hunt hollywood

"roll."

"Okay, be a lady, otherwise it's really hard to find a girlfriend."

"asshole."

Chapter 205 Negotiation (Revised)

In the new week, several reality shows from Daenerys Entertainment continue to dominate the ratings, as most of the TV dramas in this fall will not start airing until October.

"Who Will Be a Millionaire" three times a week is a complete G-rated reality show for all ages, and everyone from the elderly to children loves to talk about it.

The highest viewership of the second episode of "Survivor" at 2565 o'clock on Monday reached a high of 13 million, and it has almost locked in the ratings champion of this autumn file. The only regret of this TV show is that it only has [-] episodes.

"Big Brother" and "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which were squeezed into Wednesday's schedule, also saw a steady rise in ratings due to the lack of competition.

Finally, CBS's previous attempt to abandon Daenerys Entertainment's game-breaking reality show also started this week, and achieved an average of 1360 million viewers in the first episode.It wasn't great, but it made the other three networks, who have generally been conservative about reality TV, more regretful.

Obviously, the major TV networks will definitely invest a lot of resources and energy in the next few years to create their own exclusive reality shows.Once there are explosive models among them, Daenerys Entertainment will definitely not be able to maintain the current initiative and huge profits.

However, Simon is not too worried about this.In my memory, reality shows have been developed for more than 20 years, and there are only a few that have truly reached the phenomenon level. "Who Will Be a Millionaire" and "Survivor" are two once-hot reality show ratings data, "Big Brother" and "Beverly Housewives" are far away, which is enough to prove that they want to create a blockbuster It's definitely not that easy.

After a two-day weekend and a weekday of careful adjustments, Daenerys Entertainment resubmitted a revised version of "Scream" to MP's ratings board.

It was already the end of September, and the company had originally hoped that the film would be released on October 9 during Halloween, and had already invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the early publicity.However, due to the delay caused by the re-rating, Daenerys Entertainment has not yet signed a formal screening contract with major theaters in North America.Seeing this situation, Simon secretly began to make other preparations.

Santa Monica.

In a meeting room of Daenerys' special effects office building, it was already Wednesday, September 9.

Standing in front of the demonstration board, Simon is personally introducing the scripts of the two animated films "Toy Story" and "The Lion King".

Beside the conference table, apart from Mark Silvers and several senior executives of Daenerys special effects, there are also two former Pixar executives Ed Catmull and John Lasseter who just joined the company.

After the phone call with Jobs on the plane to Australia, James Raybould and Amy Pascal have been pushing for the acquisition of Pixar for a month, and now it is completely finalized.

Daenerys Entertainment finally paid $2000 million to buy all of Pixar's software and hardware departments. Jobs and Pixar's original stockholders gave up their shares. Daenerys Entertainment acquired the ownership of software series such as Randerman, so It made up for the shortcomings of Daenerys' special effects in the CG rendering process.

After completing the acquisition, Simon's first request was to relocate Pixar to Los Angeles as a whole.

Most executives and employees, including Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, agreed, but inevitably some said no.

Another technical backbone of Pixar, Alvi Ray Smith, quit the company because of this. Simon had no choice but to let the other party go. 3D animation movies are an important layout of Daenerys Entertainment in the next few years. Possibly direct control, he does not intend to keep Pixar in San Francisco like the original time and space.

Simon originally wanted to change Pixar's name to Daenerys Animation, but Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and others all wanted to keep the Pixar name.It didn't matter, Simon agreed.

The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss the technical details of porting Randerman and other Pixar software to the professional graphics workstation of Silicon Graphics and the plan of two 3D animation films.

Pixar's original positioning is also a professional graphics workstation production company, but it cannot be compared with Silicon Graphics in technology, and only has several software advantages such as Randerman.In order to integrate Pixar software and special effects software under Daenerys Special Effects as much as possible to improve efficiency, Simon plans to give up the research and development of Pixar computers, and Pixar can also focus on software and animation business next.

Pixar Computer had never launched a perfect finished product, let alone profit at all, otherwise it would not have become a drag on Jobs.Therefore, Ed Catmull and others did not object to Simon's proposal to cancel hardware research and development.

However, after hearing Simon introduce the scripts of "Toy Story" and "The Lion King", Ed Catmull said: "Simon, with our current technology, it is not difficult to realize the plan of "Toy Story", but "The Lion King" 》, if you want to express animal movements and details such as hair very vividly, the current technology is still not up to this level."

"This is your business." Simon looked at Ed Catmull, then glanced at the other people in the conference room, and said, "I don't know much about technology, but I understand that the current hardware technology is enough To support you to complete these, the hardware platform is like a canvas. What you have to do is to develop software that can realize special effects, which is equivalent to a paintbrush. Finally, we do not lack animators, so I only look forward to seeing what I think desired result."

Mark Silvers also said at this time: "Simon, this will take a long time."

Simon turned to Mark and said, "Don't use the description 'a long time', you need to tell me how long?"

Hearing this, Mark Silvers communicated with Ed Catmull in a low voice, then raised his head again and said, "If you want to develop the technology needed for "The Lion King" and complete the effect test, according to Daenerys The size of the current R&D teams of Special Effects and Pixar. It will take at least two years, and this is still under the condition of sufficient funds.”

"No problem," Simon nodded briskly. In two years, it has been far below his expectations: "You can recruit some more people appropriately, but pay attention to restraint. It is not a good thing for a company to be too large in the initial stage of development. I I can guarantee your funding, and then, you will give me the results I want." After Simon finished speaking, he turned to John Lasseter and said, "John, do you have any problems here?"

The story script of "Toy Story" is the result of many phone discussions between Simon and Lasseter in the past month. When he heard Simon's question, John Lasseter, who was already well prepared, said: "I need three years."

It is well known that the production cycle of 3D animation is long. In the original space and time, Pixar was able to release an animation film on average every two years. In fact, it was the result of several teams working at the same time.

It generally takes three to four years or even longer for an animated film to go from the script stage to the final film. This cannot be promoted by increasing the number of animators. The scale of the animated film crew is too large, and the personal level and style of the animators The differences will become more prominent, and thus affect the quality of animated films.

"In this case, today's meeting ends here," Simon announced the end of the meeting, and then said to Mark Silvers: "How is the special effect of Batman's cape?"

When drawing the concept map of "Batman", Simon found that the cape of Batman in the film was a very troublesome problem. If Bruce Wayne used the real cape completely, the effect would be terrible, so Simon decided to Considering the possibility of CG cloak, and handing over to Daenerys special effects for technical research

Mark Silvers said with a smile: "We have just completed a CG shot of Batman's cloak unfolding when he falls from a high altitude. Although it is only 3 seconds, the effect is very amazing. I was going to let you see it today."

Everyone got up while talking, and was about to watch the sample film that Mark Silvers said. Simon's female assistant, Jennifer, came over after answering a phone call, and whispered to him: "Ms. Pascal is calling, she Say, Scream's R-rating has been rejected again."

Simon stopped in his tracks, motioned for Mark Silvers and others to leave first, and said, "Are those materials ready?"

Jennifer nodded.

Simon said: "In this case, help me make an appointment with MP Chairman Jack Valenti. I will talk to him tonight or at noon tomorrow."

The Motion Picture Association of America (MP) is generally a trade association organization. It was established in 1922 and represents major Hollywood film companies in lobbying for government film-related bills, promoting film and television copyright protection, and formulating film and television content guidelines.

MP's member companies are not static.

At the founding stage, MP members consisted of the eight major Hollywood film companies.In the past few years, with the rapid rise of a group of second-tier film companies in Hollywood, companies such as Orion Films and De Laurentiis Entertainment have joined MP successively. Withdrawing one after another, the main members of MP are the traditional seven and Orion.

In 1966, MP hired Jack Valenti, an aide to former US President Lyndon Johnson, as the association's president. The powerful politician stayed in this position for 22 years and will continue.

Jack Valenti's biggest contribution after taking office is to abolish the notorious 'Hayes Code' and re-enact the 'voluntary film rating system'.Of course, things have developed to the present, and it is basically difficult for those movies that are "involuntarily" rated to enter the North American theater and video market.

Simon met the 67-year-old Jack Valenti in Burbank of the Valley at noon the next day. MP's office is located near the intersection of Highway 101 and Ventura Avenue in Burbank, not far from the headquarters of several major studios.

The appointed time was 12 noon, Simon arrived 15 minutes earlier, and Jack Valenti entered the restaurant on the timeline.

"Simon, I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. The miracles you have created in the past two years are really amazing."

Simon shook hands with the serious-looking but very talkative old man in front of him, and politely invited him to sit down, saying, "Thank you, Jack, I also admire everything you have done for Hollywood over the years."

The two sat down after greeting each other, and ordered two simple lunches.

After the waiter left, Jack Valenti noticed that there was an open folder in front of Simon. Although he was very clear about the intention of the young man in inviting him today, he couldn't help but wonder: "Simon, just now What are you looking at?"

"The box office data report of North America in recent weeks," Simon handed over the folder directly, and said, "Starting from September 9th, the summer vacation period ends, from September 9th to September 9th, the total box office in North America in a single week is It fell to 9 million US dollars. From September 9 to September 15, the total box office in a single week was 2988 million US dollars. Although the data for the most recent week will not be released tomorrow, but according to the previous weekend box office situation, from September 9 to September 16 The total box office in a single week on Sunday should be only about 9 million US dollars. In comparison, last year, the single-week box office in North America fell below 22 million US dollars, only the 2567th week."

Listening to what Simon said, Jack Valenti glanced at the report on the folder and sighed: "The impact of the strike on the industry is really too great."

Simon nodded in agreement, and said: "I roughly checked the list of releases in October. If Daenerys Entertainment's "Scream" cannot be released on time on October 10, the entire October schedule, the opening scale There are only 28 films with more than 500 screens, and in the same period last year, the number was 5, which has been reduced by almost half."

Jack Valenti didn't expect that Simon would directly turn the topic to "Scream". After some consideration, he said, "Simon, the rating committee is very strict and fair. Your film should be real. It needs to be changed."

"Really?" Simon asked back, pointed to the document in front of Jack Valenti, and said: "Jack, there are two memos under the report, one is the revision opinion of the rating committee to "Basic Instinct". To the extent that a certain scene needs to be cut by 2 seconds, but the revision opinions obtained by "Scream" are very general, and only roughly require us to modify some fragments in the film that are even more than ten minutes long. Is that fair?"

Jack Valenti noticed that there were other information under the box office report handed over by Simon just now, so he opened it and glanced at it, with a wry smile on his face, and said, "Simon, you have to understand, it's useless for you to look for me." Yes, it's not in my hands to control the matter."

Since 1966, Jack Valenti has served as the chairman of MP for 22 years. He does have a high prestige in the industry, but in the final analysis, he is only an employee of a major Hollywood film company.If it wasn't for the fact that what he has done these years is entirely for the benefit of the major Hollywood film companies, it is impossible for Jack Valenti to continue to stay in this position.

Therefore, Jack Valentine does not have the power to change the willingness of traditional major film companies to suppress Daenerys Entertainment, a latecomer.

"Of course I understand," Simon nodded sympathetically, and said, "Jack, I just need you to help me pass the message to some people."

Jack Valentine made a please sign.

Simon glanced at the folder in front of Jack Valenti again, and said, "The box office in North America has fallen below 3000 million US dollars for three consecutive weeks. I believe it will be the same for some time in the future. The box office will shrink throughout the end of the year." , This was caused by the previous Hollywood screenwriter strike. Jack, why do you think the screenwriters went on strike?"

Chapter 206 Position Issue (Revised)

Jack Valenti was somewhat resistant to being controlled by the young man in front of him, and said, "Simon, the answer to this question is obvious."

"Yeah, it's obvious that the screenwriters want more pay and higher treatment," Simon simply answered for Jack Valenti, and continued: "However, it's basically because of the screenwriters and producers. People's Alliance has a completely different position. Different positions, there will be a conflict of interest, and the conflict is destined to cause losses, or even lose both sides, just like the past half a year."

Feeling Simon's calm and sharp eyes, Jack Valentine suddenly felt a little old.

"I see what you mean, Simon, but it's definitely not a wise choice. You can't stand up to the whole of Hollywood."

Simon shook his head and said, "Jack, you don't understand that I have no intention of fighting against the whole of Hollywood. Although I am not afraid of this, but now, we are discussing the issue of position."

Jack Valenti wondered, "A question of position?"

"That's right, it's a matter of position, Jack, I don't dislike the different review strategies of the rating committee. Vested interests maintain their own privileges, which is the instinct of any industry. The traditional seven major film companies are the vested interests of Hollywood. , even Orion is actually in the same line as the Seven Greats. They are the 'players' in this industry and the rule makers. A weak independent production company can only obey the rules like a 'chess piece'. This is very unfair, but also Fair enough. The problem now is that Daenerys Entertainment already has the strength to become a Hollywood 'player', but some people still treat this company as a 'pawn', which is pushing Daenerys Entertainment to their own Completely opposite positions."

After listening quietly, Jack Valenti said: "Simon, since you understand this, you should also know that the transformation of status and class is never an easy task, and you can't expect Daenerys entertainment to be so quickly replaced by traditional Hollywood forces." accept."

"Whether voluntary or forced, people have to face reality," Simon leaned forward slightly, looking at Jack Valenti and said slowly: "Next Monday, Daenerys Entertainment will resubmit "Scream" The rating review, which is the last one this year, also determines the stance of Daenerys Entertainment. If "Scream" still fails to pass the R review, I will face reality and cancel the release plan of this film. And confirm my 'pawn' position. Then, I will stand on my position and lead other 'pawns' to fight against the unfair treatment of independent filmmakers by the MP rating committee for a long time."

Jack Valenti leaned back on the chair without any trace of his body, but he did not avoid the gaze of the young man opposite him, and said, "Simon, do you think no one has done this before?"

"The real 'chess pieces' are in the game, and it is naturally difficult to fight against the rules, but Daenerys Entertainment is different. The production cost of "Scream" is 1000 million US dollars, which is a lot of money for many independent producers. It may be an investment that determines whether the company exists or not. If they encounter similar suppression, they usually can only bow to the big film companies and take the initiative to hand over the distribution rights to the Big Seven to avoid losses. But I don’t care, Jack, $1000 million , even if I lose all of it, it doesn’t matter to me, Hollywood can’t find anyone richer than me,” Simon said, and suddenly emphasized: “But I will definitely not be willing to bear this loss , They pushed a 'player' who is fully capable of breaking the rules onto the chessboard, so don't blame me for wanton breaking the rules. If "Scream" still fails to pass the review, first of all, the major mainstream media in North America will immediately There was a press release about this film being mistreated in the ratings process, but that was just the beginning. Then I'd invest another $1000 million in a film about what has happened to Hollywood independents since the advent of the 'voluntary film rating system' Injustice documentaries, Jack, I've had over 30 similar films listed as the focus of this documentary's research, and the list is in the folder in your hand."

Jack Valenti subconsciously opened the folder in front of him again. After the rating review memos of "Instinct" and "Scream", there was indeed a long list of movie lists, many of which were familiar.

Without waiting for Jack Valenti to respond, Simon continued: "It is very easy to prove the unfair ratings of these independent filmmakers' films just by comparing the simplest seven major production films with similar plots of these films. As a "player" pushed to the position of "pawn", I will lead all "pawns" to change this extremely unfair movie rating system. Since the position is different, I think that the rating committee should not be controlled by MP at all. , it should either become an official federal agency, or be led by an association with a wider membership system such as the Union of Motion Picture and Television Producers, so as to maintain its independence and impartiality as much as possible. If necessary, I can come up with $1000 million to lobby the federal government. I believe that once the matter is launched, those independent film producers who have been suppressed for a long time will definitely contribute their strength in this process. Finally, I can even initiate the establishment of a special foundation , for the previous 20 years due to over-rated films that caused loss of commercial box office, filed a lawsuit against MP and demanded huge compensation. Even if the lawsuit cannot be won, I will stick to it. At that time, I am curious whether MP’s annual budget can be Sustain costly litigation. Jack, do you want me to go on?"

Jack Valentine felt a fine layer of sweat on his back.

If the documentary in Simon's narration does come out, MP will immediately be thrown into a very passive situation.Not to mention the list of 30 movies in the document, but the rating and review documents of "Basic Instinct" and "Scream" are very differentiated. Once released, it will be enough for Daenerys Entertainment to take the lead in public opinion.

Once the turmoil rises, the federal government has to take it seriously, which creates the possibility for Daenerys Entertainment to lobby.

In the end, the formation of a special foundation for litigation bombing is a rogue tactic that is very effective, and no company, enterprise or industry association can withstand this fatigue offensive for a long time.

Public opinion offensive, money strategy, lawsuit bombing.

The combination of the three is sometimes enough to subvert a regime, not to mention MP, which is ultimately only a trade association supported by a few companies.

At a certain moment, Jack Valenti even had a strong doubt about how this young man, who was only 20 years old this year, came up with these confrontational strategies that were more pungent and sophisticated than many senior politicians.

There are obviously other materials behind the list of 30 movies in the folder, but Jack Valenti found himself a little afraid to flip through it. He closed the increasingly heavy folder again, and looked up at the young man on the opposite side. : "Simon, it won't do you any good."

"I understand," Simon said with a serious expression, "but it's a matter of position, and it's the choice of some people. Jack, some time ago, an elder taught me not to break the rules easily, and I really don't want to do that. But, Since we have chosen to oppose, this is the inevitable result.”

"Just for a Scream?"

"If this problem cannot be completely resolved, Daenerys Entertainment will face more similar situations in the future, so, Jack, I will not back down."

Jack Valenti pondered for a moment, and said, "Simon, you shouldn't have said these words to me."

"You are the chairman of the MP, Jack, you are obliged to lobby the federal government for a bill that is beneficial to the Hollywood film industry, and you are also obliged to let the major Hollywood film companies understand your situation. Moreover, the old men are very face-saving, talking about these in person , I am worried that they will be too embarrassed, and even become angry. So, I am still a very good junior."

"An aggressive and respectful junior," Jack Valenti twitched his lips, and said, "Simon, don't you see that I'm already an old man?"

Simon shrugged: "I'm sorry, Jack, but this is your job."

A few half-joking words made the tense atmosphere unknowingly relaxed a lot.As lunch was served, Simon also proactively struck up lighter topics.However, Jack Valenti couldn't relax at all.

After lunch, Jack Valenti walked out of the restaurant with Simon.

Looking at the young man standing at the door of the restaurant watching him in the rearview mirror, Jack Valenti picked up the car phone and dialed a series of numbers just after the car turned a corner.After the call was connected, he glanced at the folder on the co-pilot, and said in a serious tone: "Lu, I'm afraid we need to talk, talk carefully, and I'll go to your side now."

Simon waited for Jack Valenti's car to go away, but he didn't board his car parked on the side of the road. He just walked south along the north-south street outside the restaurant, sorting out many recent things in his mind.

What Simon said at lunch did not mean to be bluffing.

After this time, if "Scream" still fails to get the rating it deserves, Simon will not hesitate to stir up a storm and show the entire Hollywood the existence of Daenerys Entertainment.

As for the result, let's talk about it first.

While walking, I came to the end of the street before I knew it, and there was a low highway overpass in front of me, which is the 101 highway that crosses Burbank.

Looking at the overpass in front of him, Simon suddenly remembered the first time he came to Los Angeles after his rebirth.He got on the bus in Watsonville, and entered Burbank along the highway in front of him. He also had to stay overnight in the valley because he underestimated the lack of public transportation in Los Angeles.

Two years have passed, and the situation at that time seems to have been a long time ago. The public transportation in Los Angeles has not improved in the past two years, but he is no longer the down-and-out boy he used to be.

The two women he met at first also unconsciously became the closest people around him.

Noticing a public phone booth on the side of the street, Simon suddenly wanted to call Janet or Catherine.

When I walked to the phone booth, I found that I had no coins, only a few brand new hundred-yuan bills in my wallet.The lunch just now was naturally his treat, but even the tip was settled with a credit card, and Simon couldn't even remember the last time he bought something with cash.

Janet took care of his life in every possible way. Simon discovered long ago that Janet had to rely more and more on her 'little conspiracy' to make him completely incapacitated.As a human being in two lifetimes, it is naturally impossible for Simon to truly become a person who does not distinguish between grains and grains, but he seldom bothers about these trivial matters in life.

Neil Bennett, who had been driving slowly beside Simon, noticed the boss's behavior and stopped the car with some doubts. He didn't know why Simon didn't choose to use the car phone, but walked to the public phone booth instead.Noticing how Simon was checking his wallet, Neil Bennett pushed the door and got out of the car, and offered to pass a few coins to Simon.

Through the phone call yesterday, Janet, who had just traveled around Europe, is currently living in the mansion in Cannes, France.

During this time, Janet has personally seen all the properties selected by Sofia Fishy, ​​confirmed that they are correct, and is currently solving the loan problem.

There are a total of sixteen luxury houses. Although he intends to buy all of them, Simon has no plan to pay in full, and he can't come up with the cash now.

However, with Simon's current net worth, he wants to borrow money for consumption, and banks in both North America and Europe are happy to lend him money.After all, this loan is very secure for the bank, and Simon's net worth of billions of dollars means that he is fully capable of repaying it.

Even in case Simon fails to repay the loan, the properties themselves can be repaid. .

Although he clearly remembered the phone number in Cannes, the public phone in front of him could not make international calls. Simon stuffed coins into the phone and had to call Catherine's apartment in New York.

After the absurdity of that night, Catherine has been living in New York.The reason given by the woman was to make "Blue Angel", but Simon could feel that Catherine was at a loss for the relationship between the two or three, so he deliberately avoided it.

It was the afternoon work time in New York, and I didn't know if Catherine was at home.