New Line's headquarters is not in the Daenerys East Coast headquarters building on West 66th Street on the Upper West Side, but in Greenwich.
The evening party was also held in the ballroom of a Greenwich Village hotel.
From founding a distribution company in 1967, to rising to the second tier with the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series in the 1980s, to going bankrupt in the wave of Hollywood consolidation in 1992, and later being absorbed by Blockbuster under the control of Daenerys, New Line Cinema The ups and downs of the novel can be written as a wonderful novel with ups and downs.
This time, as Daenerys increases the number of paid cable channels DHO and Blockbuster rental chain, while still continuing to implement the competitive strategy that Simon quietly set to squeeze the living space of other studios, New Line, which has been dormant for several years, is once again Being reused, it plans to open up Daenerys, the New World and the fourth largest label under Daenerys Entertainment beyond the High Gate.
The party held by New Line tonight is to build momentum for the company's expansion next year.
When the little maid took Mona Almery to the hotel where the party was being held, the battle this time was obviously much bigger than the last party she attended in the film and television industry. There were autographs, photos and other promotional procedures before entering. Although it was obvious that the reporters at the scene were not very interested in her, a strange oriental girl, appearing in front of the photo wall, the little maid was still very satisfied.
How many celebrities in China, no matter how senior they are, can stand on such an occasion
Entering the banquet hall, there were not many people present. The little maid saw her agent Jenny Laisenberg at a glance, and walked straight over. After Laisenberg finished the conversation with the middle-aged man in front of her and turned to her, she smiled and said English greeted: "Good evening, Jenny, why are you here so early?"
"The early bird catches the worm," Reisenberg said, patiently waiting for Mona to translate something softly in the little maid's ear before not forgetting to introduce: "By the way, Van, this is Format Van Sant." , he is the director of the excellent "Good Will Hunting" two years ago, Gus, this is Fan, a great actor, she starred in two consecutive TV series in China and achieved phenomenal ratings. "
The little maid listened to Mona's instant translation in her ears, and tried her best to shake hands with the meticulous middle-aged man in front of her with a stubble and hairstyle in English: "Hello, Mr. Sante, I have read your "Good Will Hunting", Like it very much.”
"Thank you, Miss Fan. It's nice to meet you." Gus Van Sant shook hands with the little maid, his tone was very polite, but after all, the two parties were not familiar with each other, and there was no topic for the moment, so he turned to Reisenberg again: "Since So, Jenny, let’s arrange a meeting as soon as possible to talk in detail.”
"No problem, I'll give you the exact time tomorrow."
Watching Gus Van Sant leave, the little maid showed just the right amount of confusion. Jenny Reisenberg did not sell it off, and revealed with a smile: "Gus has chosen one of my namesakes for the new movie he is preparing. The actor, William Macy, if you've seen Fargo, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in that film."
The little maid has been trying to catch up on Hollywood knowledge during this period, and movies are naturally the most important one. After hearing this, she said: "I know about the Coen brothers' movie, and there is also director Sante. I believe he is preparing another one." A very good film.”
"Heh, let me introduce you to Bob, and then you need to socialize by yourself," Reisenberger smiled, gestured in one direction, and led the little maid through the crowd at a buffet table to look around. There happened to be no one, so he continued the topic in a low voice: "Actually, after "Good Will Hunting", Gus's new film last year was a mess. It cost Disney 50 million US dollars and only recovered less than 20 million at the box office. Typical Sophomore effect, Daenerys was right not to continue working with him after "Good Will Hunting". Many filmmakers in Hollywood are like this. Once they achieve success, they think they are the center of the universe, and they feel that their agents and studios Any interference with him is a heinous crime. In the new film, he demands absolute control, uses it at will, and spends wantonly. The result is often like the sports car rushing towards the valley in "Thelma and Louise", boom!"
When the little maid saw Reisenberg spreading his hands to make an explosion at the end, she laughed in agreement. She didn't understand much and thought, maybe the agent was trying to knock her out
It's not necessary.
Even though China is at the peak of its popularity after "My Fair Princess" and "Legend of Sword and Fairy", here in Hollywood, she is not arrogant at all and is still in awe.
As he spoke, he quickly came to a few other people.
The little maid and Mona used the Internet to check the information of Robert Shea, the founder of New Line, in the villa on the Upper West Side in advance. After looking at the photos, they immediately recognized the gray-haired man in the conversation who looked like a British gentleman. middle-aged man.
There seems to be a sales pitch going on here.
On the other side were two people who looked somewhat similar, probably brothers.
"Yes, Bob, it's a smorgasbord of 'Saturday Night Live' jokes, but Adam's 'Tea Boy' in Thanksgiving has proven that this type of film is very popular with audiences."
"And the cost is very low."
"Yes, the cost is very low. In addition, for the role of Mary, we can invite a supermodel to play it. Cindy Crawford would be great."
When Robert Shea heard this, he subconsciously interrupted: "Cindy can't do it. Although she is very famous, it turns out that she is more suitable for some small supporting roles. She cannot support a movie by herself."
The longer-haired one of the two brothers quickly gestured and said: "Then Daniela... Heidi... Fernanda, oh, by the way, Roberta, Roberta Chilko, although Roberta She acted very much like an action actress in that 007 movie, but she really has the potential to be an American sweet girl... "
The long-haired man wanted to continue. When Robert Shea saw Reisenberg approaching with the little maid, he finally interrupted: "Peter, Bob, frankly speaking, because we don't go through the theater channel but directly put it on TV and video Platform, New Line mainly produces low-cost action movies or crime, thriller, and horror genres. Even if you give me a literary film script, I can try it, but comedy movies, I'm sorry, this is not what the audience wants on the small screen. If you like the type you like, maybe you can pitch your ideas to the New World."
Shay started talking, and it was obvious that both brothers were a little frustrated, but the long-haired man quickly added: "Or, Bob, we have another idea, to make a spoof horror comedy based on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" , you know, last week's "Scary" sold more than 55 million in its first week, which is simply a miracle."
Robert Shea shook his head directly this time, and frowned visibly: "Sorry, Peter, I don't want to see "A Nightmare on Elm Street" being parodied yet. You two, please help yourself. I have other guests to greet."
When Xie Yi said this, the two brothers were no longer ignorant. They raised their glasses to Xie Yi, nodded to the little maid and the others, turned around and walked away.
When the brothers walked away a little, Robert Shea had changed his smile again and shook hands with Jenny Reisenberg.
Then he helped introduce the little maid.
Robert Shea listened to Reisenberg's introduction, and after greeting him with the same kind and polite attitude, he also said another thing: "Ms. Fan, I have watched the video of your audition for "Fringe". If There are no other problems on your side, this role can be decided directly, how about it?"
"Oh, really?" The little maid skillfully imitated Westerners' expressions of surprise. When Shay confirmed again, she nodded quickly: "Thank you very much, Mr. Shay."
"You're welcome, Miss Fan has achieved such dazzling achievements in China at such a young age. I also look forward to your cooperation with New Line."
Jenny Reisenberg, who was standing nearby, waited for the two parties to be polite to each other, but did not walk away immediately, but casually asked: "Bob, what idea were those two selling to you just now?"
"It's a spoof comedy similar to "Saturday Night Live" called "Crazy About Mary."" Shay withdrew his attention from the little maid and turned to Reisenberg, saying, "The two brothers participated in "Seinfeld." I am a screenwriter with good skills. If I can go to the big screen, I would be very excited. The problem is, you know, I am only responsible for two channels, DHO and Blockbuster, although the headquarters also gave me some The cinema quotas still have to be used on key films, which can only be a pity.”
Reisenberg nodded in agreement and said with a teasing smile: "However, I think it is a good idea to spoof "A Nightmare on Elm Street"."
"Oh, don't make fun of me," Shay did not frown this time, but laughed: "I can't bear to part with it, and besides, the situation in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream" are different. , "Scream" has ended, and the reboot of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" did very well at the box office at the beginning of the year, and we are already preparing for another sequel."
The little maid patiently listened to the conversation between the two big men, occasionally interjecting a word, and actually kept up with the conversation between them.
The core focus of everyone's discussion was the previous "Scream" released on December 11, which was a spoof of a teen horror comedy that also belonged to Daenerys' blockbuster series "Scream".
The first "Scream" movie was released on Halloween in 1988, so this year marks its 10th anniversary.
Daenerys also used the 10th anniversary gimmick for the main preliminary publicity. After all, she has accumulated a certain amount of sentiment over the past ten years.
However, before the film was released, both within Daenerys and the industry media, they all held a negative attitude toward "Scream" and believed that such a movie would not even reach the results of "Scream" that year. It's a luxury to hope to catch up to Adam Sandler's "Tea Boy".
It is also an environment surrounded by blockbusters. "Tea Boy" was released on November 20. After 23.78 million U.S. dollars in its first week, based on subsequent trends, the industry generally predicts that the film is expected to reach the 80 million mark in the country, so that it can recover just by relying on its North American release. The total cost of production and publicity was 40 million yuan and there was a small profit.
Quite an outstanding result.
Therefore, before the release of "Scary", everyone basically felt that this spoof comedy was a sentimental comedy that was good at selling sentiments, but was a spoof comedy at worst. In a similar market environment, it would definitely not be as good as "Tea Boy".
The results were beyond everyone's expectations.
After it opened on December 11, "Scary" became a hit. It was released for seven days. Despite the pressure from two other competitors in the same period and a lot of old films in the Thanksgiving movie, it actually earned a whopping 5,567 in its first week. The box office of 10,000 US dollars was shattered.
Even Simon who was far away in Australia couldn't help but confirm the authenticity of the data when he heard the news.
However, this is indeed the case.
After a hurried follow-up investigation, the New World Pictures team finally confirmed two reasons.
First of all, the plot of the film itself is indeed excellent. Even if it is a spoof popcorn that can make people laugh until their stomachs hurt, it is obviously a very good popcorn.
Secondly, feelings are really easy to sell.
"Scream" back then was the first blockbuster series that Daenerys released independently after she gradually accumulated a certain strength and got rid of other studios. While it was a great success, the entire trilogy has almost become a generation's favorite. memory.
Ten years later, the project was revived in a spoof way that, even if it offended a few fans, attracted the attention of most people. After all, for ordinary people, whether it is horror or comedy, it all belongs to the popcorn genre. Therefore, Daenerys will not find it unbearable to spoof her own classic horror series. Instead, she will be curious and expect more.
The combination of these two factors resulted in "Scream" grossing $55.67 million at the box office in its first week of release.
To say it is a miracle is not an exaggeration.
You must know that this is the box office result of the same period, which was hit by a bunch of old films from rivals and Thanksgiving movies. It is conceivable that if there is a more competitive schedule, the box office of "Scary" will be even higher in the first week, reaching 60 million. Not impossible.
In any case, the first week of 55.67 million US dollars is already a box office result that most blockbusters cannot match. And according to the box office tiered sharing rules signed with the theaters, Daenerys basically took back her money in just the first week. The production cost of 20 million US dollars plus the same 20 million US dollars of publicity and distribution costs will enter the profit cycle starting from the next week.
In addition, during the past three-day weekend from December 18th to December 20th, the year-on-year decline of "Scream" remained at 39% under the strong pressure of "Suicide Squad 2". It is expected that the decline for the entire second week will be controlled. It is about 40%, which means that the film's total North American box office can not only easily enter the 100 million yuan box office club, but is also expected to sprint towards a higher target of 150 million US dollars.
Not only that, but in the ebb and flow of the North American film market, the outstanding performance of "Scream" inevitably sniped at other films in the same period.
Such as "Tea Boy".
Without "Scary", which is similar in genre or even has a mediocre box office performance, "Tea Boy" will definitely gain another steady harvest in the Christmas season and eventually achieve the local target of 80 million.
Because of the appearance of "Scary", "Tea Boy" saw a box office drop of as much as 41% during the week of December 11, when it was supposed to only drop slightly even if it did not rebound. Such a deep drop directly shattered the downward trend. The total domestic box office is expected to shrink to about 70 million.
All in all, the dark horse performance of "Scream" has triggered a hot topic that is not even much worse than "Suicide Squad 2", which opened last Friday. After all, it is natural for "Suicide Squad 2" to be a hit. This past weekend After the three-day box office data was released, it was expected to exceed 100 million in the first week. It was also natural. Failure would only become big news.