hunt hollywood

Since he didn't intend to recruit the Weinstein brothers to create trouble for him, Simon also decided to suppress the two brothers before they rose up, so as to avoid the competition between Miramax and Gaomen Pictures.

Moreover, it is not difficult to do this.

In the original time and space, Miramax only entered the fast track with the success of the Palme d'Or film after the release of "Sex, Lies and Videotape" next year. Successful movies are also very clear, and they can be easily cut off.

Lacking blockbuster projects, Miramax, which has not gotten out of the quagmire in the past two years, will not last long at all.

While taking care of Gaomen Films, Simon's recent focus is still on the casting of several films such as "Batman", "The Sixth Sense", and "Bodyguard". Most of the protagonists of these films have already been confirmed. , but the selection of some key supporting roles cannot be ignored.

In addition, despite the obvious intentional delay, on October 10, another Wednesday, MP finally passed the R-rated review of "Scream". Determination.

"Scream" passed the review, and Daenerys Entertainment also started the sprint promotion two weeks before the film's release.And, spurred by the success of Daenerys Entertainment's previous string of films and a general content shortage at theaters following the writers' strike, Robert Lehm ended up signing Scream for 1755 screens, a figure Probably even more than the release scale of the original film.

"Dead Poets Society" also got 1693 screens. After all, it is a popular Christmas file, and it is not difficult to understand that it is slightly less than "Scream".However, because the female film "Steel Magnolia" is generally not favored, each theater chain only gave 922 screens in the end.

However, while the releases of Scream, Dead Poets Society and Steel Magnolia went well, MGM's Rain Man went awry.

Chapter 209 Black Mask (Revised)

"MGM Pictures suddenly announced yesterday afternoon that it will take over the distribution of the family comedy "My Stepmother Is an Alien" starring Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger, and it will be released on December 12. "My Stepmother Is an Alien" is produced by independent Hollywood producers Weintraub Entertainment and Katharina Productions, with a production cost of $23 million."

"According to public information, "My Stepmother is an Alien" was originally going to be distributed by Columbia Pictures. This reporter sent a message to the film's producer, Franklin Levy. Levy said that the producer and Columbia Pictures could not agree on certain distribution terms. We reached an agreement on the matter, so we switched to MGM."

"However, "My Stepmother Is an Alien," which is scheduled for December 12, will compete directly with another MGM release, "Rain Man," which is scheduled for December 23."

""Rain Man" is directed by "Good Morning Vietnam" director Barry Levinson, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Ting Hoffman and Tom Cruise once publicly supported Barry Levinson, condemning Daenerys Pictures' wanton interference in the creation of the film. Barry Levinson then quit the film, and it was rumored that Simon Westeros Take over the post-production work yourself.”

"As to whether MGM's sudden introduction of "My Stepmother Is an Alien" is due to lack of confidence in "Rain Man", whether it will cancel the release of "Rain Man", or whether it involves other inside information, the author called MGM and Danielle respectively. Si and C, neither received a response."

"This newspaper will pay close attention to the follow-up development of this matter."

Santa Monica.

In Daenerys Entertainment headquarters Simon's office.

Putting down the "Daily Variety Show" in his hand, Simon looked up at Amy Pascal and Robert Rehm who had just sat down opposite him.

Amy took the initiative and said: "I asked a friend in Columbia that the internal test screening of "My Stepmother Is an Alien" had a very poor response from the audience. Columbia wants to increase the commission ratio and ask the producer to share the cost of publicity. We broke up."

Simon picked up the pencil and twirled it in his hand, saying, "I'm not interested in this movie."

Seeing Simon looking at him, Robert Rem said, "As for MGM, I just saw their "Rain Man" publicity plan yesterday. It was very sloppy. I even suspected that it was just done by an intern. Tony Rehm Tomopoulos also complained to me that "Rain Man" was useless, and MGM also asked us to prepay the $500 million publicity fee as soon as possible, but judging from the current situation, we should only get what is stipulated in the contract. Even if MGM gets the money, it will definitely not do its best to promote the movie. Although we can send accountants to follow up the release of the movie according to the agreement, MGM There are still many ways to avoid our supervision."

Simon has long understood that the success of a film's distribution depends not only on the quality of the film, but also on strength and luck, and there are too many uncertain factors in it.But if you want to mess up on purpose, things become very simple.

He lowered his head and glanced at the newspaper on the table again. Without Amy and Rem's reminder, Simon clearly noticed the shadow of C.

Dan Aykroyd is also an important client of C. The actor successfully entered the top line with the 1984 box office runner-up "Ghostbusters".

Moreover, if there is no other external force, as an independent film producer, Columbia Pictures suddenly asked for an increase in commission when the schedule is approaching the end of the year.

C, which has become more and more powerful in recent years, just has the strength to facilitate this matter.

Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, and even "Rain Man" director Barry Levinson, are three of C's ace clients.Now that everyone has completely collapsed on the "Rain Man" project, and several main creators have successfully shifted the responsibility to Daenerys Entertainment, C obviously does not want "Rain Man" to have the slightest chance of turning around. The result can only be failure, the more failure the better.

Listening to the two talking, Simon raised his wrist and looked at his watch. In the morning, there was a role audition for "Batman". He had a schedule for noon, afternoon, and even evening.Today is another busy day.

Without talking too much nonsense, Simon said to Robert Rem: "In this case, you go to MGM now and get back the distribution rights of "Rain Man"."

Robert Rehm hesitated: "Simon, what if MGM doesn't want to let go?"

Simon got up, buttoned his suit, and said, "This is your business, Bob. If MGM is unwilling, unfortunately, your year-end award this year will shrink."

Robert Rem watched Simon go straight out of the office, looked at Amy helplessly, and said, "Simon doesn't seem very happy today?"

Amy also stood up and said, "Maybe it's because I'm too tired recently, and besides, no one would be too happy to encounter such a thing."

"Okay," Robert Rem stood up together, walked out with Amy, and continued: "In the final analysis, "Rain Man" is a dispute between us and C, although the seven majors have not been very friendly to us recently, But Tomopoulos should also be unwilling to completely offend Daenerys Entertainment to death, so it is not a big problem to get back the distribution rights. But, Amy, how much do you think my quotation is suitable for?"

"MGM owns the distribution rights of "Rain Man" in all channels in North America, and the ratio of theaters, video tapes and TV platforms is 15%. The overseas copyright is in our own hands." Amy recalled the original agreement and said: "The North American box office of "Rain Man" is calculated on the basis of 2000 million U.S. dollars. If you want to recover the distribution rights, I think 500 million U.S. dollars is more appropriate."

Robert Rem nodded, and the price in his heart was roughly the same.

Based on the North American box office of 2000 million US dollars, MGM can get 300 million US dollars in distribution commissions, not counting overseas, but the combined sales commissions of video tapes and TV platforms in North America should be equivalent to the box office revenue, which is about 300 million US dollars. But this means a long repayment period of several years.

If Daenerys Entertainment is willing to spend 500 million US dollars to redeem the distribution rights in advance, MGM has no reason to refuse.

However, Robert Rehm immediately asked jokingly: "Amy, do you think "Rain Man" only has $2000 million in box office potential?"

When the two walked to the corridor outside Simon's office, Amy rolled her eyes slightly and said, "Don't you think so?"

"Rain Man" has always been a project that many Hollywood film companies are not optimistic about. There was such a big disturbance in the later stage of the film. Now the main creators will definitely not participate in the film's publicity work. is a negative factor that hinders the film from achieving box office success.

Although the circle is very fond of Simon's ability, in addition to "Run Lola Run" and other five movies, he also proved his vision in "When Harry Met Sally".But in the eyes of many people, the finished film of "Rain Man" is too mediocre, and it does not have many highlights of "When Harry Met Sally".

The North American box office of 2000 million US dollars is actually overestimated.

Amy feels that the reason why Simon is holding on to the movie now is more of a juvenile heart.

After all, my boss is just a young man who is just 20 years old.

Robert Rem was noncommittal to Amy's rhetorical question, but just smiled.Noticing that Amy was walking down the stairs with him, he asked again, "Are you planning to go out too?"

"For the consumer goods department, I have recently found a manager, and I will meet with you in Century City in the morning."

Although the acquisition of New World Entertainment has been completed, the adjustment and expansion of the company have not stopped in the past few months.

Starting from "Star Wars", the development of film and television derivative products has attracted more and more attention from major film companies, and it has also created a new profit growth point for Hollywood.As Daenerys Entertainment has more and more self-published films, this aspect will also bring rich income to the company.

One of Amy's recent priorities is the establishment of Daenerys Entertainment's consumer product department responsible for peripheral product development and image licensing.

"Oh, actually, I think we should acquire a record company as soon as possible, or establish a record department. Starting from "Run Lola Run", the soundtrack records of movies produced by our company have sold very well. It is said that the soundtrack records of "Pulp Fiction" have already More than 600 million copies have been sold." When Robert Rem said this, he couldn't help shaking his head, and said, "It's a pity, judging from the current situation, "Pulp Fiction" is likely to be the box office champion this year, but This movie has supported Orion's performance this year, and these profits should belong to us."

Last year's stock market crash made life very difficult for most Hollywood film companies.

Without "Pulp Fiction," Orion Films, which has released more than a dozen films this year but none of them sold at the box office, will surely be in trouble, and even go bankrupt like Canon Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment and other companies.

Now, with "Pulp Fiction" approaching $1.5 million domestically and a possible $3 million worldwide total, Orion's losses on all of its other projects will be more than covered by the film's earnings.

"Who knew that "Pulp Fiction" would be so successful, maybe even Simon himself didn't expect it, there's nothing we can do about it," Amy said with some regret, "As for the recording department, Simon talked to me a long time ago. .You know that hit song he wrote for Madonna?Simon is as talented in music as in movies.It's just that we are new to the record business and we don't have enough energy to juggle it now. It can be put on hold for now.”

Robert Rem nodded in understanding, and said, "I've seen the video of Simon playing the song "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the guitar. It's amazing. I really don't know how he grew into what he is now."

The two chatted casually, came to the parking lot, got into their cars and rushed to their destinations.

On the other side, Simon went downstairs to the audition room to start his morning work.

Recently, it has been the last round of auditions for important supporting roles in "Batman".In addition to Batman Bruce Wayne and Catwoman Selena Kyle, the three most important characters in the first film include Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth, Gotham Police Chief James · Gordon and the most important villain 'Black Mask'.

The several "Batman" movies in the original time and space, starting with Tim Burton, are basically a group of classic villains such as the Joker, Riddler, and Two-Face, and the black mask has never appeared.In fact, Black Mask is indeed not a well-known villain in the "Batman" comics. This character only appeared in 1985, only three years from now.

However, after carefully studying a series of comic works of "Batman", Simon found that the character of the black mask is very suitable as the villain of the first part of the film.

In the comics, Black Mask was originally named Roman Sionis, who also came from a wealthy family in Gotham City, and was a classmate of Bruce Wayne when he was a child.

Moreover, Roman Sionis also had an unfortunate childhood.

Although it is a wealthy family, the Sionnis family has inherited a violent gene that is very prone to hysteria.Roman Sionis almost grew up under the shadow of his parents' domestic violence from words to fists, so he became closed and developed the habit of collecting masks to hide himself.Eventually, after his parents, who disliked his hobby so much, burned his collection of masks over the years, Roman Sionis broke out, set fire to his parents, and inherited a large family fortune.

Losing the control of his parents, the violent genes in Roman Sionis' character that were inherited from the family began to revive, becoming irritable and aggressive.Because they were not good at management, the Sionnis family's business was soon on the verge of collapse.

Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham after traveling for many years. He heard about the difficulties Roman Sionis encountered. Out of the friendship of his classmates, the Wayne Group bought the company that was on the verge of bankruptcy of the Sionis family.With nothing left, Roman Sionis took his anger out on Bruce Wayne and slowly descended into Gotham's most notorious criminal.

In the plot of the comics, Roman Sionis also has a deep entanglement with Catwoman, which can just provide the connection and interaction between Bruce Wayne, Selena Kyle and Roman Sionis in the movie version. Adaptation basis.

Of course, Simon's movie script did not copy the comics settings, but made considerable modifications.

Two people with similar backgrounds, one tried to punish rape and eliminate evil, became the "Batman" who made criminals fearful, and the other fell into darkness and became a "Black Mask" who committed all kinds of crimes. There are many things worth thinking about.

The fledgling Batman experienced this encounter and completed his first transformation into an advanced dark knight.The relatively simple duel between good and evil is also in line with the setting of the "Batman" series in Simon's plan from small to large.

Simon has a very clear positioning of "Batman" in his hands, which will be a series of popcorn-like commercial blockbusters.However, under the premise of ensuring commerciality, he did not completely give up adding some thoughts about human nature and good and evil.

Chapter 210 Ella Deutschmann (Revised)

"Simon, Willem Dafoe is good, but don't you think he'd be a better Joker than Black Mask?"

In the conference room of Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters, the morning audition has ended, and Simon and several main creators of "Batman" are discussing the final candidate for the black mask Roman Sionis.

Speaking at this time was another producer of "Batman", Joe Silver.

Joe Silver is also one of the top producers in Hollywood. In the original time and space, the "Matrix" series is the pinnacle of Joe Silver's production.Joe Silver, who is only 36 years old this year, has already gained fame with "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon".

Simon is the first producer of "Batman", but he also needs a deputy to be responsible for the coordination of personnel, finance and venue of the film.Joe Silver, who had just reached a good partnership with Warner with the "Lethal Weapon" series, was recommended.

"Joe, it's enough for William to play Black Mask. As for the Joker, I hope to find an actor who can show the evil temperament of this character from the bottom of his heart, not just the bad face of William, who is a natural villain."

Willem Dafoe's most famous role should be the villain "Green Goblin" in the "Spider-Man" series.But now, Dafoe is just 33 years old. He is not the wrinkled uncle many years later, and he can even be said to be a bit handsome.Over the years since his debut, Willem Dafoe has worked with major directors such as William Friedkin, Tony Scott, and Oliver Stone, and his acting skills and qualifications meet the requirements of Black Mask.

Moreover, if you don’t count a small role that was cut out in "Heaven's Gate" back then, Willem Dafoe's first feature film is called "Relentless", the director is Catherine, and "Relentless" is also Catherine 's first feature film.

So Hollywood is that small.

Simon chose Willem Dafoe to play the black mask, in fact, there is also a reason for Catherine.

For a big production involving an investment of 5000 million US dollars, casting is not just about being suitable. It is also necessary to ensure that the actors do not have bad habits, do not play big names, and can get along well with other main creators in terms of personality. Many directors are accustomed to using the reason that they are familiar with actors.

Simon had previously called Catherine specifically to inquire about things other than Willem Dafoe's performance, and only after receiving confirmation from the woman did he rank her as the No. 1 choice for Black Mask.

Everyone continued to discuss for a while, and since Simon insisted, the role was completely determined.

In the afternoon is Director Gordon's final audition, starting at two o'clock.

After the meeting, everyone left for lunch. Simon and Joe Silver chatted in low voices about some details of the film's preparations, and walked out of the meeting room together. Jennifer happened to take another short white man wearing black-rimmed glasses. come over.

Seeing Jennifer and the two, Simon stopped and said to Joe Silver: "Then, Joe, see you this afternoon."

Knowing that Simon had other things to do, Joe Silver nodded with a smile, and did not forget to say hello to Jennifer before walking away.

After Joe Silver walked away, the man wearing glasses took a step forward, reached out to Simon and said, "Hello, Mr. Westeros, I'm Ella Deutschman."

"You can just call me Simon." Simon shook hands with the other party. Seeing that he was still carrying his briefcase, he said, "If you don't have anything important, let Jenny keep it for you. Let's go to lunch."

"Oh, of course," Ella Deutschman handed the briefcase to Jennifer, and said, "Please, Miss Raybould."

Jennifer took the other party's briefcase with a smile, but leaned over and whispered to Simon, "Mr. Rem is on the line."

Simon made a gesture of invitation to Ella Deutschman, and said to the female assistant: "Turn to the car phone, I will talk to him on the way."

Jennifer nodded, Simon took Ella Deutschman downstairs, and Neil Bennett had the car ready.

The two got into the car, and Neil Bennett went to the destination without Simon's instructions. Simon gave Ella Deutschman a waiting look, picked up the car phone and talked to Robert Rehm The fruit of his contacts with MGM.

After a morning of bargaining, MGM finally agreed to give up the North American distribution rights of "Rain Man" for $500 million, and the requirement there was to get a check by Friday.Both Amy and Rem had a psychological expectation of $500 million for the redemption of the distribution rights of "Rain Man", but Simon was overjoyed by this price, and he immediately agreed.

During the phone call, Robert Rehm also asked whether the release of "Rain Man" should be postponed according to the trend. People in the circle are very pessimistic about "Rain Man" now, and it is not easy to temporarily raise funds for the screen.The distribution department of Daenerys Entertainment is working on "Scream", "Steel Magnolia" and "Dead Poets Society" at full capacity, and temporarily joining "Rain Man" will definitely disrupt the team's established work rhythm.Moreover, postponing "Rain Man" can also prevent it from competing with "Dead Poets Society", which is also a Christmas file.

Simon did not agree with Robert Rem's suggestion this time.

The public opinion on "Rain Man" in the media is not satisfactory. If Daenerys Entertainment announces the postponement of the film, the image of the film as a "bad movie" in the hearts of the media and audience will be completely confirmed.Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment not only cannot postpone, but also spare no effort to launch a promotional offensive for this movie.

When Simon put down the phone, the Range Rover had already parked in front of a restaurant.

Simon took Ella Deutschmann into the restaurant, and the two sat down, and he also began to look at each other.

Ella Deutschmann is 35 years old this year, but she looks very young in appearance, with a bookish look.His name sounds a bit feminine, but in fact, this Ira is 'Ira' not 'Elle', although 'Ira' is also unisex, but in Hebrew, 'Ira' is more inclined to boys name.Deutschman, apparently another Jewish surname.

Ella Deutschmann is exactly the person Simon is scouting for Highgate these days.

Ella Deutschman, who graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, has a deep connection with Hollywood. As early as when she was studying in college, Ella Deutschman had already participated in a film by the famous Hollywood independent director John Cassavetes. Distribution of films.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Ira Deutschman worked for United Artists Classics, a subsidiary of United Artists that specializes in literary films.

United Artists was annexed by MGM due to the disastrous box office failure of "Heaven's Gate", and United Artists Classics was disbanded. In 1983, Ella Deutschman and several other partners established New Film Company, which also focused on literary films. field.

"A Room with a View" released by New Film Company three years ago, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter, earned a box office of more than 300 million US dollars in North America at a production cost of 2000 million US dollars. On the Oscars, he got a good result of eight out of three.

The New Film Company is still in operation, but Ella Deutschman has recently been squeezed out by several partners and forced to withdraw from the company she founded.

In the original time and space, Ella Deutschman joined New Line's subsidiary Jiaxian Films in the following years to try to enter the field of literary films.It's just that New Line Films has not invested too much resources in this area, and Jiaxian Films is far from being able to compare with Miramax.However, Ella Deutschmann remained active in Hollywood for many years to come.

After the two had ordered, when the waiter left, Simon asked Ella Deutschmann, "Have you seen Michael Hoffman's "Sisters", how do you feel?"

Although Simon was many years younger than him, Ella Deutschmann was inevitably a little nervous.It was an interview, he knew it, and he really wanted the job.

Because he had just been kicked out of the company recently, this was more or less a loser's taint. Ella Deutschman originally thought that Simon would be the first to ask this question, but he didn't expect him to mention it.

According to the appointment, Ella Deutschman had already arrived at Daenerys Entertainment headquarters at nine o'clock in the morning, but she did not meet Simon at the first time, but was arranged to go to the screening room to watch a film, which was recently Michael Hoffman, a literary film director who has emerged in Hollywood for several years, has a new film called "Sisters".

Now that Simon asked about this, Ella Deutschmann cheered up and said: "It's a very good movie. The director expressed his perception of life, love and desire through a festival journey of the male protagonist. The film The opening and ending of Sandro Botticelli's famous painting "Spring" are very ingeniously arranged, and the three Graces in the picture are part of "Spring", they represent all the beautiful things in the world, and imply human desires."