Entertainment tycoon who started out as a director

Chapter 146 Picking up soft persimmons and pinching

Sony Columbia is pleased with the outcome of "The Intouchables."

Because I still hope to surpass "Green Book".

Then there are basically only two release dates to try.

A summer season, around Christmas time.

It is difficult to support a blockbuster movie in other schedules.

This is a natural flaw.

Unless you encounter some unreasonable movies, but those kinds of movies are also rare.

Before its release, the producers and distributors did not expect it to be a hit.

Anyone who pursues a box office of over [-] million US dollars will choose to avoid unpopular schedules.

In order to recover the funds as soon as possible, and because Gu Ming was not planning to use this film to compete for Oscars, Gu Ming actually did not have to choose the "summer film".

“I also think the summer season is better!”

Anthony smiled and nodded, "With the quality of this film and Will Smith's appeal, the box office will exceed the cost line by US$500 million, and your reputation will be even higher by then. We can take advantage of the situation and launch the "Hero"."

“It’s good for you and good for us at Sony Colombia!”

"Gu, do you have any ideas about when it will be released?"

"I have to watch the summer movies."

"I'm all ready." Anthony took out a piece of paper, "This is the information I requested from the theater chain. That's basically it. Of course, I don't rule out that other movies will suddenly be involved."

"You look first."

"I'll see if we can come to an agreement."

"Um..." Gu Ming took the piece of paper and read it.

At a casual glance, you can see many familiar words.

Each one is really suffocating.

May 5, "X-Men 2."

On May 5, the siblings’ "The Matrix 7 Reloaded" will be released.

They are all sequels to box-office hit movies. If you rush forward, isn’t that looking for death?It can't be said that seeking death would be a lose-lose situation and not worth it.

On May 5rd, Jim Carrey's "The Impostor", his own work also has a comedy style, will it compete with Jim Carrey in North America?Try it and it will pass.

On May 5th, Pixar Animation’s “Finding Nemo” will be released. It’s better to stay away from this kind of movie.

June 6, "Fast and Furious 2."

June 6, "The Incredible Hulk."

June 6, "Charlie's Angels 27".

July 7, "Terminator 2."

July 7, "Pirates of the Caribbean."

On July 7th, it was also Will Smith's "Bad Boys 18".

At first glance, I can only say that it is indeed a summer release. It is packed with blockbusters. It feels like wherever it is inserted, it has to collide with some stronger movies.

But Gu Ming has a pair of eyes that are good at discovery.

At a glance, I found a weak persimmon in this blockbuster schedule!

That’s right, it’s you!

"The Incredible Hulk" directed by Li Eucalyptus.

Gu Ming pointed at these words, "Let's put it a week ago, Friday, June 6th."

"Si..." Anthony took a breath, "This schedule is not a good choice!"

"'Finding Nemo' has been released for two weeks, so don't be afraid. The peak period at the box office has passed, but it will be there in a week!" Anthony also pointed to "The Incredible Hulk."

"The production cost is 1.37 million, and the publicity cost is also the same number."

"This is a proper super-A-level production. Didn't you notice that many blockbusters are not next to it? This is deliberately avoiding this monster."

"If we release it on June 6th, it is very likely that we will only be able to make a profit at the box office for a week, and it will be directly strangled by "The Incredible Hulk" the next weekend."

"The risk is too great."

"Gu, I think we should change the date."

"So which time do you think the release time is not risky?" Gu Ming shrugged, "Which Friday has no competitors? There is no film destined to be a box office hit in the week before and the week after?"

In comparison, June 6th is the safest date.

Although the North American box office of "The Incredible Hulk" is 1.3 million, compared with its huge production costs and publicity expenses, it is a complete failure.

The reputation is also very bad.

As long as it survives the first weekend of its release, there will be a period of time when there are no competitors, and it will take another hit at the box office.

Stepping on the corpse of "The Incredible Hulk" created the box office of "The Intouchables".

As for Li Yu, who is also a Chinese director, I can only say one thing: Who makes this schedule have too many strong opponents?You are the best choice.

The only blame is that you didn't make this blockbuster enough to attract the audience.

"Believe me, the box office of this movie will not be high."

"Why do you say that?" Anthony frowned, "'Spider-Man' proved that superhero movies are extremely marketable."

"Let me make some judgments."

Gu Ming stretched out three fingers. "What are the three most famous superheroes in the world? Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. In terms of popularity, there is no way the Hulk can compare with Spider-Man."

"As for the release time, "Spider-Man" was released in May 02. The American people have not yet recovered from the pain. They urgently need a hero to save and save their souls. The movie "Spider-Man" is It just happened, and now, this period of pain has actually passed.”

"The last reason and the most important reason is the director!"

"Oh, no, no, no. I don't agree with this statement." Anthony interrupted Gu Ming.

"Sam Raimi, the director of 'Spider-Man', was a horror film director before he directed 'Spider-Man'."

"And Lee Eucalyptus has just won the highest-grossing foreign language film in North American history with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", as well as the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and several minor awards, awards, and box office, all of which have achieved very high results. achievements.”

"That's the problem!" Gu Ming waved his hand and forcefully took over the topic.

“Horror film directors know how to please an audience.”

"And Li Yu is an excellent director in literary and artistic films. He will have his own persistence. If he shoots like other super blockbusters, he will think it is too vulgar. How did his previous commercial films fail? He has too many ideas. It’s not suitable for commercial films at all.”

"Also, Anthony, let me ask you, does Sam Raimi have the final say in "Spider-Man"? Or does Sony have the final say?"

"Of course we have to listen to the producer." Anthony said matter-of-factly, "How could he be allowed to mess around with such a huge investment? Can he bear that responsibility? He is not Spielberg."

"Gu! Li Yu is not Spielberg either."

"But he has just achieved great success," Gu Ming emphasized. "He must have a say in the crew."

"I'll help you analyze it again."

"If I were him, how would I make this superhero movie to show my humanity?"

"I won't take pictures to save people and save the world."

"But save yourself."

"How can the Hulk, who is bound by his family, rejected by culture, and turned into a monster, transcend himself and his own dilemma?"

"Save yourself, find yourself."

"Such a film has never been attempted by a major production, but I think that if the audience goes in expecting to see how the Hulk kills everyone, but then sees the Hulk constantly struggling, the evaluation will not be high."

"This is a popcorn blockbuster, not an art film!"

"If it doesn't meet the audience's taste, it can only fail at the box office, no matter how much he invests."

After the long speech, Anthony fell silent.

But he was not convinced by Gu Ming so easily.

After all, it is a super-large production launched by Universal.

He had to be cautious.

After being silent for more than a minute, he said solemnly, "I can't be the master of this. We need to discuss it with the company's senior management. Give me a few days and I will give you an answer."

In the past few days, Anthony did not immediately tell the company's senior management about this matter.

Instead, he fully mobilized his contacts to explore the crew of "The Incredible Hulk".

Things that are too accurate cannot be found out, and no one is willing to tell the inside story at the risk of ruining their reputation and facing hostility from their peers.

But it is very simple to find out whether Li Yu has any say in the crew, whether the Hulk is struggling, and how to save himself.

Soon, the news was discovered.

Have!
Li Yu felt that this was the only way to capture the human side of the Hulk.

To be honest, there aren't many superhero movies at the moment, and no one can guarantee that a movie like this won't hit the box office.

But Anthony thought of Gu Ming's words.

Gu Ming actually got everything right.

So is he right in saying that "The Incredible Hulk" will fail at the box office?

I took out the film schedules for those months and looked at them again.

It is true that there are strong enemies everywhere, and it is very difficult to avoid them.

At least there is still a week before "The Incredible Hulk" is released, so I can work hard for a while.

Anthony took these out and held a meeting with the senior management.

Because some of Gu Ming's assumptions about "The Incredible Hulk" were verified, and because the cooperation with Gu Ming has never failed, the senior management finally finalized the release of "The Intouchables" on June 6 with the approval of the majority. decision.

After getting the news from Anthony, Gu Ming was still very happy.

This schedule is definitely not bad. If it fails, it will be the movie's own problem.

If he succeeds, Li Yu will definitely understand what it means to fail again.

"The Incredible Hulk" may not do as well at the box office as its previous incarnation.

Li Yu should just stay away from such large-scale commercial productions.

Isn’t the same-sex theme that he is best at good at?

at this time.

Also in Los Angeles, Li Yu, who watched his "Hulk" again, felt inexplicably flustered.

This reminded him of something. Before the movie "Ride with the Devil" was released, he would feel inexplicably flustered after watching it.

"Could it be said that "The Incredible Hulk" will also suffer a disastrous failure?"

"This is a superhero blockbuster with an investment of hundreds of millions, and we plan to invest the same amount of publicity expenses."

"The shots I took were pretty good. There's no big problem, right? With such a huge publicity expense, will it fail?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

(End of this chapter)