In today's Hollywood, the seven major mainstream film companies are no longer in the era of big studios where founders still control each other and fierce competition among them for market share.
The seven major studios are basically already listed companies or part of listed companies. The leaders of the seven major studios may have different levels of power, but they are all just professional managers who manage the company for shareholders.
Under such a situation, if Simon is just a young director who has just emerged in Hollywood and has produced several blockbuster films, and he seriously threatens the interests of other studios, he may encounter merciless suppression.
However, the current situation is that Simon's identity is no longer limited to a director.
Before the whole of Hollywood could react, he had already established Daenerys Entertainment, an entertainment company that was as powerful as a traditional major studio. Moreover, Simon himself quickly accumulated billions of dollars in wealth through various means.
In a society like the United States where capital is king, Simon's personal wealth of billions of dollars represents strong strength. Even if this strength is not as deep-rooted as those of old money families who have accumulated it for decades, it is definitely not owned by major Hollywood film companies. Professional managers' can be easily shaken.
Those people may make some small moves in private, and want them to bet their career futures against Daenerys Entertainment. The possibility is very low.
As for uniting to suppress Daenerys Entertainment, a latecomer, it is difficult to unite the hearts of the people. Three monks have no water to drink, let alone seven, seven 'monks' who have the same thoughts and different ideas and compete with each other for a water well.
Inside the Santa Monica headquarters office.
Simon understood all this, but he did not take the ongoing WGA investigation lightly.
Just like the vigorous anti-sexual assault movement in Hollywood many years later.
Many people originally just watched with relish as spectators watching the misfortune of a fat man who had been rampant in Hollywood for decades. However, they did not expect that in the blink of an eye, a devastating hurricane would hit everyone.
Things are unpredictable.
While it's clear that the threat in the WGA statement to ban union members from working with Daenerys Entertainment actually has a low chance of coming to fruition, the worst-case outcome could well come as a surprise if Simon treats him lightly and lets his Hollywood rivals take their chance. come true.
By then, Daenerys Entertainment, whose foothold in Hollywood is not very stable after all, will surely suffer a heavy blow and even trigger an even more serious chain reaction.
Therefore, Simon decided without hesitation to nip this potential crisis in the bud as soon as possible.
Having made up his mind, Simon put down the pencil he was playing with and said to Amy: "I suddenly remembered that after "One Flew Over the Child" and "Batman" last year, the company has not signed any cooperation projects with other film companies. It’s time to get on with this.”
Amy recalled that Simon had said this plan last year. He intended to eliminate competitors' fears about the rise of Daenerys Entertainment by cooperating with other Hollywood studios. However, since the end of last year, everyone has been busy until now, and there is no extra energy to take care of this matter.
Simon thought for a moment and then continued: "Amy, please release the news as soon as possible. Daenerys Entertainment will cooperate with foreign countries in 10 movies in the next two years."
Amy showed surprise on her face and asked: "The cooperation mode of "One Flew Over Childhood"?"
"Of course, and this time there is no need for a copyright tie-in like "Wonder Woman". As long as the project is finalized, both parties will invest 50% each and share the copyright and profits. Daenerys Entertainment will lead the production, and the other party will be responsible for distribution through various channels. Well, the issuance commission ratio this time is a bit stuck, limited to 10%."
Amy said: "8% is actually okay."
Simon smiled and shook his head and said: "There is no need to be so harsh. The key is that Daenerys Entertainment's accounting team must follow up on all stages of the project from production to distribution."
Amy thought for a while and said: "We can set up separate financial accounts for each project that are jointly supervised by both partners to avoid the phenomenon of underreporting and arrears of the company's due income."
"You discuss these details yourself, I only look at the results."
Amy agreed, but still asked: "Where is the script, Simon, do you want to use the copyright we have hoarded?"
"Of course not. The studios that want to cooperate with us will proactively provide scripts, and I will select them myself. In addition, remember to sign the relevant copyright agreement in advance to prevent them from regretting it."
"I think this situation is unlikely to happen," Amy smiled, and was about to get up to work on this matter. She noticed that Simon was leaning on the leather chair a little tired, and couldn't help but said: "Simon, after the news was released, You're probably about to become the most powerful person in Hollywood."
The continuous success of "The Bodyguard" and "The Sixth Sense" proves that the magic of Daenerys Entertainment is still there.
Now, this company suddenly released the news that it will cooperate with outsiders on 10 films, which will definitely make the whole of Hollywood excited. After all, Daenerys Entertainment's previous slate of films with Orion, Fox, and MGM have all been box office hits, proving that Simon Westeros doesn't just keep the best projects for himself.
The commercial performance of 10 movies may no longer be as good due to the increase in number, but as long as half of them can reach the top ten in the annual box office list, they will also have great attraction for studios. If there is a blockbuster project like "The Sixth Sense", a studio can survive for a year with just 50% of the revenue.
Simon smiled, but in his mind he thought of the Hollywood power list of "Premiere" magazine in the original time and space.
The first list of "Premiere" magazine's Hollywood Power List will be announced next year.
To the surprise of many people, the first ranking in the original time and space list was Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA.
In fact, this can once again prove Simon's concept just now. The power and influence of the current leaders of major Hollywood studios are not as great as ordinary people imagine. If it were the golden age of Hollywood decades ago, the number one spot on such a list would either be Jack Warner of Warner Bros., Louis Meyer of MGM, or Daryl Zayn of Fox. There is no way Nuck could fall to a talent agent.
After a few more instructions, Simon leaned back on the leather chair after Amy left.
It’s another busy week that’s coming to an end. I’m going to have to discuss the film’s editing plan with the creative team of “One Flew Over the Wild” soon, so I can only take a short break.
Inexplicably, I once again wanted to suddenly fly to Australia, let go of everything, and get tired of Janet for two days.
but.
Think about it and don’t bother with the Japanese stock market anymore.
After a while, Jennifer opened the door and came in, signaling that the creative team of "One Flew Over the Child" had arrived, and Simon stood up.
At the same time, the news that Daenerys Entertainment will collaborate with other Hollywood studios on 10 films in the next two years is like having wings, and it spread quickly throughout Hollywood in just one morning.
All of a sudden, the phone calls of Daenerys Entertainment executives such as Simon, Amy, Robert Rehm, Ella Deutschman and even Robert Iger on the East Coast were all buzzing, and various parties, dinners, etc. Reservations such as talks and cocktail receptions are also coming to everyone.
As the final decision-maker of this plan, Simon is naturally the focus of everyone's attention.
However, Simon just asked Jennifer to push through all the invitations. Although he did not fly to Australia over the weekend, he quietly rushed to San Francisco. Mainly to take a rest and check the development progress of various projects of Yigrit Company.
By the time the media, which was as excited as Hollywood, discovered Simon's whereabouts, the weekend had passed.
August also arrived quietly and unknowingly.
Although it is realized that the sudden attack of WGA may have triggered Daenerys Entertainment's plan to cooperate with 10 foreign films, there are many people in the circle who feel that Westeros's reaction is a bit of a fuss. However, in the new week, the originally aggressive The WGA seemed to have suddenly lost something to rely on, and its attitude softened significantly.
George Kogo, president of the Western Chapter of the Writers Guild of America, also said in a statement last week that the WGA will establish a special investigation committee into Daenerys Entertainment’s violation of the agreement. As the weekend passed, this so-called committee seemed to have been forgotten by everyone, except for the WGA's legal department, which was still tepidly following up.
Apparently, everyone thinks those 10 film projects are the most important, relative to the WGA's Daenerys Entertainment survey.
If calculated carefully, the seven major Hollywood film companies do not have completely irresolvable conflicts with Daenerys Entertainment. Well, maybe one or two projects have been snatched away, maybe one or two talents have been snatched away, and maybe they are preparing to file a lawsuit, but these are just normal business behaviors and not personal grudges.
As long as everyone has a positive attitude and takes the initiative, the possibility of getting a share of these 10 movies is still very high.
As a result, when the upcoming investigation by the WGA was almost over, major studios began to show their favor to Daenerys Entertainment.
Orion Pictures, whose performance has been sluggish for more than half a year, immediately contacted Amy Pascal, claiming that the company had recently recovered a sum of funds and could pay Daenerys Entertainment its due share of "Pulp Fiction". However, I hope the two parties can sign another film contract.
Amy was also unambiguous and insisted that Orion pay the share first before discussing anything else.
MGM just last week stated that it would insist on filing a lawsuit. On Monday, it changed its tune and even shyly sent a batch of scripts.
The head of TriStar Pictures, a subsidiary of Columbia, also conveyed the message to Simon through Jonathan Friedman that TriStar Pictures decided to terminate the contract with Matthew Broderick for a film called "The Lizard Godfather".
Simone and Matthew Broderick's entanglement is no secret in Hollywood.
A few months before Norman Broca left, Matthew Broderick left the WMA for CAA. "The Lizard Godfather" was originally a film that Samsung Pictures was looking forward to. The story is set to have two male protagonists. In addition to Matthew Broderick, the other male protagonist is the famous veteran Hollywood actor Marlon Brando.
If the contract is terminated after signing, Samsung Pictures will have to pay liquidated damages.
This really shows sincerity.
Everyone in the industry also realized that after this incident, Matthew Broderick's career in Hollywood was completely over.
Originally aware that they had no interest in Daenerys Entertainment, other studios did not have many scruples about using Matthew Broderick. Now, everyone is fighting for Daenerys Entertainment's 10-movie contract. TriStar Pictures will not hesitate to pay liquidated damages to directly draw a line. The attitude has been so obvious. If other studios cooperate with Matthew Broderick again, That was simply a provocation to Simon Westeros.
After all, there is only one person in Westeros, and there are a lot of Hollywood youngsters who can replace Matthew Broderick.
It is conceivable that Matthew Broderick will not be able to get any roles from mainstream first- and second-tier film companies in Hollywood in the next few years, and even if he wants to turn to the television industry, it is impossible. In a few years, the actor would simply be completely forgotten by Hollywood.
Daenerys Entertainment has announced the details of the two scripts of "Scream" and "The Sixth Sense" because the announcement of 10 external cooperation film plans has attracted the attention of Hollywood, and no other forces have stepped forward to counter it. The media was disrupting the situation, and public opinion was almost overwhelmingly supportive of Simon.
For the sake of their own face, the Writers Guild of America did not end its investigation into Daenerys Entertainment as soon as possible, but just delayed it calmly.
However, due to good public opinion control, the script incident of "The Sixth Sense" basically did not have much impact on the film's box office. "The Lucky Star and the Lucky General", "Friday the 13th 8" and "Paradise" were released on July 28. The three new films of "Cinema" also did not pose a threat to "The Sixth Sense".
From July 28 to August 3, another week passed, and the box office decline of "The Sixth Sense" continued to be controlled at a very good 23%, collecting another US$23.96 million.
At the same time, "The Sixth Sense" has accumulated a total box office of US$173.98 million in five weeks, surpassing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" which originally ranked first in the year.
In its ninth week of release, the cumulative box office of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was US$172.16 million, trailing "The Sixth Sense" by nearly US$2 million. Moreover, the single-week box office of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" has dropped to less than 5 million US dollars. Whether it can exceed 200 million US dollars in the next few weeks depends on luck.
In comparison, the single-week box office of "The Sixth Sense" remains above US$20 million. With the box office trend shown by the film, it is definitely not a problem to collect another US$100 million in North America. Whether it can break through 300 million US dollars may also depend on luck, but compared to "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3", this kind of luck is only enviable and jealous.
Disney's "The Lucky Star," starring Tom Hanks and Michael J. Fox, ranked second with a box office of US$19.12 million in its first week.
Warner Bros.' "Lethal Weapon 2" took in another US$15.68 million, ranking third, with a cumulative box office of US$94.12 million in four weeks, showing great potential.
Paramount Pictures' long-established classic horror film "Friday the 13th", the eighth installment in the "Friday the 13th" series, "Friday the 13th 8" grossed US$8.48 million in its first week, ranking fourth.
Disney's "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" slipped to fifth place this week, collecting another US$7.61 million, with a cumulative box office of US$98.47 million. It also has great potential and is about to break 100 million.
Outside the top five on the list, "Cinema Paradiso" released by Universal Pictures did not repeat the luck of "Sex, Lies and Videotape" in early July.
"Sex, Lies and Videotape" was released at the beginning of the month and the box office in its first week was US$6.31 million. For four consecutive weeks, with excellent media reputation and continued weak decline, it continued to earn US$3.76 million this week, with a total box office of US$22.19 million in four weeks.
According to this box office trend, "Sex, Lies and Videotape" can almost safely break the $30 million box office mark before it is released.
In comparison, Universal Pictures was too eager to push "Cinema Paradiso" to theaters, and it was difficult for Universal Pictures to strive for excellence in re-editing and English dubbing of the film.
"Cinema Paradiso" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but the re-edited and dubbed version in North America received a poor reputation. Even director Giuseppe Tornatore publicly stated that it was a different movie.
It failed in word-of-mouth and lacked commercial attributes. "Cinema Paradiso" opened on 553 screens in its first week, similar to "Sex, Lies and Videotape", but only received a box office of US$1.86 million, with a single theater grossing just over US$3,000. If you fail at the beginning, it will be impossible to talk about the long term. It is expected that at the end of the two-week contract period, the theater chain will withdraw the film. The total box office of the film in North America is only about 3 million US dollars.
"Cinema Paradiso" failed both in terms of media reputation and box office, and Universal Pictures is destined to be unable to win the Best Foreign Language Film Award for this film like Miramax did in the original time and space.
In order to obtain "Cinema Paradiso", Universal only paid the studio the prepaid copyright amount of US$5 million, and also promised a share of the terms. The recent investment in publicity and distribution expenses is no less than US$2 million. Now, this project is definitely Lose all your money.
Universal can certainly afford the multi-million dollar loss. However, for many people who had high expectations for "Cinema Paradiso" because of Daenerys Entertainment's optimism, it was extremely disappointing.
Not only Universal, but also Giuseppe Tornadore, who was aiming for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film after the Cannes Palme d'Or and trying to further break into Hollywood, was like a sap. The producers who grabbed the rights to produce Tornatore's new film at a high price because of Daenerys Entertainment are no longer so confident.
After the North American box office of "Cinema Paradiso" was released, the French producer TF1 Film Production Company, which originally grabbed the investment rights for Tornatore's new film, re-contacted Daenerys Entertainment to explore the possibility of cooperation between the two parties.
Simon has read the script of "Family Journey" before. Although he has little impression of the original Italian film, he remembers that the film was remade into an American version in the original time and space, starring Robert De Niro and Kate Beckinssey. Starring Earl and Drew Barrymore. The French film producers took the initiative to show their goodwill, and Simon did not let Ella Deutschman refuse. He asked the other party to participate in the investment to win the North American distribution rights of "Family Journey".
"Sex, Lies and Videotape" and "Cinema Paradiso", one was a hit and the other was a flop. The two films had completely different endings, which also made Hollywood studio executives gradually realize a certain fact: Daenerys Entertainment Projects that are important may not be 100% successful. It is obvious that the key to the matter is the participation of Simon Westeros himself.