hunt hollywood

The seven major film companies are not ideal partners.

After reorganizing his thoughts, Simon looked at Janet who was still lying on the sofa, and said with a smile: "Get up, you don't need to make dinner, let's go eat together."

Now that the decision has been made, Simon no longer pins his hopes on the seven major film companies.

Mike Medova, president of Orion Pictures, has been very interested in this project since he saw the script and storyboard drawings of "Run Lola Run".Compared with the seven major film companies, Orion Pictures can also negotiate cooperation with Simon on a relatively equal position.

Both parties have a tendency to cooperate, so they hit it off at the subsequent dinner.After two days of intensive negotiations over the weekend, Simon quickly reached a distribution agreement with Orion Pictures.

Monday, October 2.

An announcement on the "Hollywood Reporter" quickly attracted the attention of many people.

"Orion Pictures has reached an agreement with Simon Westeros, and "Run Lola Run" will officially land in North American theaters on February 2."

Chapter 063 Contract Details

Arizona.

The small town of Coolidge south of Phoenix.

The time is July 2th.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Catherine Bigelow was standing in front of the hotel where the crew was staying, and saw a black Chevrolet SUV driving in a hurry from the end of the street. When the car stopped, she subconsciously took two steps forward.

Simon opened the door and got out of the car. After looking at Catherine who was wearing a close-fitting black sweater and jeans, he opened his arms and hugged the woman, saying, "You look more stylish in black."

Catherine glared at Simon with a slightly annoyed expression, but then said: "I heard the news on the "Hollywood Reporter" yesterday, is it really okay for you to come here like this?"

"Of course not. The things are basically done, and the next thing is to wait for the release. Moreover, I think I should also leave for a while. Some things are still too late."

Catherine nodded half-understanding, gestured behind her, and said, "I've already prepared the room for you. Also, have you had lunch yet?"

Simon shook his head and said with a smile: "Not yet, I was thinking of coming here quickly to treat you."

Catherine gave him another look, looked around, and pointed to the diagonally opposite side of the road: "Let's go there, there is a restaurant there."

The two walked through the wide asphalt road in the small town. Simon looked at the streets where there were almost no people. He remembered the endless Gobi Desert on both sides of the interstate highway when he came all the way, and said with emotion: "This place is a vacuum."

"There are about 6000 people in Coolidge City, which is already a lot," Catherine said as she walked beside Simon, and then said, "Didn't you originally plan to cooperate with Fox Pictures, why did you become Orion again?"

"We can't agree," Simon said in a helpless tone, "Orion is easier to communicate with."

Catherine nodded in understanding, and asked again: "What conditions did Orion give?"

When he came outside the restaurant, Simon helped the woman open the door and said, "For the time being, they only take away the theater distribution rights in North America, and other channels are given priority. Our share is 15%."

Catherine walked into the restaurant and was a little surprised when she heard Simon say this: "15%, it's pretty good."

Hollywood film companies with publicity and distribution channels are very strong.When distributing a film as an agent, they usually have to take more than 30% of the box office share of a film after spending on publicity, distribution and commissions.

On the other hand, due to factors such as attendance rate, non-mainstream art films generally receive low share from theater operators, and some films can only get back less than 30% of the box office from theaters.

Combining the two, Simon was able to win 15% of the box office share for a low-budget film like "Run Lola Run", which surprised Catherine a little.

The two sat down at the dining table, Simon ordered a lunch, and asked the waiter to bring a pot of coffee before explaining: "It's not as good as you think, this is conditional, the copying fee must be borne by us I did it myself. Moreover, I also signed a package contract with Orion as a screenwriter and director.”

In order to win the 15% sharing contract, Simon and Mike Medova spent a full day last Saturday, almost pushing one place behind the decimal point.

Even with the two additional conditions, it was quite a tug-of-war.

Mike Medova believes that since Simon is willing to bear the cost of copying, he should pay the cost first.Simon can't afford the money at all now, so it is naturally impossible to agree. In the end, Orion Pictures will pay in advance.

As for the package contract, Mike Medova was the first to take a fancy to "Reaper" and wanted to sign it for $50.

Among them, $30 is Simon's director's remuneration, and $20 is the script fee for "Death Comes".Of course, although he is not a member of the two major unions of directors and screenwriters, according to industry practice, Simon can still enjoy sharing terms similar to union members.

"Death Comes" has actually been picked up by Fox, but the other party is still waiting for the response of "Butterfly Effect" and has not made an offer.Of course, according to the exception clause in Simon's contract with Fox, if he is willing to direct, it is indeed no problem to hand "Death Comes" to Orion.

However, Simon has no interest in directing the film himself. He only hopes to sign a blank contract that does not involve any details for the time being. When he has a script he is interested in, he will talk about specific cooperation.

Naturally, it was impossible for Mike Medova to agree.

In the end, both parties made some compromises. Simon signed a blank contract with a basic salary of 50 US dollars, but reserved the right to renegotiate the sharing terms.

In the restaurant, Catherine held a cup of coffee and listened to Simon explaining the details of her "fight of wits" with Mike Medova, and said with a smile: "50 dollars, what else are you not satisfied with, I only have 15 dollars Woolen cloth."

Simon withdrew his arm on the table, asked the waiter to put down his lunch, picked up the cutlery, took a bite of pasta, and said, "When I have money, I will give you a blank contract, how much investment do you want, how much salary do you want?" , fill in by yourself."

Catherine dodged Simon's gaze and said, "I don't need your money."

"Then I will help you attract investment in the future."

"I would do it myself."

Simon nodded quickly: "Oh, yes."

Catherine watched Simon start to lower his head to eat, pursed his lips, and said, "You, do you think I can't make a good movie?"

Simon shook his head immediately: "Of course not, you will definitely become the first Oscar-winning female director."

Catherine still stared at Simon, not believing his words at all, and insisted: "You just think I can't make a good movie."

Simon didn't expect a woman to have such a keen intuition, and he really wanted to swallow the words he just said.

Raising his head again, Simon looked at Catherine seriously, and said, "No one can walk when they are born, so even if you can't take pictures well now, you will definitely be able to take good pictures in the future."

Catherine made eye contact with Simon again, and suddenly felt like an angry little girl just now.

God, I am really crazy.

Picking up the coffee cup, she lowered her eyes and took a sip. She glanced at it secretly from the corner of her eye. She didn't feel relieved until Simon started eating again.

After a moment of silence, he found another topic and whispered, "Well, how many screens can Orion give to "Run Lola Run"?"

Simon also seemed to have forgotten the conversation just now, and said nonchalantly: "It's about 200 yuan, and you can only get so much in two weeks. This is because it is the off-season. Moreover, these screens are mainly concentrated on the west coast and east coast. For the time being, there will only be some screenings in New York."

The media industry in the 80s was far from as developed as it was later.The current discussions about Simon and "Run Lola Run" basically focus on the few west coast states and counties that the "Los Angeles Times" can radiate.

Therefore, Orion also temporarily chooses to concentrate its publicity resources on the west coast.

The opening screen of 200 yuan has actually exceeded Simon's expectations.

In this era when "Star Wars" only has 1000 open screens, Simon can't expect too much. Even if he cooperates with the seven big screens, they will only give three screens of about 400 yuan, but Simon will never get 15% It is impossible to temporarily retain the distribution rights of other channels.

After a simple lunch, Simon and Catherine left the restaurant together before asking about "Blood Corpse Night": "How is your shooting plan arranged?"

"The next month will be night shoots, from six in the afternoon until two in the morning." Catherine said, the two walked across the asphalt road, returned to the other side, paused, and the woman suddenly said: "You, Don't you ever say those things to me again?"

Simon played dumb: "What?"

Catherine didn't look at Simon, and threatened slightly: "Otherwise, I will tell Jenny."

Simon immediately raised a hand: "Okay, I promise."

Listening to Simon's insincere tone, Catherine just gave him a reproachful look.

Back at the hotel, Catherine took Simon to settle in the room first, and then introduced him to some other main crew members of "Blood Corpse Night".

The protagonist of "Blood Corpse Night" is named Adrian Pasdar, and coincidentally, the other party also happens to be a client under the name of Jonathan Friedman.The heroine, Jenny Wright, is a girl with a baby face and short hair. She is very beautiful, but her temperament is pure and she lacks the glamorous and seductive that a vampire should have.

Simon then also met the film's producer, Edward Feldman, a middle-aged man in his 50s.The other party obviously also heard about some recent events in Hollywood. When they saw Simon, they were very polite and didn't show any dissatisfaction with his joining the group midway. They even signed an employment contract with him in person.

After getting acquainted with each other, Simon quickly integrated into the work of the crew from the evening on.

Simon's position is assistant to the director. Since it is a formal crew, the salary is not bad, 500 US dollars per week.Of course, Simon was here to help, so naturally he didn't care about the money.

When Simon started to be nocturnal in Arizona, the announcement of "Run Lola Run" in Los Angeles was also advancing rapidly.

Regarding Simon's sudden departure at this point in time, although Orion had some opinions, he did not ask him to return.

Because it doesn't work.

Before Simon left, he had finished the posters and trailers that might be needed, and the film had no plans to hold a premiere.

What Orion did was basically to contact theaters, roll out posters, and release the trailer of "Run Lola Run" to local TV stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and other cities a week before the release.

These seem simple, but lacking experience and connections, a film company that is just starting up will definitely not be able to do it.

Moreover, in the short two-week release process, Orion's all publicity and distribution budget invested easily reached 50 US dollars, which is based on the cost of copying "Run Lola Run" on Simon's side.

You know, the total cost of about 200 copies of "Run Lola Run" also reached about 15 US dollars.

This shows how expensive the cost of film distribution in the film era is, which is why many low-cost films basically cannot enter theaters and only flow directly to videotape channels.

Due to the tight schedule of "Run Lola Run" and the appropriate publicity methods of Orion Films, from the rise of the topic of Simon in the media to the release of the film, related media discussions have always remained in a very active state.

So until Friday, February 2th.

"Run Lola Run" has finally been officially released in theaters in major cities on the west coast and New York on the east coast with an opening scale of 207 screens.

Chapter 064 Rating Questions

incredible.

It seems that when I wake up, my first movie is about to be released.

I originally thought that this day would have to wait at least two or three years.

It's a pity that mom and dad couldn't see it in the first place. On the east coast, only New York has theaters.

Fortunately, I sent back the poster early on, as well as the clip he cut to deliver to the "Back to the Future 2" crew, secretly copied a copy, and seriously told my parents in the letter not to share the video tape. Leak it out, especially to prevent her younger sister from doing so. Jie Qian is now at the age of showing off, and she is still so restless.

After finishing work in the afternoon, I immediately left Warner Studios without stopping, and drove back to West Hollywood.

Keanu was already waiting for him on Santa Monica Boulevard, and he brought a group of men and women with him, very popular guys.Although he has many years of acting experience, "Run Lola Run" also happens to be Keanu's first theatrical film.

Of course, this guy's role is too weak.

After we got to know each other for a while, we rushed to a nearby theater that we had inquired about in advance.

I don't know if it's because of Friday, but a lot of people gathered in the theater and there was a queue.Looking at the eye-catching "Run Lola Run" poster in the theater hall, I silently prayed that these people would come to watch my movie.

There were seven people in her group, so naturally there was no need for all of them to queue up, so she volunteered to grab the job.Mixed in the crowd, listened carefully to the names shouted by the people who bought tickets in front.

"Field Platoon", well, you know, it was also released by Orion.

"Run Lola Run", heh, plus one.

"Run Lola Run", tsk, add two.

Leap to the Top, huh?I turned my head and looked at the posters in the hall, oh, Stallone's new movie, we can't compare this one.

"Run Lola Run", ding, add three.

"Black Widow", cut, spider?

Soon she was ranked second, and a middle-aged man with a boy in front said: "Miss, what is the rating of "Run Lola Run"?"

Suddenly a little stunned.

By the way, why didn't I notice this, and quickly pricked up my ears.

The conductor also saw the boy in front of the window, and replied: "Sir, it's R-rated, do you still need it?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment.

Noticing his father's hesitation, the boy was very dissatisfied and said, "Dad, I'm not a child anymore."

The middle-aged man looked at his son, and had no choice but to ask the conductor again: "Miss, in this movie, do you think, um, is there anything too inappropriate?"

The conductor shook his head, smiled and said, "Sorry, sir, the movie was just released today, and I haven't seen it either."

She stood behind and listened, her head a little dazed.

How could it be R-rated, even if it can't reach PG-rated, PG 13 must be absolutely fine?

Seeing the father in front of him still hesitating, I really want to remind him directly, it will be no problem, I can guarantee it.If you don't believe me, look at my face.

In the end, he didn't take the liberty to speak.

The father and son finally chose Stallone's "Leap to the Top".

So he stepped forward, but asked, "Well, what is the rating of "Leap to the Peak"?"

In order to avoid the embarrassment of being recognized too easily, she deliberately wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses today, the kind without lenses, and her hair was dyed back a long time ago.

The conductor took a look at her. Although she felt a little familiar, he didn't think too much about it, and replied politely: "Miss, it's PG."

Sylvester Stallone's movies are PG rated, that bloody, are you kidding me?