hunt hollywood

Therefore, all problems return to a starting point.

money!

You can't do anything without money.

Moreover, after estimation, the investment of "When Harry Met Sally" may still be the highest among the three planned films, even reaching 1500 million US dollars.

In all fairness, Simon really didn't want to invest in the movie himself.

Although the expected income of "Run Lola Run" is quite a lot, he hopes to invest this money in other targets with greater value-added potential.

After thinking for a while, Simon patted Janet and said, "Get up, wait for dinner with Medova, are you going?"

Janet hummed a little, sort of nodding.

Now that the North American box office potential of "Run Lola Run" has been determined, the distribution of the film through other channels must also be put on the agenda.Since it signed a North American theater distribution contract with Orion at the beginning, Orion naturally enjoys the priority for the distribution rights of the remaining channels of the film.

Simon's plan is to sell all other issuance rights at one time, so that he can obtain a sum of funds as soon as possible, which will be used for the operation of stock index futures and other investments in the second half of the year.

However, based on the North American box office of "Run Lola Run", the profit scale of the film's overseas distribution rights, videotape distribution rights and subsequent TV broadcast rights is at least twice that of the North American box office.

Simon didn't know about the sharing agreements that Orion signed with other theaters, but even if it was calculated on an average basis of 1-[-], "Run Lola Run" is expected to bring Orion and Daenerys Pictures a total share of [-] million Dollar.

Compared with the negligible investment in production and publicity, the US$1 million is almost a net profit.

Based on this reference, the remaining distribution channels have a profit scale of at least US$2 million.

According to the profit distribution rules of the domestic box office in North America, if "Run Lola Run" is released through other channels, Simon can probably call out a sell-out offer of 6000 million US dollars.

6000 million U.S. dollars, even for the Big Seven, is a huge amount of money, and Orion Pictures naturally couldn't afford it.

Therefore, for the remaining distribution channels, if Simon wants to complete the sell-out operation in a short period of time, he can only sell them separately.

However, due to contract restrictions, Simon must first obtain the consent of Orion before doing so.

Chapter 086

at dusk.

Simon waited patiently for Janet to change into a more formal dress before the two left the villa.

The bodyguards had already prepared the car for the two of them in advance.

Simon came out with Janet, and nodded politely to two middle-aged men named Neil Bennett and Ken Dixon, who were about 40 years old. Although they were very familiar with each other for so many days, they still felt a little eccentric.

The two bodyguards were not hired by Simon from the security company, but Janet borrowed them from her own home.

Since the acquaintance, Simon never took the initiative to ask about Janet's family background, but the information in the newspapers during this period was enough for him to know too much.

Janet was born in the old Johnston family in Australia.

Although the family wealth is only about US$20 billion, it is not conspicuous on the list of the world's richest people.However, the Johnston family has a very strong potential influence in Australia.

Eight years ago, Australia suddenly abolished the inheritance tax, becoming the first country in the western developed countries to abolish this tax, which caused a sensation in the world for a while.It is said that there is a strong push from the Johnston family behind this incident.

Subsequently, Janet's grandfather, Nicholas Johnston, died in 1983. Due to the abolition of the estate tax, the Johnston family inherited the wealth of the previous generation in its entirety.

Today, relying on the multiple shareholding structure and the deep-rooted influence of the family, the century-old Johnston family still firmly controls the Johnston Holding Group, which is involved in multiple Australian economic pillars such as mining, animal husbandry, and transportation.

The turmoil dissipated, and the paparazzi gradually realized that it was not easy to find news from a young director like Simon who didn't go to nightclubs, take drugs or fight. Therefore, the number of media people chasing Simon was obviously much less during this period.

Of course, this is only relative.

Simon's SUV left the Palisades mansion, and there were still many cars closely following along the way.The dining place agreed upon with Mike Medova was at a restaurant next to the Century City Ranch Park Golf Club.

Arriving at the destination, the two bodyguards skillfully protected Simon and Janet from the paparazzi who wanted to squeeze forward.After entering the restaurant, Janet took Simon's arm, leaned over and whispered in his ear: "If you don't like it, we can send Neil and Ken back to Australia when we have the money to hire bodyguards ourselves."

Simon said something to the waiter who came up, followed him into the restaurant, and whispered to Janet at the same time: "The two of them are fine, I just feel a little, um, weird."

This is what Simon said.

As a profession closest to the employer, capable and trustworthy bodyguards are also hard to come by.Although they have only been together for a few weeks, Simon can feel that the professionalism of the two of Neil is absolutely impeccable.As for trust, when it comes to Janet, the Johnston family is naturally even less likely to be sloppy in this regard.

Janet smiled slightly when she heard what Simon said, and stopped answering.

After following the waiter for a distance, the two came to a seat, and the president of Orion Films, Mike Medova, had already stood up and greeted Simon and Janet warmly.

The three then sat down.

After ordering food and exchanging pleasantries, the topic was transferred to the upcoming 59th Academy Awards Ceremony by Mike Medova unconsciously.

This year's Oscars ceremony will be held on March 3, which is next Monday.

Not only is Orion's release of the film box office booming, this year's Oscars has won a total of 18 Oscar nominations for its films such as "Platoon" and "Sister Hannah".

Therefore, the recent Mike Medova gestures are obviously full of high spirits.

"It's like this, Simon," Mike Meadow looked at the young men and women sitting opposite him, and said, "Do you and Jenny want to attend next week's Oscars ceremony?"

Simon didn't expect Mike Medova to bring this up.

Relying on the large number of nominations received this year, it is naturally easy for Orion to temporarily arrange one or two people to participate in the Oscars.Due to the box office success of "Run Lola Run", the Oscars will obviously not be stingy with two additional invitations.

Moreover, attending the Oscar Awards Ceremony will definitely boost the follow-up box office of "Run Lola Run".

just.

Following Mike Medova's proposal, a word popped up in Simon's mind.

rub!

Shame.

Shaking his head immediately, Simon said, "Mike, I won't go."

Mike Medova did not expect that this opportunity, which might be crushed by many starlets, was rejected by Simon without hesitation.A little dazed, he looked at Janet beside Simon, hoping she could say something.Women should be eager to attend such occasions.

However, Janet obviously acted as if she hadn't heard it, and was helping her boyfriend tidy up a napkin with a low eyebrow.

Ok.

Another very personal couple.

Mike Medova thought so, smiled casually, and said: "Forget it, Simon. I invite you tonight, I just want to ask, how is the next movie going?"

Simon knew that Mike Medova invited himself tonight mainly for this purpose, and he didn't hide it, saying: "I already have a complete idea, but the script will not start writing until next month. Mike, you also know that I recently How busy."

"Of course, Orion is not in a hurry." Although Mike Medova said this, his body leaned forward slightly, and said: "Then, Simon, tell me about it first."

Simon sorted out his thoughts, and said: "This is a crime drama with a B-level style. It consists of six independent but interrelated stories. Similar to "Run Lola Run", I still hope that through a The alternative non-linear narrative mode intersperses and presents all the stories in a unified way."

During this time, Simon has been thinking about his next movie.

After "Run Lola Run", Simon's next directed film, it is not difficult to achieve commercial success.But if Simon wants to continue to maintain his popularity, and even go further, his next movie must be like "Run Lola Run", giving people a sense of refreshing surprise.

After much deliberation, Simon finally chose Quentin's "Pulp Fiction".

"Pulp Fiction" also belongs to the non-linear narrative structure, and it also pushes the non-linear narrative of the movie to a more unconstrained realm.After the film appeared, not only did it arouse strong repercussions in the year it was released, but it even had a very profound impact on many directors in Hollywood, the United Kingdom, and even across the ocean.

Chapter 087 Pure

After briefly stating the overall idea, Simon spent a few more minutes explaining several stories of "Pulp Fiction" and the interspersed mode to Mike Medova in detail.

but.

Mike Medova frowned tightly after listening to Simon's narration.

Although Simon had just explained it in great detail, Mike Meadow still felt that the whole story seemed confusing.Moreover, he did not grasp the selling point of this movie at all.

Is it a non-linear narrative?

Or, more bluntly, insanity.

The three-stage parallel structure of "Run Lola Run" is indeed very interesting, but what is the so-called multiple closed-loop plot structure at the moment.If the audience can't even understand the story, how can they still be interested in this movie.

Thinking of this, Mike Medova said earnestly: "Simon, it's good to use non-linear narrative once in a while. The movie still needs to tell a story in a very orthodox way. Moreover, this script seems too confusing. I don't think so. At that time, the audience will be in the mood to sort out so many clues."

Many classic films that have been recorded in history have encountered various doubts during the development stage. Mike Meadova's denial did not surprise Simon too much.

Simon explained earnestly: "Mike, I understand what you mean, and I am also very clear that I have not fallen into the misunderstanding of deliberately pursuing a more complex movie narrative structure. In fact, this is more like another attempt of mine. I just want to use A brand-new plot structure to tell a very interesting story. As for the audience, as long as there is proper promotion and guidance, I believe they will like this movie very much."

Mike Medova's expression still did not relax, and he continued: "Even so, Simon, according to your narrative, this movie obviously involves violence, guns, drugs and other restricted elements. Do you think this is suitable for you? Are 20-year-olds coming to shoot?"

Simon suddenly thought of Catherine, shrugged, and said, "Mike, I know what kind of person I am, and that's enough. In fact, I don't lack other ideas. It's just that these ideas can't be realized now, or the production budget Too expensive. In comparison, the current movie seems perfect, as long as it works properly, the budget cost should also be controlled within $800 million."

Mike Medova was a little more relaxed when he heard the budget figures given by Simon.

Hollywood's film production budgets have grown rapidly in the last two years.

Even last year, half of the top ten films at the North American box office had a production budget of less than $1000 million, and the box office champion "Top Gun" had a production budget of only $1500 million.But this year, in just the first three months, two movies with a budget of 1500 million US dollars, "Lethal Weapon" and "Angel Heart", have been released, and these two expensive movies are still left behind in March. cold season.

However, Mike Medova was still not reconciled, and continued: "Simon, why don't you make a horror film? Just like "Butterfly Effect" and "Death Comes", these two scripts are very good, I think you will It would be easy to create a similar script."

Mike Meadow has always liked the two scripts of "The Butterfly Effect" and "Death Comes".

Although "The Butterfly Effect" received a poor response from film critics, Mike Meadova has no doubts about the project's profitability.As for "Death is Coming", looking at the sharing terms given by Fox, you can see how optimistic they are about this project.

He would have preferred Simon to write and direct a similar horror-thriller over the dubious Pulp Fiction.

"I've explained this question many times," Simon said helplessly, "Mike, I don't like making horror movies because they lack challenges, and writing those scripts is purely for making money."

Hearing Simon's tone of talking about a 'side job', Mike Medova felt inexplicably a little gritty when he thought of the terrifying share that this young man could get from the "Death Comes" project.

Purely just to make money.

What a reason.

It's just that you want 'pure', and we also want 'pure'!

Mike Medova almost blurted out: Simon, let's just talk about this kind of project that can 'purely' make money, okay?To hell with your cluttered Pulp Fiction!

Of course, Mike Medova only thinks so.

For many years, no matter how much they swear behind their backs, the management of Hollywood film companies has always been coaxing and coaxing hot filmmakers as much as possible, and Mike Medova is also used to doing the same.

Relying on the popularity of "Run Lola Run", Simon's next movie, as long as the filming is not too bad, it is completely easy to make money.It's just that, in any case, Mike Medova would prefer to see a slightly more normal project, like "The Butterfly Effect" and "The Grim Reaper."

The waiter brought the dinner up at this time, and everyone paused for a moment.

After eating a few mouthfuls of food, Mike Medova reorganized his rhetoric, and said again: "Simon, don't you have other ideas? Tell me, as long as the script is good enough, it doesn't matter even if the production cost is higher."

Simon shook his head bluntly, and said: "Sorry, Mike, I can only say that my next movie is "Pulp Fiction". If Orion can't accept it, maybe you can wait for my third movie."

Mike Medova was speechless for a moment.

A second Simon film is certainly pretty much guaranteed, but with a third, especially after this inexplicable Pulp Fiction, who knows if anyone will still be interested in the name Simon Westeros.

After struggling for a moment, Mike Medova had no choice but to say: "Simon, you just said that this movie only needs 800 million US dollars, right?"

After "Run Lola Run", it is not too much for Simon to propose a production budget of 2000 million US dollars for his second film.Now, if you only need $800 million, even if the box office prospects are bleak, it is not unacceptable if you have no choice.

"Mike, I'm just talking about an ideal state. There are so many roles in this movie, and it's impossible to use unknown people for all of them. The remuneration of actors will definitely account for a large part of the production budget. Therefore, if the participants can be successfully persuaded to Reducing film pay and controlling online expenses to less than 500 million US dollars, I have enough confidence to compress the production budget to 800 million US dollars."

The film production budget is mainly divided into two categories: online expenses and offline expenses.

The so-called online expenses, in simple terms, are the salaries of screenwriters, directors, actors and other main creators, while offline expenses include equipment rental expenses, behind-the-scenes staff salaries, transportation, makeup, insurance and other technical equipment expenses.

Simon's previous "Run Lola Run", the online cost only accounted for a very small part.But for "Pulp Fiction", think about John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson and other big names, this is definitely a movie where the online cost exceeds the total budget by more than 50% .

The production cost of the original "Pulp Fiction" is 800 million US dollars, which is obviously in the case of John Travolta and others cutting their own pay.

Now, if you want to make this movie seven years in advance, some people will definitely not be able to use it, some people Simon wants to replace it, and some people may no longer be willing to lower their salary. Under the influence of this series of uncertain factors, Simon still Making an estimate of $800 million is neither high nor low.

Seeing Simon's insistence, Mike Medova knew that it would be useless to say more, so he could only say: "Well, Simon, you get out the script as soon as possible, and we will discuss it later."

"Of course," Simon nodded, took a sip of the red wine, put down the glass, and said, "Mike, there is one more thing. Regarding the distribution of "Run Lola Run" through other channels, I hope to release these at once." If all the rights are sold out, is Orion willing to take over?"

Mike Medova suddenly showed an obvious expression of surprise.

The box office situation of "Run Lola Run" is very good. According to the practice of most film companies, they will definitely carry out "intensive cultivation" for the follow-up release of the film, and complete the follow-up distribution through various channels bit by bit.

Doing so can not only extract subsequent benefits to the greatest extent, but also accumulate network expansion channels in the process, which is completely killing two birds with one stone.

Although it has the priority for the follow-up release of "Run Lola Run", Orion originally only expected to be able to obtain the agency distribution of the local video tapes, and the signing of this agency is naturally a sharing contract.

Unexpectedly, Simon wanted to sell out the follow-up release at one time.

This is obviously not a very wise choice. It is equivalent to fishing out the water and quickly ruining a long-term income channel for oneself.According to the distribution cycle of each channel, just one "Run Lola Run" is enough for Daenerys Pictures to last for more than three years.

Thinking in his heart, Mike Medova quickly asked: "Simon, why are you in such a hurry?"