Chapter 125 The reaction of the six majors, the lion with emotion
"Tell me! Who can tell me! Why can't we make this stuff?"
When Kevin, the CEO of Warner Group in a suit and leather shoes, slapped the newspapers and documents on the desk, his bloodshot and horrifying eyes looked like a jackal, as if he was going to devour everyone in front of him, "Look at the news outside. Come on! Look at what those film critics said! "Jurassic Park" is the best science fiction film in the world! Compared with it, "Batman Returns" we watched last year is a piece of shit! It's not a movie, but a stage play with a rough set!"
No profit leads to no extinction.
Ah, no, I went to the wrong set. If there is no comparison, there will be no harm.
Since "Jurassic Park" set off a movie-watching frenzy, the entire Amerika is talking about this movie, and it is regarded as the best picture in movie history, so there will always be some unlucky guys who will come out to back it up, otherwise there will be no comparison. It's like a ship without a helmsman, relying only on the direction of the wind, it will only turn around in place...
"Batman Returns" is that bad guy.
There is no other reason, who made him the closest science fiction film to "Jurassic Park"?
There was no output in the first half of 1993, and when "Terminator 2" slammed everything in 1991, "Batman Returns", which was regarded as a sandwich biscuit, was hung up and beaten by film critics and fans, what' In the name of a comic book adaptation of a sci-fi movie, but doing action movies', what's a mediocre script, poor fighting, and insincere visual effects production', what's nothing to do with sci-fi at all, everything is just the director Show off your goth style' blah blah blah.
Although the movie "Batman Returns" is not as bad as the outside world said, and its 80 million investment and 260 million global box office are indeed profitable, but who made it so unlucky as the only one? Woolen cloth?
Audiences and film critics don’t take it out for comparison, do they still drag out "Terminator 2"?
"Terminator 2" still has a box office of 500 million, and its profit is more than 200 million. In the field of commercial films, losing money and earning less is the original sin, especially a sequel of a series. Even if you can't surpass it, you can't make money Too little, otherwise...
All the cast members have to be replaced.
Tim Burton was already on the verge of being fired, and the current verbal criticism is Warner's best excuse...
So, no matter how annoyed CEO Kevin was, the group of people in the conference room didn't say a word. They sat in their positions silently and didn't look up at all. When the atmosphere on the scene dropped to freezing point...
Kevin spoke, ""Batman"...the entire team has been replaced..."
Not only that, he also expressed his thoughts directly.
"Then, put the visual effects movie on the agenda... Is Roland Allen going to make "Spider-Man"? Is Steven Spielberg's contract with Universal expiring this year? You guys go get me Katherine Kennedy , Tell them we can vote! We can give 100 million like "Terminator 2"... No! We can give 1.5 billion!"
"As long as the two of them participate in the production! Steven, we will still give 20 points to the highest producer plus the director! Roland, we will give Super A 18! I hope... no! I must let you give them I'll pull it over! I must see our Warner name on the top of the box office list in 1995!"
Although the one billion box office is only an estimate, even if it is not reached, it will not prevent the film company from being enthusiastic about them.
After all, the box office record of breaking 100 million in a single week is really appalling!
According to the split between Universal and the North American Theater Alliance, in the first week, it was as high as 85%!
In other words, for a box office of 100 million, Universal can take away 85 million!
How much is the total investment for the entire film? Over seventy million!
This means that the week the movie was released, Universal had already achieved a return of profit! Next, just wait for the money to be collected!
This frightening speed of payback is something that all film companies are keen on!
With the first batch of account distribution to be carried out in four weeks, Universal only needs to wait 21 days before it can withdraw funds!
For film companies, how fast the funds come back is how fast their turnover is!
And Roland, who has proven himself four times in a row, is enough for them to take the lead!
As for the flatterers?
How many people have George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made over the years?
But there are only two who can have the current influence in the past thirty years!
A Harrison Ford! A Roland Allen!
How many people have waited all their lives for a hit series, and these guys are acting so popular!
It is no longer luck to be promoted to such an extent, but their ability!
...
Like Warner, there are many film companies that want to take advantage of the expiry of the contract between Spielberg and Universal to directly package the pair of mentors and apprentices, and there are many inside Paramount. .
In their words, it is: "We have a solid cooperation with them, and we are responsible for publishing the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series! Now, since the students of our old friends are going to make "Spider-Man", of course we are Great support!"
"You guys contact Katherine Kennedy, we can open up to 40% of the package price! Be sure to recruit them from Universal! Of course, if Steven is not willing to direct, we will not force , James Cameron is also fine, but we only guarantee a maximum investment of 100 million yuan and Roland's 18 points share! Another share for James, let him talk about it himself!"
...
Has had a friendly cooperation with Lucas before, and Fox that let Cameron's production company affiliated to his own name is even more whimsical.
"Since George wants to film the origin story of "Star Wars", then we support him! I know he is not short of money, so let the investment budget go to Roland Allen!"
"I discussed it with the vice president of News Corporation. Whether it's James or Steven, we can reach 150 million. As long as Industrial Light and Magic is willing to undertake the post-production, as long as Steven is willing to be the producer, " The project of "Spider-Man" can not go through the script review process of the Green Light Committee, we only invest in distribution, as for the shooting? They won't let us join the crew, we will not join the crew!"
...
Universal, which has tasted sweetness countless times, is more ruthless than them.
"Roland gets an 8% dividend? Steven has 28? This time we don't go offline and calculate it together. After eight weeks of release in North America, we will give them a liquidation based on the total box office in North America. And the subsequent figures will be settled immediately after the global release, even if our funds have not been withdrawn, we can pay them first, this is the resolution of the board of directors of the parent company!"
"And, the higher-ups asked us to win "Spider-Man"! If it succeeds, everyone can be upgraded to a higher level. I, we, everyone here, have the opportunity to go to the parent company American Music!"
...
While Warner, Paramount, Fox, and Universal were about to smash their conference tables, Sony, far away in Asia, also made a final decision.
"Steven wants to tell them both to leave? No problem! Whoever he wants to leave, we will fire him! As long as he wants, the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment (US subsidiary) is his!"
"Roland's "Spider-Man" project can invest as much as you want! Anyway, inviting anyone to come is a gamble, so why don't we bet that Roland's "Spider-Man" can become the next "Jurassic Park"? They have already They have succeeded too many times! They know better than us! How to play the movie game!"
...
Five of the seven majors have already spoken, and the remaining two don't want to speak, but they don't know how to speak.
Disney?
After seeing the achievement of breaking 100 million in seven days, Disney went up and down, just like Chinese New Year! It's almost without a cannonball to celebrate!
Why?
Because they are finally not the ones being beaten this time!
"When "Beauty and the Beast" was released, we were forced to change the file because of Roland. When "Aladdin" was released, we were forced to change the file because of Roland. Now? It's your turn to be beaten by Roland, right? !"
"Before, because the fan bases didn't overlap, you guys were far less affected than me. Now? The whole of America is watching his movies, and you guys are trying to win over while being beaten up! "
"Can't help it? Spicy!"
...
As for MGM-United Artists?
The lion who worked out "007", "Gone with the Wind", "Tom and Jerry", initiated the establishment of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and launched the Oscar, is now old...
They don't know, if they win over Roland and get "Spider-Man", which can be supported by the original "Jurassic Park" crew and Industrial Light and Magic, there is hope of reorganizing the film business?
Of course they do!
Has been playing the star card, launching Katharine Hepburn, the No. 1 greatest actress in America in a century, Greta Garbo No. 5, Cary Grant No. 2, and Clark Gadget No. 7 They, who are bloggers, know better than anyone what Roland's super high rate of return of 11.3 times means!
It means that the audience is already blindly following his movie in their subconscious mind!
It means that in the subconscious of the audience, he has already equated him with a good movie!
means that he is the guy after Harrison Ford who can let the audience walk into the theater directly without watching the movie content!
but…
Even if they are tempting, they can only watch!
They have no money, they have no projects, they have withdrawn from United International Pictures, and they have no international distribution capabilities...
Compared with the other five live-action movies, MGM knew that they had no advantage at all, and in this case, they could only watch Roland being eaten by one of the other five.
Having tasted the actor's incredible charisma, they can only envy them now.
"But there is no way, we have nothing to make them like."
"Actually, I've been wondering, are they going to go it alone?"
"If not, why did George release the news of making an origin movie at a critical moment when the film is about to be released?"
"Hey... I'd pay a dollar for what they're thinking now if I could..."
...
While the movie fans were in a carnival, all the guys in the film company wanted to figure out what was going on in Roland's head. Now he is like Tom Cruise in 1986, or in other words, Roland is more powerful than he was back then. The handsome guy who shot "Top Gun" is even more sought-after, there is no way, the most people who play cards are the big and small kings who place orders, and what about him?
A flick of the hand is Zhang Liu Guoli!
But no matter how much they wanted to sign him, these guys didn't mean to shorten the process and communicate directly. They didn't even bother to ask what Roland was doing now! Because his Super A is different from others...
Those guys who have accumulated a lot of hard work and worked hard for many years to finally become famous are all slowly tested out one movie after another. They don’t have a plan in their hands, so after being promoted to Super A, as long as a film company offers a higher price, start If there is a better project, they will gladly accept it after shopping around!
But what about Roland?
To put it bluntly, the project of the film company is not attractive to him at all! In other words, the senior executives of those film companies simply don't understand what projects they have in their hands that can tempt Roland!
A movie series with a box office of over 500 million?
Oh, God! If they knew what series could be so awesome, would they still wait until now?
Since they don't know, they can only vote for whatever Roland wants to shoot!
And in this case, they will always be passive, but it doesn't matter, because they are used to it!
The guys from the Jewish gang are all big men, want to take the initiative with them?
Then it’s better to keep an eye on six roads and listen to all directions, waiting to grab investment shares and send money with your peers!
It is precisely because of this that no one will bother when they are anxiously discussing and offering conditions that are enough to envy others. Roland, who is currently very hot, has come to the Skywalker Ranch, and no one will bother, from the Skywalker Ranch Loud cheers erupted.
...
"Boom!"
"Congratulations! Roland! The youngest Mr. 1.5 billion in history!"
"Boom!"
"100 million in seven days! We made history!"
"Boom!"
"We started the age of visual effects! A billion! Here we come!"
That's right, when those film companies were so busy trying to win over the newly promoted Super A and the once again successful Spielberg, in the 50,000-acre Skywalker Ranch in Marin, California, there was simply The Jewish gang, who didn't take those capitalists seriously, is celebrating their success!
The champagne started, everyone made a scene, took the biggest advantage, or the one with the youngest generation naturally received more preferential treatment. Roland, who had his hands in his pockets, didn't know what was going on. spread throughout the body.
When he wiped his face vigorously and looked around again, the scene filled with excitement made him laugh out of a bewildered face.
Looking at those seniors on weekdays, at this moment, Roland, who was sizzled with champagne by everyone, did not have any psychological barriers at all. He raised his hand to pick up the champagne that had been opened, pressed the cork and shook it vigorously twice, and then the mouth of the bottle was closed. God, the thumb twirled lightly, only to hear a crisp sound of puffing, the cork shot up into the sky, and the next second, hops were flying and foam was flying...
"Congratulations to you too! Steven! One billion directors are at your fingertips!"
"Thank you too! George! The news that you are going to start filming the origin of "Star Wars" is just right!"
"Who else sprayed me just now? Forget it! Since you all got the champagne, don't even try to run away!"
Note: ① "Jurassic Park" is really the last straw for Warner to prevent Tim Burton from intervening in "Batman Forever". It was too thick, and "Batman Forever" kept pressing, and then "Jurassic Park" was born. Hollywood wanted to follow suit, but Industrial Light & Magic didn't have enough manpower at the time. What about "Forrest Gump", " Jumanji, Ghost Horse, and Mission: Impossible are all projects for the Jewish gang. Warner couldn’t get the technology, so they had to find someone to shoot Batman Forever. ", not only that, they also changed the script that Tim Burton had originally written. ②A single chapter was written before the theater commission, so I won't repeat it here. ③The influence of "Jurassic Park" at that time was equivalent to that of "Avatar" later. As for why those film companies did not engage in CGI themselves, this is actually a matter of cost-effectiveness. The possibility is too low; as for why Lucas would fiddle with this thing, because he is rich and happy, the Skywalker Ranch in Marin, Northern California, covers an area of ??50,000 acres. However, Lucas bought the land only for making movies For sound effects, I made all kinds of real scenes, and then I worked with the sound effects artist there. Before Cameron filmed "Terminator 2", he went to Skywalker Ranch to see it, and suddenly felt that doing special effects was the only way to make money, so he did it himself. the digital realm. The birth of the so-called CGI is actually rich and willful.
(end of this chapter)
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