Chapter 80 80. Setting up the Game and Daniel Wu
It is the beginning of March, and Whale Rider has been released for half a month.
Facts have proved that even if art films are promoted under the banner of environmental protection and animal protection, they are still art films and it is impossible to achieve high box office.
Those animal protection and environmental protection activists usually make their voices louder, but when it comes to contributing to the box office of the movie, they are silent.
It fully demonstrates what it means that you can talk but not take action, which is a bit similar to a keyboard warrior.
In just half a month, the North American box office of "Whale Rider" has just reached 16 million US dollars. Judging from this trend, it will be about 20 million US dollars in the end.
However, this movie should still make a fortune in Europe and Australia, especially New Zealand, as the movie directly describes the local ethnic group.
It is expected that the global box office will earn more than 40 million US dollars. Compared with the cost of 7 million US dollars and the publicity and promotion expenses, it will certainly not lose money, but it will not make much money either.
The good news is that the rating on IMDB is not bad, currently reaching 8 points. Even if it drops a bit in the later period, it should be able to be maintained above 7.5 points.
Wait until the Cannes Film Festival in May and submit the film. If you are lucky enough to win an award, it will be very beneficial for the subsequent sale of the copyright.
As for the filming of "Transformers", the scenes in Los Angeles have been completed. This was the most difficult scene to shoot. Under Eric's coordination, no major problems occurred.
After filming this part, Eric left the crew again. After all, in addition to filming, he also had to take care of company matters.
Patty Jenkins continued to lead the team to shoot small scenes such as family scenes. After Neil Blomkamp finished shooting at the Hoover Dam, he led the team to Utah to shoot.
The terrain here is complex, with mountains, deep valleys, gravel, and rivers. The vast and beautiful environment has always been Hollywood's favorite filming location.
After a month of shooting experience, the crew had gotten along pretty well and Eric had also figured out the trick.
For him as the chief director, as long as he makes the script solid enough and finds one or two capable assistant directors, he can actually leave most of the work to them.
You just need to take some time to shoot, check the progress, and remedy any problems in time, and a commercial film can be produced.
When the movie is released, my name will naturally be on the director's list. Although some of the scenes were not shot by me, the people filming them are my puppets. Is there any difference between that and if I shot them myself?
There is absolutely no difference! Of course, the premise is that it is a commercial film that does not pay much attention to details. Art films that pay attention to details are much more troublesome.
During this period of contact, Eric found that Patty Jenkins was very capable and was fully qualified as an executor.
However, she also has shortcomings. She always likes to quibble over details. This kind of person is more suitable for art films.
Neill Blomkamp is also talented, but he needs at least two or three more films to grow into his role.
When it comes to the next movie, I don’t know who to ask to be the assistant director.
In addition, Eric has been writing several scripts since he was filming at the Nevada military base. Now the outlines have been completed, namely "Happy Death Day", "A Quiet Place" and "Hold Your Breath", three thriller horror films.
The production department has already been arranged to find a screenwriter to fill in the script, and it is estimated that it will be completed and start shooting in more than a month.
He originally wanted to make "IT", but when he started writing, he suddenly realized that the copyright was in the hands of Warner, so he had to give up.
In the MGM building, Eric and his father are discussing something in the office.
My dad's former secretary Susan has officially accepted the new position and has already set off to the other side of the ocean to set up an outpost.
Eric got a new secretary, who turned out to be another blonde with wavy hair and younger than Susan. Eric couldn't help but doubt their relationship again.
"Eric, I've already asked someone to investigate the matter of Double Star Entertainment."
"What was the result?" Eric sat up straight.
"In general, Double Star Entertainment's performance has declined in recent years, and the company's valuation is around $600 million, or maybe a little lower."
"The largest shareholder is Robert Solnit, who owns 45% of the company. The Olsen sisters' parents each own 5%, and the two sisters each own 22.5%."
"Robert Solnit seems to have had bad luck recently. He left the market in disgrace during the stock market crash last year. He must have lost a lot of money, but the exact amount cannot be found."
"After he suffered a major setback in the stock market, several companies actually wanted to acquire his shares in Double Star Entertainment."
"But Solni never sold it. I learned that the reason was that he asked for too high a price."
"Based on his shares, the maximum value is $270 million, but this guy has a big appetite and seems to think that the Olsen sisters are still in high demand, so he asked for $500 million."
"What a stupid old guy. No wonder he can only hang around in the TV circle all his life."
After Dad finished speaking, Eric asked, "So this guy definitely won't be sold?"
“We will sell it, unless we offer $500 million.”
"Ha ha ha ha."
The father and son laughed at the same time, treating reality as a fool from the Thousand and One Nights.
"After learning all this, I didn't find a middleman to test him. If he knew it was MGM that was acquiring the company, I think he would have dared to ask for 600 million yuan."
Eric shook his head. "That's not necessary. He lost a lot of money in the stock market. I don't believe he doesn't need money. Since this guy still has illusions, let's set him up."
"What do you want to do?"
"The company has been developing very well recently. How about using the financing to do something about it?"
Some things can be understood in one sentence. Dad smiled and said, "Can't we use AK video?"
"No, AK Films has only produced one hit movie, Sharknado, and the others are knockoffs that don't go to theaters. They are too weak to attract viewers."
"And since we are going to take over, even if we can't take over all of Solnit's shares, we have to at least take over most of them. Only then will MGM be attractive."
Dad nodded: "Okay, I'll find the specific person. To be honest, I haven't done this kind of thing for a long time. We can also release some information about the recent media interviews."
The plan for Robert Solnit has been finalized for the time being, and Dad briefly talked about the revenue of several recently released movies.
The box office revenue sharing for "Red Dragon" and "Barbershop" has already been received, while the revenue sharing for "Die Another Day" is about to come, while that for "Saw" will come later.
The copyrights of these films also sold very well, and "Red Dragon" continued to perform well on DVD, which is the consistent style of the Hannibal series.
Although "Saw" has not been released yet, high-scoring R-rated movies have always been the most popular products in the DVD market.
So far, the total revenue of several films is about 175 million US dollars, and this revenue will continue to increase, and is expected to reach 300 million US dollars by the end of the year.
In addition, there were various revenues from the sale of copyright-related peripherals in the fourth quarter of 2002, totaling US$233 million.
Movies are a long-term business. Box office revenue has always been a small part of the business, while the bulk of the business always comes from subsequent copyrights and peripherals.
"Eric, besides the Transformers, there is another thing you need to pay attention to."
"What?"
"If Darabont wants to win an Emmy for the zombie TV series he's working on, we don't have much time left."
"Yeah, I remember it. Take some time to watch it. At least make a pilot episode first."
“Which TV station are you going to sell it to?”
"I haven't decided yet. Let me think about it."
In the United States, the production of TV series is different from that of movies, and the pilot episode that Eric mentioned is a characteristic of American TV series.
Unlike movies, which are usually produced by major film and television companies, TV series are more often funded and produced by TV stations.
This situation is very prominent in this year, but in 20 years, the situation will change dramatically.
At that time, major film and television companies also began to get involved in TV drama production.
After all, compared to a two-hour movie, a TV series of more than ten hours can often attract more ratings and clicks. Ratings and clicks are traffic, and traffic is dollars.
Looking at the present, the general production process of American TV series is like this.
First, major TV stations will purchase scripts on the market, usually several hundred, and then conduct internal reviews, with more than 80% screened out in the first round.
This is followed by a second round of screening, during which more than 80% are eliminated again. At this point, there are generally only a dozen or twenty scripts left.
Then we recruit a team to produce the pilot episode, which is the 0th episode of Season 0 that we sometimes see.
After the pilot episode is produced, it is screened internally and broadcast on the radio, and the audience's opinions are heard. Finally, about 5 episodes are selected to be retained, and the others are screened out again.
The entire process takes about one and a half to two years, and more than 97% of the scripts are rejected during the entire process. The competitive pressure is extremely high and the competition rules are very cruel.
But that is relative to ordinary American TV series. "The Walking Dead" is a completely different model. It is produced directly by film and television companies and does not have to look at the TV station's face at all.
If you are not sure, you can shoot a pilot episode. If you are sure like Eric, you can just shoot a season and sell it.
The model is somewhat similar to that in China, and is also somewhat similar to the streaming model in the United States 20 years later.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
It all comes down to one core point: whoever holds the money has it. You can do whatever you want with your own investment, but when it comes to TV station investment, you have to listen to others.
On the set of "The Walking Dead", Eric got out of the car and walked into the studio.
After finishing work on Transformers, Bordeaux joined the show as a producer.
Seeing Eric coming, he immediately walked over quickly.
"I'll go get Frank."
"Wait, let him finish filming this scene. How's the progress now?"
"It's not bad. At least we are proceeding according to the shooting schedule. It just costs more for overtime pay."
"So the crew often has to rush to meet deadlines?"
Bordeaux smiled bitterly and said, "There's nothing we can do. Time is still a little tight. And you know Frank. He's not the kind of person who would sacrifice quality for speed. So the only option left is to work overtime."
Eric nodded: "It's the right thing to do. The quality of the show should be the first priority. By the way, how much has the budget been spent?"
Knowing in advance that Eric was coming, Bordeaux prepared all the accounts and took them out from the box nearby.
"I summarized it and this is a simple account. So far, 68% of the budget has been spent, totaling 28.96 million US dollars."
Eric took the account book and started to look through it, but even someone in the industry would still be confused by the various bills.
He also knew that there must be something fishy going on. This kind of thing is unavoidable. If you don't let the people below you get some benefits, how can they work hard?
So as long as the result is good enough, you can be a little greedy.
After browsing for a while, Eric said, "Overtime pay will be paid, but you have to stick to a bottom line. The maximum budget is $45 million, and it must not exceed this amount."
"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on the crew and do my best to keep the budget within 40 million US dollars." Bordeaux assured, patting his chest.
Eric turned his attention back to the filming and never took care of the casting.
I looked around and thought that apart from Barlefali, I wouldn't know anyone, but I unexpectedly found quite a few acquaintances.
Andrew Lincoln still plays the male lead Rick. After all, the show was filmed six years in advance. Eric thought that there would be a replacement because the age did not match.
Rick is set to be a sheriff, but the young actor's face is not convincing at first.
But after reading his resume, I found out that Andrew Lincoln is actually 31 years old. His face is not much different from the original time and space. He is not old, but not young either.
Norman Reedus is still the actor who plays Daryl Cross. He is 34 years old this year, which is suitable for his age. This charming role still falls on him.
Melissa McBride still plays the role of Cam's mother. She is 38 years old this year and is an old team member of Darabont. Naturally, Baldy contacted her first. Melissa also appeared in the movie "The Mist".
In addition to these familiar faces, Eric also discovered an actor who surprised him a little.
The original actor who played Green was Korean Steven Yeun, but this time he was replaced by young Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu.
Actually, he is not that young. His resume shows that Daniel Wu is 29 years old this year, but he looks younger as an Asian.
After a scene was shot, Frank Darabont came over.
"Eric, this is your first time on the set. I thought you had forgotten about this show."
Eric laughed. "How is that possible? This is a carefully crafted drama by MGM, and I was the one who started it. I just really trust you, Frank."
Darabont suddenly felt relieved.
He took the cup of water handed to him by the assistant and took a big sip: "I know your purpose. You want to know the progress of the filming, right? Don't worry, I will definitely not miss the Emmy Awards."
"In a month and a half at most, I can produce at least the first six episodes. As for the remaining six episodes, we can shoot and broadcast them at the same time."
"By the way, I always forgot to ask, you always said that you can't miss the Emmy Awards, when exactly do you plan to broadcast it?"
Eric spread his hands and said, "This is why I'm here, Frank. I need you to cut the first episode as soon as possible so that I can sell it."
Frank Darabont touched his ears, thinking he had heard it wrong.
"Eric, hasn't MGM reached an agreement with the TV station yet?"
"No, but I am very confident in The Walking Dead. It will definitely start a craze for zombie-themed movies, and whoever buys it will make a profit."
It took him a moment to react. Darabont thought that only rich people know how to have fun and don't follow the rules at all.
However, thinking back on his filming during this period, he knew that MGM was indeed confident of this.
When these zombies run and bite on the TV screen, many people will go crazy for them.
"Well, you're in luck. I've almost finished editing the first episode and it will be out in two days. Is that ok?"
"Of course, I have always trusted your abilities."
Eric said as he looked towards Daniel Wu: "This Chinese actor is good, he looks great, his face is suitable for the big screen."
Darabont nodded in agreement: "Daniel Wu knows Kung Fu and is very agile. He can perform many action scenes in one take. He is a great young man. Perhaps he will become the next Jack Chen or Jeter Lee."
"Well, remember to change your nationality to Huaxia. People from several countries on the other side of the strait are very clear about the differences. Don't make a fool of yourself."
"Really? I feel like people from China, South Korea, and RB all look pretty much the same."
"And can you tell the difference between Germans, Norwegians and Swedes?"
Darabont shook his head. “I only know Canadians, Americans and Mexicans.”
"Yes, it seems you understand this."
Nicole Kidman will appear after 5 chapters, so please stay tuned.
(End of this chapter)