.

As for Jessica Chastain, the same is true.

The actress, now a student at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, is a notch above Amy's pheasant class, and has performed better than Amy in auditions.

However, Simon only gave Sister Worker the role of a friend who learned that the man and woman's apartment was haunted and came to visit.

Mainly because the model worker is much worse than the 70 points required by Simon. According to Simon's personal aesthetic standards, the maximum is 60 points. As an ultra-low-cost horror film, the actress can't be too beautiful, otherwise it will easily distract the audience, but it must also be endearing. Amy Adams' 70 points are just right.

It is also more coincidental that the heroine in the original "Ghost Records", Simon can't remember the name, but the appearance is obviously somewhat similar to Amy Adams.

Although this time there is one heroine and one supporting role, but since they met, and after the performance of "Ghost Records", the two actresses will also become the targets that Simon deliberately pays attention to and cultivates.

As for the male protagonist, Simon is not so interested, his acting skills are enough, so he chose a young man who has no impression at all but has excellent acting skills.

The production meeting in the afternoon was the first time the small team had assembled. Except for Justin Lin, because of the confidentiality work ahead of time, it was the first time that several other people knew that such a small film would get Simon Westero’s approval. After paying attention to it in person, and then learning that this is an idea proposed by Simon, I am even more excited. Even if the two actresses are not as bold as some other women who can contact Simon, it is inevitable that some small initiatives are small.

However, apart from cultivating the two women into actresses in the pocket, Simon has no other special interests.

Mainly, as the stomachs of the women around him became bigger and bigger, Simon's interest in women was inexplicably getting lower and lower during this time.

Maybe it's some kind of prenatal anxiety about being a father.

The kind that stack up when six women get pregnant together.

Tremendous stress.

Unlike "American Pie", the meeting time with the "Ghost Records" crew was very short, only half an hour. It mainly explained the precautions during the filming process, which must be realistic and life-like. It is also recommended that one of the main creative capitals Go see a reality show like The Beverly Wife.

How to do it, of course, can only be figured out by Justin Lin and others. Simon will take the time to watch the samples a few times during the shooting process.

After the meeting was over, Simon rushed to the production meeting of the next "Crash of Heaven and Earth" non-stop.

And so until evening.

After sending off Ben Stiller, who was in charge of the screenwriting of "The Hangover", Lady A walked in and handed a note with a slightly eccentric expression: "This is just sent by Mrs.

Simon took it and glanced at it.

The first is a string of addresses, probably remembered, is a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Then a sentence.

Very white and very white Natasha is waiting for her dear to enjoy.

After Simon read it, he was stunned for a moment before he remembered,

The Ukrainian representative I met at the spacex headquarters in the afternoon did not expect Janet to get started so quickly, um, no, she helped her man get started.

What a wonderful wife.

Slightly raised the corners of her mouth and thought about it, and then she probably understood that Janet might have noticed his anxiety during this period of time, so she took the initiative to find a woman to let him relax.

Seeing her boss, the old god, turned around and returned to the desk. She just threw the note on the corner of the desk, paused, and couldn't help but come over: "Boss, do you want to go over and arrange it in advance?"

Simon shook his head: "No, go home later."

"Um?"

"I'm not really interested lately."

Of course, girl a had no objection, nodded and left the office.

Simon worked until six o'clock, when he returned to Cape Dumay.

Janet had returned early, and was reading a tome with Seattle by the glass curtain wall. She was quite surprised when she saw Simon.

Simon held the woman in his arms and motioned the baby-faced waitress next to Zoe to take away her precious daughter who would feel inferior when she saw it now, and then she and Janet stayed on the sofa, watching the last touch of the sea at the end of the sea through the curtain wall. sunset.

Janet found a comfortable position, enjoying the man's embrace, and asked with a smile, "Why don't you go to Beverly Hills, it's really white and white, and I'll take her with me. Have you done a full set of maintenance?"

Simon joked: "I am such a responsible man, of course I have to go home after get off work, how can I go out and fool around."

Janet wrinkled her nose with a little expression of 'you're a liar', opened her mouth and bit Simon lightly, and then put her head on Simon's shoulder, but after a moment of silence, the woman jumped up from Simon's arms again, He ran away quickly with bare feet, leaving behind Simon with an unknown face.

However, in less than a minute, Janet returned again, straddled Simon's lap across from him, held the man's head close, and whispered with a little evil and a little excitement: "This time it's the mouth, just be It's a reward for coming home on time from get off work, but don't overthink it."

After saying these words without end, Janet lowered her head and kissed the man's lips.