Made in Hollywood

The relatively loose late work gave Duke some free time. He took advantage of the weekend to meet with a stockbroker recommended by his mother, obtained a lot of stock and financial market information from him, and hid in the apartment to study carefully. After a while, it was discovered that apart from the well-known companies such as General Electric, General Motors, and Mobil Oil, in terms of emerging IT stocks, only Microsoft and Apple have a clear impression.

Although the likes of Intel, for example, have been bombarded by advertisements and often deal with computers, Duke also knows that they are all giants, but they are not clear about their future direction, and there are Microsoft and Apple, why choose other?

The purpose of his investment is very simple, that is, to preserve and appreciate. Holding a large amount of cash is definitely the most stupid investment method.

Microsoft, which is now a hot stock in North America, Duke thought about it, decided to give up temporarily, and then set his sights on Apple.

Of course, Duke wouldn’t be so stupid that he bought a lot of Apple’s stocks. He found a research and consulting company and briefly investigated the situation of Apple and Steve Jobs, lest the situation is not as vaguely remembered. In the end, it went bankrupt with Apple.

Within a few days, the survey and consulting company responded with information sufficient for him to make some judgments. Apple is now in a quagmire. It is said that it is possible to bankruptcy and reorganization at any time, and the stock price is even worse. It is basically the kind of lack of attention .

And Steve Jobs is hiding in San Francisco to run his Pixar studio. The first animated feature film has already been more than half completed, telling the story of a group of toys...

Because there are not too many memories of North America outside the film, these are not enough for Duke to make clear judgments. But just like investing in movies, any investment comes with risks, and Apple is in a bad situation now. It is a good time to buy stocks at low prices.

With the eyes of a stockbroker looking like a fool, Duke's strong request made the three million dollars in his name become the corresponding Apple stock in just one week.

It's not that Duke doesn't want to invest more money, but that there is no spare money and part of the overseas share has not yet arrived. Just repaying the mother’s loan, which was seriously overdue, had to pay commissions from Nancy and others, as well as a sufficient amount of film copyright transfer money. In case Nancy may need to negotiate progress...

Aside from investing, Duke has always planned to buy a luxury house instead of renting an apartment for a long time, but it has not solved the funding problem.

Follow Duke's idea. The mansion to be bought must be relatively spacious. There must be enough cover-ups around to avoid being peeped directly from the outside by paparazzi. The Internet age is coming, and directors at that time will not hide behind the scenes like they are now. Even if there are far less attractive stars, they are also the target of many paparazzi .

Malibu or Santa Monica alone occupy a canyon or a cliff villa, which is Duke's favorite choice, but such a residence is worth tens of millions of dollars without thinking about it.

But these can't be anxious. The road always goes step by step, and now he is on the right path.

Post production continues. Duke is preparing for the release of "Independence Day", and the film that is the closest to being released on Independence Day with the highest investment is also preparing. This film is invested by Castle Rock Pictures and released by Columbia Pictures. After several discussions with the original author Stephen King, the film crew finally decided on the official title-"Shawshank's Redemption".

The film is scheduled to premiere on July 7 and will be released on July 8, a week away from the release time of Independence Day.

"Nowadays, summer popcorn movies are increasingly dependent on the first week's box office."

In the conference room of Columbia Pictures, the director of distribution, Jack Muskri, is explaining the situation of his competitors to the board of directors. "Judging from the advertisements that have been released, "Independence Day" must be a standard commercial masterpiece. People dare to underestimate Duke Rosenberg, his advertising clips and trailers are by no means the only essence of the film. Judging from the style of "Life and Death" and "Breathtaking Island", "Independence Day" will Full of scenes similar to commercials."

"Then why do we choose to release it close to Independence Day?"

The question was Peter Peterson, the independent director of Sony Columbia. He seemed puzzled, "Can't we choose other weekends in the summer?"

"We have no choice."

The company’s vice president Mitch Schulhoff stood up and motioned to the staff on the other side to turn on the projector. He pointed to the film name and the corresponding release date and said, “Summer vacation, even including August, every weekend All films with investment no less than "Shawshank's Redemption" were released. Originally, we could not find a weekend without strong competitors, but Paramount took the initiative to adjust the release date of "Forrest Gump". This weekend is not the same. A film of the size is released."

"One more thing." Jack Muskri added, "The style and themes of "Shawshank's Redemption" and "Independence Day" are completely different, and the audiences hardly overlap, even if "Independence Day" is better than "Independence Day". It's still hot, and it won't affect us too much."

"Before the files were finalized, we held a special screening by film critics."

The film was completed as early as the end of last year. Colombia is not only the distributor, but also part of the investment. They are also eager to recover the cost. "A total of 178 film critics and reporters rated the film, with an average of 9.8 points!"

After this sentence, everyone in the venue calmed down. These people understood that the film critic's rating does not necessarily represent market acceptance, but since Jack Muskri said it, it must not be the public relations rating, but the real data. The high score is really from the hands of film critics with eyes on the top of their heads? The highly praised "The Godfather" did not achieve such a high professional score, right?

"Roger Albert, Kenneth Turan, David Denby, and Todd McCarthy all scored 10 points for the film in the preview!"

Jack Muskri continued, "They promise to recommend this film with all their strength after it is released!"

Even if professional film critics can’t represent the market, Colombia’s senior executives also know that these film critics can stand at the top and have a considerable number of supporters. Their appeal cannot be underestimated. If they are willing to fully recommend, the prospects of the film It will definitely exceed Colombia's expectations.

"It's April soon,"

CEO David Yetnikoff, who sits at the top of the conference table, said, “Hold the theater screenings as soon as possible, and pay more attention to the news of Independence Day.”

Duke saw the name of "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Prison Redemption" that was the first to occupy this weekend's schedule after the shift period of "Forrest Gump". Although it is different from the memory, he based on the production The company guessed that it should be the masterpiece.

If the next week’s competitor was "Forrest Gump", Duke would definitely be worried, and even a little nervous, but after switching to this movie, he threw it directly behind his head. In the theater, "Shawshank's Redemption" "There is no qualification to compete with "Independence Day" at all!

However, Duke then thought of another aspect. With such a film for comparison in the same period, the professional reputation of "Independence Day" may have hit a new low.

Film critics can influence some fans. This is a fact that Duke cannot deny. A film with a strong commercial element like "Independence Day" will definitely not be liked by film critics.

Of course, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox can have public relations with film critics, but the subject matter of the film is determined. If you want film critics to speak well, it is necessary to devote more resources than before...

"Jeff..."

Sitting in the office of the Warner Building, Duke looked at Robinoff across from him, "I suggest not to invite film critics for the screening, but only invite cinema representatives, ordinary fans and the media that we can influence."

"Film critic?" Jeff Robinoff frowned slightly.

You know, before Hollywood movies are released, it has long been a practice to invite film critics to watch, and it is also a tacit understanding of the two related industries.

"Film critics will accept public relations." Duke thought for a while and said, "but the top batch is relatively fair."

He emphasized the tone of'justice', and it sounded like a mockery, "Jeff, you also know what the selling point of "Independence Day" is. If we want these people to applaud the film, we must pay more, but I think that instead of wasting too many resources on these vampires, it is better to increase advertising."

Duke is also talking about the basic situation. There are some films that are very in line with the appetite of film critics. Even if they pay a small price, they will wave the flag because it will not affect their image.

For a standard popular film like "Independence Day", if you want film critics who always show unique tastes and flaunt art to raise the flag, they will inevitably come up with more real money.

Especially the top group of film critics, they are relatively fair, and they often offer the hardest.

In Duke’s view, throwing millions of dollars to this group of vampires is not as good as advertising during prime time on the four major television networks. Although this may cause fierce reactions from film critics, those experiences have told him that these The reaction is not necessarily a bad thing.

"I will consider." Jeff Robinoff did not respond directly.

"Okay..." Duke stood up and prepared to leave. If it wasn't for the film's promotional effect that is related to the box office, which directly related to his income, he would not bother to say this.

"Duke, wait a minute."

Just as Duke was about to shake hands and leave, Jeff Robinoff took out an invitation card and handed it over, "April 4th is the anniversary of Warner’s founding. There is one at the Hilton Beverly Hills. Celebrate the party."

This is the most normal interpersonal relationship. Duke didn't mean to refuse, and then he said, "I will be there on time."

(For subscription! For collection! For recommendation tickets!) (To be continued.)