"What surprises me is that Warner so easily accepted Zack's idea of making 'Watchmen' without using A-list stars?"
"This is the reality they must face. "Watchmen" is a group comic, including Night Owl, Silk Ghost, Comedian, Rorschach, Pharaoh, Doctor Manhattan, etc. Each character has his own place, and , this is not a traditional superhero movie. It cannot be clearly divided into pros and cons for simplification. It can only be shot according to the idea of an ensemble cast. Since it is an ensemble cast, taking into account the balance of the characters and, of course, cost factors, Warner is only willing to give 100 million US dollars, so it can only abandon the first-line stars and use second- and third-tier actors."
In a Lincoln luxury car traveling through the streets of Beverly Hills, Lena Kane and Annika Settle were discussing the "Watchmen" project that had just been finalized at noon.
It was about six o'clock in the afternoon.
The sun sets.
In the evening was the premiere of "The Conjuring 4". It started at seven o'clock, and the red carpet ceremony was held an hour earlier. Lena finished her day's work and rushed to another residence in Beverly Hills to have a simple meeting with Annika who had also returned. After getting ready, we set off again to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
I planned to join in the excitement of the red carpet, so I specially prepared a stretch Lincoln.
After taking the fruit platter cut by the waitress and eating it directly in the carriage to replenish energy for the evening entertainment, Annika continued: "As for the duration, actually, I occasionally think that "Watchmen" might be made into a TV series. will be better?"
Lina also used a toothpick to eat the fruit brought by the waitress, shook her head and said: "Even if HBO loses in the competition with DHO, Warner will not be willing to waste such a superhero brand on a TV series. After all, this is the first A superhero comic that won the Hugo Award. However, the duration is to be determined. After all, Zack only has a general idea now and the script has not yet been written."
Lina didn't say it clearly, but Annika could guess some of the style of writing between the two parties during the negotiation.
According to Zack Snyder's conception, the duration of "Watchmen" will basically be about 3 hours, which is a point that is difficult for major studios to accept. Therefore, this company will not be stupid enough to tell Warner directly that I will make a three-hour theatrical version.
This is what happens in Hollywood. Producers and filmmakers often deceive each other and do various things.
Without worrying too much about this, Annika quickly smiled and said: "In any case, for such a large-scale ensemble project that will definitely attract a lot of attention, you can bring some people into it."
Lina also laughed: "I can't eat it myself. I talked to Joe in the afternoon. WMA will hold a special party on the weekend. He even asked his assistant to buy 100 copies of "Watchmen" and distribute them everywhere."
The 'Joe' Lena is talking about is naturally the current head of WMA, Jonathan Friedman.
Annika nodded when she heard what Lina said, but she thought of another thing: "After all these years, hasn't Jonathan ever thought about becoming an executive in a big studio? He has such a huge advantage?"
In the power pyramid of Hollywood, in the 1980s, CAA, which created a new model, briefly gained the upper hand. However, in the 1990s, with the wave of consolidation of media groups, it returned to the dominant position of studios.
Speaking of which, in a capitalist society, how to determine who is at the top of the Hollywood pyramid, you only need to look at one indicator: income!
Whether you are a star, director, agent or studio executive, the more money you make, the more implicit power you have. Therefore, in the original time and space, Steven Spielberg, who earned billions of dollars purely through movies, has always been the leader of Hollywood, and his status is unshakable.
Nowadays, after the completion of the major integration of media groups, they enter the studio as senior executives. Compared with the 1980s and even before, through multiple channels such as basic salary, project sharing and equity incentives, as long as the performance is decent, studio executives will be paid more every year. It is easy to earn an income of tens of millions of dollars, thus surpassing most first-line stars whose income is not stable.
His status rose accordingly.
Compared with the past, studio executives could only play a service role behind the big stars. Today's studio executives, backed by large capital groups, have more than a slight improvement in their initiative.
Let’s talk about Jonathan Friedman, people go up high. Based on the accumulation of the other party over the years, if he continues to stay at the head of WMA, even the world's largest brokerage company seems to be a little unmotivated.
Lina had obviously considered this issue, and knew that her best friend would not understand it at all, so she just said: "The time is not right, and there is no suitable position."
Jonathan Friedman's greatest reliance was his personal relationship with Simon.
After switching from an agency to a studio, if you still want to keep your connections, there are actually only three companies you can choose from. Well, after the merger of Fox and MGM, there are only two left, Daenerys and Fox, and the others Yes, jump over and immediately become a competitor.
Even if a man had a broad enough mind and wouldn't mind if Jonathan served as an executive for a studio other than two, it would certainly be limited to just that, and no more.
And without the connections in Westeros and even becoming a de facto competitor, it’s hard to say what big performance Jonathan Friedman will have when the time comes.
In this case, staying in your current position is the best choice.
The two girls chatted casually as the Lincoln stretched all the way down the mountain and unknowingly entered the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A huge movie poster flashed on the roadside building.
Under the gloomy dark tone, the shadow of Death holding a scythe shrouded the frightened Warrens and some other supporting characters in the series. At the bottom was the full movie title in blood-effect font, "The Conjuring 4: Death".
The two girls looked at it together, and when the poster passed by, they looked away, and the conversation naturally turned to the next topic. Annika said: "The production cost this time is 65 million, including the 25 million publicity, the total cost is 90 million US dollars , it’s pretty amazing for a horror movie, and our ‘Horror Cruise,’ well, it’s so pathetic.”
The production cost of "The Conjuring 4" was US$65 million, which became a marketing point for the film in advance. Relative to the type, the expenditure on the blockbuster level is simply too high.
This is still the result of the back-and-forth negotiations between Daenerys and the main creators.
After all, "The Conjuring 3" has a global box office of US$398 million. Even though the total investment in the production and promotion of the third film has reached a very high US$75 million, not to mention the subsequent generous revenue from peripheral channels, it is only in the theatrical release stage. Nelise brought in more than $90 million in returns.
Therefore, Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore, who originally played the Warrens, both wanted a one-time max salary of $15 million. If an agreement is reached, the salary expenses for the two of them will be US$30 million.
Compared with the income of the "Conjuring" series, it is actually not high.
Simon did not approve.
Because once the two people's salary reaches 30 million, taking into account the overall increase in other production members and even the film's production specifications, it means that the budget of the sequel project will be pushed to more than 70 million US dollars, and the total investment in production and promotion in the future will definitely exceed 100 million. Dollar.
According to the box office level of the third film, even if Daenerys is still profitable, a horror film whose market size is limited after all, and it is difficult to break through the global box office ceiling of 500 million to reach such a budget level, is really not in line with Simon's cost. Control concept.
Since the big boss doesn't agree, the maximum salary certainly won't work.
Moreover, with the current status of Daenerys Entertainment in Hollywood and the confidence that it has many other high-quality projects without having to worry about one or two movies, it is not polite to refuse.
In the end, the two protagonists, who wanted more from the series, gave in.
Between the basic salary of 8 million plus 5% of the global box office gross profit share given by Daenerys and another fixed salary of 12 million, the two did not take risks, but chose the latter, which was safe because the two With the main creator's concession, the budget of the entire project was successfully reduced to within the US$70 million that Simon could barely accept, reaching 65 million.
Moreover, this salary comes with additional conditions, that is, the two main creators signed two packaged film contracts at once under the same conditions, so Daenerys can finalize "The Conjuring 5" in advance.
This mainly stems from Daenerys' subsequent plans for the Conjuring series.
The fourth part this time, the full name is "The Conjuring 4: Death", and the fifth part is "The Conjuring 5: Inferno".
Then, the Warrens will exit the Conjuring cinematic universe.
Taking into account many factors such as cost, reputation, distribution resources, etc., we simply no longer envisage the sixth part. After all, breaking through the curse of the Hollywood trilogy is already very rare for this series. If we continue it forcefully, the comprehensive costs and risks will only increase. The higher you go, the more you lose.
Let's talk about "Horror Cruise", directed by two girls and starring Kate Beckinsale, one of the "Charlie's Angels", which opened last Friday. The results can only be said to be as expected, with no surprises and no disappointments.
As for the crushing "The Conjuring 4: Death", there is no idea of any comparison.
Lina, however, has nothing to worry about: "With such a big difference in size and different types, there won't be any obvious impact. The impact will only be on older films. Even conversely, I think "The Conjuring 4: Death" The movie-watching craze it has driven can also stimulate the box office of "Terror Cruise" to a certain extent next week, allowing us to follow and pick up some small discounts."
"I hope so," Annika agreed with a prayer, and then said: "Do you think this sequel to The Conjuring can reach 200 million in local box office?"
Lina shook her head: "Frankly speaking, I think the third part is already the pinnacle of the Conjuring movie universe, and it is difficult to be surpassed. Since the third part failed to break through the local 200 million, this sequel... Well, we can only hope that it may It’s a surprise.”
Annika was not as pessimistic as Lina, and said: "Simon is personally responsible for it, and the God of Death has appeared this time. I believe it will be more exciting."
About to arrive at the destination, Lina took the wet wipe handed by the waitress and wiped her fingers. She hesitated a little and said, "I think the problem is exactly here. Regarding the element of death, specifically, well, I have been thinking about it recently. But I can’t grasp some key points…”
Annika was even more confused: "What?"
"Perhaps we won't know until after it's released," Lina shrugged: "In short, regarding the box office, it's like Schrödinger's cat, no one can tell until the box is opened."
Lina couldn't even figure it out, so Annika changed her thoughts. Of course, there was no result, so she could only suppress her thoughts temporarily.
As Lincoln approached the Chinese Theater, the crowds on both sides of the road grew.
came the voice.
The two of them looked at the side of the road at the same time. They saw a group of people obviously shouting slogans and holding various signs. The more eye-catching ones were some posters and related stills of "The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon". The sign read 'Pro-life' , 'Abortion offends the gods', 'Don't let your children cry under the blood moon' and other words.
The two girls didn't know how to comment for a moment.
Obviously, this is a continuation of the influence of "The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon". Because of the plot at the time, this movie became an anti-abortion propaganda film openly supported by major anti-abortion organizations and even churches around the world.
According to various statistics at the time, for a long time after the release of "The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon", abortion cases in all countries and regions where the movie was released showed a very significant decline.
It's really scary.
Speaking of which, why are similar films banned on the other side of the ocean
In addition to conceptual factors, one of the most important reasons is that many ordinary people really take things in movies and TV series seriously, which in turn has many unpredictable social impacts.
In fact, it’s the same everywhere.
As a result, no one would want an aborted child to turn into a ghost baby and come to him, so he would naturally become quite cautious about something.
As for "The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon" becoming an anti-abortion propaganda film, Daenerys doesn't want to see it.
Too easily controversial.
Therefore, after Daenerys communicated with the main creators, both the two protagonists Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore, as well as some other major supporting roles, and even the main creators behind the scenes, all rejected various offers from relevant anti-abortion organizations. In invitations and public aspects, similar topics should be avoided as much as possible.
The Lincoln luxury car began to slow down, slowly sliding through the dense crowd of movie fans and approaching the red carpet area.
The two waitresses in the car came forward to help Lina and the two do the final dress check. Annika thought of the crowd just now, but another thought came to her, and she said with a smile: "I guess the two presidential candidates will be asked again recently. When it comes to the issue of abortion, I wonder how they will express their stance?”
Today is October 25th, and there are exactly two weeks left before the general election voting on November 7th.
Lina put on the high heels given by the waitress, stepped on them, and said: "The attitude is determined. However, if you really stir up the topic, it may be detrimental to Gore."
The final sprint of the general election is quite see-saw, and it is basically biased towards the conservative states in the central and southern parts of the country.
The attitude of these states and counties towards abortion is self-evident.
Therefore, raising relevant topics will only lead to more conservative residents in these states and counties voting, and they will inevitably vote for Republicans who are inclined to ban abortion.
The two girls were actually not the kind of people who cared too much about politics. They mentioned it casually and cheered up when Lincoln slowly stopped.
The driver opened the car door and the two women got out of the car. In the lively atmosphere brought by the movie fans on both sides, they walked side by side on the red carpet ceremony that had already begun for some time.
The creator of the finale of The Conjuring series has not yet appeared, and two groups of guests are walking on the red carpet.
Ahead is Brad Pitt, actor of the DC Cinematic Universe's Superman, and his other girlfriend. The first part of "Justice League" will be released during the Thanksgiving holiday next month. The frequency of appearances of superhero actors in the DC series has increased significantly recently.
Then there was one of the former judges of the "American Idol" reality show, the Latin singer Jennifer Lopez, whose popularity has declined rapidly since she was eliminated from the fourth season. The other party wore a bright red floor-length dress today, and he looked very solemn, which actually caused the fans on both sides to cheer after "Superman".
Lena and Annika, who were both wearing light little dresses, kept their distance while walking on the red carpet. Seeing Lopez stop and circle in the media area to take photos, they could only slow down and couldn't help but make eye contact.
Lena thinks that this Latin female singer's performance in "American Idol" was pretty good. She was obviously chosen as a vase, but she still attracted a lot of attention. Unfortunately, she was the only judge to be replaced in the fourth season, and she was replaced by two young male and female singers under Daenerys Records.
The strategy is to be more oriented towards the young market, but for Lopez himself, it can only be said to be a pity.
The gossip at that time, regarding the judges, a group of seniors and juniors in the circle were simply going to have their heads broken.
On the other hand, the two girls were inevitably curious.
The Latin beauty with an exaggerated figure in front of her, um, a certain guy, have you ever slept with her
Of course they won't pursue the answer to this kind of thing.
Just like no one would dare to come up to the two of them and ask if you slept with Simon Westeros.
To do so is to commit suicide.
It's not easy to end your life, but it's not easy to end your career.
The Latin beauty finally moved forward after dilly-dallying for a while, but the two of them, Lena, had already met up with David Denby and his wife, the famous film critic of The New Yorker, who followed later, and they were walking and chatting enthusiastically. None of them had any desire to blog, so they kept going and entered the theater with a simple POSE in the media area.
There is still some time before seven o'clock, and they are about to work hard to socialize. After all, for the two of them, whether they are acting as agents or producers, building all kinds of connections is very important. This is something a man can do at most. Provide them with a halo of status, but they can still only do things themselves.
However, a waitress who had been following silently came up and said something quietly. Lina and Annika were surprised and immediately quickened their pace and came to a waiting room for VIPs in the theater.
Then he found a certain man among the crowd in the spacious lounge at a glance.
After all, being surrounded by a group of people was too conspicuous.
Slowing down again, he quietly checked his makeup, and walked forward together. Simon, who was chatting with New World Pictures President Danny Morris and others, also quickly noticed them. There were people around him, so he could only Nod slightly.
The two girls nodded in response.
The first thing he noticed was the woman next to the man. To his right was a familiar but not too familiar face, the famous C girl, Claire Gein, the founder of Tinkerber.
On the other side is a young girl who doesn't shy away from holding the man's arm but has an obviously careless expression. Her most distinctive feature is her delicate and pretty face like a doll. The girl wears a simple black and white striped sleeveless jumpsuit. The loose skirt does not cover up the girl's exquisite figure at all, but also makes her skin like snow, making her look more like a doll.
The girl didn't seem to care at all about a certain super tycoon around her. She was like a lazy cat that would never return to its heart no matter how much its owner pampered her, reluctantly clinging to the man's side.
The other guests may not know it, but Lina happens to know him, having met before at the San Lucas Estate in Mexico.
Lydia Hearst.
Born into the once-famous and now crumbling Hearst family.
As for the relationship between the girl and a certain man, it is actually very obvious that it is a cat. I don’t know why the man brought these two women out to socialize today.