Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
The time is Friday, December 23rd.
Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, and Michael Ovitz still hasn't rested today, arriving at the CAA headquarters in Century City before eight o'clock.
A box office week had just passed, Ovitz entered the office and sat down, and his assistant immediately sent him a box office data report for the past week.
Michael Ovitz is a person who is good at multi-tasking. While looking at the box office report, he asked his assistant about the distribution and delivery of Christmas gifts for CAA's customers.
Expressing CAA's meticulous care for its clients by regularly giving various gifts has been one of Ovitz's magic weapons in running this talent agency over the years. Gifts are widely used everywhere, so the effect is remarkable, and many filmmakers have I agreed to sign the contract after inadvertently receiving some small gifts from CAA that were not valuable but clearly put a lot of thought into.
Sidney Pollack, a long-time client of CAA, also publicly teased Ovitz about his compulsive gift-giving disorder.
In order to obtain a wide variety of gifts in large quantities, CAA has even signed long-term cooperation agreements with some suppliers of food, toys, books, art, etc.
Under the influence of Ovitz, agents under CAA will almost instinctively pay attention to their clients' personal preferences and even their short-term interest in certain things, whether it is a book, the birthday of the client's child, or a certain event. Tickets for NBA games, and then customers will always receive carefully prepared corresponding gifts at the right time.
Intentional versus unintentional.
There are many other talent agencies that have followed suit, but because they cannot imitate the essence of Ovitz’s gift-giving, they often cannot achieve as good results as CAA.
On important holidays like Christmas, gift-giving is even more important to CAA.
After spending half an hour discussing the gift with his assistant and sending him away, Michael Ovitz once again looked at the box office report for the first week of the Christmas season from December 16 to December 22, which was still spread out in front of him.
with no doubt.
"Suicide Squad", another blockbuster in the DC Cinematic Universe, unstoppably earned US$91.78 million at the box office in its first seven days, easily taking the number one spot on the single-week box office list.
The Suicide Squad is just a derivative of the DC superhero series. It is far less popular than the old superheroes such as Batman and Superman. The relevant comics were not published until 1987. Before the film was made, many comic fans may not know that such a series existed. .
Before the movie was released, the industry generally predicted that the box office data of "Suicide Squad" would be comparable to that of "The Flash."
The first "The Flash" only had a box office of US$72.86 million in its first week, with a total North American box office of US$253 million.
The Flash's popularity in DC comics is almost the same as that of Superman and Batman.
Now, riding on the strength of the DC Cinematic Universe, a spin-off series like "Suicide Squad" earned a box office of US$91.87 million in its first week. Even if it did not achieve over 100 million in its first week, the box office performance was definitely what many people expected. The total North American box office of the film is expected to hit 3 billion dollar mark.
Before Michael Ovitz's Suicide Squad came out, his box office expectations for the movie were on par with most people's.
However, he was not surprised when "Suicide Squad" saw a record box office of $91.87 million in its first week.
"The Flash" was released at the end of 1991. At that time, the DC Cinematic Universe plan had been announced, but only two "Batman" films were released in the entire project, and "The Flash" was only the third. Moreover, because the "Flash" project is completely controlled by Warner, a young man who created the DC movie universe is not very involved in that project. The quality of the film is inevitably not comparable to the two "Batman" films, and the box office is lower than the series. The average level is as expected.
"Suicide Squad" is already the eighth major movie in the DC Cinematic Universe series.
Prior to this, superhero movies such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg have all been released and formed a series, and the popularity of the DC movie universe plan has been fermented. The most important point is that this "Suicide Squad" is exciting enough in terms of plot and special effects. It is also a popular timetable like Christmas, and it is natural that it made 91.87 million US dollars in the first week.
Affected by "Suicide Squad", "Toy Story 2", which ranked second on the list, saw its box office drop by 27% this week, taking in US$21.06 million, with a cumulative box office of US$236.23 million.
According to the usual practice in previous years, after entering the popular Christmas season, as the number of moviegoers increases significantly, many old movies tend to see box office declines. This time, "Toy Story 2" went from being unpopular to being a hot Christmas hit. Not only did it not reverse the decline, but it continued to fall by 27%, which shows the impact of "Suicide Squad".
Disney's holiday comedy "The Santa Clause" ranked third, taking in $16.39 million in its first seven days.
This is a movie that Michael Ovitz is paying close attention to because it is a packaged project recommended to Disney by CAA. There are no big directors or stars involved in the film, so the budget is only US$22 million. It grossed US$16.39 million in the first week. Considering that the next two weeks are still in the holiday season, this means that the total North American box office of this project is expected to hit the US$50 million mark.
Michael Ovitz has some regrets about this.
Without the extremely powerful "Toy Story 2" and "Suicide Squad," "The Santa Clause", which fits the festive atmosphere and has a very good reputation among audiences, is likely to be a box office movie worth 100 million yuan.
Of course, this assumption no longer makes sense.
What's more, the domestic box office of 50 million US dollars is enough to bring good profits to Disney.
The fourth place on the list fell to "Little Women", which was adapted from the famous novel. In its first week of large-scale opening, relying on 1,503 screens, this well-known female film earned a box office of 11.39 million U.S. dollars, with an average theater average of about 7,500 U.S. dollars. Although it did not reach the $10,000 blockbuster level, it is commendable that such a literary and artistic drama film, which is only aimed at female audiences, can achieve such box office results under the heavy pressure of "Suicide Squad".
Counting the screenings in the previous two weeks, the cumulative box office of "Little Women" reached US$12.07 million.
If it can break out of the box office curve of "Steel Magnolias" back then, and with the help of the awards season, "Little Women" is expected to have a local box office comparable to "The Santa Claus", reaching the US$50 million level. Considering that the production cost of the film is only US$15 million, and the investment in publicity and distribution is less than that of commercial films like "Santa Claus," with considerable box office expectations, the return on investment of "Little Women" is much higher than that of "Santa Claus."
"Interview with the Vampire" released by Warner Bros. Pictures ranked fifth this week, with a box office drop of 33% and another US$5.53 million. It unexpectedly overtook the Jim Carrey comedy "The Man in Disguise" released at the same time. The film was local The total box office reached 92.43 million US dollars, one step closer to the 100 million yuan box office club.
"The Man in Disguise" produced by Daenerys Entertainment's New World Pictures ranked sixth on the list, with a box office drop of 45% this week and a revenue of US$4.5 million. However, the film's total local box office successfully exceeded 100 million, reaching US$101.79 million, officially entering the 100 million box office club.
Inside the office of CAA headquarters.
Michael Ovitz looked at the box office data in his hand with mixed emotions.
Daenerys Entertainment actually accounts for three of the top six on the list, not to mention heavyweight killers like "Suicide Squad" directly took away 68% of the total box office for the week, and other movies just took away some of it. The existence of soup.
What worries Ovitz even more is that very few of the film creators on this list are affiliated with CAA. In the packaged project model created by CAA in the 1980s, "Santa Claus" is the only one left.
Because of some initial disagreements, the cooperation between CAA and Daenerys Entertainment was indeed not close. However, Ovitz could also feel that, except for Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, who encountered Simon Daenerys Entertainment did not target CAA too deliberately for the filmmakers banned in Westeros.
However, it is obvious that CAA's voice in Hollywood has become less and less in recent years. All of this is, in part, the result of the young man who burst onto the scene in Hollywood.
Not to mention 3D animated movies, the rise of blockbuster movies that focus on special effects, especially the rise of the DC movie universe, has minimized the studio's dependence on stars and greatly increased its voice.
Therefore, for those blockbusters destined to become the core of the box office, not to mention taking over the entire project as in the past, the brokerage company now has to put down their pretensions and even take the initiative to lower the salary to win important roles in those projects.
Because you don't fight for it, the role will be taken away by others, and the popularity will fall on others.
WMA, which was once almost on the verge of collapse, has risen again in recent years relying on the large number of roles provided by Simon Westeros. Now it has firmly suppressed CAA and regained its throne as the most powerful talent agency in Hollywood.
Michael Ovitz is very clear that he is unable to change the current situation. What he has been considering in recent years is leaving.
In fact, since CAA was on the right track in the late 1980s, Ovitz gradually showed boredom with the talent agency business, so he went to help Sony acquire Columbia Pictures, and also created CAA's advertising business and sports stars. Agency business, cooperating with Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Magic Johnson and other companies or outside stars.
Just a year ago, Michael Ovitz had been negotiating with software king Bill Gates. As a result, because CAA's offer was too small, Damen classmates didn't like it at all. In the blink of an eye, he invested in the dream created by Spielberg and the others. factory.
Maybe it's really time to leave.
This idea is not without reason.
The French Vivendi Group's acquisition of Disney has been completed and it has been looking for a person in charge during this period.
Vivendi’s first target was the executives of Daenerys Entertainment. However, the previous concept of preferring to be the head of the chicken did not work this time. Several Daenerys Entertainment executives contacted clearly expressed their rejection. .
Going full circle, Ovitz, who was almost invited by Eisner to join Disney as president, once again became a candidate for the company's top leadership.
Ovitz and Eisner have been good friends for many years and the families are neighbors.
A few months ago, Ovitz might have refused in order to preserve the friendship between friends. Now, Eisner has completely left Disney. After a serious illness, he is a little open to many things. If he chooses to join, the problem will be Not big. What's more, with such a rare opportunity, Ovitz felt that if Eisner still couldn't let go and tried to stop him, this friendship might not be so solid.
After being busy all morning, Ovitz made an appointment to meet with Jean-Marie Mérieux, the president of Vivendi Group's telecommunications and media business, at noon. Ovitz rushed to Morton's restaurant on time.
Speaking of which, Ovitz actually doesn't like this famous Hollywood steakhouse.
Some time ago, Eisner's wife suddenly called Ovitz, who was still at work, and said that Eisner was angry at home because he wanted to reserve a seat at Morton's restaurant to entertain friends. As a result, he had treated Eisner like this in the past. Morton's Restaurant, which is always accommodating to Hollywood bosses, bluntly stated that it had no space this time.
How could there be no place
The reason is simple: Eisner is no longer chairman and CEO of Disney.
In fact, many well-known restaurants, whether in Los Angeles or New York, are so snobbish. This is probably a way for them to maintain their so-called 'style'.
Ovitz had just had heart surgery and was still not fully recovered. He was so angry that he was hurting his body. After receiving a call from Eisner's wife, Ovitz quickly made contact. Not only did he help his old friend book a reservation, but he also forcefully asked the wife to refuse Eisner's service. The student must call and apologize. Ovitz has many connections in Hollywood, not to mention he is the head of CAA with many big names. Morton's Restaurant did not dare to offend and obeyed.
The meeting at noon was not pleasant either.
This is not the first contact between the two parties. Ovitz's request is that he must obtain absolute control of the Disney Company. However, following the lessons learned from Columbia Pictures, the Vivendi Group does not agree to this at all, and the two parties have been fighting until now. . As the lunch drew to a close, Jean-Marie Mérieux simply proposed the last conditions Vivendi could offer.
By the end of lunch, Ovitz knew that he had no room for bargaining.
Either accept it or reject it.
After absent-mindedly continuing to work all afternoon, Ovitz came home from work and after dinner, Ovitz took the initiative to go to his old friend's house next door and proposed a drink.
Eisner can now drink a little red wine.
The two people who had known each other for many years sat down next to the specially lit fireplace in Eisner's mansion. Watching Eisner's wife bring another blanket to cover her husband, Ovitz felt a little sad and couldn't help but think about what his future would be like. , will he be so heroic in his twilight years
In fact, apart from losing his position at Disney, Eisner had no problems in other aspects. He had been the top leader of Disney for ten years. With the original salary agreement and Disney's rapid development in the 1980s, Eisner accumulated tens of millions. Even with this resignation, Disney shareholders and the board of directors gave him a very generous compensation contract in order to prevent him from getting into trouble. This money is enough for Eisner to enjoy a very prosperous retirement life without any worries.
Just, think about the Morton's restaurant incident.
For a slightly ambitious man, losing power is obviously more difficult to accept than losing money.
In the final analysis, Ovitz wanted to join Disney to gain greater power.
CAA seems to be still prosperous, but in fact it doesn't have much foundation. Apart from the headquarters building in Century City, it doesn't even have many fixed assets, and its income is not as generous as being the head of a major studio.
The two drank for a while, but Michael Eisner took the initiative to mention Ovitz's concerns: "Mike, I heard that Vivendi is in contact with you?"