Hollywood Hunter

"Hunting Hollywood ()"

"As for China Telecom's establishment of the board of directors, I just mentioned it last night, but you should not hold any hope in the short term. Moreover, even if the board of directors is established, the number of places we can strive for will not fall on both of you. I still hope you Stand behind the scenes."

At breakfast the next day, Simon, Chen Qing and Lin Su talked about some things at the reception of the China Telecom roadshow team last night.

The ruddy-faced Lin Su just nodded when he heard that, Chen Qing looked sourly at the radiant woman on the opposite side, and turned to his boss and said, "But, boss, many people in the country just like these. I regret it now. Putting A Su to the "Forbes" list, it's useless, I would have been on the list myself.

Simon shook his head and said: "Standing in front of the stage will definitely be beneficial in the short term, but it will only be a lot of trouble in the long run. What's more, it is still China, which emphasizes moderation and restraint. Of course, if you have to jump to the front, I will not object."

Chen Qing immediately changed her face: "Boss, I'm just talking about it."

Simon smiled and said, "There is also the issue of the cooperation between Skober and BBK to produce DVDs. You must take care of this matter. For the time being, it can only be exported. This is not only a matter of protecting our interests in China's VCD industry, but also involves The entire western electronics industry and media industry are very concerned about copyright protection issues."

"Of course, I have a sense of measure," Chen Qing lighted her head, and said: "Boss, in this way, we can be considered as a big slice of the DVD industry. Need to worry too much about transformation?"

"Yes, but Daenerys Entertainment indirectly negotiated with Sony and other giants in exchange for it. You have to cherish it. Moreover, the transformation still has to be transferred. After all, this time in the DVD industry, we are just a share of the pie and we have no dominant power ."

Chen Qing said proudly: "Isn't Daenerys Entertainment the dominant player. If you don't provide content to those electronics manufacturers, their DVDs can't be promoted."

This is the truth.

Whether it’s video recorders, DVDs that are currently being promoted, and later high-definition Blu-rays, Hollywood studios are an important part. If Hollywood, which holds the dominance of global media, is unwilling to provide content, electronics manufacturers will not want to push related products. To the world.

Of course, except for certain areas where copyright is not a concern.

Daenerys Entertainment, which currently controls more than half of Hollywood, played a decisive role in the popularization of this DVD.

If Simon is a conservative and is unwilling to support DVD like Disney and other manufacturers sued Sony video recorders back then, this product will not be popular in the short term.

Of course Simon is not.

However, Daenerys Entertainment’s support must also have its own conditions. It is one of them to ensure that Skobor continues to enjoy the benefits of video decoding chips in the DVD era.In addition, Simon’s consideration of the online leasing industry. With the promotion of DVD, the Blockbuster video chain controlled by the Westeros system will further carry out online transformation and block online leasing such as those used by Netflix The development of the manufacturer.

Compared with expensive video recorders, the birth of DVD will undoubtedly bring about an industrial revolution.

Unlike the stubborn record industry, Simon is very active in embracing this change. After all, just like the record industry, if you don’t embrace the change, you will often lose the initiative completely after the industry is severely impacted. Subsidiaries of other industries.

Still the same sentence: If you can't eliminate yourself, you can only be eliminated by others.

Simon did not say much about this, but continued: "Also, did you know the interview with the "Vogue" magazine that Jian Xin and the others went back last time?"

Chen Qing nodded.

Simon said: "Try to contact Condé Nast or Time Warner to jointly establish a large fashion paper media company. This is not a big deal, but if it can be done, we can have no large-scale fashion media in China. The field gains the right to speak in advance,

In the past history, it was born out of a fashion media group affiliated to a magazine under the China Tourism Administration. It almost included China’s most influential fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Men’s Wear, and Fashion Home. Created a famous fashion dinner.

The "Bazaar" brand actually comes from the "BAZAAR" magazine that originally belonged to the Hearst Group, and fashion media has therefore become a Sino-foreign joint venture brand in which the Hearst Group has invested.

After the turmoil two years ago, the Hearst Group has already packaged and sold its magazine series and was taken over by Time Warner. Naturally, it is impossible to make this investment in China this time.Simon was inspired by Jian Xin's private e-mail about taking over the interview with "Fashion", of course, he will not miss this layout opportunity.

When Chen Qing heard Simon mention this, her eyes lit up after her next thoughts: "Boss, this is a good idea, but I don't think we need to bring Condé Nast or Time Warner in. We can do it ourselves, Daenerys. Isn’t it under the Entertainment Group? What’s most lacking in China now is funding. As for the operating philosophy, it’s a direct imitation."

Simon smiled and asked, "What do you think is the most important factor for'fashion'?"

Chen Qing thought about it, but she could only shake her head: "Boss, what is it?"

"Style," Simon said: "Bring in Condé Nast or Time Warner and use their existing old-brand magazines to build a joint venture brand. For example, um, now Time Warner's "BAZAAR" magazine is in line with the Chinese copy of "Fashion "Together, it became "Harper's Bazaar", which immediately had an international style, so that it could quickly open up the situation in China."

Chen Qing suddenly said, "In this case, it is difficult for us to gain control?"

"You only need to ensure 20% to 30% of the equity. The important thing is that other shareholders cannot have absolute control. In this way, if you want this investment, you must carry out a clear shareholding system reform. The management, the original shareholders, Investors, etc., the equity is controlled within 20 to 30%."

"But if it's Condé Nast or Time Warner, are they willing to accept only so few shares?"

"It's not for you to talk to the entire Condé Nast or Time Warner. You can only contact one magazine, such as the "BAZAAR" I just mentioned, so that both the volume of cooperation and the difficulty of joint ventures will be greatly reduced. In this way, "BAZAAR" , You take the time to contact China, if you have any eyebrows, I will say hello to Semel."

"Ok."

After talking about this, Simon thought about it a little bit, and said: "Last one, you take the time to investigate what good South Korean investments are in China."

Chen Qing suddenly wondered, and even Lin Su raised his head curiously.

Simon did not reveal much, but said: "You will understand next year that Cersei Capital’s China Research Institute team will also determine the same research project, but will face Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The return is relatively large, which can be regarded as a smoke bomb. ."

Lin Su thought of one thing, and tentatively said: "I read an article analyzing the Asian economy a few months ago. I thought that the general economic imbalance in Southeast Asia, debt and deficit are obviously too high, and a crisis may break out in the next few years?"

"You don't want to mix these things, you just have to be optimistic about China," Simon nodded slightly and turned to Chen Qing: "Don't forget to keep studying, or you will hit the ceiling soon."

Chen Qing immediately pursed her lips: "Boss, I am wronged, I can do more than A Su."

After breakfast, Simon was ready to set off to return to the West Coast.

Simply tidy up, put on the windbreakers given by the two women in the hallway, comb through it to confirm that there is nothing missing, and finally hug Chen Qing, turn to Lin Su, hug the woman's waist, think of something, laugh He said: "Have you ever told you something after an hour?"

Lin Su was held in his arms by the man and raised his head slightly: "Huh?"

"Don't kiss a boy, you will get pregnant." Simon said, seeing the woman quickly spread a layer of rouge on her face, smiled and lowered her head: "Come on, let's increase the success rate."

Back in Los Angeles, the time was still Saturday morning, December 14.

Mainly to deal with some affairs accumulated on the West Coast before Christmas. Jenny and the others are still staying in Greenwich, looking forward to snowing Christmas, and Simon will return to the East Coast before Christmas.

This is already the second day of the Christmas period.

Simon is most concerned about the recent box office data of Christmas films.

In the past box office week from December 6th to December 12th, "Wonder Woman 2" saw a significant box office drop. In the third week of its release, the box office dropped 41%, and the box office received 59.71 million US dollars.However, the film was only released for three weeks, and the cumulative box office quickly rushed to a high of 314.3 million U.S. dollars, smoothly surpassing the previous annual box office champion "007 Ghost Party" of 307 million U.S. dollars, and advanced to the top of the annual list.

The scenery of "Wonder Woman 2" was overshadowed, and the other movies released in the same period of the Thanksgiving file were all swept out and dejected.

In addition to "Wonder Woman 2", there are "Mind Catcher" that opened last week and the 54th Golden Globe nomination announced on December 11.

With its attractive main creative lineup, "Mind Catcher", which cost only US$10 million, just opened on 106 screens last week, attracting a large number of media attention. This low-cost literary drama has also lived up to expectations. It received almost overwhelming praise, and the comprehensive media score reached a classic high of 9.4 points. The famous film critic Roger Albert even elevated the film to the level of'another "Rain Man"'.

All-round praise, coupled with the attractive lineup of Gus Van Sant, Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, has attracted a large number of curious audiences. Field watching.

At the same time, the nomination for the Golden Globe Awards on December 11 has once again added a piece of popularity to this film. Relying on its excellent quality, "Mind Catcher" won the best drama category at this Golden Globe Awards. A total of 5 nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay in Film and Drama.

Because of the high reputation and popularity, the average box office of the film in the first week of the screening finally reached 51,300 US dollars. After the opening of the movie for seven days, 106 screens, the cumulative box office has reached 5.43 million US dollars.

With this popularity and reputation, if Daenerys Entertainment wants to pursue the next Oscar victory, it will not be difficult.

However, Simon did not intend to do this.

Last year's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", Simon has already used the film's super high box office and popularity to send this film to the throne of best film through strong public relations.

According to Simon's strategy, this year must take a step back.

Otherwise, next year’s "Titanic" will definitely change. In any case, the Oscar committee will not allow Daenerys Entertainment to climb to the top for three consecutive years. Even the quality of related films is beyond doubt, but if Oscar becomes Dan The private land of Nilis Entertainment is not good for anyone.

Even so, this time it is still not good for outsiders.

Because of another popular nomination announced on December 11, MGM's "British Patient" is still Simon's deliberate arrangement.

This film was proposed by Sol Zanz, a veteran Hollywood independent producer who once held the copyright of the "Lord of the Rings" series. Because the production cost was obviously too high compared to the subject matter, Zanz had many twists and turns in the production of the film. Even for the project of this movie, the copyright of the "Lord of the Rings" series was given to the Weinstein brothers.

This time, Simon has been paying attention to this project very early, and guided MGM to take over the film at the right time last year.

"The English Patient" ended up costing US$27 million, which is really high for a novel adaptation of a literary film. And, frankly speaking, unlike the "Mind Catcher" for all ages, the content of "The English Patient" is much more gloomy and obscure, but This is exactly the taste of the filmmakers.

Therefore, compared with the five nominations of "Mind Catcher", "The British Patient" has won the best film, best director, best actor in the drama category, best actress in the drama category, best supporting actress, There are a total of 7 nominations for the best screenwriter and best film score, which can be described as the biggest hit of this year's Golden Globe Awards, and it will obviously become the focus of the Oscars for next year's awards season.

The 1997 awards season was announced by the announcement of the Golden Globe nomination. In addition to "Mind Catcher" and "The English Patient", there are also Coen Brothers' new film "Ice Blood Storm" and Madonna's Nasda The "Mrs. Veron" is quite eye-catching. As for Spielberg's black slave-themed film "The Rage of Broken Lock", it is purely qualified to join in the fun.

For Hollywood, where business is king, awards and honors are only embellishments after all. Therefore, everyone's eyes will soon turn to the Christmas schedule that opens on December 13.

Compared with the exclusive golden box office week of "Wonder Woman 2" on November 22, the Christmas schedule that starts on December 13 this Black Friday will be much crowded, except for the heaviest "Game of the Brave". There are Disney's "Angel Bodyguard", Arnold Schwarzenegger's another comedy "Jingle Bells", the large-scale opening of "Mind Catcher" and "British Patient" which opened this week. painting.

As a special effects blockbuster co-produced by Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner Group, Simon originally adopted the Johnson version of 2017 in memory, plus veteran actor Silverster Stallone and supermodel Qusi. Gao Fu's main hit, the film eventually cost 82 million US dollars production budget, slightly overrun.

Fortunately, the effect of the film is quite satisfactory.

Also after the premiere on December 11, the film's word-of-mouth ban was lifted the next day, and the comprehensive media score reached 7.8 points, which is quite a good level.

The first is the special effects of the film.

Under the special effects of Daenerys and the grand scenes that Simon deliberately added to the original version, the special effects of the film are very shocking.

As for actors, Silverster Stallone has won unanimous approval from film critics with a middle-aged body acting as a juvenile mentality.Even if it is known to be a young tycoon who is praised by a young tycoon across the border, not only the stunning and sexy style has aroused a strong response from the audience, but the acting skills also exceed expectations.

If it is short board, it is inevitable that it is the plot.

The "Hollywood Reporter" commented that this film is "a young popcorn movie that does not use brains at all", which is the main reason why the film's overall score did not reach 8 points or more.

However, the parties are not harsh on this.

Because "Game of the Brave" is a popcorn blockbuster that is easy, funny and full of visual shock, Simon never thought of adding any connotation to it.

In the first week of its release, "Game of the Brave" finally reached 3,539 screens, second only to "Wonder Woman 2" at the end of the year.

Compared with "101 Dalmatians" which cost 75 million dollars in Thanksgiving file, Disney's "Angel Bodyguard" in Christmas file has a budget of only 40 million dollars. Indifferent, an unexpected response after confiding to God, the story of the angel going down.

The film is directed by Penny Marshall, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, which can be described as an all-black cast.

Moreover, it is obvious that the film has to some extent followed the trend of the bodyguard starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. After the large-scale opening of 1783 screens in the first week, the comprehensive media rating of this film Only a barely pass 6.0 points, which is far from satisfactory.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s "Jingle Bells" once again continued the action star’s comedy style from "Dragon Brothers and Rats" and "Kindergarten Special Police". live.

This is really just a small job.

Due to the failure of several consecutive films and Hollywood’s bad-mouthing of traditional action stars, compared to the same type of "Little Guy" that cost 60 million US dollars but failed at the box office, the production cost of this "jingle all the way" is only 30 million US dollars. After the previous high salary of 15 million US dollars, Arnold signed a basic salary plus profit sharing model of 8 million US dollars with the producer Fox this time, which is almost equal to a half of the salary.

Moreover, after opening the film with 2,401 screens, Arnold still failed to reverse his bad luck. The film’s comprehensive media score was only a pitiful 3.8. Facing the squeeze of a crowd of strong films, this kind of word of mouth has a good box office prospects. And know.

After the three major new films, "Mind Catcher", which was drawn on a large scale within a week, was screened with 1,746 screens.And a small-scale screening of 10 screens of "The British Patient".