Hollywood Domination Chapter 327: Two Jeffs
"Jennifer Jefferson's investment vision is showing off again? At the end of the year, the Oscars will add new troops?"
""Slumdog Millionaire" was a surprise in Cannes, and its European debut won rave reviews from film journalists and ordinary audiences"
"The fate of "Millionaire" was ill-fated. Like the actor Jamal, he went through ups and downs before it was released and finally conquered the audience"
"Director Danny Boyle was interviewed and said, "I have no extravagant expectations for the Cannes Palme d'Or, and the film's participation in the exhibition is a victory""
"The production progress of "Code Name" is slow, but "Millionaire" has already shined. Does Warner regret it now?"
"The European film critics praised "Millionaire", 'This film is a film you cannot miss. It not only has artistic value, but also has extremely high social value'"
"India's death, "Millionaire" set off a boom in Mumbai, Mumbai slums attracted attention"
"The road to survival under extreme conditions, "Millionaire" may change the fate of more people. Senior executives of the production company were interviewed and told the story behind the film production"
"If there is any interesting event in this year's Cannes, there is no doubt that a movie that was originally unknown has suddenly become the object of everyone's attention. The gold content of this news is much greater than the ownership of the Palme d'Or. Before the opening of Cannes, we have been aware of the weight of the participating films through many channels, but no one is aware of "Millionaire" except the presenter, the CEO of Dameng, five-time Oscar winner Jennifer Jefferson What kind of turmoil will be stirred up, all of this is like a movie in itself, from the time when the story was created by the original author Vikas Swalup until it became a movie, and its release in Cannes has aroused critics and audiences alike. The spontaneous attention of the masses, "Millionaire" has gone through a wonderful journey, this journey is full of sweat, poignancy and strange coincidences like fate. The work of an Indian writer was spotted by a British screenwriter and adapted into read the script? This first requires a great chance, and a greater coincidence happened later: Danny Boyle was not recommended to read the script, on the contrary, this director who has been very successful and surrounded by the script all the time suddenly Excited to ask for the script to watch - just hearing that someone is using the idea of "How to Become a Millionaire" to write a script has already aroused his interest, and after he read the script, he resolutely ordered it A decision was made: the director, who knew little about India, would lead the crew to Mumbai, search for talented young actors in the slums, and shoot a British film set in Mumbai, with Indians as the main characters.
It is considered unbelievable in the industry that such a whimsical idea can get financial support. After all, judging from the market reaction, the box office of "Memoirs of a Geisha" is enough to show that even famous directors who increase production cannot conquer it. The hearts of audiences in the English-speaking circle, but Cerrado Films and film4 are willing to take risks for this film, and Warner Independent, as one of the investors, also won the North American copyright within five years. Everything seems to be going in a good direction, but the biggest twists and turns happened after it was filmed. Due to the independent bankruptcy of the main copyright holder, Warner, the future of "Millionaire", which was originally planned to be released as an independent art film, was uncertain. Warner once It was put into the film library to be sold, but then changed its mind and removed it. There are rumors that Warner is going to release it directly on DVD and cancel the release plan. So was stranded. "Millionaire" seemed to be dormant forever, but at this moment, the biggest and final turning point occurred.
Jennifer Jefferson, who is seeking financial and technical support for her new film, is a veritable millionaire—or should I say a billionaire. The anticipated untitled new film (tentatively named "Code") has countless potential investors, and Warner's gift to Jennifer is the copyright of "Millionaire" - use this project to discount, and a full 100 million With the cash, Warner became the partner of "Code Name", and Jennifer did not plan to release "Millionaire" hastily. With her insight, she made adjustments to the tight budget of the film and reshot some shots. , and repackaged it, sent it to Cannes for exhibition, and it is scheduled to be released in December this year for mainstream commercial distribution. Obviously, Dameng is going to make this movie the mainstay of this year's Oscars season. Released blank. Her confidence has attracted criticism, but this strong-willed wizard is not moved at all. "Millionaire" is like the leading actor Jamal. After countless coincidences, as if arranged by fate, he was finally sent to the On the stage of Cannes, thousands of down-and-out people in the slums of Mumbai, as well as well-dressed film critics outside the Cannes screening hall, cheered for it. This is a good start, and its journey has indeed just begun..."
"A film that, when it's in the hands of Warner Independent, even the most seasoned film critics will not pay much attention to it, will only treat it as a niche independent film, in the budget its first The weekly box office will not exceed 2 million, however, but after it was bought by Dameng and fell into the hands of a real star producer, Jennifer Jefferson, things immediately changed, and the movie became a global hit. A well-known work on the film critics' waiting list, once it appeared in Cannes, it immediately won a lot of praise. When it was bought by Jennifer, did the film become different? Did it reborn? Was it once Warner Has all the factors of independent veto disappeared? Obviously this is not the case, and this is what we are going to discuss today, that is the halo effect of celebrities, and the 80/20 law: Regardless of subjective wishes, 80% of resources will flow to the top 20% In his hands, even the remaining 80% will unconsciously contribute to the occurrence of this matter, just like "Millionaire" jumped into the dragon's gate because of Jennifer's favor. This is related to the most instinctive imitation and worship psychology of human beings. From ancient times to the present, it has dominated all seemingly absurd social fashions, and it is one of the interesting phenomena unique to the human species..."
If "A Week with Monroe" is a skeptical and face-slapping work that has been highly anticipated during the production period, but few people are optimistic about it, then "Slumdog Millions" "Rich Man" was a dormant work that no one cared about before, and it didn't shine until Cannes. In addition to the details of the cooperation between Warner and Dameng, the media did not pay any attention to this movie, because although it was released by Dameng, it has nothing to do with Jennifer Jefferson, just like Just like the art films made by Dameng before, the media will not be so special to it just because it is produced by Dameng. In terms of supply and demand, they need Jennifer to drive sales and clicks, while ordinary movies need the media to win. Pay attention, so the attitude here needs to be clarified. Before receiving a call from the PR, the media will not express a particularly enthusiastic attitude.
Since there is no attention, there is no bad-mouthing, so it doesn't matter whether you slap your face or not. The attitude of the media and film critics towards "Millionaire" is quite enthusiastic and curious, and they received previews one after another during Cannes Film Week. The invited film critics all gave extremely positive comments after the first North American preview organized by Big Dream.
"The New York Post" praised "Millionaire" "full score is not enough. This movie is lively, funny, entertaining and tells a serious and sad story. It is Danny Boyle. A masterpiece", Richard Rope and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times also gave two thumbs up, "This film's heart-wrenching, no-nonsense romance explodes on the strength of its narrative. Now, the world is talking about this movie, and for good reason, Danny Boyle's energy is completely erupted here, and it's mesmerizing."
"Time Magazine", "USA Today", "Los Angeles Post", "Hollywood Reporter", "Variety Show"... At the invitation of Dameng, these well-known magazines have published their articles one after another throughout May. The praise of "Slumdog Millionaire", not to mention London, England, the hometown of "Millionaire", has aroused enthusiastic praise and discussions. Taking the platform of the Cannes Film Festival, "Slumdog Millionaire" "The Millionaire" has a very high rating, and it has attracted the attention and discussion of media from all over the world from the very beginning, and because of the profundity of the subject matter, it has not only attracted attention at the film level, but it has been used as an opportunity to Showing to the outside world, or exposing India, a country that is generally considered to be fairly civilized (at least democratic) is a shocking* side. ——In the urban area of Mumbai, an international metropolis, there is such a barren land, where people have almost no basic dignity at all, and of course there is no hope. Is this a problem with the system? Question of caste? Or is it a problem of India's inferiority? Or is it a legacy of history?
Because of this movie, many topics related to India have become hot topics in the international community overnight, and it has also caused embarrassment to the Indian government and huge repercussions in the slums of Mumbai: even in the short term, this Nothing has changed in the film, but even just knowing that the film has sparked international attention has given slum dwellers a sense of long-lost hope that there are people beyond borders, on the other side of the world, who will Being moved and caring about their encounters and difficulties, and just this attention is already a valuable source of energy for them...
Although it hasn't been released yet, judging by the current popularity of "Millionaire", the movie itself will definitely not lose money. The five-year copyright is free for Dameng itself, and then he bought more than one movie in the world. The cost of copyright in this region is also very small. Now even if you just resell the copyright, you can make a lot of money, not to mention the box office when it is released at the end of the year-based on the current popularity, as long as the film crew knows how to hype, they can continue the craze. By the end of the year, with the inevitable nominations in the awards season, will the box office still be bad?
While lamenting that Big Dream once again excavated a high-quality resource, and envious of Jennifer Jefferson's picky vision and her luck, people can't help gloating and cast their eyes on this kind of story The big family used to set off the protagonist's brilliance and martial arts—now that "Millionaire" has shown a big explosion, has no eyes, and has Warner, who has taken the treasure, regretted it?
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"Good job."
While the outside world was wondering whether Jeff Robinov, who promoted this matter with one hand, would be at a disadvantage in Warner's infighting, in the office of Time Warner's Los Angeles office building, he had a video conversation, Accepting the praise from Jeff Bigson, the president of Time Warner Entertainment in New York, who is also a Jeff, this middle-aged man with a deep thought and a thin face rarely asked directly about the group's specific business worksheets. "Don't take the media's comments to heart, we should be happy that 'Millionaire' is getting good news, it just proves that ending Warner's independence is the right idea - a movie that can do well at major festivals , It is obvious that the film should be released commercially. At that time, it was expected to be released only in small-scale art theaters. This shows that Warner's independence is hopeless. They lack the core ability of a production company: the vision of picking movies. Big Dream To be able to expand to this point in a few years, the real key point lies in their vision and their execution, this is a very positive and direct example.”
After taking a short breath, he continued, "However, the idea that the headquarters intends to release it directly on DVD in the future also shows that this is not a problem of Warner's independence, but a general defect of the entire group. I am more interested in your proposal—from this point of view, the profit lost by "Millionaire" is negligible. It can explode, but it makes me more confident in your proposal, and use "" to talk about big dreams. Getting in the relationship, starting to communicate is the real point - it's a really good move, you think ahead of everybody, out of the box, well done Jeff, that's what I want to see in senior management A quality.”
Even though Jeff Robinov is not young anymore, he still couldn't help but smile: I have to admit that he didn't regret his decision, but he also knows that there must be people in the group who take advantage of this His boss sent a message, criticizing his ability and decision-making, and found that Jeff Bigson had thought of him together. This not only made him feel extremely lucky, but also inspired him to appreciate his confidant. ——Indeed, although "Millionaire" has an excellent reputation, its box office is hard to predict. In terms of its investment, it can earn hundreds of millions of dollars at most, and it is possible for Warner to make hundreds of millions of cakes No, since that’s the case, there’s no need to be jealous of Dameng and regret this decision. After receiving Dameng’s offer, Warner also reviewed these movies and evaluated their value, and would make this decision. In fact, it is prepared to bear the result of a certain film's big hit.
If the box office performance of "" is normal, it will be easy for Warner to recover this amount of profit or even more. If this is the case, there will be no loss. 100 million profit, bringing 300 million or even 400 million that can be recovered by the film and television channel of "" and Jennifer Jefferson's favor, as Bigson said, a communication channel, this business is still a big deal Earn extra money. After all, to put it bluntly, without this meeting ceremony, why would Jennifer talk to Warner? She wanted to make a movie, wouldn't Disney be reluctant to pay for it? Therefore, Warner and Robinov were the happiest when "Millionaire" exploded. The absorption plan proposed by Robinov before is even more exciting. The two people will sit down here to discuss how to pry off the corner of Disney and attract Jennifer, who seems to have been so uncomfortable in Disney, to Warner.
"The headquarters showed politeness and restraint in the previous confrontation, which is very good. We must let Jennifer feel Warner's friendliness, unlike Disney, where there is such absurd internal competition." Bigson He pondered and put forward his own thoughts, "There is also the efficiency that I have always emphasized, which is the most important thing for entrepreneurs. It is best to give the results on the t day for the communication between the dream and the headquarters, and the slowest should not exceed t3—— "
Noticing Robinov's hesitant expression, he smiled, "I know, I will coordinate this matter, I will give the green light to Dameng, and her affairs must be the first priority ——It will be the same if she successfully joins Warner, she must create an advantage, otherwise we will not be able to attract her to come here."
"What do you think about the copyright integration I proposed?" Robinov asked, "art films are produced by them alone, and commercial films are produced by Warner, but they are still in charge. Warner does not participate. Everything can be put on paper, and even the copyright can be owned by the subsidiary company at that time, and the parent company's finances will also be independently accounted for, ensuring that they get no less than when they were at Disney."
"Yes, the details can be discussed again, but the specific spirit is to make Jennifer and her fiancé—who is the core figure of the two of them?—feel more convenient and comfortable in Warner, and have more space Show your talents." Bigson said without hesitation. "But there is no need to rush this matter. You can release some goodwill signals before, but before the box office of "Code Name" comes out, don't give a clear promise."
This movie is the first major original production led by Dameng. Bigson is going to further test the limits of Dameng——Robinov nodded, "There are many opinions about this matter , but it doesn't matter who is the real core, anyway, they are all one now - of course, I will personally follow up on this project, you can rest assured, Jeff, the crew has been preliminarily set up, and the actors have basically been confirmed Come on, the shooting should start in June. At the earliest in October, we can initially see the finished product without special effects. At this time next year, the pre-promotion should have started. It is estimated that the summer vacation will be in 10 years. We only need to wait for one year, and we will Now I know how to express my opinion to Dameng."
Although poaching roles after the success of "" will only increase the bargaining chip, the two Jeffs have no doubts about this. According to Robinov's proposal, it is important for Warner to introduce Jennifer It is also a big event, and the ecology of the entire company may change as a result. So this is not a matter of cost, but a matter of face. If """ fails miserably after Jennifer is recruited to the company, then neither of them can afford the cost of infighting.
"One year..." Biggerson flicked his tongue, showing some regret, "For companies with less burdensome burdens, one year is enough for them to ask for a price..."
He sighed, but he still didn't mean to revise the plan, but settled down to confirm Jennifer's current state, "——has their relationship with Disney eased? I know Bob, He absolutely cannot sit still and let this golden hen go, didn't he take the initiative to mend the relationship between Disney and Dream?"
"Bob is hosting a party tonight," Robinov smiled wryly, "Dick and Jennifer will both be there, so at least on the surface, they should be fine, otherwise, Bob I won't rest assured that the two of them will be in the same room."
"It looks like this is a reconciliation party?" Biggerson raised his eyebrows, obviously adding a little more to his mind, and he sighed melancholy, "These are unplanned factors and don't need to be considered again. We still focus on doing "" well, remember, the key is efficiency, we must let Dameng feel the efficiency of Warner, no matter what rumors there are outside, people still believe in what they have experienced..."