hollywood melon man

Chapter 20 The first encounter with Ma Daimeng
  In Hollywood, people without capital must abide by the rules.

Gilbert Jr. was the one with no capital, and the Universal Pictures distribution plan was quickly in his hands.

The distribution plan was conservative, much to Gilbert Jr.'s dissatisfaction.

He really wanted the film to open in 1,000 or even 3,000 theaters, but he also knew that this was fanciful.

Today, it costs about US$35 to develop a copy of 600mm film, which would cost US$ million based on screens.

The production cost of "Shark Tank" was US$3.5 million. With the market prospects still unclear, Universal Pictures must adopt a conservative distribution strategy.

Observe the market response, the audience's word-of-mouth, and the box office performance of individual theaters through screenings.

If it does well, expand the screening.

With Universal Pictures' distribution capabilities, it is not a problem to develop thousands of copies in a short time and ship them to theaters across North America.

If the performance is not good, then stop the loss in time and push "Shark Beach" to the video tape and copyright market.

This is the major Hollywood company that controls distribution capabilities. In Hollywood, only a film company with distribution capabilities can be called a major company, and it is also one of the prerequisites for becoming a giant.

Until mid-September, there were still very few advertisements and news about "Shark Beach" in the media, which made little Gilbert a little nervous and prone to insomnia.

Verona Ryder came to see him several times, and the opportunity to practice yoga with Verona Ryder allowed little Gilbert to release some stress.

Little Gilbert felt that he had fallen into a tangled trap. Once he had written the script, he was afraid that no one would invest in it, and after he had invested, he was afraid that the film company would not release it.

After it is released, I worry about whether the movie will be successful, whether the audience will like it, and what the media reputation will be.

In short, it is a source of tension and stress before everything is settled.

Perhaps knowing that little Gilbert was nervous, Spielberg specifically asked his assistant Jonathan to call him and invite little Gilbert to a banquet.

Little Gilbert didn't want to go at first, but then he thought about it, such a banquet has a more social function. You can get to know more Hollywood practitioners here, which is a good opportunity to expand your network.

So little Gilbert deliberately took out the suit he hadn't worn for a long time and went to a clothing store to tidy it up before wearing it.

This suit was bought for him by his aunt Meryl Clay. It costs more than a thousand dollars a suit. It has an industrial and cheap feel. It looks like one of those down-and-out stockbrokers walking on Wall Street.

But there is no way, this is already his best set of clothes.

You can't just wear a T-shirt and jeans, right? This will be considered impolite and disrespectful by the host.

In line with the principle that as long as I don't feel inferior, it's not me who feels inferior. Little Gilbert put it on confidently.

He also gave himself a hairstyle, a slicked-back hairstyle, a bit like the style of DiCaprio in "The Aviator".

Of course, DiCaprio is only sixteen years old now and has just finished filming the seventh season of the TV series "Growing Pains."

After cleaning up, little Gilbert took a taxi and headed to the banquet.

The banquet was held at the famous Hilton Hotel, where celebrities and superstars from Los Angeles gathered, and media reporters took pictures with their cameras.

However, because it was a private banquet, the media reporters were not able to enter the banquet hall and could only take pictures outside.

When little Gilbert arrived, a large group of reporters gathered outside. A Bentley drove up and parked in front of the hotel. As people got out, the reporters went crazy.

"It's Julia Roberts..."

"God, she is so beautiful..."

"Damn, hurry up and take pictures..."

The reporters swarmed forward, no one paying attention to little Gilbert.

At this time, a voice sounded in little Gilbert's ear: "I'm so envious, this is a Hollywood superstar with unlimited fame."

When little Gilbert turned around, he saw the man standing next to him and recognized who he was at a glance.

For those who pay attention to Hollywood movies and movie stars, many people are familiar with this person, and his movies are also loved by many Chinese movie fans.

"Hello, my name is Matt Damon. I just arrived in Los Angeles not long ago." The visitor extended his hand and said hello. "Hello," Gilbert Jr. shook hands with Matt Damon: "My name is Gilbert Landrini Jr."

The two greeted each other, and Matt Damon asked: "Are you also an actor? What movies have you acted in? Or a TV series?"

"No," little Gilbert shook his head and said, "I am the director."

"Director?" Matt Damon looked at little Gilbert in surprise: "You look about the same age as me. Are you going to be a director?"

In my impression, the directors are all in their thirties, and it is rare to see someone as young as Little Gilbert.

"As you can see, I am indeed a director, but my first film has not yet been released." Gilbert Jr.

"Oh!" Matt Damon suddenly realized that the executive director and assistant director was also a director.

"Let's go in!" Little Gilbert took Matt Damon with him, planning to enter the banquet hall.

Matt Damon caught up and walked side by side with little Gilbert: "I tried just now, but I was not allowed in without an invitation. Is there any way you can get in?"

"Can't we just go in and be done? What else can we do?" Little Gilbert looked at Matt Damon strangely and continued walking.

"But," Matt Damon scratched his head and said, "We don't have an invitation!"

"You don't have to worry about this, just follow me." Little Gilbert's confident look made Matt Damon curious.

So he followed little Gilbert to see how little Gilbert got in.

As a result, when he arrived at the door, Matt Damon saw little Gilbert greeting someone inside: "Hi, Jonathan."

The man named Jonathan came out, looked at little Gilbert and said, "Don't you have any better formal clothes?"

Little Gilbert smiled sheepishly: "This is my most expensive piece of clothing."

"Forget it, let's go in! Who is this?" Jonathan noticed Matt Damon next to him.

Little Gilbert introduced: "My friend, Matt Damon."

"Friends, let's go in together." With that said, Jonathan led the two of them into the banquet hall.

"Mr. Spielberg is over there. You go over and say hello. I'm still busy greeting the guests." Jonathan warned.

"Okay, you're busy, I can do it myself." Little Gilbert made it clear.

After Jonathan left, Matt Damon asked little Gilbert in surprise: "Who is he?"

"Director Spielberg's assistant." Little Gilbert replied.

"Do you know Director Spielberg?" Matt Damon was even more surprised.

"It's nothing. I told you a long time ago that I am a director, and Director Spielberg was the producer of the first film I directed." Little Gilbert answered matter-of-factly, so ordinary.

But these words shocked Matt Damon, who had just arrived in Los Angeles.

That's Spielberg. It can be said that as long as you can be noticed by Spielberg, you can immediately gain a foothold in Hollywood.

Although he has only known Little Gilbert for a short time, Matt Damon feels like he has gotten to know Little Gilbert again.

This young director, who is about the same age as himself, seems to be a very secretive person.

At this moment, even the cheap suit worn by little Gilbert has become a representative of low-key luxury in the eyes of Matt Damon.

Look at this person, even though he has a deep relationship with the big director, he is still like me, wearing a cheap suit to attend such a high-end banquet.

Is this the pattern of upper class society? Matt Damon feels enlightened.

　It's too cold, I don't want to write...

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)