Hollywood New Century - Chapter 416

In the hot summer season, various Hollywood blockbusters are vying to harvest the box office. Universal Pictures’ “Fast and Furious 5” and “The Hangover 2” have already started the box office battle in May and June.

As for the float parade celebration held by the New York Avengers, Simon did not attend, mainly because there were too many people. Moreover, fans want to see the stars of the team.

Los Angeles, U.S. Western Time, 6.30 UTC, the premiere of “The Twilight March Eclipse” at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, Hollywood.

The long red carpet, dazzling Hollywood stars, and shouting fans crowded the theater.

“I heard that Disney is going to start Star Wars 7?” Simon Pike and Alan Horn, who attended the premiere, chatted while taking a few pictures.

Alan Horn smiled and explained: “Disney has done a good job with a “Pirates of the Caribbean 4” right now. Whether it is a live-action movie produced by DreamWorks or a live-action movie developed by them, it is not a success; “

“Rebooting the Star Wars sequel as soon as possible is what they have to do.”

“The Star Wars franchise is too high in the US, Disney is good at running big IP, George Lucas and Robert Iger are talking about adding Star Wars and Indiana Jones to Disneyland. The element is already a fact, which is not a good thing for Universal Studios, “Simon is very concerned about this, after all, Disney’s losses in movies can be recovered through Disneyland. Fortunately, Disney is not good at developing series of movies, and it has only been a “Pirates of the Caribbean” series for so many years.

“Don’t worry, it’s not so easy to restart the “Star Wars” series. The prequel trilogy directed by George Lucas has a bad reputation, and there is no plan for the director and script of the restart. It will take time,” Alan said. Horn now has absolute confidence in the Marvel franchise, and no one but Warner Bros. can shake Universal.

Simon nodded and said again: “Pay more attention to the new round of negotiation agreement between MPAA and the Chinese government on imported films, it should be soon;”

“Also, for the theater chains under Universal, other than the theaters in the Chinese market, other regions can choose to sell and cash out.”

“Our United Theater in the United States has a lot of large-scale theater properties, many of which have IMAX giant screen halls, which are also available for sale?” Alan Horn asked. After all, since “Avatar” was released, IMAX has Cinema is developing strongly.

Simon nodded and smiled: “It can be sold, there is no need to own a property, it is enough to manage a small theater chain. The way of joining is beneficial to us.”

Alan Horn nodded, Xinghai Entertainment is currently preparing to go public, but the group is now mainly developing the Universal Studios Resort Group, which requires huge funds.

Afterwards, Simon left Universal City for Beverly Hills.

“Simon, here you are,” Lionsgate Entertainment Chairman Frank Gusta greeted Simon Pike at the private club.

“Frank, good evening!” Simon smiled and shook his hand.

“Under your management, Universal Pictures has really changed a lot,” Frank Gusta said. In just six or seven years, Xinghai Entertainment has become one of Hollywood’s hegemons.

On the other hand, Lionsgate is still relying on the B-level film market to survive. The biggest cash cow “Chainsaw” series was the seventh film last year, and the decline in word of mouth and box office has come to a stop.

Another layoff from the financial tsunami, and another plan to increase shares in the face of a hostile takeover by Carl Icahn.

“Universal Pictures has a long history, and Lionsgate is just a young film upstart, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.” Lionsgate’s life is not easy, Simon of course knows that after two consecutive Halloween battles, “Chainsaw” Both “Saw 6” and “Saw 7” were pressed and rubbed on the ground by the two “Supernatural: Ghost Records”.

Now Lionsgate is just the rival of Universal’s Aurora Pictures, and “Lost”, which was released in March, is also a good word-of-mouth box office.

“Simon, now Lionsgate only has two Marvel characters, Punisher and Humanoid, and Marvel Entertainment has to recycle it many times. Maybe Marvel Studios will develop it themselves, and then they will produce better works. , “Frank Gusta is not a face-saving person, “The Punisher” Lionsgate has released two movies, and basically did not recover the cost. “Humanoid” is also a non-theatrical work that makes small troubles.

“Marvel is indeed repurchasing IP, this is to ensure integrity,” Simon didn’t feel much about the return of Lionsgate this year. Humanoids will expire next year, and Punisher will also expire in 14 years. Lionsgate does not development, automatic regression.

“Xinghai Entertainment is selling the stake in SyFy channel, Lionsgate is interested!” Frank Gusta didn’t hide it anymore.

“Well, is Lionsgate interested, or is it the investors behind it?” Simon smiled and said,

“I have no interest in Lionsgate equity, only cash transactions.”

Frank Gusta also smiled awkwardly, nodded and said: “Many shareholders hope to deepen the cooperative relationship between Lionsgate and Xinghai. Now Lionsgate’s TV production is good, and they also hope to have their own cable TV station.”

“The price of SyFy’s cable channels is not cheap. Lionsgate provides funds, and our people will sell them. The cooperation in TV production can also be deepened. There are many TV stations under the NBC Group, and the amount of programs required is also quite large. Big,” Simon had no problem.

“However, we hope to acquire part of the equity by gambling,” Frank Gusta said.

Simon was stunned for a moment, shook his head, and said with a smile: “Frank, when the lions on the prairie are fighting for their prey, the wild wolves next to them are not eligible to participate!”

“I am selling cable TV stations, not because I am not optimistic about their development, but Xinghai Entertainment currently needs a lot of cash to sell high-quality assets to cash out.”

Simon’s words are obvious. Lionsgate is not qualified to talk about conditions. If you want to use Marvel characters as your trump card, it will only anger Xinghai Entertainment and Simon.

The meeting between the two did not yield any substantial gains. For Universal, Lionsgate’s approach was to gain the market through various controversial, sexual, and **** works. The main business direction of Universal Pictures is indeed A-level commercial production, and the difference between the two is too far.

TV cooperation can indeed be done. After all, Lionsgate has also produced high-quality American dramas like “Mad Men”.

As Lionsgate’s most important IP, the “Chainsaw” series has come to an end, without “The Hunger Games” and without the pinnacle entertainment that merged the “Twilight” series.

What is the future of Lionsgate?