"Mr. Katzenberg has personally started your plan at an affiliated private equity fund under the Operation Group. Hathaway, State Street Global and Firefly Investment are also following up. If you want to avoid being noticed by Marvel , we will probably need a month." Kelly handed over the next document and said, "Also, several newspaper groups have made a second round of quotations for our paper media assets, and the one with the highest bid is now It's $1.4 billion for Condé Nast."
Eric quickly read the documents in his hand, and said: "Let Jeffery start the acquisition negotiations. Both Yahoo Network and America Online need a lot of money. Tell Jeffery that you don't need to worry too much about the price. As long as the price It will do the $1.5 billion projected, but I want buyers to pay cash as soon as possible."
Kelly nodded, wrote it down in the memo, then raised her head and said, "These are the only serious things..."
Eric glanced at the closed office door, and joked, "Are you trying to do something indecent here?"
Kelly gave him a blank look, handed the last document to Eric, and said, "This is from Miss Murdoch. The New York Post was going to publish it tomorrow, but she stopped it. She said Leave it up to you, she can block the New York Post, but not the other papers, and there's a copy of the dossier associated with the press release."
Eric glanced at the title of the press release, "The Dark Past of a Genius Girl", and his eyes narrowed.
Seeing Charlize's name in the article, Eric almost guessed the general content. After reading the article roughly, Eric confirmed his judgment.
In the original time and space, Charlize was shortlisted for Best Actress Oscar for "The Devil". In the subsequent media public relations battle, the news that Charlize's biological father was shot dead by her mother because of drinking and violence at the age of fifteen was again hyped by the media. However, Charlize, who was originally a simple victim, was even far-fetched by the unscrupulous media to the word "father killing". Eric didn't pay much attention to the storm. His own result, that is, Charlize still won the Oscar queen laurel smoothly.
Right now, perhaps because Fox's "Dumb and Dumber 2" is about to hit theaters. But the box office momentum of "Charlie's Angels" has not weakened in the slightest. The "New York Post" did not know where to dig up this news, so it had similar thoughts to those media in the previous life, but. It may be because of Firefly’s consideration that the article did not deliberately distort the facts as in the original time and space, but the tendentious hints between the lines still arouse people’s imagination.
"Since this matter was unearthed by the media, it must not be hidden," Eric thought for a while. Tear off a piece of post-it note, wrote a line, handed it to Kelly, and said, "You can communicate with ICM in person, and let the public relations department cooperate as much as possible to guide public relations according to this principle. I don't want to see What kind of messy news is coming out."
Kelly took the note from Eric and saw that it said "A regrettable family tragedy, a strong girl who came out of the shadows", nodded, and said: "MGM CEO Frank Macasso Don’t know the phone number here. Called me and wanted to make an appointment with you to talk about "Charlie's Angels", MGM hopes to start two "Charlie's Angels" sequels at the same time."
"Let them go to Jeffrey for these things, and discuss it..." Eric said halfway, raised his head and asked, "Did something happen?"
Just as Kelly was about to speak, Eric suddenly said, "Oh, it must be Penny and the three of them."
Kelly nodded: "The person in charge of DreamWorks hopes to sign a contract with Ms. Cruz and the three of them for the next two sequels, but Ms. Michelle Simmons from ICM has not given any response."
Eric said: "I will help to ask what the three of them are thinking, so that MGM can release it with peace of mind."
…
In the next few days, with the cooperation of Firefly's public relations department, ICM brokerage company, and MGM. News about Charlize’s teenage past began to appear in the media one after another, but most of the information put Charlize completely on the victim’s side to express full sympathy, and at the same time fully publicized Charlize’s experience in Hollywood alone, The girl is completely portrayed as an image of an independent and self-reliant girl who has successfully walked out of the dark shadow.
The average person's first impression effect is very powerful. Since such a concept was instilled in them for the first time, articles discrediting Charlize appearing in the media in the future will only arouse the resentment of most people. At the same time, the popularity of Charlize, who originally had a relatively weak sense of presence in the trio of "Charlie's Angels", has also risen a lot due to a blessing in disguise.
In the second week of July, Fox's "Dumb and Dumber 2" was also officially released, but it was affected by the box office decline of "The Lion King" and "Charlie's Angels", which are full of stamina. "Dumb and Dumber 2" only earned more than 33 million at the box office in the first three days of the weekend, which is $4 million lower than "Charlie's Angels". It is expected that the first week's box office will stop at less than 45 million. However, compared to "Charlie's Angels", which cost more than US$80 million to produce, the biggest cost of this vulgar comedy is only Jim Carrey's salary, and the total production budget is less than US$40 million. Still very profitable.
After returning to Los Angeles from Boston at the end of May, after more than a month of intense work, Eric checked most of the film projects in his hands that needed personal attention, and his schedule gradually relaxed. Wei Entertainment's layout, he also spent more time on the preparations for the Victoria's Secret show.
In the studio of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show studio, Eric had just sent away the head of Firefly's music department who had sent a stack of singer tapes. The three girls who had just returned to Los Angeles after a promotional tour in Europe and East Asia and Penelope's Sister Monica walked into his office together, and Penelope and Kate each held a gorgeous set of angel wings.
After greeting Eric, Penelope couldn't wait to draw a set of butterfly wings behind her and said, "Eric, are these the angel costumes to be worn in the Victoria's Secret show? They are so beautiful. "
Eric smiled and watched the two women put the angel wings on their bodies, and said: "You must have taken them on the shelf next to the door of my office. These are all waste products that will be disposed of. Keep it in the vault."
Kate asked curiously: "These are already so beautiful, those selected must be even more amazing, can we have a look?"
Eric shook his head and said, "I'll give you some admission tickets then. No one can watch it now."
Kate stuck out her tongue at Eric and said, "It's really stingy."
Eric didn't answer. He looked at Charlize, who had been acting very quiet and obviously worried since he came in, and joked, "Charlie, are you planning to take away Kate's role in the sequel?"
"No, of course not," Charlize shook her head hastily.
Eric was about to continue to say something, but Penelope couldn't wait to gossip with Kate when he heard Eric mention the film: "Eric, you don't know, when we went to Tokyo, Japan to promote, there was A guy saw Kate at the scene and started crying right there, crying and wowing about something and trying to run up the stage, which scared us."
Kate pushed Penelope away dissatisfied, and said, "Why do you think he is coming for me, maybe he wants to jump on you."
Penelope smiled and said, "Although I can't understand that guy's Japanese, everyone at the scene could hear the pronunciation of 'Selena' clearly."
Eric said: "I have read in the newspaper that Kate is now the most popular Western actress in Japan. How does it feel?"
Kate shook her head and said, "It's not that good, people from that country always make people feel weird."
"This is because of cultural differences. Different countries and different nationalities will have this feeling when looking at outsiders. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as racial discrimination." Eric explained briefly, and then said: "Don't say That's it, someone asked me to ask, what are the plans of the three of you for the sequel?"
The three women looked at each other a few times, but didn't speak for a while.
Eric pointed at Penelope: "Penny, tell me."
"Eric, we don't mind doing a sequel. But we don't want to rush two sequels so tightly. If we do one a year, we will definitely be stereotyped by the characters."
Eric remembered that MGM hoped to add the two sequels of "Charlie's Angels" to DreamWorks' ten-film plan, and the original ten-film plan was planned within three years. Hearing Penelope's answer, Eric almost understood.
After lightly tapping on the table and thinking for a while, seeing the three girls looking at him more and more anxiously, Eric suddenly smiled and said, "You don't have any confidence in me, why are you still worried that I'll sell you?"
Although Eric is very gentle in life, when it comes to movies, he tends to be very strong. The three girls were really worried that Eric would force them to make one film a year. After hearing what Eric said, Kate, who had the brightest mind, relaxed and said with a smile, "Who made you so bad."
Eric smiled and said, "It seems that I need to find some time and let you help me recall the bad things I have done."
Kate froze for a moment, recalling quickly in her small brain, but she didn't recall anything for a while, but still snorted unconvinced.
Eric didn't care about it, and patiently explained: "You must be thinking too seriously. In this case, let's change it to one every two years. In fact, the production plan of any Hollywood film company is not fixed. Involving tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, the production process cannot be overstated, and it is normal for various changes to occur during the period. Although the original agreement was for three years and ten films, if in the end due to various reasons It was not completed, and the rest of the projects were either yellowed or postponed, just like Spielberg, he still owes Universal several movie contracts, it is said that the contracts were more than ten years ago."
Penelope rolled her eyes and asked, "What about our salary?"
"Your salary has nothing to do with me," Eric laughed again: "Although Firefly has a 30% interest in DreamWorks, the film production funds come from Europe, so just ask Michelle to help you negotiate. You can be as high as you can, but don't play too much, be careful that everyone will shoot and break up."
Kate asked, "How much do you think we should offer?"
Eric thought for a while, and said: "The two sequels are about to be packaged at 12 million US dollars each. Don't mention the share. After all, there are three of you, and the average salary of 18 million US dollars for each starring role is already sky-high. The producer You also need to invite other actors, and the total cost of the actors' remuneration may be 25 million. If you ask for too much, the producer can only reduce the shooting budget, which will definitely affect the quality of the sequel, which is not beneficial to you."
Eric said lightly, but even Charlize, who had always been a little preoccupied, couldn't help but be speechless. After all, their salaries for the first film were only two to three hundred thousand dollars, and they suffered so much, and now their net worth has suddenly skyrocketed to tens of millions. I never imagined that I could make so much money before.
After being surprised, Kate quickly thought of something and said, "Is it more than 45 million? I heard that Nicole Kidman can earn more than 30 million with a piece of "The Mummy."
The box office of "The Mummy" in North America and overseas is very hot, and it is expected that various revenues will add up in the next few years. It can bring nearly 400 million U.S. dollars in net profit to Universal Pictures. It is precisely because of the box office hit of "The Mummy" that Michael Eisner easily regained control of Universal from Michael Ovitz after heart surgery. right.
However, the biggest personal profit from this film is undoubtedly Nicole. The original 8% omni-channel share contract will bring Nicole an income of no less than 30 million US dollars, which also makes her the highest paid movie in Hollywood. As an actress, it is estimated that it will be difficult to be surpassed in the next ten years.
"Just like Jack Nicholson's super high salary in "Batman", Nicole got so much this time. It was just an accident. Universal probably regretted it. They only needed to spend 10 million US dollars to pay for it. Those who can invite Nicole are now paying three times the price. Moreover, Nicole will be able to participate in the next sequel, and she must be able to honestly get a fixed salary."
Penelope said: "Then we will talk according to the number you gave."
Eric nodded, glanced at the angel wings next to him, and said with a smile, "These look good in underwear. There is a fitting room next to them. Go and show me them."
Kate immediately blushed and glared at Eric. Penelope picked up the wings with a smile, pulled Kate and walked out: "Kate, let's try it, and we don't have to show it to someone."
The two women left the office as they spoke. Eric looked at Monica, who was blinking big eyes, and pointed to the door: "You go too, and change your sister's clothes."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," the more juicy little girl seemed to realize something, and walked out in a panic with her head down.
After the office door was closed, Eric asked Charlize, "Is something wrong?"
"No." Charlize shook her head, hesitated for a while, and said again: "Michelle told me everything, and I also saw the note you wrote, I... I just want to thank you."
"Oh," Eric nodded, jokingly said, "You know, I'm a capitalist, you made money for me, of course I'm going to cover you."
Charlize bit her lower lip, struggled for a moment, and said, "I, I don't want to owe you anything."
Eric smiled and said, "Although I really want to say that you don't owe me anything, you know, men have vanity. So what I actually want to say is, if you feel that you owe me anything, just Continue to owe it, whenever I think of a big beautiful woman who feels that she owes me a debt, I feel very satisfied."
Charlize finally couldn't hold it back, she laughed for the first time since she came to this office, but the girl quickly restrained her expression, glared at Eric slightly angrily, and said, "You, in private Is that how you coax girls?"
"Not necessarily, it depends on the person. For example, you have to do the opposite. To use a term in the Eastern Art of War, it's called playing hard to get," Eric pointed to the door with a smile on his face, and continued to "talk And Tan': "For Kate, this kind of proud little girl, she needs to be a bit more aggressive, but for Petunia... just don't use any methods."
"You're such a jerk," Charlize couldn't help laughing again, but the girl had already moved to the door unconsciously.
Then, under Eric's astonished eyes, Charlize reached out and locked the office door, and then walked towards Eric "aggressively". Eric was about to stand up in doubt, but was pressed by Charlize On the large leather chair, afterward, the girl's slender body bullied her, stretched out her hand and pulled Eric's tie, like a kitten that suddenly went berserk, but the panic hidden in the girl's expression completely betrayed her.
Just as Eric was about to say something, Charlize put the torn tie in front of Eric's eyes as a blindfold.
Then, the slightly cool thin lips clumsily kissed her.
When those thin lips that trembled due to nervousness left him, and his two little hands tugged at his shirt indiscriminately, Eric subconsciously joked again: "Charlie, you have to know that in the United States, certain crimes are not illegal. It's just for men."
However, as soon as this sentence fell, Eric suddenly felt a hard bite on his shoulder.
Amidst the man's gasping voice, the girl with a slightly trembling voice still insisted and said bitterly: "Let you ignore me on purpose all this time."
"My Lady Queen, this is the office, why don't we talk about it when we go home, don't worry, I will definitely not let you go..."
"Shut up and don't move."
…
＊PS: I watched "Casino Royale" today, and then there is this chapter...
＊＊＊(To be continued.)