Made in Hollywood

"Your mother called me."

On Monday morning, when Scarlett Johansson was sent to the school gate, Duke told her, "She will come to pick you up after school today, don't run around, understand?"

After getting out of the car, the little girl staggered towards the school. Duke didn't start the car until he saw her entering the school gate. When he arrived at the Duke's studio, the agent Nancy Josephson was already waiting in the office. .

During the recent period, Nancy's main energy has been on the negotiation of "Saving Private Ryan", and she has frequent contact with the senior management of several major Hollywood companies, and the negotiation has gradually achieved preliminary results.

"Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have clear investment intentions."

Sitting across from Duke, Nancy Josephson briefly said about the current situation, "Because of the successful cooperation of "Independence Day", the two companies also intend to continue to cooperate, and they have the most confidence in you. The trouble is that Walt Disney wants to be a part of it and, like Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, has pushed the project into the pre-review stage after receiving our script."

"What about the attitude of Warners and Fox?" Duke asked.

"Independence Day is too much money." Nancy Josephson gave a wry smile of delight, "Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox didn't want to easily share 'Saving Private Ryan' with others. Benefit."

"When will they pass the audit?"

This is what Duke is most concerned about. "I want to know the approximate time of the project!"

"October at the earliest." Nancy Josephson was also a little helpless. "After so long, you must be well aware that Duke, every investment made by a Hollywood production company is not an easy thing."

Duke can only nod his head. If it is true as rumored, a Hollywood CEO can decide to invest tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of movie projects with a few words, and he will not be so troublesome and wait every time.

Unfortunately, any commercial company has a mature operating system and power constraints, and each investment is both risky and prudent.

"Also, Duke." Nancy Josephson continued, "Disney doesn't want to give up, their people are still negotiating with Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, and Michael Eisner called me personally yesterday. Call, want to ask about your attitude towards Disney investment."

"What do you think of Disney?" she asked.

"The support of one more major studio is only good for our films."

Although Michael Eisner has a bad reputation for being authoritarian, it has nothing to do with Duke, "As long as Disney does not interfere excessively with the filming and production of the film, I personally welcome it, and if they support my proposed director sharing agreement, then I raise my hands. welcome."

Nowadays, it is basically a matter of course for Duke to get the top director's treatment and the director's rights including the final editing rights. Co-producer talks in detail.

Of course, according to Nancy Josephson, if Duke personally expressed his support for Disney to join the investment ranks, then the other party owes him a small favor. If it is useful to Disney in the future, the requirements are not excessive. ? Eisner's credibility will not refuse.

Hollywood is both competitive and cooperative, and some relationships are quite delicate. The premise of all this is that Duke, like Spielberg, already has the capital to negotiate with major companies.

Newcomer directors and directors who have achieved top box office results have a huge difference in status and treatment in Hollywood, and even the gap cannot be described.

The two discussed a few more things about "Saving Private Ryan" and the investors, and the topic gradually turned to other aspects.

"I just got the news, Duke."

Nancy Josephson mentioned ICM's rival, "Michael Ovitz has left CAA and will be joining Walt Disney as CEO starting next month."

"Who is CAA taking over?" Duke immediately became interested.

"Your old acquaintance, Martin Bob, one of the founders of CAA, defeated Eno Martin and became the new controller of CAA."

Hearing Nancy's words, Duke nodded slowly. The other party was one of CAA's giants. In CAA, regardless of his seniority or power, he was second only to Michael Ovitz. It was no surprise that he won this internal competition.

The completion of the handover of CAA's controllers means the end of internal competition. As long as this giant in the entertainment brokerage industry is driven by its inherent model, it will inevitably continue to move forward, and even more and more Hollywood stars and directors can be gathered. many.

If I remember correctly, the internal friction will be transferred to Walt Disney. Although I don't know when Michael Ovitz took office and left, the brokerage giant who was exaggeratedly described by the media as the most powerful man in Hollywood , will soon withdraw from the historical stage of Hollywood and gradually be forgotten.

Facts have also proved that compared with the giants of film and media companies such as Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz is much worse in terms of ability and other aspects.

Just as Duke and Nancy Josephson were discussing the next film project, many people walked into a conference room at the CAA headquarters in Century City to prepare for CAA's heavy packaging project.

"Mel, long time no see."

The new-looking Sean Connery, in a suit and leather shoes, took the initiative to walk over and hug Mel Gibson, "Thank you for your invitation."

"There is absolutely no one in Hollywood who is better suited to play the Scottish aristocracy than you."

Pulling a distance, Mel Gibson laughed heartily, "This film tells a story about Scottish independence. How could I forget the people who have been pursuing Scottish independence."

Hollywood directors and stars often have their own political affiliations and political aspirations. This has been the case for many years, and many films packaged under politics often achieve unexpected results and effects.

The last person who walked into the conference room was Shirley Lansing, CEO of the investor Paramount Pictures. From this aspect, it can be seen that Paramount Pictures attached great importance to this packaging project.

After a few brief greetings, the preparatory meeting officially kicked off.

"The currently confirmed actors are me and Sean."

Mel Gibson, the director and actor, quickly brought the meeting to the topic, "As for the heroine, I plan to invite French actress Sophie Marceau, who fits the role and has a certain international reputation. Going into Hollywood, the pay isn’t going to be high.”

No one objected to this suggestion, and Mel Gibson, the project's first producer, obviously had considerable say, he continued, "The production budget for the film is $55 million, and the title will be officially titled "The Brave" "Heart", the main location will be in Ireland, and the Irish military has agreed to provide us with the necessary assistance."

He looked at Shirley Lansing, "Has Paramount set a release date?"

"We'll take your advice," Shirley Lansing said directly. "The North American release of the film will be the weekend before Memorial Day."

This is another important period in addition to the Independence Day holiday in the summer vacation. The time is the last Monday in May every year. It is also a legal holiday. It is connected with the two weekends to form a short vacation of three consecutive days. It can be said that it is a major business Produce a very favorable release date.

"Shirley, CAA will cooperate with Paramount."

This is the first packaging project led by CAA. Martin Bob naturally wants to succeed, "I think from the official preparation of the film, we must invest resources to carry out a series of publicity, so that the market can get the Memorial of the Fallen next year as soon as possible. Today there is information about the release of such a big production.”

"Paramount has a well-developed publicity plan."

Although Paramount Pictures' "Forrest Gump" was a huge hit, it was a legacy project from her predecessor, and Shirley Lansing, who took over as CEO, also needed a blockbuster production to stabilize her position, "Actually, , starting next week, the pre-publicity plan for the film will be launched, and Viacom will use media resources including CBS."

The investment of more than 50 million US dollars can already be classified into the category of big production in this day and age. With Mel Gibson's appeal, as long as the publicity is in place, it is not difficult to attract the attention of fans.

"Are there any strong competing films released in the same period?" Mel Gibson asked suddenly.

"Not yet..."

Martin Bob flipped through the information in front of him and said, "Judging from the currently announced films, there are no major productions in the same period."

"Mel, based on your achievements in the past few years."

Another CAA agent said with a smile, "With the full support of CAA and Paramount Pictures, as long as we announce that the film will be released on the Memorial Day schedule, even if other films have plans for the same schedule, I believe we will take the initiative. make adjustments."

Mel Gibson has a rebellious personality, and nodded in agreement at this time. The films he has acted in in recent years have been selling well one after another, and he really deserves such praise.

When the new Monday arrived, CAA and Paramount Pictures jointly held a press conference to officially announce the new project "Braveheart", and also announced the release date of the film, although not too much was revealed. The content of the film, but Mel Gibson's self-directed and self-acted still caused a certain sensational effect.

Duke didn't notice this. Recently, Sofia Coppola, Zach Snyder and John Schwartzman have ended their vacations, and he has reconvened his team to develop storyboard sketches and scripts. At the same time, it is also waiting for the results of the negotiations between Nancy Josephson and the film company.

Of course, Duke also pays attention to the real-time box office of "Independence Day". After all, this is directly related to his actual income, especially the overseas box office. If the expected effect can be achieved, the income will directly exceed the North American box office.