hunt hollywood

Then there is Fox, the cooperation of three consecutive films of "Butterfly Effect", "Death Comes" and "Basic Instinct". The odds of going up against Simon Westeros are also very low.

Going to the third of the seven majors, it has become a fantasy to work together to suppress Daenerys Entertainment.

For the remaining Paramount, Universal, Columbia and MGM, Paramount has been operating very well in the past two years, and has no intention of being an enemy of Daenerys Entertainment.Columbia is too busy prostituting itself to be in the mood to do so.

MGM was put on "Rain Man", and they had this kind of intention, but given the current dilapidated state of MGM, it is completely powerless.

In the last Universal, Michael Ovitz knew that the "Scream" rating incident was mainly driven by Lou Wassalman.But for some reason, Universal didn't make any other moves afterwards.

All in all, it is simply impossible for the seven major Hollywood film companies to join forces to suppress the rise of Daenerys Entertainment.Outside of the Big Seven, second- and third-tier film companies like Orion do not have the capital to fight against Daenerys Entertainment.

Michael Ovitz also understands that, in the final analysis, there is still a lack of motivation.In other words, although Daenerys Entertainment's share of Hollywood's box office is very large, it has not yet reached the point where other film companies feel that they cannot survive.

In this case, the traditional forces of Hollywood can only carry out an instinctive counterattack in some aspects.

Like the upcoming awards season.

The Oscar statuette represents interests. In order to win the award, traditional forces will definitely take action to suppress Daenerys Entertainment.

Plus, it's presumably a straight-up snatch of potentially successful projects from Daenerys Entertainment.

Thinking of this, Michael Ovitz bowed his head again and found the two scripts "Rocket Expert" and "Firebird Attack" from a pile of materials.

In recent days, Ovitz has read the two scripts several times, and also inquired in detail about how Paramount got the two scripts.

Paramount president Sidney Garnis bought off Simon Westeros' secretary, cutting both scripts.This kind of thing is actually not uncommon in Hollywood, so it can't be said that it is not glorious.

However, Ovitz feels that this matter is not as simple as it seems.

Because Simon Westero's reaction was too calm, Daenerys Entertainment just fired the secretary afterwards, and did not make any attempts to restore the two projects. Compared with Daenerys Entertainment and what C did with the Rain Man event, it's so out of the ordinary.

Michael Ovitz has considered many possibilities.

Or, is Simon Westeros confident enough that these two projects won't be a success in other hands?

Or, was this a trap thrown by Simon Westeros in the first place?

It's just that these two guesses don't seem to be so reliable.

Michael Ovitz has always believed that as long as the film company is serious and focused enough and devotes enough resources to a project, then the film cannot fail too much, at least it is difficult to fail completely.

In addition, because a movie has to go through so many links from script to finished film, it is unlikely that there will be scripts that are inherently doomed to fail in Hollywood. In most cases, it is just the creator who messed up the script during the shooting process.

I don't know how long it took, the radio in the cabin reminded that the plane was about to land, and Michael Ovitz woke up from his thoughts.

Perhaps, I was really a little suspicious.

Daenerys Entertainment currently has two comic book projects in development, namely "Batman" and "Angel". C's Warren Beatty is also currently negotiating with Disney on a comic book adaptation of "The Greatest Detective."

Then, looking at the "Rocket Scientist" in hand, maybe the comic book movie is really the trend in the next few years.

As for "Firebird Attack", he personally promoted Tom Cruise's appearance in "Top Gun".Now, such a film trying to replicate the success of "Top Gun", as long as it is done seriously, it is obviously impossible to fail too much.

Moreover, it is said that Matt Dillon, represented by Jonathan Friedman, is trying to win the leading actor of "Firebird Attack".Jonathan Friedman's relationship with Simon Westeros is self-evident, which is enough to rule out the possibility that this script is a trap.

When the plane started to land, Michael Ovitz packed up the materials in front of him, fastened his seat belt, and made up his mind to let the artists under C sign try their best to fight for the dominance of these two projects.Cruise should be unwilling to repeat a similar role in "Top Gun", so the actor in "Rocket Expert" is still very suitable for him.

With that in mind, we got off the plane all the way.

As soon as he sat down in the car sent by the company to pick him up from the airport, Ovitz's assistant told him something that happened suddenly in the past two days.

Kirstie Avery, an actress who plays a major role in TV dramas under C, suddenly announced her jump to WMA in recent days.Kirstie Avery is still well-known in the TV circle. If a star of this level insists on changing jobs, it is usually difficult for the brokerage company to retain him.

C didn't care, and simply let the other party go.

Then, just this morning, Daenerys Entertainment suddenly announced that Kirstie Alley officially joined the crew of "One Fly More" to replace Meg Ryan as the leading actress Molly Ubb Rica.

After listening to the assistant's narration, Ovitz, who has always been well-bred, couldn't help but cursed loudly while sitting in the carriage.

It's just a star job-hopping, and Ovitz doesn't care.

However, the sudden arrival of Daenerys Entertainment is likely to send a very unfavorable signal to Hollywood: if you want to join Daenerys Entertainment's films, you must first quit C.

It is conceivable that if this view spreads, and if Daenerys Entertainment's box office miracle continues, C will definitely face a brain drain disaster.

Chapter 227 Changing face (editing)

Michael Ovitz thought that WMA's poaching of Kirstie Alley was Daenerys Entertainment's counterattack to C because of the "Rain Man" incident, but it was not the case.For the enemy, rather than stopping to fight with the opponent, Simon is more used to moving forward, throwing the opponent far away, to the extent that they can only look up.

Just like the entanglement between Simon and Matthew Broderick.

When the incident just happened, the common view in Hollywood was that a big star wanted to clean up a small screenwriter. Although the result was a mess, a small person like Simon was more like a chatterbox for some people after dinner.

But now, with the rise of Daenerys Entertainment, although Simon has never talked about that incident in public or privately, the executives of various Hollywood film companies can't help but have an idea. Will the cooperation of Matthew Broderick arouse the displeasure of Simon Westeros, or even cause the other party to target, or lose possible cooperation opportunities?

There are actually quite a few popular youngsters with good box office appeal in Hollywood. Michael Fox, Matt Dillon and others can replace Matthew Broderick.

In contrast, there is only one Simon Westeros.

Therefore, after Universal Pictures' "Genius Soldier" last Easter, as Simon soared in Hollywood, mainstream film companies have become cautious about whether to cooperate with Matthew Broderick.

In the second half of 1988, Matthew Broderick only starred in New Line Pictures' same-sex comedy "Same-Sex Family", with a production cost of 800 million US dollars and an unpopular schedule in October. After the film was released, The North American total box office of the film is less than 10 million US dollars.

It is conceivable that even if the Hollywood film company continues to cooperate with Matthew Broderick in the future, taking into account Simon's factors, it is impossible to hand over the company's key high-quality projects to the other party.

Without excellent scripts and high-quality schedules, the box office will naturally be impossible to talk about.Without the support of box office performance, the original first-tier Hollywood niche will soon be reduced to second- and third-tier actors, and then completely disappear from the public's sight.

This kind of strong crushing that doesn't require hands-on is what Simon is after.

As for Kirstie Alley, the reason why Daenerys Entertainment used the other party is actually because this actress is the original heroine of "Flying Childhood".Since C set up obstacles for Meg Ryan to star in "Flying Childhood", while using the original heroine, WMA's poaching is just a matter of convenience.

Michael Ovitz was on the mend and had a restless weekend back in Los Angeles, but Daenerys Entertainment was undeterred.

Monday, October 1.

Because of the time difference, Simon, who was far away in Melbourne, had finished the first day of filming "Batman", and Amy arrived at the company at [-] o'clock in the morning Western time.

Ended the one-hour conference call with the New York TV department. At nine o'clock, Amy Heckerling, the director of "One Fly More", the actor Mel Gibson and the newly signed actress Kirstie Alley, etc. The main creator rushed to Santa Monica, followed by another one-hour production meeting.

As the CEO of Daenerys Entertainment, Amy is now mainly responsible for the operation of Daenerys Films and the daily administration of the company, although Robert Rehm, Robert Iger, Nancy Brill, Amy La Deutschman and other supervisors perform their duties and share most of the company's business. Amy's work that needs to be taken care of still keeps her busy for more than ten hours a day.

The heroine is finalized, and "Flying Over Childhood" will start the selection of supporting roles and the pre-stage scouting work, and it is expected to start filming in early March.

At ten o'clock, Amy Heckerling and others were sent away, and Amy's assistant Vanessa reminded her that Gensler's team was already waiting in the conference room.

Gensler is an established architectural design firm headquartered in San Francisco with a very wide international reputation.

Daenerys Entertainment’s Malibu Studios campus has already started bidding for the design. Such a large-scale comprehensive office park covering an area of ​​50 hectares has naturally attracted competition from many top architectural design companies, and Gensler is one of them.

Before Simon left Los Angeles, he drew a rough sketch of Daenerys Studios according to his own preferences. The bidding architectural design company only needs to improve according to Simon's sketch and make it practically feasible.

The Gensler team is going to introduce their design proposal and project quotation to Amy today.

When she came to the conference room, Amy was surprised to find that Janet was already sitting at the desk, talking enthusiastically with several Gensler staff members.Seeing Amy coming in, everyone got up to say hello to her. Janet also got up and stood beside her with a smile. After everyone introduced each other, she said to Amy, "I'm just listening, you can do whatever you want."

These days when Simon left Los Angeles, Janet basically showed up at the company on time every day to participate in the annual financial audit of Daenerys Entertainment.

However, Janet still gave full play to her temperament of being a lady who is used to "the superior works hard for others", and directly transferred three accountants from the Johnston Group to participate in the audit work.

Speaking of which, the company's financial data is not suitable for disclosure to outsiders.It's just that everyone knows that Janet played the role of a supervisor in this audit.Since Simon didn't object to Janet's approach, Amy and others couldn't object.

The area of ​​50 hectares is really huge. Fox Studios in Century City is only 500 meters long from north to south. Although the plot bought by Daenerys Entertainment has a triangular layout, the depth from the entrance to the highest point is more than 1.5 kilometers. , even removing the unusable slopes, the remaining building land exceeds that of any other major studio in Los Angeles outside of Universal Studios.

Therefore, although it is planned to move subsidiaries of Daenerys Entertainment, including Daenerys Special Effects, Pixar Animation and Marvel Entertainment, to the studio, this land is still more than enough.Daenerys Entertainment also directly asked the design company to plan according to the scale of 2500 permanent employees.

It took Gensler's team more than an hour just to introduce their design proposal, and it was already noon after the two sides discussed the quotation.

At the end of the morning work, Robert Rehm and Ella Deutschman also came from Burbank to have lunch with Amy and discuss the work schedule for the new week.Since Janet was here, Amy invited her along.

Everyone sat down in a restaurant near the company's headquarters, and Robert Rem asked Janet with a smile: "Jenny, how is the audit progress, I'm very curious about how much money the company has made this year?"

"There must be a lot," Janet said with a smile, while flipping through the menu, she suddenly seemed to add casually: "However, there are also many problems."

Ella Deutschman didn't feel the change in Janet's tone, and said easily: "Our company has only been established for more than two years, and there must be some problems."

Amy and Rem were keenly aware of Janet's strange tone, and they couldn't help but look at her.

Janet put down the menu in her hand, and narrowed her beautiful eyes, which were always eye-catching. She looked like a cat that was about to pounce on its prey, and said: "I found out that a guy spent $1 on a party at his home, billed it as entertainment for a movie project, and flew on a company private jet under the guise of a business trip to send his son to college. .”

Amy and Deutschman looked at Robert Rehm, who was probably the only one among the four present who could have a son who was going to college.

Robert Rem shrugged frankly and said, "Jenny, I have never done this before."

"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here and eating with you," Janet seemed to slow down a bit, and she directly revealed the answer: "It's actually Ron McMillan."

The three of Amy were both surprised and not surprised when they heard the words.

When Simon made Run Lola Run, Ron MacMillan was his producer.

After the success of "Run Lola Run", Ron McMillan also became a contract producer under Daenerys Pictures.In the past two years, he has completed two projects, "Death Comes" and "Scream", and both have achieved very impressive box office results.Ron Macmillan has also become one of the hottest top producers in Hollywood.

Because of these origins, everyone was a little surprised that Janet would suddenly point the finger at the company's veteran producer.However, after following Simon to make a fortune, Ron McMillan's reputation in the industry in the past two years is really not very good, and everyone is not surprised that he has these dirty little hands and feet.

After a moment of silence, Amy raised her hand to stop the waiter who wanted to come over, and asked Janet in a low voice: "Jenny, have you talked to Simon about this?"

"Say it, he told me to figure it out," Janet nodded, and asked back, "Amy, what do you think we should do?"

Amy was a little uncertain, so she could only remind: "Jenny, preparations for "Scream 2" have already begun."

In the past week, "Scream" received another US$561 million. In its 10th week of release, this youth horror film officially broke through the 1 million yuan mark, with a cumulative box office of US$397 million.Simon originally gave a trilogy outline, and the heroine Courteney Cox also signed a trilogy contract. The film is so successful, the preparation of the sequel is naturally on the agenda, and it is also scheduled for this year's Halloween.

As the producer of "Scream", Ron Macmillan is now withdrawing the other party, which will undoubtedly affect the development progress of the project.

Janet heard Amy's hesitant tone, and said: "Actually, Ron and I are very familiar with each other. We helped Simon shoot "Run Lola" together. However, he has crossed the line too much, and I don't really care about him. Those bad things in the circle, if he can work hard for Simon, Daenerys Entertainment will try his best to protect him. But he shouldn’t use these small thoughts on Daenerys Entertainment, Simon has given him enough Pay, and promoted him from an unknown little producer to his current position, he shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to him, let alone cheat Simon. So, Amy, call him in the afternoon, he’s fired gone."

Amy froze for a moment, and said, "Jenny, don't you need to discuss with Simon?"

"No need," Janet said firmly, staring at Amy, "Simon is actually a very soft-hearted guy, and he doesn't like to care about such small things. But, Amy, I'm not, I'm just a woman, As long as I think a person is no longer trustworthy, and may even endanger Simon, I will not hesitate to remove him from my boyfriend."

Amy was stared at by Janet. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, "I will call Ron in the afternoon, but what about "Scream"?"

"This is not something I need to care about," Janet was very satisfied with Amy's answer, but she shook her hand at the shopkeeper even more. After speaking, she glanced at Rem and Deutschman, as if joking, and said: "This year The financial report is not a big problem. However, next year I will help Simon keep an eye on it. Simon paid you very generously, or if you feel that you are not getting enough compared to the profits earned by Daenerys Entertainment, that’s okay. It doesn't matter. But, unless you can confirm that you won't be caught by me, don't take things that don't belong to you."

After saying this, Janet slowly picked up the menu without waiting for any response from the three of them, and as if nothing happened just now, she and Amy were laughing and joking again in a blink of an eye.

So, after a meal, Janet obviously enjoyed it very much, but the three of Amy felt like they had eaten fishbone.Even, looking at Janet's smiling face, the three felt a creepy feeling in their hearts.

After lunch, Janet did not stay in the company in the afternoon.

Amy also sent away Rem and Deutschman. Because of the overseas distribution of several films such as "Scream" and the matter of Gaomen Films, the two will fly to the UK together.

Rem and Deutschman rushed to the Santa Monica Airport in the center of Santa Monica. Nancy Brill also just returned from the east coast in a private jet owned by Daenerys Entertainment. Nancy flew yesterday. Go to New York and discuss with several banks in New York in the morning about the loan of the funds needed to buy Blockbuster.

Although the funds on Daenerys Entertainment's books are very abundant, Simon decided to transfer all the excess funds to the Westeros Company account.He didn't explain the reason for doing this to Amy and others, and he didn't even explain it to James Raybould.

Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment had no choice but to continue to choose loans if they wanted to invest in Blockbuster.

Counting the US$2 million purchased in Europe at the end of last year, the total liabilities of several companies under Simon’s name are only more than 6 million. Compared with his personal assets, the debt ratio is only about 20%.Therefore, adding another $1 million in debt is still within Simon's tolerance.

In fact, Simon could even afford to raise his total debt to $10 billion to $15 billion, given the right investment opportunities.

When Nancy returned to the company, she went directly to Amy's office to discuss the results of the trip to New York with her.

Amy also just put down the phone with Ron McMillan. She still didn't directly inform Ron McMillan on the phone that he was fired as Janet explained, but made an appointment for dinner tonight.

Compared to Janet, Amy still hopes to have a good time with Ron McMillan, which will not hurt Daenerys' entertainment.

As for what Janet mentioned at lunch, since she didn't talk about how to deal with it afterwards, and apparently acquiesced not to pursue it, Amy didn't mean to mention it again.She didn't think it was because of Janet's generosity, it was actually difficult to pursue the matter of tens of thousands of dollars, and Daenerys Entertainment didn't tear itself apart with Ron McMillan.

If it really broke out, Ron McMillan would definitely not admit it easily.If legal means are adopted, the litigation costs will be far more than these, and the gains outweigh the losses.Daenerys Entertainment will also be criticized in the circle for suing producers who have made great contributions to the company with such "trivial things".

Chapter 228 I Want to Try (Repair)

"Citibank has offered a 4.25-year loan plan with an annual interest rate of 7%, which is lower than the annual interest rate of Lyon Credit. However, they require Daenerys Entertainment to use 10% of the company's shares as collateral. At the same time, if Daenerys Entertainment continues to carry out loan financing in the next three years, Citibank has the priority. I think this plan is feasible, and the company’s operating conditions are very good. The 10% share mortgage will not bring the risk of transfer of control. As for the right of priority, there is actually a lot of room for discussion in the relevant details.”

At the end of the previous year, Daenerys Pictures received a loan of US$1 million from Wells Fargo, with a five-year annual interest rate as high as 5%.With the improvement of the economic situation in North America and the continuous improvement of Daenerys Entertainment's own strength, the company's loan interest rate from banks has also been continuously reduced, and it is now on the same level as many large companies with 6.5A credit ratings.

In the office of Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters, Nancy Brill introduced the results of her trip to New York. Amy listened carefully on the surface, but her thoughts were a little bit off.

Capable, energetic and ambitious.

The petite woman opposite her, who was only a few years older than her, made Amy feel a strong threat from a woman's instinct in just two months after joining the job.Although Nancy's integrated operation of the consumer goods department has not seen results in a short period of time, her business vision and negotiation skills in the process of the company's investment in Blockbuster have been recognized by Simon.

It stands to reason that Amy, the CEO of Blockbuster, should have taken the seat on the board of directors that Blockbuster promised, but Simon gave it to Nancy. Got it from Hasbro.

Perhaps, if Simon were to find someone to replace her in the future, Nancy would probably be the best choice.

Because of this subconscious sense of anxiety, Amy has been working a lot harder at work recently.Moreover, she did not dare to use her authority to set up obstacles for Nancy.

The collaboration between various departments of the company that Simon forced to promote years ago was actually to avoid internal struggles in Daenerys Entertainment.If she dared to squeeze Nancy out on purpose, she would be the only one who would be unlucky when Simon found out.Daenerys Entertainment is different from a publicly held listed company. As the boss, Simon can make a decision with one word.