Hollywood Hunter - Chapter 1693: : the problem is exactly here

“I was surprised that Warners so easily accepted Zach’s idea of ​​not using A-list stars to make ‘Watchmen’?”

“This is the reality they have to face, “Watchmen” is a group cartoon, Night Owl, Silk Ghost, Joke, Rorschach, Pharaoh, Doctor Manhattan, etc., each character has its own place, and , this is not a traditional superhero movie. It cannot be clearly divided into pros and cons for simplification. It can only be shot according to the group play. Since it is a group play, considering the balance of the characters and, of course, the cost factor, Warner is only willing to give $100 million, so it can only abandon the first-line stars and use the second- and third-tier actors uniformly.”

In a Lincoln limousine between Beverly Hills Roads, Lena Cain and Annika Settle are discussing the “Watchmen” project that was just finalized at noon.

It’s past six o’clock in the afternoon.

sunset.

In the evening is the premiere of “The Conjuring 4”, which starts at seven o’clock and an hour ahead of the red carpet ceremony. Lena ends her day’s work and rushes to another residence in Beverly Hills first, and is simple with Annika who also returns. Get ready, and set off again to the Hollywood Chinese Theater.

Going to join in the excitement of the red carpet, I specially prepared an extended Lincoln.

After taking over the waitress and eating the cut fruit platter in the carriage, Annika continued, “How long? In fact, I occasionally think that “Watchmen” might become a TV series. will be better?”

Lina also ate the fruit held by the waitress with a toothpick, shook her head and said, “Even if HBO falls behind in the competition with DHO, Warners will not be willing to waste such a superhero brand for a TV series, after all, it is the first movie. A superhero comic that won a Hugo Award. However, the duration is to be determined, after all, Zach only has a general idea right now, and the script has not yet been written.”

Lina didn’t say it clearly, but Annika was able to guess some of the spring and autumn brushwork here when the two sides negotiated.

According to Zack Snyder’s idea, the duration of “Watchmen” will basically be determined at about 3 hours, which is a point that is difficult for major studios to accept. Therefore, I won’t be stupid enough to tell Warners that I’m going to do a 3-hour theatrical version.

This is how Hollywood is. Producers and filmmakers often cheat each other and make all kinds of tossing.

Without worrying too much about this, Annika quickly smiled again: “In any case, you can bring some people into such a large group drama project that must have a lot of attention.”

Lina also laughed: “I can’t eat it myself. I talked to Joe in the afternoon. WMA will hold a special party on weekends. He also specially asked his assistant to buy 100 copies of “Watchmen” and distribute them everywhere.”

The “Joe” Lena said was naturally the current head of the WMA, Jonathan Friedman.

Annika nodded after hearing what Lena said, but remembered another thing: “After so many years, didn’t Jonathan ever think about going to a big studio as an executive? He has such a big advantage?”

Hollywood’s power pyramid, in the 1980s, CAA, which created a new model, briefly prevailed, but in the 1990s, with the arrival of the wave of media group consolidation, it returned to the studio-dominated position.

Speaking of which, in the capital society, how to judge who is at the top of the Hollywood pyramid only needs to look at one indicator: income!

Whether it’s a star, director, agent, or studio executive, the more money you make, the more hidden power you have. Therefore, in the original time and space, Steven Spielberg, who made billions of dollars purely through movies, has always been the leader of Hollywood, and his position is unshakable.

Now, after the media group has completed the major integration, it has entered the studio as an executive. Compared with the 1980s or even before, through multiple channels such as basic salary, project sharing and equity incentives, as long as the performance is decent, the studio executive will be The income of tens of millions of dollars is easy, so it exceeds most of the first-line stars whose income is not stable.

The status has soared.

Compared with the past, studio executives could only play a service role behind the buttocks of big stars. Now studio executives, backed by big capital groups, have increased their initiative more than a little bit.

Speaking of Jonathan Friedman, people go high. With the accumulation of the other party over the years, and continuing to stay in the head of WMA, even the world’s largest brokerage company seems to be a little less motivated.

Lina obviously thought about this issue, and knew that her best friend would not understand at all, she just said: “The timing is not right, and there is no suitable position.”

Jonathan Friedman’s biggest reliance is the personal friendship he established with Simon.

Jumping from a brokerage company to a studio, if you still want to maintain this network of contacts, there are actually only three options. Well, after the merger of Fox and MGM, there are only two left, Daenerys and Fox, and the others. Yes, jump over it and instantly become a competitor.

Even if a man is open-minded enough to not mind Jonathan being an executive at a studio other than two, it’s certainly limited to ‘don’t mind’, no more.

And without the connections of Westeros, and even become a de facto competitor, Jonathan Friedman will be hard to say when the time comes.

In this case, staying in the current position is the best choice.

The two girls chatted casually, extending Lincoln all the way down the mountain, and unknowingly had entered the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A huge movie poster flashed across the roadside building.

Under the gloomy and gloomy tones, the shadow of death with a scythe shrouded the terrified Warrens and some other supporting characters in the series.

The two girls looked at the past together, and when the poster passed by and looked back, the topic naturally turned to the next topic, Annika said: “The production cost of this time is 65 million, including the 25 million announcement, the total cost is 90 million US dollars. , it’s amazing for a horror movie, our Horror Cruise, uh, so pathetic.”

The $65 million production cost of “The Conjuring 4” became a marketing point for the film in advance. Relative to the type, the blockbuster level expenditure is too high.

This is still the result of negotiations between Daenerys and a group of creators.

After all, the global box office of “The Conjuring 3” has reached 398 million US dollars, even if the total investment in the production and publicity of the third film has reached a high of 75 million US dollars, but not to mention the subsequent rich peripheral channel income, it is only in the theater release stage, I will give it to Dan Nelith brought in more than $90 million in return.

So both Matthew Modine and Julian Moore, who originally played the Warrens, wanted a one-time maximum of $15 million. If an agreement is reached, only the two people’s salary expenses will be 30 million US dollars.

Compared with the income of the “Conjuring” series, it is actually not high.

Simon did not approve.

Because once the remuneration of the two people reaches 30 million, considering the overall increase of other production members and even the production specifications of the film, it means that the budget of this sequel project will be pushed up to more than 70 million US dollars, and the total investment in all production and publicity in the future will definitely exceed 100 million. Dollar.

According to the box office level of the third film, even if Daenerys is still profitable, the market size is limited. control concept.

Since the big boss does not agree, the maximum salary is of course not possible.

And, given the current status of Daenerys Entertainment in Hollywood, and the fact that it has so many other high-quality projects that don’t have to dwell on a movie or two, it would be rude to say no.

In the end, it was the two protagonists who wanted to get more out of the series to back down.

Between the basic salary of 8 million given by Daenerys plus 5% of the global box office gross profit and another fixed salary of 12 million, they did not take any risks, but chose the latter who was safe, because the two With the concession of the main creator, the budget of the entire project was successfully compressed to less than 70 million US dollars that Simon could barely accept, reaching 65 million.

Moreover, this remuneration has another additional condition, that is, the two main creators signed two packaged film contracts at one time on the same conditions, so Daenerys can finalize “The Conjuring 5” in advance.

This is mainly due to Daenerys’ follow-up planning for the Conjuring series.

The fourth part this time, the full name is “The Conjuring 4: Death”, while the fifth part is “The Conjuring 5: Hell”.

Then, the Warrens will exit the Conjuring Cinematic Universe series.

Considering various factors such as cost, word of mouth, distribution resources, etc., we will no longer envisage the sixth film. After all, it has broken through the magic of the Hollywood trilogy, which is already very rare for this series. If it continues forcibly, the overall cost and risks will only increase. The higher the gain, the greater the loss.

Besides, “Terror Cruise”, led by two girls and starring Kate Beckinsale, one of the “Charlie’s Angels”, opened last Friday, and the results can only be said to be expected, no surprises, and no disappointments.

As for the crushed “The Conjuring 4: Grim Reaper”, there is absolutely no idea of ​​what to target.

Lina has nothing to worry about: “The difference in size is so big and the genre is different, so it won’t have too obvious impact, and the impact will only be on older films. Even, conversely, I think “The Conjuring 4: Death” The movie-watching boom it has driven will also stimulate the box office of “Terror Cruises” next week to a certain extent, so let’s pick up some small bargains behind.”

“Hopefully,” Annika echoed her prayers, and added, “Do you think this sequel to the Soul Conjuring can reach 200 million at the local box office?”

Lina shook her head: “Frankly speaking, I think the third film is already the pinnacle of the conjuring movie universe, and it is difficult to be surpassed. Since the third film failed to break through the local 200 million, this sequel… Well, we can only hope that it may be It was a surprise.”

Annika, however, was not as pessimistic as Lena, and said, “Simon personally checked, and this time the **** of death has appeared, I believe it will be more exciting.”

About to arrive at the destination, Lina took the wet wipes handed by the waitress and wiped her fingers, hesitated a little, and said: “I think, the problem is exactly here, about the element of death, specifically, um, I have been thinking recently, But I can’t get some key points…”

Annika was even more confused: “What?”

“Maybe we won’t know until it’s released,” Lina shrugged. “In short, about the box office, it’s like Schrödinger’s cat. No one can tell before the box is opened.”

Lina couldn’t understand, Annika followed her thoughts, but of course there was no result, she could only temporarily press her thoughts.

Lengthening Lincoln is approaching the Chinese Theater, and the crowds on both sides of the road are increasing.

sound came.

The two of them looked at the side of the road at the same time, a group of people clearly shouting slogans, holding up various signs, the more eye-catching are some of the posters and related stills of “The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon”, and the signs are “anti-abortion” , ‘Abortion offends the gods’, ‘Don’t let your child cry under a blood moon’ etc.

The two girls didn’t know how to comment for a while.

Obviously, this is another continuation of the influence of “The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon”. Because of the plot at the time, this film has become an anti-abortion propaganda film publicly supported by major anti-abortion organizations and even churches around the world.

According to various statistical data at the time, for a long time after the release of “The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon”, all the countries and regions where the film was launched saw a very significant decline in abortion cases.

It’s so scary.

Speaking of which, why does the other side of the ocean ban similar films?

In addition to the concept factor, there is also one of the most important reasons, that is, many ordinary people really take things in film and television dramas seriously, which in turn produces many unpredictable social impacts.

Actually it’s the same everywhere.

As a result, no one would want the aborted child to become a ghost baby and come to him, so he naturally became quite cautious about something.

As for “The Conjuring 3: Blood Moon” becoming an anti-abortion propaganda film, Daenerys doesn’t really want to see it.

Too easily controversial.

Therefore, after Daenerys communicated with a group of main creators, whether it was the two protagonists Matthew Modine and Julian Moore, or some other main supporting roles, and even the main creators behind the scenes, they all rejected all kinds of anti-abortion organizations. Invitation, public level, and avoid similar topics as much as possible.

The Lincoln luxury car began to slow down, slowly sliding past the dense crowd of fans and approaching the red carpet area.

The two waitresses in the car stepped forward to help Lena and the two do the final dress check. Annika remembered the crowd just now, but another thought came to her mind and said with a smile: “I guess the two presidential candidates are going to be asked again recently. When it comes to abortion, I don’t know how they are going to say it?”

Today is October 25th, and there are exactly two weeks left before the general election on November 7th.

Lina raised her feet and put on the high-heeled shoes given by the waitress, stepped on them, and said, “The attitude is certain. However, if you really raise a topic, it may be detrimental to Gore.”

The final sprint of the general election is relatively tug-of-war, and it is basically biased towards the conservative states in the central and southern regions.

The attitudes of these states and counties towards abortion speak for themselves.

Therefore, the relevant topic really has to be stirred up, which will only allow more conservative residents of these states and counties to vote, and, inevitably, to vote for the Republican Party, which is inclined to ban abortion.

The two girls are not the kind of people who care too much about politics. They mentioned it casually, and when the lengthening Lincoln stopped slowly, he cheered up.

The driver opened the car door, and the two women got out of the car. In the lively atmosphere brought by the fans on both sides, they stepped on the red carpet ceremony that had started for some time.

The main creator of the finale of the conjuring series has not yet appeared, and two groups of guests are walking on the red carpet.

In front is the superhero actor Brad Pitt of the DC movie universe and his other girlfriend. The first part of “Justice League” will be released in the Thanksgiving file next month. The frequency of superhero actors in the DC series has increased significantly recently.

Then came Jennifer Lopez, one of the former judges of the American Idol reality show, the Latin diva Jennifer Lopez, whose popularity has plummeted since her fourth season was dropped. The other party was wearing a bright red floor-length dress today, which was very solemn, but it also caused cheers from fans on both sides after “Superman”.

Lena and Annika, both in light dresses, kept their distance on the red carpet. Seeing Lopez stop and circle in the media area to take pictures, they could only slow down, and could not help but make eye contact.

Lina thinks, the Latin singer’s performance in “American Idol” was not bad at the beginning. She was chosen as a vase and still attracted a lot of attention. It is a pity that she was the only judge to be replaced in the fourth season, and she was replaced by two young male and female singers under Daenerys Records.

The strategy is to be more inclined to the young market, and for Lopez himself, it can only be said to be regrettable.

The gossip at that time, about the judges, was a group of seniors and juniors in the circle, and it was almost broken.

On the other hand, the two girls are also inevitably curious.

The hot and exaggerated Latina in front of you, um, some guy, have you ever slept?

Of course they won’t pursue the answer.

Like no one would dare run up to the two of them and ask if you’ve slept with Simon Westeros.

Doing so is called self-destruction.

If you can’t break your life, it’s not easy to break your career.

The Latina finally moved forward after dawdling for a while, but Lena and his wife, David Danby, a famous film critic from The New Yorker, who followed up later, joined up and chatted enthusiastically as they walked. Several people did not have the appeal of blogging, and they kept going all the way, and entered the theater with a simple pose in the media area.

There is still some time before seven o’clock, and they are trying to socialize. After all, for the two of them, whether they are acting as agents or producers, it is very important to build connections in all aspects. This is a man at most. Provide them with an aura of identity, but they can only do things on their own.

However, a waitress who had been silently following quietly stepped forward and said something. Lena and Annika were surprised, they immediately quickened their pace and came to a lounge in the theater where VIPs were waiting.

Then, at a glance, he found a certain man in the crowd in the spacious lounge.

After all, being surrounded by a group of people is too conspicuous.

Slowed down again, quietly checked his makeup, and walked forward together. Simon, who was chatting with New World Pictures President Danny Morris and others, also quickly noticed that they were surrounded by people and could only Nod slightly.

The two girls also nodded in response.

The first time I noticed the woman beside the man, there was a familiar but not too familiar face on the right hand side, the famous C girl, Claire Gein, the founder of Tincobel.

On the other side is a young girl who does not shy away from directly holding the man’s arm, but her expression is obviously indifferent. The most important feature is the beautiful face as delicate as a doll. The girl wears a simple style black and white striped sleeveless jumpsuit The tube skirt and the loose tube skirt did not conceal the girl’s exquisite figure at all, but also set off the skin like snow, making it more and more like a doll.

And the girl doesn’t seem to care about a super tycoon around her, like a lazy cat whose owner will never give up no matter how pampered it is, snuggling beside the man reluctantly.

The other guests may not know, but Lena happened to know each other and had met before at the San Lucas Manor in Mexico.

Lydia Hearst.

Born in the once-famous Hearst family

As for the relationship between the girl and a certain man, it is actually obvious that it is a cat. I don’t know why the man brought these two women out for entertainment today.