In the affluent area of Mountain View Manor on the northern half of the mountain in Santa Monica, Eric's car stopped outside a mansion. Just after getting out of the car, Amy Pascal and her husband Bernard Weinraub were on the road. We greeted them together.
"Good evening, Amy, and Bernard," Eric hugged Amy Pascal lightly, and shook hands with Bernard Weinlab before explaining to Amy with a smile : "Drew said she has other things tonight, so she won't come over. She should have greeted you, right?"
Amy Pascal nodded knowingly, and said, "Eric, let's go in."
The girl originally made an appointment with Eric, but the cocktail party is completely different from other entertainment-based parties, especially for a business-oriented cocktail party like tonight. There is no lively music, no dancing crowd, everyone just The girl got together to discuss things in a serious manner. The girl was not interested in it at first, but just received an invitation from the girlfriends group for the year-end carnival, so she acted coquettishly on the phone in the afternoon and directly released Eric's pigeons.
After traveling around London and New York for more than half a month, Eric couldn't escape these things when he returned to Los Angeles.
Today is already November 30th, Monday.
MGM's end-of-year blockbuster "Mission: Impossible 3" just finished its second weekend of screenings.
After several years of complete fermentation of the agent movie universe, coupled with the careful management of MGM, "Mission: Impossible 3" has achieved great success again without any suspense.
In the first week and seven days, "Mission: Impossible 3" earned a box office of 115.35 million US dollars on more than 3,200 screens across the United States. Thanks to the good word-of-mouth from the media and the audience, despite the release of good new films, the three-day box office decline of "Mission: Impossible 3" remained strong at 37% in the second weekend, and it collected another US$47.23 million.
Ten days after its release, the total box office of "Mission: Impossible 3" has reached 162.58 million US dollars.
Eric and Amy entered their mansion together.
Implicitly teased a few words about the turmoil caused by the "New York Times" interview, and the topic quickly turned to the movie. Amy said: "The most surprising thing is "Teddy Bear". The data I saw this morning , with a total box office of more than 160 million U.S. dollars, which is only one million U.S. dollars less than "Mission: Impossible 3." In the next period of time, there must be many people in Hollywood who are going to toss other children's toys."
"Teddy Bear", which was released one week ahead of "Mission: Impossible 3", had a box office of 88.65 million US dollars in the first week. This animation and real-life film combined with motion capture technology, both in terms of content scale and box office data are shocking. Eyeballs all over the place.
With the high degree of topicality, despite the impact of "Mission Impossible 3" in the second week, the box office drop of "Teddy Bear" was still only 43%, and it received another US$49.19 million. In the past weekend, the box office decline of "Teddy Bear" narrowed again, only slipping 31%, with a three-day box office of 23.49 million U.S. dollars and a cumulative box office of 161.33 million U.S. dollars.
Although it was released a week in advance, "Teddy Bear" was able to get a box office comparable to "Mission Impossible 3" at this time, which also surprised many people.
After all, the production budget of "Teddy Bear" is only 50 million US dollars, and the North American box office of more than 160 million US dollars in just two and a half weeks is enough for Firefly to recover all production and publicity costs. The box office, as well as various peripheral distributions, bring almost all net profits to Firefly.
Relatively speaking, the production cost of "Mission: Impossible 3" is 150 million U.S. dollars, and the overall scale of publicity and distribution of the two parties is even more different.
Although calculated comprehensively, the profit scale of "Mission: Impossible 3" will definitely be much higher than that of "Teddy Bear" in the future, but considering the countless resources invested by MGM in "Mission: Impossible 3", the film will definitely not Earn Easy Like Teddy Bear.
The three of them walked through the villa to the backyard, and Eric smiled and said, "It's okay to do one or two movies once in a while, but if it's too much, the audience will quickly become disgusted. I'm thinking about it now." Will there be a Teddy Bear sequel any time soon."
Bernard Weinraub joked: "Such an interesting film, the audience must be looking forward to seeing the sequel as soon as possible."
With that said, the three of them had already arrived in the backyard.
The courtyard covering an area of more than 1,000 square meters was brightly lit, but the atmosphere seemed very quiet. About forty or fifty guests were scattered throughout the courtyard, chatting together in small groups.
Although Eric's arrival attracted everyone's attention, in such a very formal reception occasion, the crowd did not flock to say hello, but some guests moved inevitably, hoping to appear on Eric's trajectory Come on, take advantage of the opportunity to meet and chat for a few words.
After entering the backyard, Bernard Weinraub and Eric greeted each other softly, and then left to entertain other guests.
Amy and Eric got two glasses of wine together, and then began to introduce some guests for him.
"Eric, this is Kevin, Kevin Williamson," Amy warmly introduced in front of a middle-aged man in his thirties wearing a dark checkered suit: "Kevin just returned Tell me about one of his latest screenplay ideas, maybe you can listen to it too."
Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter of the "Scream" series.
Speaking of which, the surname gap between Williamson and Williams is similar to Hansen and Hans. After so many years of seeing different names and surnames, Eric has become accustomed to them.
Although he gained fame with the "Scream" series, Kevin Williamson also understood the energy and status of the young people in front of him in Hollywood. My latest screenplay idea: "Mr. Williams, here's the story: Ann lives in a dead, staid town, and her biggest wish is to get a full scholarship to college and get out of here. But, soon When she graduated, she had to face the censure of her very harsh history teacher. During an exam, her history teacher, Ms. Tingle, suspected that she had cheated and held on to it. If she was detained As a cheater, Ann's scholarship will undoubtedly be ruined, so she went to Ms. Tingle in private to try to seek reconciliation, but the conflict between the two parties unexpectedly intensified during the communication process. History teacher, so things became more and more out of hand, and for a while, Ann had to hide this matter as much as possible in front of her family, friends and police officers who came to inquire... "
Eric patiently listened to Kevin Williamson finish the rough outline of the script before asking: "Kevin, what is your positioning of the subject matter of this movie?"
Kevin Williamson thought for a while, and said, "This is a thriller and suspense film with some teenage horror elements."
Eric showed a smile on his face and said: "So, Kevin, you are obviously very aware of your own advantages, but this seems to have become a kind of constraint on you. I have to admit that this is a very good idea, unexpectedly The kidnapping case and the elaborate cover-up. But thinking about it carefully, such an idea is more suitable for making an absurd black comedy, just imagine some of the plots, and it is full of dramatic conflicts enough to make people laugh."
After Eric finished speaking, seeing Kevin Williamson showing a thoughtful look, he stopped.
Being able to give Kevin Williamson a few words is also because he brought the "Scream" series to MGM. Gram's consideration.
After the "Scream" series, except for "I Know What You Did Last Summer", which was barely a good box office in the previous summer, Kevin Williamson no longer has any representative works.
The "Deadly High School", which was released at the same time as "Teddy Bear" two weeks ago, had a production cost of 30 million U.S. dollars, which was regarded as Columbia Pictures' main hit at the end of the year. The 160 million for "Teddy Bear" is completely different. Because the box office was far lower than expected, Columbia has given up the overseas distribution plan of "Deadly High School" and decided to sell out the copyright directly.
Leaving Kevin Williamson and the others, Amy slowed down, stopped by the pool, and said, "Kevin just mentioned to me that he hopes to direct this movie himself."
"You should have watched "Death High School", right?" Eric shook his head slightly, and said: "Kevin is completely lost now, if he can't settle down and let himself get rid of the influence of "Scream", he will go one step further. , after his popularity is exhausted, he will be eliminated by Hollywood very quickly."
Amy expressed some hesitation, and said, "Then, this movie?"
Eric smiled and said: "You decide for yourself, such a small production will not affect anything. However, if Kevin continues like this, there is no need to cooperate in the future."
From Kevin Williamson's narration, Eric understands that the cost of this movie will not be too high, and it can still be easily controlled within 15 million US dollars. The production budget for this low-budget horror film was raised to $30 million.
Coupled with the fact that Kevin Williamson, who created the "Scream" series, personally directed this gimmick, the possibility of a loss for the film is not high, but if Kevin Williamson shoots according to the script style he just described, An alternative school drama film for teenagers that is neither scary nor gory nor funny, the possibility of a big box office hit is almost zero.
Amy nodded and said: "By the way, Jenna is here too. We are currently discussing whether to prepare "The Wife of New York" or "Manhattan Girl" first. Come and help us with advice."
Eric was about to walk towards Kris Jenner not far away with Amy, when Penelope Cruz, who was wearing a wine red low-cut dress, came over briskly, raised his glass and said, "Hi, Eric."
Both held wine glasses in their hands, Eric just shook hands with Penelope and said, "Good evening, Penny, are you the only one here?"
Penelope's eyes were slightly bitter: "Kate and Charlize both have their own affairs."
"You misunderstood me, I mean," Eric raised his arm with a smile: "I happened to be here alone."
Penelope understood immediately, wrapped her around like a cat, and took Eric's arm affectionately.
Seeing Eric and Penelope chatting, Amy gestured towards Kris Jenner and walked over first.
Eric and Penelope continued to chat quietly by the pool, feeling the tenderness of the girl beside him, Eric suddenly remembered another thing, and said: "By the way, what is your sister doing recently? I ran into her in New York last year and had a chat."
At a party at New York Fashion Week last year, Eric met Monica Cruz and promised the girl to help her introduce a few movies, but Eric quickly forgot afterwards. Now that I suddenly think of it, I am still a little embarrassed, wondering if the girl will act like a villain in private and stab herself.
When Penelope heard Eric mentioning her sister, she obviously misunderstood something, and her small expression became resentful again, but she still said: "She got a permanent role in the new season of "Dark Angel of the Last Day" this year."
Eric nodded and said, "The sci-fi film produced by Jim is a very good opportunity."
Penelope responded in a low voice, and was relieved to see that Eric didn't continue.
After chatting for a few words, Eric took Penelope to Amy and Kris Jenner, and talked for a while about the development of a new derivative series of the main reality show series of the two major cable channels under MGM. After another round of socializing in the crowd, Eric temporarily dismissed the Latin girl next to him, and stood in a deserted place with Amy to continue the original topic about "Mission: Impossible 3".
"Judging from the current situation, the North American box office potential of "Mission Impossible 3" should be between 260 million and 280 million US dollars, which is about 40 million US dollars lower than the summer "Charlie's Angels 3". Overseas, the box office potential It will probably be around 600 to 700 million U.S. dollars, which is also lower than the summer "Charlie's Angels 3" and last year's "007: Casino Royale". The global box office will probably be fixed at less than 900 million U.S. dollars, and the possibility of breaking through 1 billion U.S. dollars Not big."
Amy's tone was a bit regretful. If the executives of other Hollywood studios heard that Amy regretted a movie with a global box office close to 900 million, they would definitely have an urge to cry. But it is undeniable that the "Mission Impossible" series, which originally had the best box office among the three major series, has been overtaken by the 007 series and the "Charlie's Angels" series in terms of popularity and box office.
After listening to Amy, Eric said: "I have also read the analysis report made by the distribution department. This sequel is the first collaboration between Ethan Hunt and Bond. The audience's reaction to the joint efforts of the two top agents is obvious. It’s not as popular as the previous co-ed pairings. We can adjust that next, but I didn’t see Kevin Costner tonight, isn’t he in LA?”
"Kevin flew to Japan to participate in the promotion," Amy said: "However, he should be watching now, so he deliberately avoided us."
Eric was a little puzzled: "Wait and see?"
Amy nodded, and said: "Kevin's agent has been delaying the negotiation with us about the next sequel salary. They should be waiting for the box office of the "Fast and Furious" series."