After finishing his work in the morning, Simon had lunch with Li Fuzhen, who came from South Korea. Her Royal Highness the Princess personally led the team to discuss a cooperation, Samsung Motors' advertising placement in "The Fast and the Furious".
The project was finalized and launched in June, and most of the preparatory work for "The Fast and the Furious" has been completed.
The first is the two male protagonists. According to Simon's intention, Boss Tang changed from Vin Diesel, whom he has never been too fond of, to Dwayne Johnson. Currently, he has successfully signed five film contracts with Johnson, and three One mainline movie and two crossover projects.
Compared to Dwayne Johnson, who is very famous in the wrestling circle, Paul Walker, who is still unknown now, is even simpler. Therefore, he signed a ten-year contract instead of counting it based on the number of parts.
Of course neither agreement would be enough based on the series' past lifespan.
However, whether it is the studio or the actors, considering risks and other factors, there is no possibility of directly signing a super long-term contract for 10 movies, so the future will have to be discussed in the future.
As for the heroine, Simon still chose Jordana Brewster as Don’s sister.
The actress just turned 20 this year and is still at the peak of her beauty. However, compared to other Latina actresses who are often very anti-aging, Simon also remembers that Jordana Brewster's appearance declined quickly after a few years, even a little abnormally fast.
Too lazy to delve into the reason, Simon has no intention of replacing him.
After all, it is not a B-level movie that sells meat. The female characters in the project gradually become less beautiful as time goes by, but they are just right. Otherwise, it will easily distract the audience's attention.
Furthermore, this is a vase character with a weak sense of existence. Simon also has no intention of reshaping Mia's setting. Because what Simon values more is the role of Don’s girlfriend Latty Ortiz, who was once played by Michelle Rodriguez.
Compared with Mia, although the role of Letty is not as impressive as Giselle, played by Gal Gadot, it is still much brighter.
All Simon has to do is strengthen the character.
However, for the original Michelle Rodriguez, Simon directly chose PASS. On the one hand, because of his big butterfly, the actress didn't know where she was now. On the other hand, since she wanted to strengthen, Laidi's The appearance still needs to be more resistant to beating.
At least the shelf life can't be any shorter than Jordana Brewster's.
Because of the importance, this role is still being screened.
In addition to the main characters, some planned recurring supporting characters will also be shown in the first part.
Then there’s the director.
Simon took one step and chose Lin Yibin.
This Chinese-American director was discovered by Simon at Sundance three years ago, and was later given the opportunity to direct "The Ghost Story", which became a blockbuster. However, after the success of "The Ghost Story", Lin Yibin went to Disney to direct a mockumentary film.
Simon didn't stop him at that time.
Disney's project was released in early 1999, but ultimately failed to make any splash.
Because he still had a contract with Daenerys Entertainment and made a lot of quick money outside, Lin Yibin returned. Simon personally intervened and started a new project last year. It was no longer a mockumentary, but an R-rated film. A feature film with a song and dance theme.
It's a pity that it still failed to make a splash.
Therefore, when Simon chose Lin Yibin to direct "The Fast and the Furious", both Daenerys and Fox had hesitation.
Simon did not waver.
The reason why the previous "Fast and Furious" series was able to reach its peak step by step is inseparable from Lin Yibin's role as director. Before that, this series was completely in a state of fumbling, and no one knew the specific details. Where is the direction.
Moreover, before Lin Yibin directed "Fast and Furious 3", he had always been a small role in a non-mainstream circle, and even had less experience than he does now.
To put it simply, "The Fast and the Furious" and Justin Lin are in a state of mutual achievement. On the one hand, they fit someone's directing style, and on the other hand, they hit the right frequency of this series, so they reach the peak together.
In addition, after using up the popularity accumulated by the previous "Ghost Story" and losing his bargaining chip, Lin Yibin had to accept a one-time trilogy agreement this time.
In addition to the main creative, there is the budget.
Simon doesn’t quite remember the production specifications of the first “Fast and Furious” movie. Based on personal experience, it must have been no more than 50 million.
This time, since it is going to be an important branch of the Agent Cinematic Universe, and it is also planned to be a long-term series, the beginning is very important. Therefore, Simon finalized a budget of $60 million.
The total creative expenses will not exceed US$10 million, and more than 80% of the investment will be used for the filming and post-production of the film.
Moreover, it is said to be 60 million. Because of the subject matter, it is easy for such a racing-themed movie to attract advertising sponsorship. What's more, this also involves a branch series of the "movie universe" dominated by Daenerys, and there are even more car manufacturers who want to fill in advertisements.
According to recent investment feedback, the advertising revenue of this project will not be less than 20 million US dollars.
Of course, this does not mean that the car manufacturer directly gives 20 million in cash, but in addition to part of the cash, there is also vehicle equipment support during the filming process and future joint publicity investment, etc.
Calculated, Daenerys Pictures, which is responsible for this series, will not need to invest more than 50 million, and subsequent announcements will also receive joint support from relevant car manufacturers.
Li Fuzhen came to Los Angeles just for this reason.
Her Royal Highness the Princess is mainly responsible for the entertainment and hotel businesses of the Samsung Group. However, as the heir to the family, she is not unable to intervene when it comes to such business cooperation.
What's more, Li Jianxi is obviously aware of the relationship between his daughter and Simon. In order for Samsung Motors, which is directly controlled by the Li family, to develop better, he obviously doesn't mind using this connection.
Simon is also happy to see the results.
After all, Samsung Automobile is what Simon left to the Lee family. Samsung's automobile business is developing well, so they will not have any interest in Samsung Electronics and other companies that have complete control of the Westeros system.
However, Samsung will only be one of the sponsors.
As a blockbuster Hollywood blockbuster, it is impossible to completely use a car from a small corner of Asia.
After lunch, Li Fuzhen did not go to join her team immediately. Her consultation meeting was at three o'clock in the afternoon, so she followed Simon to his office.
After returning to the office and letting Miss Li wander around the spacious space like a curious cat, Simon came to the desk and began to review various documents sent by Girl A.
After half an hour of this, Girl A knocked on the door again. This time it was the US stock market data that had just closed on the East Coast.
After hearing Girl A's introduction, Miss Li, who was browsing some books on the wall bookshelf, came over and naturally sat in the man's arms at Simon's signal. They looked at the freshly baked documents together and said: "Dad Said, you are taking a risk this time, if you mess up, Gore will definitely not let you go."
Simon glanced at the data on the document and felt that the women's suit did not feel good to the touch. He felt the buttons and unbuttoned them one by one, while saying: "So I can only let him go."
Miss Li symbolically pressed Simon's big hand, but the stoppage was ineffective. She could only let the man do what he did with a slightly red face. She diverted her attention and said: "Why should we take the initiative to create conflicts? It is still such a sharp question. I feel that now If you don’t provoke Washington, they won’t dare to provoke you?”
Simon did not answer, but asked: "Over in South Korea, if you take the initiative to keep your distance from the authorities, can you live in peace?"
Li Fuzhen tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said: "No. However, the United States and South Korea are different."
"I have always believed that systems may be different, but human nature is the same." Simon said: "Because I have too much, I naturally have conflicts with other people in this world. This is not something I can avoid if I want to. . Therefore, I can either choose to be a sheep or a lion. If it is the latter, since it is a lion, of course it will actively hunt instead of waiting for the prey to come to its mouth."
Miss Li thought for a moment and was a little confused: "Is this... the same thing?"
"Of course, one of the goals I want to achieve regarding the general election is that whoever I say will be the president in the future can be the president. As long as this goal does not change, I will take this step sooner or later." Simon said here, no He said no more, but patted the slender waist of the woman in his arms: "Take off your coat, let me see if you have gained weight."
Li Fuzhen glanced sideways, still obeying, and then quietly stopped talking, enjoying the feeling of intimacy.
Simon stopped talking and turned more attention to the documents in his hands.
The two major U.S. stock indexes, the most watched Nasdaq at the moment, fell 2.9% today, with the closing index at 7,423 points, down from the highest of 8,367 points two days ago, and the cumulative decline reached 11.2%.
In just two days, more than $1.2 trillion in stock market wealth disappeared from the Nasdaq Composite Index.
At the same time, Yingrete and Tinker Bayer, as leaders, no longer have the trillion-dollar market value they had before.
Yingrete's share price still fell by 3.3% today, with a closing market value of US$972.6 billion, a decrease of nearly US$200 billion from the highest market value of US$1,163.5 billion.
Tinker Bayer's stock price also fell by 2.7% that day, with a closing market value of US$886.1 billion. The market value shrunk from the highest point also reached US$150 billion.
Whether it is a shrinkage of US$200 billion or US$150 billion, it is a number that many US stock companies are far from being able to take advantage of throughout their entire life cycle. Therefore, it can be seen that this time the Nasdaq fell sharply.
On the other side, the Dow Jones index fell 3.6% on the day, which was deeper than the Nasdaq's decline. This is mainly because the Westeros system and many stakeholders focus on controlling the trend of the Nasdaq.
Finally, on the last trading day of the week before the election, the Dow Jones Index closed at 12,961 points, far away from the previous high of 14,179 points, a cumulative shrinkage of 8.6% in two days.
As the leader of the New York Stock Exchange, Daenerys Entertainment plunged another 4.3% this Friday. Its closing market value was only 8,263 points, and its shrinkage from the highest point was also close to 200 billion US dollars.
It is conceivable that even if Gore loses the election next Tuesday and U.S. stocks rebound, it will be difficult to reach the peak of three companies that exceeded one trillion at the same time on Wednesday.
Of the three companies, Yingret, Dinkober and Daenerys, only Yingret still hopes to hit a certain target again in the next rebound. Moreover, even if there is another breakthrough, considering another plan that is brewing, it will not be able to persist for too long.
In any case, although people still cannot relax in the two trading days of next Monday and next Tuesday, Simon is still relieved that the two major U.S. stock indexes have well controlled the decline of around 3% today.
Of course, the price behind it is also high.
It's not just the consumption of favors and interest exchanges with other parties' capital in order to stabilize the market, but also the actual amount of money thrown in by the Westeros system. Today, it exceeds 13 billion US dollars.
Considering that there is still a trading day next Monday, the funds invested in the entire process are expected to reach the level of 20 billion US dollars.
It is easy to invest this money, but it is not so simple to withdraw it. It is expected that when the escape is completed, the shrinkage ratio will not be less than 30%. In other words, because of Simon's operation, the Westeros system will lose at least 6 billion US dollars.
In comparison, in this year's presidential election, which is known as the most intense in history, the total amount of campaign funds invested by both parties was only US$650 million.
Simon doesn't feel bad about the $6 billion burned. Anyway, it can be made up through the ongoing short-selling operation. As for the general election, his personal feeling is that it is still too cheap and must be improved as soon as possible.
Running for President of the United States without spending billions of dollars is simply a hooligan!