"I now talk to Cameron on the phone at least once a day. The post-production of "Titanic" can basically ensure that it will be completed before the end of May. Simon, there are constant negative news about this film in the media. I think the longer it takes, the longer it will take." The worse it is for us, the better it is to release it on time in the summer."
"Forget about the summer schedule. The time is too tight. If something happens again, many plans will be disrupted. In addition, tell Jim to stay in Australia and not come back until he completes "Titanic"."
Malibu, Daenerys Studios.
The time is already Wednesday, January 8, 1997.
Starting from Christmas a few days ago, at Simon's insistence, Amy Pascal, who was due to give birth, began taking maternity leave for a month. It is always said in business management that if you want to know whether a company is developing healthily, you only need to see whether the company can still operate normally after the leader leaves for a period of time.
Simon wanted to see it too.
However, as chairman, now that he has returned to Los Angeles, Simon can only intervene in professional and tedious financial, personnel, legal and other matters. As the core content area of Daenerys Entertainment, at least in the general direction, he can still take on the responsibility. stand up.
The ongoing meeting is to discuss the production and publicity arrangements for a series of key projects in 1997 with the heads of its three brands and several other executives, mainly the schedule.
As the three labels begin to keep pace with each other, in many cases, if Simon or Amy do not personally make the decision, the competition for schedules and even the various disputes arising from it will be inevitable. Once such disputes become too fierce and cause internal friction, it is likely to hurt the film business. fundamental.
What Simon just talked about with Daenerys Film President Tom Pollack was "Titanic" which was finally completed before Christmas last year.
News that the "Titanic" project was seriously out of control began to spread frequently in the second half of last year. It was finally time for everyone to see that Simon Westeros also stumbled. For this movie, Tom Pollack, the president of Daenerys Pictures, personally went to Australia to follow up for more than a month, and finally completed the film before the end of 1996.
Now the schedule is an issue again.
Indeed, as Pollack said, if you want to break the rumors from the outside world, it is safest to release it this summer according to the original plan. However, not to mention whether Cameron can complete the post-production on time, even if it is completed, the time is too tight and there is no guarantee that it will not be released. If there are other changes, it would be safer to leave it until the end of the year.
In the conference room.
After hearing Simon's last words, everyone finally felt that someone was still a little angry about this, saying that he would not let a certain guy come back from Australia. Perhaps the subtext was that once this project completely failed at the box office, there would be no chance of returning to Hollywood in the future. .
Daenerys Entertainment now definitely has the power to ban a director.
As for my boss, people who often come into contact with him will inevitably lament that this young tycoon is calm and easy-going, as if he has never been young and frivolous. It is easy for people to get close to him. However, if you stand a little further away, you will immediately have another feeling. .
Cruel person!
Seeing Simon's decision, Tom Pollack had no choice but to say: "At the end of the year, the Thanksgiving schedule has already been confirmed for "A Bug's Life" and "Contact" which MGM is responsible for, and "Titanic" can only be released on the Christmas schedule. .However, there is "The Flash 2" on Christmas. The first "The Flash" had an average box office, but after the cross-over preview of "Wonder Woman 2", the box office of "The Flash 2" may reach a higher level. If we want to play it safe, Simon, maybe we should swap Contact with Titanic."
As soon as Tom Pollack finished speaking, Mark Belford, Vice President of Global Operations of Daenerys Entertainment, who was standing next to him, reminded: "Tom, it’s no surprise that in order to avoid "The Flash 2", Disney will most likely make "The Flash 2" "Terminator 3" is placed in the Thanksgiving screen, and maybe "Starship Troopers", which Sony invested in Paul Verhoeven, is said to cost US$100 million. It is still unwise to squeeze "Titanic" into the Thanksgiving screen."
Tom Pollack retorted: "I have read the script of Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers". It is a very mediocre script, and the likelihood of it being a hit is not high. "Titanic" has been moved to the Thanksgiving file, and its theme is similar to "Bugs" "The Secret Service" does not conflict, and the remaining "Terminator 3" will never be higher than "The Flash 2"."
"I also think that "Titanic" should be put on the Christmas screen," New World Pictures president Danny Morris interjected: "In addition to "A Bug's Life" and "Contact" in the Thanksgiving screen, don't forget I also have Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer, so I can’t add any more.”
Ella Deutschman, president of Gomen Pictures, also expressed her own opinion: "Why not move "The Flash 2" to a gratitude file like "Wonder Woman 2", and we should be able to get Warner to compromise?"
"It can't be like this," Nancy Brill, who was on the sidelines, immediately objected this time: ""A Bug's Life" must ensure that it runs through two schedules. This project is our most important movie at the end of the year. "
Ella Deutschman reacted when she heard the words, knowing that she had made a mistake.
Pixar's 3D animated films involve far more than just the box office itself, but also involve the sales of peripheral products worth billions of dollars and even the entire Daenerys Entertainment business in home entertainment, theme parks, game development, etc. Even if "Titanic" is a complete flop, the schedule of the animated movie "A Bug's Life" must be guaranteed.
Thinking about this, Ella Deutschman felt more and more that a super blockbuster that was expected to cost 200 million US dollars would end up similar to "Waterworld" or "Cutthroat Island" two years ago.
Simon, who was sitting at the head of the table, listened to the discussion and lowered his head to study the 1997 box office weekly ranking list in front of him. After a moment, he interrupted everyone's argument and said: "Stop arguing, "Titanic" will be placed in the Christmas period. The schedule for "The Flash 2" is December 19th, which is the most golden date. This has been confirmed, so we have moved it forward a week and put it on December 12th."
Everyone immediately looked at each other, and then looked at their boss.
Tom Pollack hesitated a little, but still said: "Simon, I think it might be better to postpone it for a week?"
The release of "The Flash 2" a week ahead of schedule is almost equivalent to actively lying down and letting "The Flash 2" crush it in everyone's eyes, just like the movies in the week before "Wonder Woman 2" in the past Thanksgiving season. If word-of-mouth If it doesn't meet expectations, "Titanic" may be completely shut down within a week.
In comparison, if it were delayed by a week, the momentum of "The Flash 2" would be slightly slower, and there might still be room for "Titanic" to survive.
Simon felt the eyes of everyone and probably understood what they were thinking, so he was not surprised.
If you just want to keep "Titanic" alive, it would be a good choice to actively avoid Christmas when "The Flash 2" is set and catch the end of the year on New Year's Day. However, in this case, it will directly enter the unpopular schedule after New Year's Day week. Once "Titanic" regains its former popularity, its counterattack momentum will definitely not be as good as that of its popular period, and the total domestic box office will drop by one level.
Let's talk about "The Flash 2" being released one week in advance. If it can withstand the pressure of this super blockbuster and create a miracle, and if it has room to play in the popular schedule last week at the end of the year, "Titanic" is expected to create the box office miracle it once was.
In the final analysis, the executives present were thinking about how to make the performance of "Titanic" not too ugly, while Simon was looking forward to this film achieving another box office miracle.
In fact, if nothing else is considered, the best choice is to put "Titanic" on Thanksgiving. In this way, once the big ship breaks out, it will continuously crush the two popular schedules and the local box office will directly exceed 700 million. It is not impossible. However, if you do this, other movies will have no chance of survival.
After all, it's because the plate is just so big.
After careful consideration, December 12 is undoubtedly the most suitable date.
In addition to Simon's confidence in "Titanic", there is also the fact that "The Flash 2" will not be as scary as everyone imagines.
Because according to the original agreement, Warner completely retained the copyrights of the two major superheroes and did not allow Daenerys Entertainment to participate in the investment. The condition was that the Big Three and major crossover movies could use the images of "Cyborg" and "The Flash" at will, and "Cyborg" Bone' and 'The Flash', unless Daenerys Entertainment agrees, can only 'fight alone'.
After all, it is impossible to achieve popularity alone like the cross-gathering of three heroes like "Wonder Woman 2".
After sorting it out again, Simon said with finality: "It's settled, "Titanic" will be released on December 12. Next, um, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ella, your plan is to participate in the Cannes Film Festival , this item is cancelled. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" should not be positioned as a literary film. Participating in Cannes, regardless of whether it can win awards, will not be beneficial to the release of this film. However, this film can be premiered in Cannes It will be released. In addition, if the schedule is further back, the box office momentum of various blockbusters in mid-July is still there, so it will be placed in late July."
Ella Deutschman thought about it for a moment, but did not object. She just said: "Simon, we will give the Oscar to "The English Patient" this year. We can always compete for it next year, right?"
Simon's expression paused for a moment. He couldn't say in advance that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Titanic" would be the focus of winning awards this year. For executives who don't have Simon's prophetic advantage, these two movies, judging from their appearance, will be successful if they don't completely fail. How can they expect Oscars
After thinking for a moment, Simon said: "You were following up on several projects we invested in Europe last year, including the British film "Six Pigs", and two Italian films, Tornatore's "The Piano on the Sea" "The Master" and Roberto Bernini's "Life is Beautiful," they should both have the potential to be award-winning films."
Ella Deutschman nodded and shook her head: "But it can't be considered mainstream, and the box office volume won't be too high. Boss, I want to make "Shakespeare in Love." This project has been under development for two years, and it will be launched now. Just right for the end of the year.”
Not to mention "The Pianist" and "Life Is Beautiful", the former "Six Pigs" cost only 2 million pounds and the global box office exceeded 250 million US dollars. Isn't this a high volume
However, you can’t be a magic stick.
Simon could only hold back, and his thoughts turned to "Shakespeare in Love", the Oscar-winning Best Picture that was once full of controversy.
"Shakespeare in Love" is a well-known script that has been circulated in Hollywood for a long time. The story idea was born in the late 1980s. Historically, Julia Roberts, who was one of Hollywood's most popular sisters in the 1990s, personally worked on this project. Due to various reasons, the film was ultimately unable to be filmed, and it took ten years before it was finally produced by Miramax.
Then it was a huge success.
The quality of this movie is of course very good, but in 1998 it defeated even better films such as "Saving Private Ryan", "The Thin Red Line", and "Life Is Beautiful" to win the Oscar. One of the most popular movie queens in Hollywood was born.
Daenerys Entertainment had won this script a few years ago, and Simon had been waiting for the right time. Seeing Ella Deutschman looking at him expectantly, Simon felt helpless. Starting with "A Room with a View", Ella Deutschman has always been fond of films with classical literary and artistic themes, and "Shakespeare in Love" naturally became her favorite.
Faced with the expectations of this executive, Simon couldn't say Ella, let's wait any longer, otherwise the film would become cannon fodder when it was made.
Still can't be a magic stick.
After a little hesitation, Simon finally nodded: "Okay, by the way, have you considered the hero and heroine?"
Whatever.
Just think that this movie 'last life' has ruined your character and pay off your debt this time.
Ella Deutschman was very happy when her boss nodded: "I would like to invite Daniel Day-Lewis for the male lead and Julia Roberts for the female lead. Julia just participated in the "BJ's Diary" last year , specially received accent training and could get started directly, and she also liked the script very much."
Daniel Day-Lewis could be said to have been the first candidate for the male lead in "Shakespeare in Love", but due to schedule reasons, he was not invited several times.
As for Julia Roberts, Simon was not satisfied. The actress really lacked a kind of British classical beauty.
Thinking of this, Simon said: "Daniel is no problem, as long as you can get it. As for the heroine, let Kate try it first, Kate Beckinsale. She has performed very well in recent movies, and she also won the award with " "Good Will Hunting" received a Golden Globe nomination for supporting actress, and the key is that she is British."
Designating a heroine is one of the great pleasures of being a boss.
For whom is it not fun
Ella has been promised to start filming, and of course she will not ask for trouble in this matter, not to mention that her boss is not messing around. After thinking about it for a moment, Kate Beckinsale is indeed more suitable than Julia Roberts, Ella Deutschman couldn't find any reason to refute and nodded quickly.
The matter was finalized, and Nancy Brill, who was somewhat suspected of joining in the fun, said: "Boss, I want to restart "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Shea recently gave a very good plan, and, you Aren’t you also working on a youth film project? I think you can give it a try.”
Under Simon's operation, New Line and Miramax, which were supposed to shine in Hollywood in the 1990s, closed down one after another. Nancy Brill, as the controller of Blockbuster, once asked the heads of these two companies to In an attempt to gain an understanding of Blockbuster's production department, Simon also acquiesced to this matter, which can be regarded as laying the foundation for the future streaming media era in advance.
The Weinstein brothers were subsequently fired by Nancy for misconduct, leaving only New Line founder Robert Shea.
Simon has also paid attention to it in recent years.
Robert Shea has a background in distribution. Although the performance of the Blockbuster production department he presided over was mediocre, mainly due to the limited resources available to him, he did a very good job in purchasing films and helped Blockbuster buy many films. Few high-quality and cheap movie rights.
Hearing Nancy's sudden mention, Simon also realized that Shay was probably thinking of making a comeback, and just said: "I didn't see the memo you gave me in advance, Nancy, how much do you plan to spend, and how will the schedule be determined? "
"$15 million. Shay hopes to use some CG special effects this time. In order to save money, we plan to find an independent special effects studio. Boss, if you think the cost is too high, Blockbuster can fund part of it. In terms of schedule, if you give the green light If so, I hope to release it in mid-September."
"Forget it about sharing the investment. You discuss it with Danny first and submit a memo to me."
After saying this, Simon took back the initiative and said: "As for overseas, last year we launched a number of projects in European and Asian countries, and there will be more in the future. Taking into account cultural factors, these projects will be It will be released first in its own country, or even only in the local area, and will not be introduced to North America. This requires our overseas production and distribution network to be further strengthened. Mark, you have always been responsible for this matter. I hope you will not let me do it next time. disappointment."
Mark Belford nodded confidently: "Of course, boss."
"Specifically, some of this year's films, such as "Two Smoking Barrels" and "Six Pigs" from the UK, have a strong localization style. They will be released in the UK first and then introduced to North America depending on the situation. The same is true for the two Italian movies. Likewise, these two films will also be competing for awards, which requires cooperation between Mark and the Gaomen Pictures team. In China, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will be introduced directly, and the others will be ignored for the time being."
Mark Belford and Ella Deutschman chimed in, taking note.
After deciding to go abroad, Simon began to sort out the most important local film list with everyone.
This year, Daenerys Entertainment's three labels are expected to release more than 40 films in total. However, of course, not all films are the focus. For example, Christopher Nolan's first feature film "Following", which was recruited by Simon last year, and Queen Elizabeth II. Ting's new film "Dangerous Liaisons", a Hong Kong film "Once Upon a Time" which was bought by Simon after the success of "Dark Man" last year, etc., are only secondary.
Of course, there are opportunities for dark horses to appear in these projects. Perhaps Nolan's "The Following" can become an instant hit. After all, Simon has seen the sample film, which is very Nolan style. The cost is only 3 million US dollars. If it is run properly, it can make a profit. It's a no-brainer, but none of these items are the focus.
Specifically, starting from the Valentine's Day schedule on February 14, the first key project in 1997 was "BJ's Diary" starring Julia Roberts, which Simon bought the rights to last year.
In the past, "BJ's Diary", frankly speaking, the global box office was still close to 300 million U.S. dollars, even though the heroine couldn't say anything. It was a miracle.
This time, Simon chose the more likable Julia Roberts. The two male leads are still Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. In addition, the creative team behind the scenes has basically remained unchanged, at least for achieving the previous box office results. , Simon is full of confidence.
Determining the date for Valentine's Day is also a counterattack strategy for an unpopular event.
In addition to the overly crowded summer and year-end, Valentine's Day is also perfect for "BJ's Single Diary".
Later, during the Easter period, four main films were released.
Peter Jackson's "Spooky," Jet Lee's version of "Taken," Jim Carrey's "The Cable Guy," and Natasha Henstridge's "Alien 2." Frankly speaking, none of the four films have the potential to sell over 100 million yuan locally, so this time they win based on quantity.
Among them, "Alien 2" was released by MGM. As the first film to be released under the "Foreign Cooperation Plan" to attract overseas funds, its nature is similar to that of "Day of Independence" and "Contact" that followed this year.
Then there’s the summer season.
Five movies were released successively: "Face/Off" on May 23; "Twister" on June 6; "American Pie" on June 20; "Day of the Alone" on July 4; "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" , July 25.
Finally, there are three major schedules at the end of the year.
The Halloween schedule is "The Conjuring 3," the new film in the Conjuring cinematic universe.
Thanksgiving is the highlight of "A Bug's Life," "Contact" and "The Wedding Singer."
Needless to say, "A Bug's Life" and "Contact", "The Wedding Singer" starring Adam Sandler, is actually Adam Sandler's famous work.
In the past, if 1994 was a brilliant year for Jim Carrey, with three of his movies, "The Man in Disguise", "Dumb and Dumber" and "Planet" being huge hits, then 1998 should be regarded as Adam... In the year when Sandler broke out, "The Wedding Singer" and "Tea Boy" were also big hits.
Among them, "The Wedding Singer" was scheduled for Valentine's Day in 1998. Although it encountered "Titanic", it still made 80 million US dollars at the box office at a cost of 18 million US dollars. It can be said that if "Titanic" had not been released, the schedule would have been better. Breaking 100 million is easy.
This time, Simon gave such a condition.
Another film, "Tea Boy", was released at the end of that year, with the same low cost of US$23 million, and a local box office of 160 million, directly ranking fifth in the annual list.
However, although Adam Sandler does not belong to the bad boy gang, but only has some intersection, but similar to the bad boy gang, this comedy star also lacks overseas box office appeal. This is mainly due to cultural factors. Various domestic movies in the United States The comedy scenes are incomprehensible to foreigners. Unlike Jim Carrey, body language, global accessibility.
last of the last.
Christmas show: "Titanic".
And "Shakespeare in Love", which Ella Deutschman unknowingly asked for a 'sacrifice'.
A careful analysis of the film list reveals that compared to previous years, the biggest difference in 1997 was the significant reduction in co-productions.
The year that just passed in 1996 included "Wonder Woman 2", which was locked in the title of the year, as well as "Mission Impossible 2", "The Mummy", "Jumanji" and "Charlie's Angels" and other blockbusters. Cooperation projects. This year, there are only three related films: "Alien 2", "Day of Independence" and "Contact". Among them, "Alien 2" is just a supplement, and all the others are wholly owned by Daenerys Entertainment. project.
In addition, there is a comprehensive layout around the world.
All in all, global expansion and dominance by one company will be the core development strategy of Daenerys Entertainment for many years to come.