I only watched half of the sample of "American Pie" before lunch time, and the afternoon continued. During lunch, I discussed some work matters with Amy Pascal, who had returned to work after her maternity leave a few days ago.
Today is March 3rd.
on Monday.
Easter in 1997 was on March 30. One week ahead of schedule, on March 21, the Easter schedule would begin. At that time, Daenerys Entertainment’s three films, "The Ghost", "The Rescue" and "The Rescue" would be released. "Cable TV Repairman", not to mention MGM's "Alien 2".
In addition, the 69th Oscars this year is March 24.
The Oscars in the 1990s were still at their peak, and even if this year is still a weak year for the awards deliberately given up by Daenerys Entertainment, Simon will not completely ignore it.
Finally, there is the recent box office situation of movies.
The Star Wars series started re-releases on January 30. After briefly seizing control of the North American film market, it soon gave way to films produced by Daenerys Entertainment.
In the four box office weeks ending on February 27, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" has been re-released for a month, and its cumulative box office has exceeded 100 million, reaching 103.37 million US dollars. According to the box office trend of the past weekend, this The first Star Wars film still has about 20 million US dollars left at the box office at most, and the total local box office for this re-release is about 120 million US dollars.
In addition, the second "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back", which opened on February 21, had a first-week box office of only 21.46 million U.S. dollars after the first episode consumed most of the fans' emotions. It is estimated that the domestic revenue will only be about 50 million.
In comparison, "BJ's Diary", which was only released on February 14, earned US$37.62 million in its first week. In its second week of release from February 21 to February 27, the box office decline was well controlled at 23%. It collected another US$29.03 million, easily retaining the single-week box office title.
In the past weekend from February 28 to March 2, the decline of "BJ's Diary" slightly expanded to 33% year-on-year, and it still earned 12.73 million U.S. dollars. It is expected that the box office in the third week will still be around 20 million U.S. dollars.
At the same time, after two and a half weeks of release, the film's cumulative box office reached US$79.38 million, only US$20 million away from breaking 100 million.
Considering the reputation of "BJ's Diary", the film will still have a good curve until Easter. The subsequent box office is conservatively estimated to be no less than 50 million US dollars, which also means that the local box office of the film will be at least 130 million US dollars.
Since Julia Roberts is significantly more popular than Renée Zellweger, and Hugh Grant, one of the male protagonists, has not encountered the scandal of being caught with prostitutes in this time and space, his popularity has plummeted. Therefore, this new version of "BJ The production cost of "Diary of a Single" was US$10 million higher than the original US$25 million, reaching 35 million US dollars.
Now, only two and a half weeks after its release, Daenerys Entertainment has recovered all production costs in North America.
The package marketing plan for three British films throughout February has a total publicity budget of US$20 million. Even if US$15 million of it is included in "BJ's Diary", it will only be two weeks at the latest. With the film's domestic sales exceeding US$100 million? It will also enter a profit cycle.
The other two films? As of this past weekend, the cumulative box office of "Two Smoking Barrels" reached US$23.13 million, and the box office of "The Following" also reached US$19.19 million. For the two projects, the budget of the former is less than US$2 million, and the latter It is only 3 million U.S. dollars. Including an additional 5 million U.S. dollars in publicity, the cumulative box office since February 7 has exceeded 40 million U.S. dollars. It has also begun to bring considerable profits to Daenerys Entertainment.
And that's just North America.
The most successful place for Daenerys Entertainment’s package promotion strategy in February? Or in the UK.
There is no need to go into details about the complex emotions that have long been entangled between Britain and the United States. In short, these three films, which can be regarded as "bringing glory to the country", were all very successful in the UK.
Even if due to the size of its own market, the box office data in the UK in a short period of time cannot be compared with North America, but according to the recent box office trends reported by the UK, even if the UK box office of "BJ's Diary" cannot catch up with North America, it is equivalent to Breaking 100 million US dollars, but there is not much suspense.
The other two small films, due to emerging British filmmakers and the outstanding quality of the films themselves, are more popular in the UK than in North America. It is expected that the UK box office will exceed that of North America.
Not to mention the series of blockbusters that were released at the end of last year and are still continuing. Three box office dark horses were released in the first small period of the year, allowing Daenerys Entertainment to show a kind of " Your uncle is more arrogant than before.
During the meal, regarding the success of the three films in February, Amy once again couldn't help but half-jokingly and half-seriously asking why Simon's vision for selecting films over the years was so accurate.
"The key is to be one step ahead of others?" Simon also answered with a smile: "In the film industry, from silent to sound, from black and white to color, at every stage, the types that can be discovered are actually the best. If you want to break through, you just have to can move forward. The recently re-released Lucas Star Wars series is the most typical case. If this film were placed twenty years later, the result would be difficult to say. For Daenerys Entertainment, CG special effects and 3D Animation is an advancement on a technical level, while the concept of a movie universe is an advancement on an innovative level. Besides, the three films this time can be said to be a small innovation at the marketing level on the premise that we have three excellent films. "
Although Simon was a little hesitant about him, Amy still showed a thoughtful expression, and said after a moment: "In this case, the 3D and IMAX technologies that Daenerys Entertainment has been promoting should be our next innovation and breakthrough. Is it right?"
"certainly."
In recent years, Simon has been investing in the research and development of 3D and IMAX technologies and promoting them on a small scale. For this reason, Simon also bought the Canadian IMAX company. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" at the end of the year before last was the first time IMAX showed its prominence. With only 26 IMAX screens in North America, it contributed more than 50 million US dollars in box office to Batman v Superman.
After IMAX's great success in Super Batman, the total number of IMAX screens worldwide has quickly exceeded 100 in the past year, and this number will double this year. Among them, the two Jinshu Cinemas invested by Simon in China each have an IMAX screening room.
After the success of the two pilot projects, IMAX will also become standard in the second batch of 20 movie theaters that are being planned.
With the rapid increase in the number of IMAX screens, the once very expensive conversion and copying costs are becoming more and more acceptable to studios after being evenly amortized, making this shocking movie playback model more and more popular.
As the owner of IMAX, Daenerys Entertainment’s advantages in this area are naturally conceivable.
Compared with IMAX, the promotion of 3D technology is much slower. The main reason is that 3D shooting and projection technology are not mature enough. Therefore, Simon has postponed the timetable of this technology and plans to make efforts again after 2000.
These things were all part of Daenerys Entertainment's plan, but Amy didn't talk much about it. Instead, she said: "Helen Fielding has completed the concept of the second novel of "BJ's Diary", and the subtitle is 'The Edge of Reason'" ', to explore the story of Brigitte and Mark after they were together. According to the agreement, we have priority. Helen and I had a phone call, and she also hopes that the sequel can be launched together with the second novel? "
Simon recalled the box office of the sequel to "BJ's Diary". It was tepid in North America but still sold well globally. He nodded: "You guys should be responsible for this. Well, I remember that Julia signed 5 movies with us." There should be more film appointments, right?"
"Starting from "Steel Magnolias", "Pretty Woman", "Sleeping with the Enemy", "Grannet", and most recently "BJ's Diary", there are exactly five." Amy said, seeing her family The boss looked back on the past and said with a smile: "Does it feel like time flies by?"
"Yeah, I'm 29 years old."
This emotion sounds strange to someone.
Amy rolled her eyes slightly, and continued: "The five-part contract is completed, and last time you gave Kate Beckinsale the "Shakespeare in Love" that Julia had always wanted to play. If there is a sequel, Julia It might not be easy to talk to Leah."
"We can't develop a lot of projects here, and there is no shortage of this one."
Amy nodded.
It was just a bit of a joke. After being in charge of Daenerys Entertainment for so many years, Amy's attitude towards celebrities is completely the same as that of her boss.
Daenerys Entertainment doesn’t have to accommodate any filmmakers now.
Then he talked about other things again: "The last script of "Bad Things" has been snatched by Paramount. They plan to produce it under the Orion label. They plan to invest 30 million US dollars. They also want to use it as a bonus for this year's awards. The film will be released at the end of the year, and now many stars are in contact. Even our 'Batman' is interested. I have also read the script and think it is very good. Simon, why do you suggest that Ella gives up?"
Simon asked: "What do you think is good?"
"A very complete noir crime story. The creativity, suspense and pacing are all great, isn't it?"
Simon also had to nod.
Amy asked: "So?"
Simon thought for a while and said: "It's mainly because of screenwriter Peter Berg. He insists on writing and directing himself, but I'm not sure about his ability. You know, although I'm always happy to support newcomers, the premise is that they must Prove yourself first, just like the two British directors this time. The combined budget of the two films is only 5 million US dollars, which I can accept. As for Peter Berg, he has neither directorial works nor any movies. I have a professional background and want to control tens of millions of dollars of investment with just one script. No matter how good the story is, I would rather give up."
After hearing her boss's explanation, Amy had no objections.
Not to mention Paramount's $30 million, even if it were doubled several times, Daenerys Entertainment can now afford it or lose it.
However, this is not a matter of money, the key is time, to be precise, schedule. To invest in such a project, you must provide corresponding schedule resources. By then, if you have lost 30 million, it will still take up a period of time, and the result is failure. For Daenerys Entertainment, the potential losses may be even greater.
The rapid development and growth of Daenerys Entertainment over the years is ultimately a result of a large number of successes corresponding to the ebb and flow accumulated from the many failures of other studios.
Thinking about this, Amy just used a fork to pick up some pasta on the dinner plate. Amy suddenly remembered the project proposed by her boss some time ago: "Simon, in this case, shouldn't we be more cautious about "The Ghost Story"? , this is an idea you personally proposed, I believe there must be many directors in Hollywood willing to take over, is there no need to use a new person?"
"Have you seen that Lin's work?"
Amy shook her head: "No, how about I take some time to look at it tonight?"
"No, you should have more time to take care of your son," Simon smiled and said, "First of all, I am very optimistic about this director. He is exactly the opposite of Peter Berg we just talked about. He has a standard film school background. , is also very pragmatic. He is only 23 years old this year and has already made two feature films. There are so many people in Hollywood who dream of becoming famous overnight, but there are actually very few who are really willing to work hard."
Amy listened carefully and was deeply moved, and asked, "What's next?"
"Secondly, in order to pursue a sense of reality as much as possible, this project is best done by newcomers."
"I've read your memo, but I think it's right for actors to use new people, but not for directors?"
"The same goes for directors," Simon said: "Because the film itself still needs to give people a relatively young quality. If it is a famous director in Hollywood, it will inevitably have some deep-rooted stereotypes. Oh, so to speak, filming Lin, who has two feature films under his belt, may be a little too mature, but, you know, I can't go to a real rookie."
Amy laughed: "Anyway, you're watching in person, so there will be no problem."
"Yes, after watching the sample film of "American Pie" this afternoon, it will be the production meeting of "The Ghost Story". I will have a good chat with them."
Amy nodded slightly and continued: "Also, the first male lead of "L.A. Confidential" that Brian is currently working on is Hugh Jackman. You should be very optimistic about him, right?"
"Well," Simon cut the lamb chops on the dinner plate and curled his lips: "Actually, I have been looking for and arranging some actors in the past few years, not very deliberately, but I have been doing it. Guess, what am I preparing for? "
Amy thought for a while, and suddenly an idea flashed: "Marvel Cinematic Universe?"
"Bingo, this is spiritual communication. I almost want to give you a raise."
Amy smiled and said: "Boss, I will take it seriously."
"Then forget it as soon as possible," Simon continued to joke, and then said: "Hugh is one of them. As for which role he is suitable for, we will keep it secret for the time being."
Amy objected again: "But, Simon, if you make the candidates you are looking for too popular, they won't be useful in the future and you won't be able to sign long-term contracts."
"I'll pay attention."
After the two of them talked about this, they enjoyed lunch quietly for a while, and then Amy added: "Also, boss, we should also arrange some acquisitions this year, Blockbuster, or, remember boss, you mentioned it before, Thunder Stone Viacom of the East?”
"It won't work for the time being. As for Blockbuster, this year's work is to separate directly-operated stores and authorized stores, sell the authorized business, proactively slim down, and reduce the resistance to our future wholly-owned acquisitions. As for Viacom..." Simon thought about it The coveted MTV and Showtime TV stations owned by this media company can only shake their heads: "The timing is not right for the time being, mainly in terms of the stock market."
Amy thought for a moment and nodded: "I understand."
"And if you know Redstone, you should know that it is very difficult for us to get Viacom."
"Redstone has a very tough character, I know that, but Simon, he is 73 years old."
Simon thought of a tough old man in his nineties who still clung to power 20 years later and only resigned reluctantly after being asked by the court to undergo a compulsory mental evaluation. He smiled and shook his head: "This shows that you still don't understand Redstone." .”
"The worst case scenario is that we can just take over via hostile takeover."
"If I remember correctly, the Redstone family's control of Viacom should be a dual-class equity model."
"This is troublesome."
"So, Redstone can only take the initiative and be willing to sell Viacom to us."
Amy thought for a while and shook her head again: "Viacom's MTV is very profitable. If, as you said, Redstone is tougher than I thought, the possibility of letting him take the initiative is very low."
"Actually, I've been doing it over the years," Simon said. "Redstone has always wanted to acquire Hollywood studios, but he has failed every time, and there will be no chance in the future. In the future, the media industry will be diversified. In a world of globalization giants, Viacom only relies on cable TV business, and it will be difficult for it to develop in the long term... "
Simon said this and did not continue, but Amy showed a knowing smile.
Whether it's MTV or Showtime, which is still developing at this time, Simon is determined to win. Under overt or covert attacks over the years, Viacom has missed the opportunity to grow into a comprehensive media group. It will be too easy for Daenerys Entertainment to target Viacom next.
First, the Redstone family is rooted in National Entertainment, a theater company.
Now Daenerys Entertainment wants to suppress a theater company...
Tsk tsk.
Then there's Viacom, whether it's MTV or Showtime, they're both cable stations.
America Online, controlled by the Westeros system, has begun trial operations as a cable television operator.
Simon's plan is that after the collapse of the new technology bubble, AOL will rapidly expand its cable TV business through large-scale acquisitions, striving to grow into the largest cable TV operator while remaining the largest network service operator. As long as this goal is achieved, Viacom's cable channels will also be clamped by the AOL platform.
Daenerys Entertainment can also create a similar cable station to compete with Viacom.
Through a multi-pronged approach, Viacom will either take the initiative to sell, or go to the most extreme stage of bankruptcy and liquidation, and then be acquired by Daenerys Entertainment.
Of course, both options take time.
Compared with Redstone, the most important thing Simon lacks is time.
Don’t be afraid for three to five years, just take your time.
While chatting like this, towards the end of lunch, Amy mentioned one more thing: "Simon, you should go see the Universal Studios in Rome."
"You guys are relieved to be watching me," Simon said with a smile, thought for a moment, and then said, "I don't have time this month, so next month, after Easter, I have accumulated a lot of things, and it's time to go to Europe again. "
After lunch was over, the two of them went about their own business.
We continued to spend two hours watching the samples of "American Pie" and discussing follow-up matters, and then came the production meeting of "The Ghost Story".
During this time, Lin Yibin had already completed the script after receiving the brief concept written by Simon.
In fact, this could have been handed over to a more professional screenwriter. Lin Yibin was not good at this either in memory or after contact. However, for the same reason, Simon needed a real green texture and handed it to a professional screenwriter. The script It may be easier to fall into a fixed routine than a professional director's operation.
In order to avoid this situation, Simon also specifically told Lin Yibin not to watch any horror movies while writing the script, especially Daenerys Entertainment's The Conjuring Cinematic Universe series.
Just write it according to the thoughts of an ordinary person who encounters ghosts.
Over the past month, the script has been completed and the selection of actors has also been completed.
For actors, Simon required both new talents as much as possible and acting skills, so Simon's royal casting director Linda Vargas conducted a small-scale selection in some acting schools in Los Angeles and New York, and the final candidates were all acting schools. student.
It was both a coincidence and a deliberate decision, Simon chose two 'acquaintances'.
All are female characters.
One is Amy Adams and the other is Jessica Chastain.
Amy Adams is 22 years old this year. She comes from a lower-class background and has never gone to college. She only studied acting part-time at a private acting school in Los Angeles.
Simon's requirement for the heroine was that she should be about 70% beautiful and have some gloomy temperament suitable for the atmosphere of a horror movie. So this Hollywood actress who had always made Simon feel that she was very suitable to play a female perverted murderer was very lucky to be cast. The conscientious Linda was selected.
What a blessing and accident.
Because she knew Simon's preference for selecting actresses, Linda would always considerately prepare some alternative lists for her boss. Otherwise, it would be difficult to say whether the actress would be shortlisted. Simon now has no interest in deliberately looking for any big names in his memory. star.
As for Jessica Chastain, the same goes for it.
This actress is now a student at the famous American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She is a much higher grade than Amy in the Pheasant Study class, and her performance in the audition was even better than Amy's.
However, Simon only gave the model worker the role of a friend in the story who comes to visit after learning that the apartment of the hero and heroine is haunted.
The main reason is that the model worker sister is far behind the 70 points required by Simon. According to Simon's personal beauty standards, the maximum is 60 points. As an ultra-low-cost horror film, the actress cannot be too beautiful, otherwise it will easily distract the audience from the drama, but it must also be watchable, and a 70-point score like Amy Adams's is just right.
What's even more coincidental is that Simon can't remember the name of the heroine in the original "The Ghost Story", but her appearance is obviously somewhat similar to Amy Adams.
Although there is one heroine and one supporting character this time, once they meet and finish "The Ghost Story", the two actresses will become the targets of Simon's deliberate attention and training.
As for the male lead, Simon wasn't that interested as long as his acting skills were adequate, so he chose a young man who was completely unimpressive but had excellent acting skills.
The production meeting in the afternoon was the first gathering of the small team after the completion of the project. Except for Lin Yibin, due to the confidentiality work in advance, it was the first time for several others to know that such a small film would have Simon Westeros. After paying attention in person, and then later learning that this was Simon's idea, they were even more excited. Even if the two actresses are not as bold as some other women who have access to Simon, it is inevitable that they will take some small initiatives and get close to each other.
However, apart from training the two girls to become actresses, Simon has no other special interests.
Mainly, as the bellies of several women around him became bigger and bigger, Simon's interest in women also inexplicably became less and less during this period.
Maybe this is some kind of prenatal anxiety as a father.
The kind that adds up after six women get pregnant together.
Tremendous stress.
Unlike "American Pie", the meeting with the crew of "The Ghost Story" was very short, only half an hour. It mainly explained the precautions during the filming process. It must be realistic and life-like. It also suggested that all the main creators should Go watch a reality show like The Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Of course, only Lin Yibin and others can figure out how to do it. Simon will take the time to look at the samples several times during the shooting process. If it doesn't work, he will continue the process. Anyway, it is digital shooting, and the cost of reprocessing is very low, so he is relieved.
After the meeting, Simon rushed to the next production meeting for "Collision" without stopping.
So until evening.
After seeing off Ben Stiller and others who were in charge of screenwriting for "The Hangover", Girl A walked in and handed over a note with a slightly weird expression: "My wife just sent this to me."
Simon took it and looked at it.
First, there was a list of addresses. I probably remembered that it was a mansion owned by my family in Beverly Hills.
Then there is a sentence.
Very white Natasha is waiting for my dear to enjoy.
After Simon finished reading, he was stunned for a moment before he remembered that the Ukrainian representative he met at the SpaceX headquarters in the morning did not expect Janet to get started so quickly. Well, no, she helped her man get started.
What a wonderful wife.
He slightly raised the corners of his mouth as he thought this, and then he roughly understood that Janet might have noticed his anxiety during this period, so she took the initiative to find a woman to help him relax.
Seeing that her boss, the old man, was lying on the ground, Girl A turned around and returned to her desk. She just threw the note on the corner of the table, paused, and couldn't help but come over: "Boss, do you want to go over in advance to make arrangements?"
Simon shook his head: "No, I'll go home later."
"Um?"
"I've really lost interest recently."
Of course, Girl A had no objection, nodded and left the office.
Simon worked until six o'clock, then returned to Point Dume Manor.
Janet had returned early and was reading a tome with Seattle beside the glass curtain wall. She was quite surprised when she saw Simon.
Simon held the woman in his arms and motioned to Zoe, the baby-faced waitress next to him, to take away his precious daughter who would feel inferior now that he saw it. Then he and Janet lay on the sofa together, watching the last touch of the end of the sea through the curtain wall. sunset.
Janet rubbed against each other and found a comfortable position, enjoying the man's arms, and asked with a smile: "Why don't you go to Beverly Hills? She's really fair. I'll take her with me." Did you go for a full set of maintenance?"
Simon joked: "I am such a responsible man. Of course I have to go home after get off work. How could I go out and fool around?"
Janet wrinkled her nose with a little expression of "You're a liar", opened her mouth and bit Simon lightly, and then put her head on Simon's shoulder. However, after only a moment of silence, the woman jumped up from Simon's arms again, He ran away quickly with bare feet, leaving Simon with a confused look on his face.
However, in less than a minute, Janet returned again, straddling Simon's lap across from her, holding the man's head and leaning towards him, while whispering a little evilly and a little excitedly: "This time it's your mouth, just treat it like that. It’s a reward for getting home on time from get off work, but don’t think too much about it.”
After saying this without any end, Janet lowered her head and kissed the man on the lips.