The North American year-end schedule of 1998 had already started on Halloween when Simon was in Asia.
Another new film in the Conjuring movie universe, "Annabelle 2," was released on October 30. After the success of the first film on Halloween in 1996, the cost of this series of derivative sequels increased from US$15 million to US$25 million, and the investment in publicity and distribution also increased. 25 million, and the number of opening screens is 3103.
With a comprehensive media score of 7.6, "Annabelle 2" earned US$37.62 million in the first seven days, which is far inferior to the US$47.36 million of the first film in the first week. However, Daenerys, including Simon, is quite satisfied.
Mainly because competition for Halloween slots is fierce this year.
In addition to "Annabelle 2", there were three other films released during the same period that had high hopes. Among them, Warner simply launched a blockbuster that cost 60 million, and the box office of the three competitors was pretty good.
Involution, there is no way.
In any case, the first week's total was 37.62 million, and the box office average exceeded 10,000. Based on the box office trend in the subsequent weekend, "Annabelle 2" is more than enough to exceed 100 million in the local market. Even if it is certainly not as good as the first film’s total local box office of US$153 million, and it is expected to exceed US$100 million locally, it cannot be called a failure in any case.
Warner spent 60 million to recruit Don Johnson and Sean Penn to shoot a prison-break action thriller, which opened with 32.26 million in the first week. Based on subsequent trends, the total domestic box office is expected to be only about 70 million US dollars.
Speaking of which, from the beginning of 1998 until now, Daenerys Entertainment has completely monopolized the Hollywood box office club worth 100 million yuan.
Other studios, even the most promising summer releases, whether it was Warner's "Lethal Weapon 4" or Fox's "The X-Files: The Movie", or the "2013 Ultimate" that completely crushed Sony, all failed. , it is still not a movie with a box office of 100 million yuan.
Hollywood is a big casino, and movie investment is gambling.
This is the common understanding of many filmmakers.
However, Daenerys Entertainment has completely changed everything in these years. Not only does this company have a boss who can see through the cards, but its own strength has also absolutely crushed other competitors, so much so that it has shown an unstoppable take-all attitude. It makes people despair.
Hollywood is a very realistic place.
Simon arrives at the after-party for the Skyfall premiere at the rooftop bar of the Sunset Tower Hotel, which is far more lively than any other party of its kind.
Of course, it's not because Simon will attend. The confidentiality of Simon's personal schedule is not that low. The key is just because this is a party related to Daenerys' entertainment. Attending such a party can communicate with Daenerys' senior officials and Contact a popular movie producer who is close to Daenerys, and you might get a good opportunity without realizing it.
And, if you can meet Simon Westeros, that would be even better.
Just like today.
When Simon appeared, although there was no chaos like a rush, the restlessness in the party was still visible to the naked eye. In fact, guests with a little experience have already had a premonition in advance when they noticed that the security measures were significantly strengthened when they arrived at the party tonight.
"Although I didn't attend the premiere with everyone, of course I have watched the finished film. This is another masterpiece that is not inferior to "Days of Independence". Roland, congratulations."
…
"Sandy, I didn't expect you to come here. What have you been busy with recently... Oh, of course I haven't forgotten that you and Courteney were the first friends I met after coming to Los Angeles."
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"How did you like the movie, Roger...Thank you, I hope you enjoyed your evening."
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"We need to make it clear again, Ella, for literary and artistic films, box office success is absolutely accidental. Under normal circumstances, even for excellent literary and artistic films, our box office expectations should be within 50 million, and based on this Limited cost. For "The Talented Mr. Ripley", I have read the original novel, which is a very exciting story. The problem is that if Brian or David were to film it, I could give it $50 million. But for Minghella, His personal style determines that this will be a very literary film, so the maximum is only 30 million... Whether it is Matt or Leonardo, it is the same. If they participate for some reason, they can only sign a salary reduction agreement, However, I suggest that you choose the leading role among new actors and further reduce the actor budget, which will give Anthony more room to perform."
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"Baby, you are beautiful again, and this dress suits you very well tonight... I am very busy, and I have seen you on the big screen many times in advance... Well, of course I remember you, Scarlett, play Be happier."
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"Yeah, Don, when I was watching the sample, I was still thinking, who is this eye-catching elf? It turns out to be your Dakota... That's right, sweetheart, I did give you your name... This one , are you willing... Well, when you grow up and fall in love in the future, if that boy dares to bully you, you can tell him that Simon Westeros is my godfather."
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"Maggie, why are you here... Okay, okay, my fault, I should welcome you, Maggie... Come to audition for "Chicago"... Stop, your beauty trap is of no use to me, come on, let's keep it quiet for now One foot away, let me see... Haha, at least wait until I take the time to look at your audition sample. I just came back from Asia and haven't had time to pay attention to this project... Speaking of which, I suddenly discovered that you have no problem singing and dancing. I hope you will be very happy. Big... This is of course not the final decision. The problem is obvious. This is a movie with two heroines, which requires the tacit cooperation of the two heroines. The problem is that everyone knows that you are too difficult to work with and it is difficult to partner. If you take me If you mess up a project worth tens of millions, I will not be able to help but strangle you to death... 1.8 trillion is earned from 10 to 10 million, and capitalists must also be careful with their calculations."
…
After socializing like this for more than half an hour, Simon came to a booth in the bar.
Stephen Zhou, who had arrived a few days in advance, was chatting with Danny Morris, president of New World Pictures. When he saw Simon walking over, several people here stood up.
After a few brief greetings, everyone sat down. Although there was a translator, Simon still changed to Chinese. However, probably because he had been in a Western environment for a long time, he subconsciously asked a Western-style question: "Zhou, how are you feeling tonight?"
Stephen Zhou didn't expect Simon to speak Chinese. He was a little startled, but he quickly followed. It was completely different from the relaxed expression on the screen, with a bit of slowness: "The movie I just watched shocked me, and I'm looking forward to it." One day I will be able to participate in the production of such a film.”
Danny Morris, who was next to him, saw the two talking in Chinese and could only understand the content through the translator next to him.
"As Asia's most outstanding filmmaker, this kind of opportunity will definitely exist."
"Thanks."
Simon smiled, knowing that this was not a person who was good at small talk, so he did not continue and went directly to the topic: "I have read the memo of the previous meeting between you and Danny, "Kung Fu", it is a very good idea, in this case , we decided on the project directly, but I had some ideas of my own on the details.”
Kung fu, still kung fu.
When Simon first thought about Star Master, his initial thought was that he didn't want to introduce Asian filmmakers to Hollywood to be all related to kung fu. However, the reality is that if you want to break into Hollywood, kung fu is undoubtedly the best stepping stone.
That being the case, Simon doesn't intend to buck the trend.
In addition, this invitation was obviously a bit unexpected for Stephen Zhou, and he obviously took it seriously, so he came up with his final idea.
It is well known that Xingye is a kung fu fan and his idol is Bruce Lee.
Historically, "Kung Fu" was produced in 2004, but the related ideas came about much earlier, similar to how every martial arts fan has a Kung Fu dream.
Now that it's early, there's nothing wrong with it.
The ideas Simon saw were still gangsters, hidden masters, and once-in-a-century martial arts wizards. The general idea was the same as before, but the details were very different. For example, the characters of the landlord and tenant wife did not appear, the time setting is modern Hong Kong, not the slums of the Republic of China, and so on.
In the following time, the discussion between Simon and Stephen Zhou was mainly about reversal.
Try to move the time setting and character setting as familiar as possible in your memory, including a slightly spoofed version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Simon also brought it up and drew some random sketches on the spot. The main one was of the charterer chasing after her. A classic picture of the male protagonist.
The two sides discussed it for more than half an hour, and the matter was basically settled.
In order to strive for excellence, Simon directly offered a production fee of 25 million U.S. dollars, which was higher than the 20 million that Columbia had once pursued to reduce expenses. However, with the current kung fu craze in Hollywood, as long as it can reach the previous level, coupled with Daenerys's promotion ability, the global box office will only be higher than before.
In addition, Stephen Chow's salary is US$2.5 million, including director and starring expenses.
Stephen Chow has directed many of his own films in recent years, so directing is not a problem. There was some hesitation at first, but it was Simon who took the initiative. The main reason was that Simon couldn't think of any other director in Hong Kong who was suitable to direct this project, so he simply let Xing Ye do it himself.
Of course, the remuneration of US$2.5 million, which is equivalent to about 20 million Hong Kong dollars, will be paid in one lump sum, and there will definitely be no discussion on the share.
Speaking of which, Jet Lee's starting salary in Hollywood was also US$2.5 million, but the difference is that Jet Lee received this salary after the success of "Dark Man", and the star has not yet proven his ability in the United States. Given the box office appeal, Simon is already quite generous by giving 2.5 million.
Then there are the filming locations.
The Pig Cage Walled City will definitely be built in Suzhou’s Jinshu Film and Television City. When the movie becomes popular, it will become another popular tourist attraction.
Finally, regarding the special effects, Simon plans to let Jinshu Special Effects in Suzhou be responsible.
Mainly due to cost considerations.
Moreover, Jinshu Special Effects has the software and technology authorization from Daenerys Special Effects, and has been honed for more than a year through local projects such as "Legend of Sword and Fairy" and outsourcing lenses provided by Hollywood, and mastered the "Kung Fu" aspect. project, the problem won’t be too big.
If that doesn't work, Hollywood can provide the necessary technical support.