When the video call screen connected, Amy Pascal, who was far away in Los Angeles, was slightly stunned because the first thing she saw was a little girl as delicate as a doll, blinking at her curiously with a pair of light-colored eyes.
The screen shakes.
Simon appeared immediately, hugged the little guy into his arms, and gestured: "Nina, where are your manners?"
The little girl seemed to react now and greeted the camera obediently: "Good afternoon, madam, my name is Nina, what's yours?"
Amy can be sure that this is not the illegitimate daughter of a certain guy, because if it is true, her boss will not hide such a thing at all. Presumably, she is the daughter of a certain lover. Seeing that the little guy is so beautiful, her mother will definitely not Not bad, and being able to sit in Simon's arms at this time was obviously very favored, so he said patiently: "Hello, you can call me Amy."
"Amy, nice to meet you. Are you far, far away from us?"
"Of course, this is Los Angeles. Nina, where are you?"
"Mom said this place is called St. Petersburg."
"Oh, I know, it's a beautiful city."
"Yes, and there are many people here who speak Russian, mom said, because this is my hometown and Russian is my mother tongue. Amy, what is your mother tongue?"
Amy soon discovered that the little girl on the screen was a bit chatty, but she remained patient and smiled: "English is the language we are speaking now."
"So, Amy, do you speak Russian?"
"Won't."
"Why? Nina can speak Russian, so can dad, so can mom, and Ivana, and Yulia, and Vera, but Vera is only two years old and has just learned to speak."
The little girl was babbling non-stop, and a pair of white, slender arms that were obviously women's next to her stretched out and picked up the little guy. Amy just suddenly appeared when the little one shook dissatisfiedly, and recognized the identity of the woman who took the child away. Yulia Shulshkina.
During the London Girl live broadcast two years ago, this woman with a delicate face and perfect figure like an elf was noticed by many people. Last year's stunning "Bach's Last Day" ballet solo MV once again made Yulia Shulshkina a blockbuster.
Then silence returned.
Everyone knows that this woman was hidden in the Golden House of Simon Westeros. No matter how angry many fans who have watched "The Last Day of Bach" are, she has never shown her face again.
The outside world only knows that she lives in London.
At first, he was followed by the media for a while, but later the London tabloids were warned, and things cooled down again.
I didn’t expect to see it in the video today.
And the other party also has such a lovely daughter, although she is a bit talkative.
However, after the little guy was carried away by Shulshkina, Amy did not say much about her boss's private life, and directly talked about business with Simon: "Boss, have you read the news about the film industry in China yesterday? ?"
Simon nodded.
Today is May 31st. It’s 9 o’clock in the morning in Los Angeles and I have just gone to work. In St. Petersburg, the local time is 7 pm. In the evening, the time difference between the two places is exactly 10 hours.
And just yesterday.
On May 30, local time in China, the Chinese government officially issued two documents related to the film industry.
The first is the long-awaited Film Management Regulations.
This document issued by the Ministry of Radio and Television mainly stipulates the production, review, distribution and other aspects of Chinese films.
Simon had skimmed the document before it was released.
In his view, what has a slight impact on Hollywood is that it has clarified that the duration of domestic films shown in China's domestic theaters must not be less than two-thirds of the total duration. This is a kind of change after the Chinese film market has been dominated by imported films in the past two years. Clarify the domestic protection, as for other things, there is basically no difference from the past.
At most, it only clarifies some unspoken rules on paper.
Another document that Simon is more interested in is the "Interim Regulations on Foreign Investment in Cinemas."
This is one of the results Simon achieved during his last trip to China.
There is no need to elaborate on the detailed terms. The core is that China is opening up foreign capital to invest in movie theaters in the mainland.
Of course, Simon expected major limitations.
The mainland does not accept wholly foreign investment for the time being, only cooperation. Moreover, the shareholding ratio of joint venture theaters must not exceed 49%, and the controlling stake must be controlled by the Chinese party.
In front of the call screen.
Seeing her boss nodding, Amy said: "Boss, in this case, do we still stick to the established plan? I recently had a deeper understanding of the film industry in mainland China. Affected by television and piracy, most theaters in mainland China They are all losing money, not to mention, we don’t even have control.”
Simon leaned back relaxedly on the leather chair, folded his hands in front of him, shook his head and said: "Amy, the impact of television and piracy is the same in the United States and even around the world. When television and video first appeared, Hollywood We are also facing a powerful enemy, but no matter what the result is, these channels only increase our income."
"China is different."
"Yes, but it is only temporary. Moreover, as long as there are enough interests, the Chinese government will definitely take measures to promote the progress of the industry. The three items that are basically determined now are cinema chain reform, cinema networking and this time opening up cinema investment , is a kind of progress. Amy, don’t forget, China has a population of 1.2 billion.”
"In that case, what about control? Boss, if we invest without having a say, the results may be very bad."
"You got one thing wrong, Amy. Absolute majority ownership does not mean that our partners in China will definitely insist on control of the theater. And, you know, I have many investments in China, so many affiliated companies , as long as you randomly attract some participating investors, 49% can become 51%. Therefore, you can organize the Oden Cinemas team to go to China for inspection. It just happens that you can go there with the inspection team of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television of China, which can be regarded as our return visit. . Don’t worry, I have other arrangements over there.”
Now that Simon has thought it through, Amy said no more and nodded: "Then I'll do it as soon as possible."
After the two talked about this, they discussed some other work before ending the call.
Los Angeles.
Inside the offices of Daenerys Studios in Malibu.
Amy first notified her assistant to arrange an evening dinner with Blake McKiernan, president of Oden Cinemas under Daenerys Entertainment, to discuss in detail matters related to China, and then picked up a box office report.
In addition to the past week, this report also covers the box office overview of films released by Daenerys Entertainment in the first half of the year.
Because as of yesterday, May 30, the film screenings for the first half of 1996 were basically completed.
The first is "Rush Hour" which was released in February.
Due to its early release, the global distribution of this action movie starring Jack Cheng with a production cost of US$30 million has basically ended. The film's domestic box office in North America finally reached US$141 million. The overseas performance was weaker, but it also reached US$126 million.
The global total amount is US$267 million.
An absolute huge profit.
"Rush Hour 2" is currently in preparation. Of course, Hollywood will not be as eager as Hong Kong. The sequel is expected to be released in two years.
Then there are the two movies in the Easter schedule.
In order to make room for screen resources for "Mission: Impossible 2," which opened on a large scale today, two movies scheduled for Easter, "The Haunting of the Morgue 2" and "Phoenix 2" were released together yesterday.
"The Haunting of Morgue 2" ended up grossing $137 million at the domestic box office.
The same production cost of US$30 million has already made a profit locally.
Overseas, the release of the Conjuring cosmic horror film has not yet completely ended, but the overseas box office has currently reached 116 million U.S. dollars. The final overseas box office is expected to be around 150 million U.S. dollars, which is stronger than North America. Globally it is expected to be close to US$300 million.
With a production cost of 30 million and a global budget of 300 million, the Conjuring movie universe is undoubtedly a further success.
Jim Carrey's third film with Daenerys Entertainment, "Planet 2," ultimately grossed $108 million at the domestic box office.
It also cost $30 million to produce.
Profitability is also achieved locally. .
In addition, the film's overseas distribution is also continuing. The current cumulative overseas box office is about 76 million, and it is expected to exceed 100 million.
It is estimated that there are 200 million worldwide, which is obviously an order of magnitude lower than "The Haunting of the Morgue 2".
In fact, if it weren't for the original discord, Jim Carrey would have been able to achieve higher achievements. The two parties have already relaxed on the surface, and Daenerys Entertainment will not be able to give each other too full support after all.
In any case, before the start of the summer season in 1996, the only three billion-dollar box office club movies in the North American film market were all produced by Daenerys Entertainment.
Moreover, since the start of the summer season, the two films Daenerys Entertainment has independently launched, "Romeo and Juliet" and "Dark Horse", are only small films in the eyes of many people, but they have shown the potential to be dark horses at the box office.
Coupled with the equally strong collaborative film "The Mummy" and "Mission: Impossible 2" which was just released today. In stark contrast, all other Hollywood studios pale in comparison.
Amy Pascal couldn't help but sigh again.
It seems like a long time ago, at the instigation of someone who was just a young boy, she gave up her position as vice president of Fox to join a small start-up film company. At that time, she never thought that she would be able to reach where she is today.
Another place in Los Angeles.
Jet Lee, who has been tired of various social activities in recent days, feels the same way.
For "Dark Man", of course I initially thought about hitting the North American market.
In fact, no Hong Kong film company has not had this thought, but there are only a few successful ones. "Dark Man" did not have too many expectations at first, otherwise it would definitely follow Jack Cheng's example and take the initiative to add some Hollywood elements.
No one expected that it would succeed.
Although it was only US$10.38 million in the first week, and although the total box office in North America is expected to be only US$25 million, if converted, this is close to HK$200 million, and the highest box office record in Hong Kong is far from reaching this level.
What's more, even in North America, such box office is not insignificant.
After all, the cost is there.
Jett Lee has also seen discussions in newspapers recently. The estimated revenue of "Dark Man" will exceed the US$100 million of "Evaporation Order". But this point is too proud.
And, right now.
In the internal cafe of the Sunset Tower Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Sony Pictures producer James Kendrick in front of Jet Lee had met him at a party some time ago, but he was far from the kind he was now. Hot.
If the other party hadn't obviously overestimated his English ability and came to him without a translator, Jet Lee would actually be willing to chat more with him.
"Lee, I know what you're thinking. If you continue to work with Daenerys Entertainment, they might elevate you to Jack's level, right?"
He roughly understood this sentence, but Jet Lee was unconvinced and glanced at the entrance of the coffee shop.
James Kendrick didn't care at all about Jet Lee's absent-mindedness. The other party didn't answer, and he wasn't angry. He continued: "Jet, you must be thinking so. But have you ever thought about the survival of Chinese actors in Hollywood? The space is already very small, but since Daenerys has already supported a famous Chinese actor, and Jack now has the "Rush Hour" series, how many resources can Daenerys Entertainment provide you?"
After saying this, the other party was still unmoved. Kendrick went straight to the hard food: "So, why not cooperate with Sony? You know, although I am not an Oriental, Sony is a Japanese company after all, and Oriental culture is common. Moreover, as long as you agree, we can immediately sign an agreement for $2 million per film, what do you think?"
Jet Lee raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the figure of 2 million US dollars.
Not too much of course.
However, based on his previous net worth, it is certainly not a lot. But, how can it be the same before "Black Man" and after "Black Man"
The waiting agent hadn't arrived yet. Jet Li was about to say a few words and then leave directly when his cell phone suddenly rang.
After making a gesture to the other party, Jet Lee answered: "Hello?"
A slightly distorted voice, probably due to a transoceanic phone call, came from the other side, and Jet Li sat up slightly.
"...Hello, Mr. Xiang... Yes, everything is fine. Mr. Xiang, how about you... um... I can only ask for help. In fact, Mr. Xiang, you can contact Daenerys Entertainment directly... Okay , of course no problem... I, I may not be able to go back soon... Well, I definitely will... Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Jet Lee had a subtle expression.
James Kendrick waited for Jett Lee to hang up the phone, put down the coffee cup, and then said: "Jet, let's continue. Or, 2 million may be a little less, 2.5 million, how about it? You have to know that Jack... There is no such treatment in Chengdu, and we can pay you half of your salary in advance, and then everyone will choose the script, or we can also discuss if you have any good ideas."
The other party was talking eloquently, and another Asian face finally walked into the entrance of the coffee shop.
Jet Lee nodded towards the other side, stood up, went over to meet him, and hugged him: "Jerry."
Jeremy Zhao looked apologetic: "I'm so sorry, I'm late. Oh, Mr. Kendrick, are you here too?"
Sony’s producer stood up: “You are
"Jeremy Zhao, I'm Jeter's agent," the middle-aged Asian man said, handing over a business card and adding: "We met at the party last week, but you definitely don't remember me. .”
"Oh, remember, remember, Jerry, you came just in time. Let's sit down and chat. I'll treat you."
"I'm really sorry. Jet and I already have an appointment, and we have to rush there now."
"It doesn't matter. Why don't we talk tomorrow, or whenever you two have time."
Jeremy Zhao and Jet Lee looked at each other, then nodded: "No problem, Mr. Kendrick..."
"Jim, just call me Jim."
"Hey, Jim, why don't you give me a business card? If you don't mind, I'll call you when I can."
"Of course." James Kendrick quickly took out a business card and handed it over: "This has all my contact information. Call me at any time. I will definitely be there."