The next day, "Iron Man" ushered in its premiere ceremony in North America.
Compared with the premiere in Tokyo, London and other overseas cities, the Los Angeles premiere of "Iron Man" is even bigger.
The Firefly Group spared no effort to prepare for this premiere, especially after the Internet gossip incident a few days ago, in order to deal with possible emergencies, the group specially added an extra security for this premiere Budget.
Fortunately, the entire premiere went very smoothly.
Since the word-of-mouth of "Iron Man" has been widely recognized, on the second day of the premiere, the media even paid more attention to the guest lineup comparable to a large movie awards ceremony, which also once again promoted "Iron Man". The hot topic of Iron Man.
For most movie fans, from the premiere on Wednesday to the midnight show on Thursday and even the large-scale release on Friday, just two days are almost fleeting, but Eric's work schedule is still full.
Culver City.
Inside an inside screening room at Columbia Studios.
Eric and Columbia Pictures CEO Bill Michanik were talking about company affairs while waiting for a representative of the French company Gaumont.
Last year, Luc Besson once again directed his another big-budget film "Joan of Arc". This war epic film costing 390 million francs is equivalent to nearly 80 million US dollars. Another big production attempt after The Fifth Element.
After the success of "Braveheart", although the number of epic films has increased greatly in recent years, there are not many successful cases. Major film companies have gradually realized the high risk of epic films, so they are enthusiastic about investing in such films. Substantially cool down.
Ridley Scott's "Gladiator", which has already started production, was abandoned by Spielberg's Amberlin Films under this background, and transferred to Fox under the lead of Eric.
Compared with "Gladiator", which has achieved better results than "Braveheart" in terms of box office and awards in memory, Eric has no impression of "Joan of Arc" at all, and only vaguely remembers that this film once The heroine is Milla Jovovich.
However, due to changes in Hollywood history, Milla Jovovich, who is still unknown, has no intersection with Luc Besson. Whether it is "The Fifth Element" or "Joan of Arc", the heroines are all replaced by other actresses.
"Warner Bros. has already signed Wu's "Windtalker", but the attitude towards this film is also very cautious. Warner Bros. will only bear 30% of the investment, and the other 70% of the investment will be taken care of by a German film fund. .”
Eric was somewhat disappointed when he heard Bill Michanik say that.
MGM once put all their eggs in one basket for "Wind Talker" and borne all the production and distribution costs of the film alone. "Wind Talker" failed miserably at the box office, and MGM was therefore on the verge of bankruptcy.
However, this disappointment is only fleeting, and it is impossible for things to work completely according to their own ideas.
What's more, even if they only hold 30% of the investment, Warner Bros. must still undertake the distribution work of "Windtalker", which will not only consume a large amount of money again, but also occupy a high-quality schedule. This is completely time and money multiple losses.
If Will Smith's other "Men in Black" parody of "Wild Wild" also flops, next year will be a disaster for Time Warner's movie business.
Thinking of this, Eric asked again: "What about "Wild Storm"?"
"The Wild Storm was completely produced by Warner alone, and no collaborators were introduced." Bill Michanik said, and then said: "Eric, I watched a sample of "Joan of Arc" in advance. , to be honest, I think this movie is very bad, there is no selling point."
Eric also had no expectations for "Joan of Arc", saying: "In this case, Luc Besson will definitely part ways with the Gaumont Film Company after the failure of two consecutive big-budget films. Will come over, all you have to do is to draw him over."
Bill Michanik was a little puzzled, Luc Besson screwed up two big productions in a row, Columbia Pictures still wants to win each other
Eric saw Bill Michanik's mind and explained: "Luc Besson is a very talented director, but in fact, what I value more is his screenwriting and production ability in action movies Although the box office of the films he directed is not very good, but the action films such as "Nikita" and "Taxi Express" that he participated in the writing and production of are very successful, and the cost is not high. You can compare with He cooperates and can even remake his films into American versions."
Just as he was talking, the door of the screening hall was pushed open, and Anne Hathaway poked her head into the hall timidly. When she saw Eric, she immediately smiled and walked in with a restrained expression.
Anne is wearing a knee-length white tunic dress today, which shows her figure very well.
When she got closer, Annie greeted in a low voice: "Eric, and Mr. Michanik."
Eric looked at the girl's delicate and tender appearance, smiled and patted his knee, and said, "Come on, I heard that the crew of "The Girl Who Moved Soul" is filming in the studio, I think you should be here."
Annie glanced at Bill Michanik, sat on Eric's lap with a shy expression, but hugged the man's neck affectionately: "Eric, I thought you forgot me."
Since they met at the "Midnight Ring" celebration party last year, Anne hasn't been able to see Eric a few times in the following half a year, although sometimes she sometimes feels that accepting Eric's card seems to be a It's not appropriate, but most of the time, girls are worried that Eric will forget about herself.
"Of course not, but you know, I'm very busy. I heard that you have received another romance film called, um, "Beyond Paradise", and you are going to shoot in the Bahamas?"
Annie didn't expect Eric to know everything about her, she was a little surprised, but then she was relieved that this man controls most of Hollywood.
Nodding, Annie said: "Carl thinks this role is very suitable for me, Carl Franco, my agent, Eric, do you remember?"
"Remember," Eric said with a smile, "then let's shoot well. In addition, if you need any help with the film in the future, you can go to Bill directly instead of calling my assistant's office. They are not very good at it." deal with these."
Annie was a little embarrassed at once. What she got was the heroine of "The Other Side of Paradise". Although this is just a low-cost film of an independent production company, she is a rookie and must not be able to do without some external assistance if she wants to get this role, so I contacted him through the phone number Eric gave her at the beginning. assistant's office.
Of course, it is impossible for Eric's assistant office to not be good at unblocking a movie role.
But Annie called over there, which meant that both Caroline and Mayer knew about it, and then they couldn't help but look at each other with resentment.
Hearing what Eric said, Bill Michanik tactfully handed over a business card and said with a smile, "Miss Hathaway, if you need anything in the future, you can call me."
Although he is the head of a major film company with the weakest strength in the Firefly system, he is still one of the seven heads after all. No one can ignore the energy of such an executive in Hollywood.
Annie took the business card, put it away carefully, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Michanik."
After explaining this matter, Eric patted the girl's waist and said, "Well, I still have some things to do, so go ahead and do it first."
Annie was not quite willing to leave, she rubbed against Eric, and without caring too much, leaned over and said, "Eric, are you free tonight?"
"Well," Eric nodded, "I'll have someone pick you up after get off work."
After Anne was sent away, several representatives of the Gaumont Company arrived soon, and Luc Besson also came to Los Angeles specially.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone began to watch the sample of "Joan of Arc".
Then, although Eric didn't have any expectations for "Joan of Arc", after watching it, he realized that this film was worse than his lowest expectation. Luc Besson has absolutely the talent to shoot an epic film.
Although the film does not lack big scene shots, it almost feels like one word to Eric, chaos.
The bigger the scene, the more chaotic it feels, and people can't appreciate the beauty that the lens composition should have.
The new heroine, Alice Taglioni, is equally beautiful, but her acting skills are not flattering. The movie has not shown the deafening cultural connotation such as the phrase "Freedom" in "Braveheart" from beginning to end.
An epic film that neither makes people feel excited nor makes people think. Except for the word failure, Eric really can't think of a more appropriate adjective.
If it wasn't for politeness and the desire to win over Luc Besson, Eric would probably get up and leave halfway through.
"Joan of Arc" has been confirmed to be released in European countries in October, and the schedule of popular movies in Europe is basically similar to that in North America. Therefore, just from the schedule, Eric can probably realize that the Gaumont Film Company also does not have much expectation for this film. Make it easy to feel it.
After watching the movie, Eric didn't think too much about the movie at all, but just communicated with Luc Besson about his intention to come to Hollywood for development.
Luc Besson is obviously also aware of the upcoming failure of "Joan of Arc" and screwed up two big-budget films in a row. His life in the French film circle in the next few years will definitely not be too easy. Faced with Eric's personal solicitation, he was naturally quite emotional, and agreed on the spot.
After working for a day, I took Annie to a restaurant in Venice Beach for dinner after get off work, and then returned to Malibu.
However, Eric was somewhat absent-minded tonight.
"Iron Man" will be released on a large scale tomorrow, and tonight's midnight show is also a very critical statistic for the film.
It's already night on the east coast, and on the west coast, after ten o'clock in the evening, emails related to "Iron Man" have been sent to Eric's just-replaced BlackBerry.
The box office information of the movie's midnight show will be released one after another after midnight on the west coast.
Although compared to his current net worth, Eric really doesn't need to care too much about the gains and losses of a movie. But when the real thing came to an end, I realized that due to the long-standing habits, it was not easy to be relieved.
Moreover, it is obvious that it is difficult for many executives of the Firefly Group to rest well tonight.
Eric's plan for the Marvel Cinematic Universe project is too huge. Once successful, Firefly Group will be able to maintain a considerable advantage in the film business in the next 20 or even 30 years.
The bigger the cake, the more you will naturally worry about gains and losses. Coupled with the expectations brought about by the success of the MGM Agents movie universe, it will be difficult for everyone not to confirm the box office data of "Iron Man" in the first place. clam down.
Women's minds are always the most sensitive, and Annie obviously also felt Eric's absent-minded emotions, so she became more docile and submissive, looking cautious and trying her best to please.
Unknowingly, it was twelve o'clock in the morning.
The girl on the big bed had already fallen asleep. Eric took a shower, but came downstairs again.
I made myself a pot of coffee, sat on the sofa by the glass curtain wall and read a file to pass the time, and occasionally looked at the dark night outside the curtain wall.
After one o'clock in the morning, the blackberry beside him and the email notification sound on the laptop rang at the same time.
Eric took the laptop over, opened the unread emails he had just received, and looked directly for the specific midnight show box office figures.
$7.6 million.
My thoughts suddenly became a little chaotic.
$7.6 million at the midnight box office, compared to most films, is definitely very good.
However, Eric just happened to be looking through the box office information of the midnight shows of big-budget movies in recent years.
Compared with the $7.6 million midnight box office of "Iron Man", the midnight box office of "Mission: Impossible 3" was $9.2 million, the midnight box office of "The Matrix 2" was $9.95 million, and the midnight box office of "Charlie's Angels 3" was $9.2 million. The midnight box office was $12.5 million, while "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" reached $16.5 million at the midnight box office.
Of course, Eric also knows that movies such as "Mission: Impossible 3" have accumulated a very large group of diehard fans, and the Star Wars series has formed an American cultural phenomenon. Fans of these series will not wait It is necessary to watch the movie as soon as the movie is released, so it will create a series of high midnight box office.
In comparison, Iron Man can only be regarded as Marvel's second-line superhero, and his popularity among Marvel superheroes is much lower than that of Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men and other characters. What's more, this is only the beginning of "Iron Man", and even the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although under the large-scale publicity campaign of the Firefly Group, the popularity of "Iron Man" has reached the national level, but after all, there is still no core group of fans who will watch the movie in the first place.
As for the factor of Eric himself participating, although it can bring wider popularity to the film. But Eric also knows that because his personal works have never had a uniform and distinctive style, and he has not formed a large group of diehard fans, so this factor will not have much effect on the box office of the midnight show.
However, even though these are the realities that have to be faced, it is still difficult for Eric to be satisfied with the midnight box office data of "Iron Man" which is only 7.6 million US dollars at this time.
It is conceivable that if this data is leaked out, some media will make a lot of hype about it tomorrow, and it may even affect the subsequent box office trend of "Iron Man".