After continuing to chat about some things, and sending Caroline and Mayer to rest, Eric opened the script in his hand.
Among the most popular Hollywood blockbuster series after the new century, "Pirates of the Caribbean" is definitely a hurdle that cannot be overcome. Except for the first film at the beginning, almost all the other films in the entire series have created a global box office of 1 billion US dollars.
Eric has been thinking about this since "Cut Throat Island".
After contributing to the collaboration between former "Pirates of the Caribbean" directors Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp in "Midnight Ring", Eric became more concerned about "Pirates of the Caribbean" and was very interested in it. He quickly found the script in his hand according to the screenwriter's name in his memory.
However, the script in front of him was quite different from the plot of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" in memory.
The story also revolves around a group of pirates led by Captain Barbossa hijacking the governor's daughter in order to relieve the mysterious curse, but the hero is the blacksmith Will. It's a supporting role.
According to some behind-the-scenes details of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series in memory, Eric knew that this was not the butterfly effect caused by his appearance.
The original "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", if you leave Depp aside, it is probably a cliché love story in which a groom saves the princess from the villains and lives happily together. It can be said that the success of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series is almost exactly the same as that of the "True Tomorrow" series on the other side of the ocean. It is a restless supporting role who has gradually turned himself into the protagonist, and the film has also achieved phenomenal success.
After briefly browsing the script that was basically just an outline, Eric closed the folder and subconsciously wanted to send an email to Katzenberg, telling him to be responsible for taking down the script in his hand.
However, although the interior decoration of this Boeing 767 is luxurious, not only the network, but also the cabin does not even have a telephone, which makes Eric look forward to the delivery of the Boeing 747 with a private communication system installed as soon as possible.
There is still an hour before the plane arrives in Los Angeles, and there is nothing else at hand for the time being, and it is impossible to contact the outside world. Looking at the "Pirates of the Caribbean" script in his hand, Eric picked up a pencil, intending to recall what super IPs he would miss in the next few years.
Just such a arrangement, Eric himself was taken aback.
Even if you don’t talk about the super gold mine of Marvel, which has already withdrawn most of its copyrights, it’s just that the three major copyrights of the "Harry Potter" series, "Lord of the Rings" series, and "Transformers" series that have already been obtained are enough for almost each of them. A big film company eats for ten years. The two major 3D animation studios, Pixar and Disney, can continuously provide Firefly with animation films that are extremely lucrative at the box office and peripheral benefits.
What's more, it is impossible for Firefly to focus on these big IP movies. In the future, the company will definitely try one or two big-production movies every year that break free from the shackles of IP. Although Eric advocates a highly industrialized film production mechanism, if a film company completely relies on big IP, it will gradually lose the most important creativity.
For large-scale production films, the production and distribution scale of six films per year for the entire Firefly Group is already the limit. In this case, based on one 3D animation movie, two Marvel Universe movies, and two original major productions per year, the production and marketing resources for big IP movies like the "Harry Potter" series are somewhat stretched. .
For an excellent commercial film, if the distribution and marketing links are not in place, it will also be difficult to achieve excellent box office results.
"Special Forces: The Rise of Cobra" once produced by Paramount Pictures is a very classic negative teaching material.
"Special Forces: The Rise of Cobra" and "Transformers 2: Comeback" were released in the summer of 2009 at the same time, and the schedule was only one month apart, just because Paramount devoted almost all of its energy to "Transformers 2: Comeback" On the release of "Special Forces: The Rise of Cobra", a blockbuster with a production cost of up to 175 million U.S. dollars, the global box office is only a dismal 300 million U.S. dollars.
Eric has a deep memory of the hot action shots of the two protagonists in "Special Forces: The Rise of Cobra" wearing power mechas running wildly on the streets of Paris. If Paramount can invest enough resources in marketing and distribution, this film will definitely It can be regarded as an excellent popcorn blockbuster with a global box office of more than 300 million US dollars.
It stands to reason that it is more reasonable for each of the major series of "Harry Potter" to be allocated to a major film company, so as to ensure that each IP is carefully developed through all channels. However, there are only three big film companies that Eric can influence now.
Among the three companies, Firefly and MGM have very successful series of commercial films. In comparison, although Fox owns the distribution rights of "Star Wars" and Miramax, which is very successful in literary films, Blue Sky Studios has also done Up, though, there isn't much going on in the series.
Eric was very dissatisfied with the "X-Men" series originally controlled by Fox. The entire timeline of the X-Men was messed up, and the global box office of most episodes was only hovering at a barely passable three or four billion dollars. So I once thought about not putting the "X-Men" series on Fox.
But now it seems that Firefly is focusing on the "Avengers" series, and MGM is temporarily focusing on the agent movie universe. If they want to create another X-Men universe, Fox is the only resource in their hands for the time being.
However, this time, the control of the X-Men universe must still be firmly in their own hands like the agent movie universe, and the Firefly Group itself must still participate in the distribution of related benefits.
It's not that Eric is stingy. After all, Elizabeth's family only owns about 30% of News Corp.'s shares. If all the interests of the "X-Men" series are handed over to Fox, the benefits that can eventually fall into Elizabeth's hands are also Very few. What everyone is pursuing now is more control over Hollywood and the media industry. As long as most shareholders are given a small amount of benefits, these people will no longer dictate to the management of major film companies. The traditional Hollywood profit distribution rules are actually Probably so.
Eric is now more and more able to understand that the pursuit of control is the most important thing. Even if a person does not have a penny of personal assets in his name, if he can control a huge industry, the resources of the entire industry can still provide him with whatever he wants.
Having made up his mind, at the same time, Eric decided to speed up the expansion of the Firefly system in Hollywood. After all, half of Hollywood is incomplete after all.
Due to the time difference, it was only four o'clock in the afternoon when he arrived in Los Angeles on the west coast. Eric received a call from the girl just after getting off the plane, and after saying goodbye to Caroline and the two girls, he rushed to Beverly Hills.
The girl is not in Trousdale Manor, but shopping on Rodeo Drive.
Eric asked the driver to drive to Rodeo Drive, and when he walked into the Gucci store that the girl mentioned, only Natasha greeted him. There were only a few waiters in the store, and no other customers.
"Master, the boss is changing clothes," Natasha explained, and led Eric inside.
When he came to the waiting area for customers, Eric didn't choose the sofa, but sat down on a round high stool, nodded to the waitress who brought the coffee attentively, and just motioned for her to put the coffee on the on the side table.
After waiting for a while, the girl came out from the inner changing room, wearing a sky blue cotton tube skirt with short sleeves, a few embroidery on the neckline, and a short hem, revealing two white thighs like lotus roots. Although the tube skirt is not a waist-tied style, it is cut very well. Wearing it on a girl gives people a sense of youth in middle school.
"Eric," the girl ran over when she saw Eric, hugged Eric intimately, kissed him a few more times, and then let him go. She turned around and said, "Are you pretty?"
Eric nodded and said, "It's beautiful, but it's too short."
"Hehe, maybe I've grown taller again. By the way, I ordered two pairs of leather shoes for you. I just got them back today. You can try them."
Having said that, the girl asked Natasha to bring a shoe box, opened the box and took out a pair of brand new black leather shoes, and squatted down in front of Eric like a little wife, planning to help Eric change his shoes.
Seeing the girl's movements, Eric stopped his feet and said with a smile: "Hey, you are so attentive, let's be honest first, did you cause trouble?"
"No, people are very considerate." The girl was very dissatisfied with Eric's doubts, but she didn't insist. Rick sat down beside him and said, "Eric, Kate's family wants to invite us to dinner tonight, do you want to go?"
Eric was about to speak when he saw the pretty blonde waitress squatting down in front of him consciously, then raised her feet cooperatively, and then asked, "Which Kate?"
"Kate Hudson," the girl said, "Didn't she get the heroine of "Spider-Man", so I want to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude."
Eric nodded, feeling that the waitress who helped him change his shoes touched his ankles a few times suggestively, but he just retracted his feet a little bit pretending not to know, and said: "Since you agreed, then go."
The role of Gwen Stacy, the heroine of "Spider-Man", has only recently been settled. Eric actually prefers Keri Russell with a sweet baby face, but Cameron prefers Kate Ha. Desen.
Compared with the slender and petite Keri Russell, Kate Hudson, who is nearly 1.7 meters tall, is obviously more in line with Cameron's aesthetics. This girl has just turned nineteen years old this year. She is at the age of youth and invincibility. She has a sweet face inherited from her mother, and she also looks good when she smiles. However, her figure is a little plump, and she is obviously "fat and warm". breath.
Although Eric intended to belong to Keri Russell, his attitude was not so firm. After all, he had nothing to do with this girl. In comparison, Kate Hudson, whom everyone is familiar with, is different. Since Cameron likes it, Eric agrees to it smoothly.
After changing the shoes, Eric stood up and stepped on them a few times, nodding to express his satisfaction, but instead of trying another pair, he asked the girl beside him, "Have you picked out your clothes yet?"
"Well, this is what I'm wearing," the girl said, taking out a credit card from her handbag and handing it to the waitress beside her, without any intention of changing the clothes. After a while, Eric and the girl Walking out of the Gucci store, followed by the twins carrying a few handbags.
However, as soon as he walked out of the store, there was a flash of light not far from the street. Looking over, a paparazzi holding a long-barreled camera was shooting wildly at this side.
The bodyguard who got out of the car and helped Eric and the girl pull the car door asked Eric if he wanted to stop him, but Eric just shook his head casually, and the girl even held Eric's arm indifferently, and posted a smile on Eric's face. Post, looking like he enjoyed being photographed.
After getting in the car, he told the driver to go back to Trousdale Manor. The twins drove the girl's Land Rover and followed Eric's car.
He casually glanced at the rearview mirror and saw a motorcycle following up. Eric frowned and asked the girl beside him, "Why are there paparazzi around you?"
Because Eric and Yatou rarely come to the front of the stage now, most of the time the public attention is not too high, coupled with the status of the two in Hollywood, few paparazzi have appeared in front of the two in recent years. around.
After all, tabloids rely on attractive news to survive. The scandals of popular celebrities are obviously more attractive than the daily life of Eric and the girl. Moreover, without actual evidence, tabloids dare not easily Write gossip about the two of them, otherwise they will face lawsuits every minute, and over time, the two of them will lose their attraction to the paparazzi.
Hearing Eric's question, the girl posted it like a kitten, and said with a smile: "I'm the richest woman in the world now."
"Tsk tsk, this tone sounds like a flamboyant little rich woman, it's too exaggerated," Eric smiled and shook his head, and he probably understood in his heart, with the girl's age and gender, plus the assets under her name The origin of the story, even if it is not made up, just because it is topical, it is enough to attract too many people's attention when it is published in the newspaper.
"Hehe," the girl smiled and arched in Eric's arms, coquettishly for a while, the girl calmed down, and then leaned against Eric and said, "Eric, I also feel that my money is too much now." Yes, it's very annoying."
Eric pinched the girl's face and said, "You can say whatever you want in the newspaper, you just ignore it."
"I don't care what those newspapers say, but suddenly there seems to be a lot of things around me, and it's annoying. My mother came to ask me for money last week, but I refused, so she ran to the reporter and cried. How bad my life is, I obviously give her 10,000 dollars a month for living expenses, how many people in Los Angeles can earn 10,000 dollars a month, let alone she doesn't have to work."
Eric put his arms around the girl's waist and said: "Then give her some more, don't let her make trouble, anyway, we don't lack this little money. I remember telling you a long time ago that there are many things in this world , we can never escape."