The king of ghost horse comedy

Chapter 195 Establishing Industrial Light & Magic
Xu Guanwu doesn't know much about 20th Century Fox, but he knows that it is in a difficult business situation. In the future, it will use "Star Wars" to get out of the crisis of bankruptcy. In the end, it will be acquired by media tycoon Murdoch in the 80s, and then by the legendary Hollywood manager. Operated by Barry Diller.

But now that "Star Wars" has been acquired by Xu Guanwu, it will be difficult for Hollywood to find any series of movies in the future that will be as popular as "Star Wars" and become a part of American culture.

It's hard to imagine how 20th Century Fox will develop without "Star Wars", maybe lingering for a year or two and then filing for bankruptcy protection in court, or miraculously meeting a talented director and making another blockbuster blockbuster A salted fish turned over.

However, Xu Guanwu knows that the latter ending is purely a fantasy. There are indeed production companies in Hollywood. With the example of a blockbuster movie, salted fish turned around, but that is only for small film companies.

And for Hollywood's Big Eight, one or two blockbusters won't change the situation.On the contrary, one or two blockbuster films that lose money can plunge the company into the quagmire of bankruptcy.

Wu Yusen spent 2000 million US dollars on the filming of "Wind Talker", but in the end he only got back more than 3000 million, which directly caused the proprietor MGM to declare bankruptcy.

The film industry itself is a very challenging industry. Tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars in investment may not even make a fraction of it back in the end.Not everyone, like Xu Guanwu, possesses the ability to predict whether a movie will be a hit or not in advance.

Therefore, without the box office killer of "Star Wars", 20th Century Fox will only have a dead end in the future.

So after guessing the opponent's hole card, Xu Guanwu felt confident. He took a long breath and said to Darryl with a smile, "I am very interested in your company. I wonder if I can be allowed to become the director of your company." What about a member of the bureau?"

When Darryl Zanyuk heard it, although his face showed a surprised and contemplative expression, his heart was already full of joy, "After all, ginger is old and spicy, you little fox is far worse than me, after all, you still can't eat it. Jiner, I took the initiative to throw it into my bowl."

"Well...I want to discuss it with the shareholders." Although Darryl Zanyuk wanted to drag Xu Guanwu into the board of directors right now, he still wanted to be reserved on the surface.

Xu Guanwu was not surprised by Daryl's answer, nodded and smiled, "That's what it should be, I don't know when, you can give me a clear answer."

"The company will hold a regular board meeting tomorrow morning, and we will have a clear answer in the afternoon." Darryl said with a smile. In fact, he planned to hold an emergency board meeting this afternoon, and recruit Xu Guanwu, a big winner, into the company tomorrow.

"Very well, that's the decision." Xu Guanwu said with a smile, "Then I'll wait for your good news."

Darryl Zanyuk also smiled complacently, like a fox who just stole a chick.

……

After leaving 20th Century Fox, Xu Guanwu came to CAA again.

Since Xu Guanwu's capital injection, CAA company has also changed its guns. It moved from that cramped garage into a bright and bright office building, which looks much more grand, with the feeling of a big company.

In the past two months, they have followed the advice given by Xu Guanwu and are rapidly expanding their business.

In the 70s, the film industry was impacted by the emerging TV industry. The number of movie viewers dropped rapidly, the box office of movies dropped sharply, Hollywood was in depression, and several of the eight major film companies were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Therefore, there are a large number of unsatisfactory actors, directors, screenwriters, and producers in Hollywood. They have no job, no future, and no one cares about them.

CAA just took the opportunity to make a big sweep and signed nearly a hundred potential talents in one go.

Xu Guanwu didn't expect these five young people to be so hard-working. After only two months of operation, the company has grown from a penniless company to a medium-sized agency in Hollywood. He couldn't help being very surprised.

Of course, the reason why this company can develop so fast is not only due to the fiery energy of these five young people, but also depends on Xu Guanwu's capital injection of 100 million US dollars, so that they have the capital to do something special.

Although these down-and-out filmmakers are sold at high prices, they can't sign without a certain amount of funds.

In the previous life, in the early days of CAA, it was hard work to create a world in Hollywood.At the beginning, all five of them had not received a salary for several years, and even spending a hundred dollars required careful consideration.

Now, thanks to Xu Guanwu's capital injection, they have embarked on the fast track of rapid expansion ahead of schedule, saying goodbye to the miserable life before.

After Xu Guanwu had a general understanding of the company's operations, he did not intervene in other operations of the company, which relieved the five young people.

Although Xu Guanwu promised not to interfere with the operation of the company when it was not necessary.But he is still the largest shareholder. If he forcibly intervenes in the management of the company, these five young people will have nothing to do.

Looking at it now, Xu Guanwu really kept his word, which finally put a stone in the hearts of these five young people.

……

After leaving the CAA company, Xu Guanwu visited Richard Zaniuk and David Brown again.The two of them are the producers of "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and they are responsible for the interests of Xu Guanwu, an investor.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the company of the two, Xu Guanwu found that George Lucas was also there, and he couldn't help being overjoyed.

"Stanley, long time no see, I miss you so much." Richard hugged Xu Guanwu happily.

"Richard, don't hug him so tightly, I can't breathe." The foreigner has a strong body odor, and in order to cover it up, he often wears strong perfume.

Richard did not know what was on his body, and his nose was choked, so that Xu Guanwu hardly dared to breathe. He quickly broke free from his embrace, and then he couldn't help but sneezed twice.

"George, why are you here today? Did the filming go well?" Xu Guanwu asked George Lucas with a smile.

Xu Guanwu also attaches great importance to the blockbuster "Star Wars", and will never allow it to have any accidents.

"Except for some problems, sir." George Lucas said, startling Xu Guanwu.

"What's the problem, is it serious?" He asked anxiously.

"It's like this. My "Star Wars" is a sci-fi movie and needs a lot of special effects to support it, but I have searched for many companies in Hollywood, and none of them can meet my needs." George Lucas said with a frown .

Without sufficient technical support, the inability to fully present the images in one's own mind to the audience is probably the most distressing thing for every director.

"Can no company do it?" Xu Guanwu pondered for a while, and thought that Lucas also encountered this problem in his previous life, and then he founded Industrial Light and Magic Company in a fit of anger, which was responsible for producing special effects for "Star Wars". Later, with the great sales of "Star Wars", it became one of the most famous special effects companies in Hollywood.

Xu Guanwu knows that special effects will become the mainstream selling point of movies in the future, and those American blockbusters that sell well all cannot do without the support of special effects, such as "Jurassic Park", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Titanic", "Terminator", "Avatar" etc.It can be said that Industrial Light and Magic will be an inexhaustible gold mine in the future.

"Since there is no company that can meet our needs, it's very simple. If we start a special effects company ourselves, it will be over." Xu Guanwu said with a smile.

"Found a special effects company?" The three present were all dumbfounded when they heard this.

Hollywood now does not have a special effects company, and apart from sci-fi themes, Hollywood movies rarely use special effects.And sci-fi themes are not blockbusters. Even the well-known "2001: A Space Odyssey" has a box office of only tens of millions of dollars, so Hollywood studios don't pay much attention to the production of special effects.

Richard, David and George did not expect that Xu Guanwu would be so proud to start his own special effects company for a "Star Wars".Due to their limited knowledge, they still can't see the development prospects of special effects in movies, so they naturally don't understand Xu Guanwu's intentions.

"Are you really planning to start a special effects company?" Richard asked in surprise. After being stunned for 5 minutes, he woke up, but still felt a little unbelievable.

"Stanley, you have to think carefully before making a decision. Making movie special effects is a very expensive thing. Even if you invest millions of dollars in it, you may not get any results from the research." David Brown also persuaded.

Only George Lucas looked at Xu Guanwu with piercing eyes, and his eyes shot out like fire.Although he has discovered the importance of film special effects, and foresees that in the near future, film special effects will become popular and become one of the mainstreams of film development.

But I didn't expect that Xu Guanwu could see this layer. Lucas and Xu Guanwu felt like they were in the same boat.

"Sir, are you really willing to invest in the establishment of a special effects company?" Lucas asked excitedly.

"Yes, George, you are the director of "Star Wars". This movie has been conceived in your mind for a long time, and every picture is clearly presented in your mind, so you know exactly what the movie needs. Special effects." Xu Guanwu said slowly, "Since this is the case, are you willing to join me in presenting the movie in your mind to the audience in its entirety?"

"Of course I would." Lucas said emotionally, and what Xu Guanwu said just now spoke to his heart.

"In this case, let's work together." Xu Guanwu said with a smile, "I'm in charge of paying the money, you are in charge of the people, I will hold [-]% of the shares, and you will hold [-]% of the shares. The company name is Industrial Light & Magic. ?”

George Lucas didn't expect that Xu Guanwu even thought of the name of the company in a short while, and the name sounded so impressive, it was too suitable for his taste, "Sir, let's do it."

"Very good!" Xu Guanwu nodded, full of pride. He acquired Industrial Light & Magic, the No. [-] special effects company in Hollywood. In the future, not only will he be able to shoot Hollywood blockbusters, but even Hong Kong movies can be changed from one shot to the next.

(End of this chapter)