Hollywood Hunter

After Peter Sanders hurried back to Los Angeles on Saturday night, Simon had not heard any news from Fox for three days.

This result was not beyond Simon's expectations, and his seniority in Hollywood was still too shallow after all.

A young man less than 20 years old not only demanded a large share of the terms from the big film companies, but also demanded absolute control over film production. This kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood.

However, with the success of "Lola Run" at the box office, Simon no longer has the lack of choice as he did a few months ago.

Simultaneously with the help of the crew of "Blood Corpse Night", Simon also made some private plans for "The Grim Reaper", this plasma thriller is very suitable for the Halloween schedule at the end of the year.From the end of February to the end of October, the 8-month preparation, production, and distribution cycle also appeared just right.

Therefore, Simon does not intend to tie himself to Fox.If Fox Pictures did not respond before the weekend, Simon planned to release the message and seek another collaborator.

At the same time, as the popularity and word of mouth continued to ferment, the box office of the second week of "Laura Run" not only did not fall, but increased again.

From February 20 to February 22, in the three days of the second week, due to the increase in the number of screens, "Roller Run" still achieved a 21% box office increase compared to the four days in the first week, reaching 6.69 million US dollars.

Immediately after the following four working days, the second-week box office of "Laura Run" reached a high of 9.56 million US dollars, second only to "11.10 million US dollars" of "Field Volleyball", successfully leaping to the second place in the North American box office ranking of the week. Name location.

The two films released by their own companies occupy the top two positions in the single-week box office rankings, and the North American box office of both films is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars. Orion Pictures has been in the limelight for a time.

"Lola Run", a film that has become the focus of the entire federal topic, naturally has no obstacles for subsequent release.

Mike Medova, the president of Orion Pictures, originally planned to roll out the film's screening as soon as possible, but after a detailed phone conversation with Simon, he quite agreed with his concept of'hunger marketing'.In the end, Orion was still not eager to greatly increase the scale of the screening of "Roller Run" in the third week, but only increased the number of screens to 536, and the related theaters were still concentrated on the west coast of the United States.

Many years later, three weeks after a movie was released, either the popularity had faded, or the pirated resources were all over the sky. It didn’t make any sense to continue to increase the scale of the show.

However, in the mid-1980s, the speed of information dissemination was far less rapid than in the Internet era, and film and television piracy was not as rampant as it was afterwards. Multiple rounds of screening mechanisms for sequentially drawing from large cities to small towns still exist. Many third and fourth lines Small towns often take a month or two to see some big movies.

Therefore, the three weeks of word-of-mouth accumulation does not seem to be a long time for "Laura Run", it will only increase the expectations of the audience.

On the other hand, Simon waited patiently until Friday, but Fox Pictures still did not give any answer, he called Jonathan Friedman, and entrusted the agent to find himself in the search for a partner for "The Grim Reaper". The news was revealed.

Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.

The time is Monday, March 2.

Fox Pictures President Ronald Goldberg walked into the Morton restaurant where Hollywood filmmakers often dine in the evening. As soon as he entered the door, he felt that many people who had originally dine were looking at him with different eyes.

Although inexplicably feeling a little embarrassed, Ronald Goldberg casually said a few words to the welcoming waiter before being taken to a dining table.

At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties was sitting by the table. He was bald and somewhat unremarkable, with the same standard Jewish nose.However, no one in the entire restaurant will look down on each other because of their appearance,

Noting that Ronald Goldberg came over, Barry Diller, who was reading a newspaper, immediately got up and smiled and shook hands with him. He returned to the table and sat down.

After chatting casually and ordering dinner, Ronald Goldberg glanced at the newspaper in front of Barry Diller, this is a "Los Angeles Herald", there is also a striking butterfly picture on the page, as An evening paper that is also more biased towards the dynamics of the Hollywood industry, Ronald Goldberg easily judged that this picture should be related to "Butterfly Effect".

Barry Diller followed Ronald Goldberg's gaze and looked at the newspaper in front of him, and then asked: "I heard that the screening of this movie is not very good?"

With a little hesitation in his tone, Ronald Goldberg said: "Everyone thinks the story is very complete and very exciting, but the few film critics who participated in the screening did not like it very much. They think the plot of the film is too scattered. The main line is not clear enough..."

Barry Diller frowned slightly when he heard the words.In this era, the most direct impression of ordinary people on a movie is the newspaper critics. If the critics do not evaluate well, it will undoubtedly hinder the enthusiasm of the audience to enter the cinema.

After thinking about it, Barry Diller asked, "What are you going to do?"

Ronald Goldberg said: "We will hold an internal audience preview on Wednesday, and make some adjustments depending on the situation. Then, I plan to schedule the schedule for Easter, you know, the "Roller Run", Maybe you can get some popularity."

Ronald Goldberg said this, but the tone was obviously bitter.

A week ago, Peter Sanders brought back Simon’s various requests for the "Death Is Coming" project from Arizona, and Ronald Goldberg was almost smirked.

The young man was too daring to speak. Ronald Goldberg has worked in the media industry for thirty years. He has never seen a guy who dares to put such conditions on the film company. He thinks he is Spielberg. ?

So, Ronald Goldberg simply chose to ignore each other.

However, Ronald Goldberg hesitated as the news of Simon Westero's search for a partner for "Reaper's Coming" came out on the weekend, and the box office data for the three days this past weekend was released this morning. Not sure.

The news released by Simon Westero will not be mentioned for the time being, as long as Fox does not take the initiative to give up, the other party will not be able to reach cooperation with other film companies.

but.

At the box office data of "Lola Run" over the past three days, many people have actually looked at it.

In the third week of the painting, the number of screens increased to 536, but the three-day box office of "Roller Run" still reached $20,110 at the box office.

According to a report in Hollywood, due to a series of recent media discussions, "Laura Run" not only attracted the interest of audiences of all ages, but also formed a wave of movie watching among the young audience. These young people Everyone thinks "Laura Run" is a very cool movie, so it is generally chosen to watch it repeatedly.

The report's results even show that the scarcity of screening theaters has actually inspired many people to queue up to grab tickets to watch movies.

Finally, on the third weekend, "Roller Run" reached 10.78 million US dollars at the box office. It easily suppressed the new line of film "Menggui Street 3", which was drawn with 1343 screens this week, and won the weekend box office rankings. .

As of now, the total box office in North America for Rolla Run has reached 27.31 million US dollars.This box office number alone has made most Hollywood movies unmatched.

Moreover, now that it has reached the top of the weekend box office charts, in the current low season of the film, "Laura Run" wants to maintain its championship position for a long time is simply a breeze.

The first place is always the most concerned.

"Rola Run" already has a very high degree of topic, and then continue to maintain the position of the weekly box office champion, it will definitely attract more people's interest in this movie, and then form a virtuous circle.

The box office of the film has reached 27.31 million in two and a half weeks.Well, with continued'looping', the final box office of this film is likely to be better than the media's general expectations.

Ronald Goldberg came here in thought, and he didn't even want to continue thinking.

I regret it.

The waiter brought the dinner up at this time, but Barry Diller didn't pick up the cutlery, and looked at Ronald Goldberg on the opposite side, but he didn't know what to say for a while.

Barry Diller and Ronald Goldberg are two decades old.

It was Ronald Goldberg who was still working in the ABC production department to promote Barry Diller in one hand, and this was the success of Barry Diller's continuous success on the ABC TV network and Paramount Pictures.

Three years ago, Barry Diller was driven out of the company by Martin Davis, the jealous and jealous chairman of Paramount’s parent company, and it was precisely at the recommendation of Ronald Goldberg that he was able to serve as the twentieth century. Chairman and CEO of Fox.

Twentieth Century Fox was in charge of Fox Television Network and Fox Pictures. Ronald Goldberg equaled his former subordinate as his top supervisor.

This is the grace of two encounters.

Therefore, Barry Diller has always been grateful to Ronald Goldberg.

However, as the leader of Fox Films, Ronald Goldberg put this film company's business unsatisfactory, Fox Films has not appeared in North America at the box office for more than three million years.

Because of his deep personal relationship, Barry Diller will not drive Ronald Goldberg out of the company anyway. He even rarely interferes with Ronald Goldberg's management of Fox Pictures.But both sides are very clear that if the situation continues, the company's major shareholder Rupert Murdoch will not tolerate Fox Film has been so tepid.

After a moment of silence, Barry Diller said: "Ronald, I have heard about the young man, and there is news from the weekend."

Ronald Goldberg smiled bitterly and said, "Barry, do you think I should agree to him? It's just a hairy boy who can't reach his 20s, but he suggests that Spielberg will not Harsh conditions that speak easily."

"Isn't there a premise?" Barry Diller said: "16 million US dollars, although this guarantee is lower, but if you only need 8 million US dollars in production costs, Fox is definitely profitable."

Ronald Goldberg said: "If that's the case, of course it is possible to talk about it. But, he also demanded absolute control of the project. The director, the actor, the shooting, the final editing, it was all up to him. . How can I be assured."

"I just watched "Rola Run" in the afternoon," Barry Diller said: "For an 18-year-old young man, it is definitely a very good movie. So, Ronald, if you can be sure "Lola Run" was really done by him in person, maybe, you can agree to it."

Ronald Goldberg was still a little hesitant: "It's certain. But Barry, you know, this kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood."

"This happens to be a point of publicity in the future," Barry Diller laughed. "It's like his age of 18 years old. Speaking of which, this is really a wonderful movie marketing. If he is not 18 years old, this movie The movie can get a box office of up to US$10-20 million. But now, it can get US$120-200 million. If the related marketing plan is also planned by the young man, it would be amazing. So, Rona De, I suggest you try to get this young man under the umbrella of Fox Pictures as much as possible, maybe you will get a second Spielberg."

Ronald Goldberg heard Barry Diller say so much, and of course understood that the other party had good intentions.He has always admired Barry Diller's vision and ability, otherwise he will not be inferior, and naturally takes his suggestions very seriously.

Moreover, Ronald Goldberg is more aware of his current situation.

If the situation of Fox Pictures cannot be improved as soon as possible, he will not only want to roll away after the contract expires next year, it will be difficult to find a comparable job in other studios in the future.

It attracted a young man who had just emerged in Hollywood, although he felt a little bit sick and went to hospital.

However, well-known Hollywood directors either have a very stable cooperative film company, or have a lot of contracts that can't be done. Ronald Goldberg simply cannot have more choices.

Thinking this way, nodding, Ronald Goldberg said: "Well, then I will talk to him as soon as possible."