ps. Here is today’s update. By the way, let’s vote for Qidian’s 515 Fan Festival. Everyone has 8 tickets. Voting will also give Qidian coins. I beg everyone to support and appreciate!
Bill Michanik brought Howard Stringer to his office, and as soon as he sat down, Howard Stringer took out a document from his briefcase: "Bill, first look at this."
Bill Michanik took it over, opened it, and the first thing that caught his eye was a photo of a dinosaur-like monster with a back covered in armor. Bill Michanik blurted out without thinking: "Godzilla?"
"Yes, Godzilla," Howard Stringer nodded, took the coffee handed over by Secretary Bill Michanik and put it aside, waved him away, and continued: "Mr. Idei contacted me yesterday, After passing these materials, the Sony headquarters has started contacting Toho, and will soon obtain the authorization. He hopes that we can use Hollywood's most advanced cg special effects technology to bring this monster to the big screen."
Since the appearance of the first "Godzilla" special feature film in 1954, the image of this monster, which was born out of the Japanese's nuclear fear, has spread all over the world and has gathered a very high popularity. In addition to more than 20 Godzilla movies produced by Dongbao Company, there are endless comics, animations, toys and other products about Godzilla around the world. had a huge impact.
Bill Michanik understood that Sony executives must have been stimulated by the box office hit of "Jurassic Park 2" again, so he came up with the idea of making a CG special effects version of "Godzilla" on a whim. Since the "Jurassic Park" series is used as a reference, the budget of this project will definitely not be less than 100 million US dollars. However, if this project is launched, it will conflict with the development strategy he designed for Columbia.
After pondering for a moment, Bill Michanik asked: "Howard, what is Mr. Idei's plan for this project? You know, the current situation in Columbia is not very good?"
"I know what you're worried about. Bill," Howard Stringer said with a smile on his face. "There's nothing wrong with the budget, Mr. Idei said. Sony is willing to take $150 million as long as we can get this project right." The production budget within the budget will be 50 million US dollars for distribution, because he hopes that the first part of the film will become famous, and then it will be made into a series like Dongbao.”
Bill Michanik listened to Howard Stringer. [ㄨ]There is no joy in my heart.
If Sony spends $200 million on this project, then the future global box office must reach at least $500 million to ensure that the project breaks even. Although "Jurassic Park" had pushed Hollywood's highest global box office record to US$1 billion two years ago, Bill Michanik, who has worked in Hollywood for 20 years, knows very well that even now In the context of the overall expansion of the global box office market, it is definitely not an easy task to produce a movie with a global box office of 500 million.
Compared with the past, last year's Hollywood film market can be described as brilliant, but the whole year has passed. There are only six films that have grossed more than $500 million worldwide. Bill Michanik could imagine that once this 200-million-dollar project fails again, Sony's confidence in operating the film business may suffer a devastating blow, and it may withdraw from Hollywood like Panasonic did. Every change of ownership of a major film company means turmoil in the management, and at that time, he, the CEO, will face an uncertain future again.
After hesitating for a while, Bill Michanik still said: "Howard, when I joined the company, I said that if Sony wants to maintain the film business for a long time, in the next few years, it should focus on producing low-cost films. , through this conservative business strategy, steadily repairing Colombia’s collapsing production and distribution system. You and Idei-san agreed with my business idea at the time, why take the risk now?”
Howard Stringer patiently explained: "Mr. Bill Idei's original words are that Sony hopes that Columbia will have a very representative big movie series."
"Howard, I just think this kind of decision is so stupid. They should know what it will mean if this project fails. And. If the Japanese want to maintain decent, "Men in Black" and "Jumanji" Two series are enough," Bill Michanik shook his head, and continued: "Howard, I think we should persuade Mr. Idei to give up this idea. Even if we do it, we should postpone it for two or three years until Columbia recovers." Make a plan after you are refreshed."
Howard Stringer was born in the media industry, and he also knew that Nobuyuki Idei appointed him as the CEO of Sony's US branch in the hope that he could revitalize Sony's entertainment business. Not only the executives of Sony headquarters, but even Howard Stringer himself was greatly stimulated after seeing the box office data of "Jurassic Park 2" in full swing. Therefore, after Sony headquarters threw out the Godzilla project, Howard Stringer also felt that there was a lot to do.
It's just that he didn't expect that he came here in high spirits, and before he could say a few words, he hit several soft nails in front of Bill Michanik.
"Bill, we just want to get rid of the situation of "Men in Black" and "Jumanji", so we need to do this project alone. As long as we have our own ace movie series, we will no longer be controlled by others."
Bill Michanik wanted to say something, but when he saw Howard Stringer's serious expression, he realized that it was not appropriate to continue to confront his immediate superior, so his tone softened, and he said, "Then, Howard, We can do this project, but I think it is best to postpone it for a year. We all know the situation in Columbia, because of Peter Guber, the production and distribution business of Columbia has been in the middle of the half since the second half of last year. Stagnation, although it has been better for a few months, but if there is another year... ”
"Bill, this matter is a decision of the headquarters. There is no room for negotiation. All we have to do is execute it." Howard Stringer finally lost his patience and interrupted Bill Michanik, saying: "And, I I also don’t want us to continue the dispute. The board of directors will never allow Colombia to get out of control again. If you don’t cooperate, I will report the situation here to the board of directors.”
Bill Michanik looked surprised. He started working at the end of April. During this period of time, the two of them got along very well, and he even once felt that Howard Stringer was an easy-going person. But he didn't expect Howard Stringer to have such a self-willed side, and even threatened himself, and couldn't help but curse inwardly. Bill Michanik thought that Sony just drove away two idiots. Hired another moron who doesn't know anything about the movie business.
Howard Stringer used to be a reporter, and later served as the president of the CBS news department. Although he was also in the media field, he never set foot in the film industry from the beginning to the end. There are many non-professional executives in Hollywood, but the current top seven in Hollywood, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Eisner, Shirley Lansing, etc., including himself, are all from the bottom of Hollywood I climbed up step by step.
It is not uncommon for laymen to direct experts, just like Paramount, which had a great reputation ten years ago, because Martin Davis, an lay shareholder, frequently intervened in the company's management. This led to the rapid decline of the company, which was eventually acquired by Viacom.
"Okay," Bill Michanik shrugged slightly. Although he was very resistant in his heart, he didn't want to find a second job so soon. Since this project was decided by Sony headquarters, even if it failed, he didn't have to. Too much responsibility, if successful. That is naturally better: "Howard, since this is the case, where do you plan to start?"
Although Bill Michanik made compromises on the surface, Howard Stringer could still feel the obvious negative attitude in him. After thinking about it, he said, "Well, Bill, I will be in charge of this project myself, and the production will be handed over to Samsung Pictures. You can continue to manage the company according to your own ideas. Just cooperate when necessary."
Bill Michanik felt from the bottom of his heart that Sony's executives and Howard Stringer were obviously stunned by the box office success of "Jurassic Park 2", thinking that a movie with a box office of one billion could be produced casually.
He had been thinking about how to get rid of this risky project completely, so that if the project succeeds in the future, the improvement of the company's overall strength will also be of great benefit to his management of the company. If it fails, even if he faces the risk of losing his job, he is looking for In his next job, at least he won't have to carry this big stain on his back.
"Of course no problem. It would be great if you could do it yourself," Bill Michanik nodded without hesitation and said with a smile.
Howard Stringer was very satisfied when he saw that Bill Michanik no longer resisted the plan, but also readily delegated authority. At the same time, he also felt that the tone of his words just now was a bit heavy. He is indeed not a person with a tough personality. What he said just now was actually repeatedly explained in private by Nobuyuki Idei. The Sony board of directors really does not want to see another uncontrolled manager in Columbia.
It's just that neither he nor Sony executives realized that trusting the horse's rein may cause the horse to lose control, but the rein is too tight, and the result is often strangled to death.
"So, Bill, who do you think is the most suitable person in Hollywood to direct this film?" Howard Stringer asked gently with the intention of easing the atmosphere.
"I think the first thing we should solve is the problem of special effects." Although he felt Howard Stringer's thoughts, Bill Michanik still made up his mind not to get involved in this matter, so he would not take the initiative to recommend The candidate for the director only said: "If you want to bring Godzilla to the big screen with cg technology, the only way Hollywood can undertake the special effects of this project is in the digital field, but after what happened at the beginning of the year, our relationship with Firefly is not the same now. Not too good, although Firefly said that the digital domain is operated independently, but no one can guarantee that Firefly will deliberately set up obstacles for us."
"Isn't the special effects of Universal's "The Mummy" also done in the digital field?" Howard Stringer thought for a while and said, "The relationship between Michael Eisner and Eric Williams is comparable to that of fireflies. Much like Columbia."
"I think this is mainly the reason why the heroine Nicole Kidman is reconciled," Bill Mitnick said: "She is Eric Williams' woman, and she is from the first part of "The Mummy" To a large extent, it should be regarded as the price Universal paid for the success of the "Mummy" series."
"If "Godzilla" can succeed, we can't afford the price," Howard Stringer said after pondering for a moment, "So, do you think we can adopt Universal's same strategy?"
Bill Michanik shook his head and said: "I don't think so. In the "Fair Game" released by Warner at the end of May, the heroine Claudia Schiffer is also Eric Williams' woman, but this movie An action movie costing $50 million to produce, the box office in the first week was less than $10 million. Last weekend, under the impact of "Jurassic Park 2", the box office dropped by 57% in three days, and only $3 million. There are also evaluation agencies predicting that the box office of the film will reach 30 million, but now it seems that it can reach 25 million US dollars."
"I also heard about this at a business reception a few days ago," Howard Stringer said: "It is said that during the preparation of the film, Eric Williams predicted that the project would fail, Joe. Silver made a lot of changes to the project in an attempt to save it, but unfortunately it didn't work, and I haven't heard about the heroine."
Bill Michanik thought to himself that people would not talk about these gossips at regular business receptions, but they paid a little more attention to Hollywood. These things have never been a secret: "In short, Howard, we must first solve the special effects. Secondly, for such a big project, it is also very important to find a reliable director, and it is best for this director to have directed a successful special effects blockbuster.”
Although he didn't intend to get involved, Bill Michanik tried his best to guide Howard Stringer in the right direction.
Howard Stringer also almost immediately thought of the recent "Jurassic Park 2": "Then, maybe we can try to get in touch with Joe Johnston."
"If it can be successful, it would be great," Bill Michanik nodded in agreement, but he didn't expect much from it. Since Firefly asked Joe Johnston to take over "Jurassic Park", he would definitely cooperate with him. Signing a strict option contract, unless someone is willing to pay a huge liquidated damages for him, or Firefly will show mercy and take the initiative to release him, otherwise, the possibility of Joe Johnston making films for other film companies is extremely low.
[515 is coming soon, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and on May 15th, the red envelope rain can give back to readers and promote works. One piece is also love, it must be better!](To be continued.)
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