American Fortune Life

"GOOD! One word, cool!"

In the screening room of Universal Pictures, with the exaggerated photos appearing on the movie screen, Andy couldn't hold back the smile on his face, clapped his hands and praised, although it was not the first time he watched "The Hangover" It's a B-grade comedy, but it's still laughing from ear to ear.

This is a very bad movie. If the first night in the story was caused by drunkenness, Er was passive, then the action of looking for the groom and memory on the second day was to actively approach Er under the sober consciousness.

In order to be able to find and bring back their friends before the wedding, everyone is constantly challenging their "two" limits, such as accepting electric shocks from the police, negotiating with Tyson to transport the tiger back to the villa, making deals with the Hei gang, Huang Bo, etc. Mr. Zhou, who played the role, made a brilliant appearance, imitating "Rain Man" cheating in the casino, and playing the role of a couple with the tuo dress dancer Charlize Theron to cover his companions from escaping. . . The men who were imprisoned in their lives and could hardly breathe finally broke through the cage in the name of brothers, and they did everything right.

Even now, Andy is intoxicated and still can't extricate himself from the movie. The various bridges are constantly in his mind, and even his ears are buzzing. The end of the story is the most joy. First, the movie itself is really funny, not intentionally. Contrived, not moaning without illness, but its performance is also surprising. What a great satisfaction!

"Laughing from the beginning to the end, it's not exaggerated at all, it's fun without gaps!"

Andy looked at the management of Universal Pictures and the producer and director of the crew of "The Hangover" who also had happy smiles on their faces, and he did not hesitate to praise him.

"The main thing is your story, the boss. The script is wonderful." Director Todd Phillips flattered without losing the opportunity.

"Hehe, thank you, but I saw that improvisation occupies a very large proportion and space in the film. Director, you gave the actors a space to play during the filming process, so that this kind of good effect can be achieved. It is very exciting. Well done!" Andy happily accepted the other party's flattery, stretched out his hand and patted the director's shoulder, and praised him a lot, and the others looked at it with smiles on their faces, and they didn't feel the slightest bit about the old-fashioned manner of the boss. discomfort.

To be honest, the most unexpected achievement of this movie is the wonderful performance of the Chinese actor Huang Bo. Director Todd is not stingy about this. Compliments for comedians.

As for Charlize's guest dancer role, the stalk of feeding the baby with NAI is also a highlight. Although there are no X-rated clips of Charlize in the film, it is still very attractive.

"It's time to start the promotion. I believe "The Hangover" will become the biggest dark horse at the end of the summer season. I am full of confidence in this. No one will refuse a movie that makes them laugh for 100 minutes!"

In the meeting room of Universal Pictures headquarters, Andy said with a satisfied smile on his face, the atmosphere of the meeting was very relaxed and harmonious, and everyone had a happy smile on their faces. Since the reorganization and integration of Universal Pictures, it has become It's not what it used to be, and several consecutive films have sold well, and it is definitely the most dazzling film company in Hollywood this year.

After Andy made a decision, the meeting continued. His subordinates began to report to him about all the operations and the status quo of Hollywood during this period.

2009 was a great year for Hollywood. Although the economic depression has not completely subsided, the American film industry is booming like never before. Faced with such a booming market, filmmakers naturally cannot stop. Looking at the sudden addition of several big productions and project plans for more than a dozen movies in the report in his hand, Andy felt an urge to curse.

The people present really didn't die at all, and they didn't think about who the so-called good times of Universal Pictures were built on? If it weren't for the merger with Summit Entertainment, how could Universal Pictures be brilliant? Summit Entertainment's project, but Andy Smith used the high-quality resources in his memory to accumulate it. It hasn't taken off yet, and this group of guys is going to float. . .

Not to mention this good year,

It doesn't mean that Hollywood will definitely win. I'm afraid the reality is not optimistic, because Wall Street has withdrawn its capital.

From the beginning of 2009, MG Chase, which was supposed to jointly underwrite 700 million US dollars of debt for DreamWorks, suspended this debt underwriting on the grounds of market instability. billion dollars, making DreamWorks break up with Paramount smoothly. The latter, however, recently shelved a $450 million deal with Deutsche Bank that could finance 30 films, including a "Transformers" sequel slated for release this summer.

MGM has also been in some trouble. Since mid-2008, MGM has been trying to strike a $500 million deal to finance a number of films, including James Bond's 23rd installment and the next installment, "The Armored Veyron". MGM and RBS have been talking about the deal for months. But the collapse of many banks has shaken the entire banking industry. Some banks have publicly stated that they will abandon Hollywood and no longer invest in the film industry.

Of course, Hollywood and Wall Street are not new. No one knows when Wall Street will turn around again. Hollywood has always had the credo: big productions have big box office.

However, the risk of distribution increases with the cost of production. Big-budget movies can only make money if they get more screenings and DVD sales around the world. And even if there's only good reviews and no buzz, it's a failure for Hollywood. Hollywood calls such big-budget films "events." In the distribution mechanism of Universal Pictures, the main criterion for selecting a "major event" film is not the prospect of a film in China, but the potential of the film in the global market. It should not only look at the box office, but also look at derivative products.

"This is not just about doing business," Andy said with a serious expression, "We will all face economic uncertainty. This year is a good year, but the future will change for Hollywood. It's getting harder and harder, and Hollywood is actually in a deep depression, and nobody's been there before."

Andy waved his hand and asked the staff to distribute a survey data report to each of the executives in the conference room. When everyone got a copy and started to look through it, he said: "This big data shows that in the financial After the crisis, nearly 66% of US consumers changed their entertainment consumption habits during the fourth quarter of 2008. Consumers are abandoning theaters, refusing to buy DVDs and turning to big-screen TVs and the Internet.

The problem is that the current situation has not suddenly become difficult, but that the clues have already appeared, but Hollywood, which is immersed in the continuous capital marketing, has not noticed it. After all, the tastes and habits of the audience are more worthy of attention only when they are depressed.

Therefore, in the next period of time, our company’s consistent marketing route also needs to be changed, focusing on small productions again, and studying the tastes of audiences during the recession. "The Hangover" will be an attempt. More importantly, in the Chinese market, we need to devote more energy to develop the Chinese market, let's see the box office of the "Transformers" that hit the streets in the United States! "

"Also, save if you can." Andy informed all the executives present in a polite but firm tone, "For quite a long time, look at how we usually spend money, look at our What did you get by doing that?"

Looking at the helplessness and wry smiles on the faces of the people, Andy also knew that it is not possible to save much by saving money alone. Open source is more important than saving money most of the time. Fortunately, this is not the first time that Hollywood has lost Wall Street, and capital may make a comeback in the next financial revival. But according to the think tank, it will take at least 2010 for Hollywood to have any hope of climbing out of the swamp of the Great Recession.