Made in Hollywood

"Your mother called me."

On Monday morning, Scarlett Johansson was sent to the school gate, and Duke told her, "She will come to pick you up after school today. Don't run around, understand?"

After getting out of the car, the little girl staggered towards the school. Duke started the car to leave until he saw her enter the school gate. When he arrived at the Duke’s studio, the agent Nancy Josephson was already waiting in the office. .

In the recent period of time, Nancy’s main energy has been focused on the project negotiation of "Saving Private Ryan", frequent contact with the senior executives of several major Hollywood companies, and the negotiations have gradually had preliminary results.

"Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have clear investment intentions."

Sitting opposite Duke, Nancy Josephson briefly said about the current situation, "Because of the successful cooperation of "Independence Day", the two companies also intend to continue to cooperate. They have the most confidence in you. Now the only one The trouble is that Walt Disney also wants to join it, and like Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, after receiving our script, the project has been pushed to the preliminary review stage."

"What about the attitude of Warner and Fox?" Duke asked.

"The income that "Independence Day" can bring is too high." Nancy Joseph, and Ferson showed a wry smile of joy, "Warner Bros and Twentieth Century Fox don't want to be on "Saving Private Ryan" Easily share benefits with others."

"When will they pass the review?"

This is what Duke is most concerned about. "I want to know the approximate time of the project!"

"It will be October at the earliest." Nancy Josephson was also a little helpless. "It's been so long, and you must know that every investment of Duke, a Hollywood studio is not a simple matter."

Duke can only nod his head. If it is really like the rumors, a Hollywood CEO can decide to invest tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of film projects in a few words, he will not be so troublesome and waiting every time.

Unfortunately, any commercial company has a mature operating system and power constraints, and each investment is both risky and prudent.

"Also, Duke." Nancy Josephson continued. "Disney does not want to give up. Their people are still communicating and negotiating with Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox. Michael Eisner personally called me yesterday to ask about your attitude towards Disney's investment."

"What do you think of Disney?" she asked.

"The support of one more major film company is only good for our film."

Although Michael Eisner has a bad reputation as a dictatorship, it has nothing to do with Duke. "As long as Disney does not interfere with the production of the film too much, I personally welcome it. If they support the director-sharing agreement I proposed, then I will raise my hands. welcome."

now. It is basically a matter of course for Duke to get the top director’s treatment and the director power including the final editing rights. The specific terms Nancy Josephson are still waiting for the initial review of the project and the joint system. The film side talks in detail.

Of course, according to Nancy Josephson, if Duke personally expressed his support for Disney to join the investment ranks, then the other party would be regarded as owing him a small favor. If it will be useful to Disney in the future. The request is not excessive, and Michael Eisner's reputation will not refuse.

Hollywood is both competitive and cooperative. Some relationships are quite delicate to deal with, and the premise of all this is that Duke, like Spielberg, already has the capital to talk to major companies.

The difference between the new directors and the directors with top box office results in Hollywood is so big that even the gap cannot be described.

The two discussed a few words about "Saving Private Ryan" and the investors. The topic gradually shifted to other aspects.

"The news I just got, Duke."

Nancy Josephson mentioned icm's competitors, "Michael Ovitz has left CAA and will enter Walt Disney as CEO from next month."

"Who is Caa taking over?" Duke immediately became interested.

"Your old acquaintance. Martin Bob, one of the founders of caa, defeated Inno Martin and became the new master of caa."

Hearing Nancy's words, Duke slowly nodded. The opponent is one of the giants of Caa. In Caa, regardless of seniority or power, it is second only to Michael Ovitz. It is not surprising to win this internal competition.

The completion of the handover of the controller of caa means the end of internal competition. This giant in the entertainment agency industry, as long as it is driven by its inherent model, will inevitably continue to move forward, and even more and more Hollywood stars and directors can be gathered. many.

If I remember correctly, the internal friction will be transferred to Walt Disney. Although I don’t know the time when Michael Ovitz took office and left office, the brokerage giant once described as the most powerful figure in Hollywood by the media. , Will soon withdraw from the historical stage of Hollywood, and gradually be forgotten.

Facts have also proved that, compared with giants of film media companies like Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz is much worse in terms of ability and other aspects.

Just as Duke and Nancy Josephson were discussing the next film project, at the CAA headquarters in Century City, many people walked into a conference room to prepare for the major package project of CAA.

"Mel, long time no see."

Sean Connery, in a suit and leather shoes, took the initiative to walk over and hug Mel Gibson, "Thank you for the invitation."

"There is absolutely no person in Hollywood who is more suitable to play the role of the Scottish nobility than you."

A little distance, Mel Gibson smiled heartily, "This film tells a story about Scottish independence. How could I forget those who have been pursuing Scottish independence."

Hollywood directors and stars often have their own political factions and political demands. This has been the case many years ago, and many films packaged under politics often achieve unexpected results and effects.

The last person who walked into the meeting room was Shirley Lansing, CEO of Paramount Pictures, the investor. From this we can also see that Paramount Pictures attaches great importance to this packaged project.

After a brief greeting from the parties, the preparatory meeting officially kicked off.

"The actors currently identified are me and Sean."

As the director and male protagonist, Mel Gibson quickly brought the meeting to the topic, “As for the heroine, I plan to invite French actress Sophie Marceau. The other party meets the role setting and has a certain international reputation. Entering Hollywood, the pay will not be high."

There is no objection to this suggestion. As the first producer of the project, Mel Gibson obviously has considerable right to speak. He continued, “The production cost budget of the film is $55 million, and the title will be officially named “The Brave "Heart", the main location will be in Ireland, and the Irish military agrees to provide us with necessary help."

He looked at Shirley Lansing, "Has Paramount set the release date?"

"We will take your suggestion." Shirley Lansing said directly, "The North American release time of the film will be on the weekend before Memorial Day."

This is another important time outside the Independence Day holiday in the summer vacation. The time is the last Monday in May each year. It is also a statutory holiday. It is connected with the two days of the weekend to form a three-day short holiday. It can be said to be a business trip. Make a very interesting release schedule.

"Shirley, caa will cooperate with Paramount here."

This is the first packaging project led by CAA. Martin Bob naturally wants to succeed. "I think that from the beginning of the film’s formal preparations, it is necessary to invest resources in a series of publicity, so that the market can get the memorial of the dead next year as soon as possible. There is news of such a big production release on Japan."

"Paramount has developed a comprehensive publicity plan."

Although Paramount Pictures' "Forrest Gump" is a huge hit, it is a project left over from the predecessor. Shirley Lansing, who succeeds as CEO, also needs a big-selling production to stabilize her position. "Actually Starting from next week, the pre-publicity plan for this film will be launched, and Viacom will use media resources including cbs."

The investment of more than 50 million US dollars can be classified into the category of large-scale production in this era. With the appeal of Mel Gibson, as long as the publicity is in place, it is not difficult to attract the attention of fans.

"Are there any strong competition films released in the same period?" Mel Gibson asked suddenly.

"Not yet..."

Martin Bob turned over the information in front of him and said, "Judging from the currently released films, there is no major production at the same time."

"Mel, based on your achievements in recent years."

Another agent of caa said with a smile, "With the full support of caa and Paramount Pictures, as long as we announce that the film will be released on Memorial Day, even if other films have the same schedule, I believe they will take the initiative. Make adjustments."

Mel Gibson's character was already rebellious, and he nodded in agreement at this time. The movies he starred in in recent years have been selling well, and he really deserves such praise.

When the new one came on Monday, caa and Paramount Pictures jointly held a press conference to officially announce the new project "Brave Heart", a new collaboration between the two parties, and also announced the release date of the film, although not much was revealed. The content of the film, but Mel Gibson's self-directed and self-acted still caused a certain sensation.

Duke did not notice this. Recently, Sophia Coppola, Zach Schneider, John Schwarzman and others have ended their vacations. He reconvened his team and worked out the sketches and scripts of the shots. At the same time, he is also waiting for the results of the negotiations between Nancy Josephson and the film company.

Of course, Duke must also pay attention to the real-time box office of "Independence Day". After all, this is directly related to his actual income, especially the overseas box office. If the expected effect can be achieved, the revenue will directly exceed the North American box office. (To be continued...)

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