Hollywood Domination Chapter 364: Zen Walk
"The world has exceeded 800 million?"
Opening a page of the document, Robert Iger raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw the number marked with a pen on the briefing, "Is there any Tiaocangguo opened last week? This number has increased It's a bit abnormal."
"The Japanese market's response to "Alice" is better than we thought," Rich Ross, who was sitting at the end of the conference table, took up the conversation, "It was originally expected to be around 90 million. results, but according to the current trend, it should be able to reach between 120 million and 130 million in the end, and I am quite sure about this number.”
"They are really good at the Japanese market." Robert nodded thoughtfully, "So, the final global box office of "Alice" should be able to touch the 1 billion mark?"
"It can only be said that there is this opportunity-the proportion of decline in the United States is larger than estimated. It seems that there is no hope of breaking through 400 million. If the local area stops at 300 million, the world can accumulate another 1 before the next gear. If it is 100 million, it can pass 1 billion." Rich said, he looked through the information beamingly, "According to the current box office valuation, deducting the announcement, the box office of "Alice" should reach 200-300 million US dollars .”
As a movie with an investment of 200 million yuan, it is very rare good news that it can recover all costs and make a profit at the box office stage. Coupled with Disney's outstanding peripheral development capabilities, the follow-up profit of this project will reach 2 billion, 3 billion is not impossible-there is no project related to Alice Wonderland in Disneyland. If such a project is added, the entire profit figure is already difficult to calculate.
If it were normal, such a movie with the same size as "Pirates of the Caribbean" would be enough for Disney executives to celebrate and look forward to the end of this year-basically, a movie has the largest profit range. Disney has achieved the best in the industry, and others can only envy and hate it. How can this not make the decision-makers proud? ——But today, hearing such a report, Robert just smiled, and Rich's joy did not reach the level of a gaffe. After all, "Avatar" has not yet been released, and the billions of dollars in profits are for it. , what is it?
"What's the global box office of "Avatar" now?" After talking about the major release of the movie, Robert started his regular inquiry for several months, "It's already May, don't tell me The world is still skyrocketing - with "Alice", there should be an obvious squeeze curve, right?"
"There are still more than 40 regions in the world that are still in the upper gear, but judging from the curve, the life cycle should be coming to an end," the data specialist Almond said briskly after typing a few times on the computer , "The current global box office is 2.88 billion, and it may end at 2.9 billion in the end. It is not so possible to break through 3 billion. In North America, the final box office will be a bit reluctant to break through 800 million. It can be predicted It ends at the level of 780 million to 90 million. If calculated according to this figure, the figure that Fox got back from the movie box office should be around 1.1 billion. After deducting 10% of the distribution share, the big dream should be able to come to an end. As for the DVD and various licensing income after that, it is conservatively estimated that the entire transaction size should be around 10 billion... Whether it is Fox or Dream, it should not be the same for a long time. I'm short of money."
Because Disney is an important shareholder of Dameng and does not usually intervene in the operation, so of course we must maintain sufficient vigilance and supervision in terms of finances. He also added these figures when calculating, so that the CEO can judge whether Dameng is still there. under control.
What the mid-to-long-term income of 2 billion means for the Disney headquarters, the data analysis of "Alice" is already very clear. Big Dream is equivalent to making a best-selling "Alice in Wonderland" level. Movie, and this also made Rich’s expression a little unnatural: Even though he had made his own decision and chose Robert’s side, seeing the rapid development of the big dream, he didn’t feel threatened , that must be false.
With this 2 billion, Dameng's ability to resist risks will definitely be greatly enhanced, and it will also have more capital to diversify its business-this is almost their only choice, after all, the total box office in North America does not fluctuate. In the big case, the more movies you make every year, it doesn't mean the bigger the profit, unless you can control your own movies are always good movies, and more importantly - control competitors' movies are always bad movies Otherwise, under the influence of various factors, the maximum profit of a company is limited. All this is not as simple as making a good movie-expanding market share. Doing TV series, comics, animation... Almost all film and television production companies have come here, such a group. Now at least Dameng has the ability to raise money. The question is whether Disney, the shareholder, can agree. .
Of course, for a wholly-owned subsidiary like Marvel, their strategic goals must be recognized by Disney, including the most important distribution, copyright distribution, etc., all of which are completed by Disney, which can help them concentrate more For animation production and film shooting, it allows the group to integrate high-quality resources within the group to avoid repeated investment and useless internal friction. However, for Dameng, who has been building its own distribution department, will they continue to build Disney’s existing TV drama production company? Weihe, Pixar, and Disney Animation have animation and comic development... To be honest, Disney really can't control it. Over the past few years, Big Dream has almost frozen its shareholding ratio, and now it is a Class A in the hands of Jennifer alone. Equity has made the decision-makers feel more and more uncomfortable-due to the close relationship between Robert and Jennifer, and Jennifer's genius investment vision, so far no one has pointed out this issue on any occasion, but Robert himself , would you be unaware of the problem?
"How much did the box office in China reach in the end?" Robert asked calmly as if he didn't see the change in Rich's expression.
"200 million." Almond, as the relatively lowest-level data analysis expert in the meeting, was the most unrestrained, "The last theater was also released a week ago, and the final figure was around 210 million—" ——This is also the highest box office of Avatar overseas—this also means that China has become the first country in the world other than the United States that can produce 200 million movies. In addition, I read Paul Degarabidean’s talk about The latest forecast article of the Chinese film market——"
Speaking of this, the expressions of several high-level executives moved a bit—they were the first to predict that the box office of "Avatar" might reach 2 billion (of course, without Jennifer first), and the first to express their opinion that the Chinese market is worth it. After paying attention, Paul has left an impression on the decision-makers with his own vision, and has initially gained the reputation of an authority in the industry.
"He predicts that the Chinese market will surpass Japan in 2012 and become the second largest market in the world, completely distanced from the second echelon of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan. If the exchange rate factor is calculated, it is likely to be in the In 2015, the volume of the Chinese market will reach half that of North America - he attached diagrams and reference materials, as well as the construction of some theaters in China. I personally think that this analysis should be acceptable." Amon De said, "As Bob said, any data is worth collecting for such an extreme movie as "Avatar". Indeed, without "Avatar", no one would know that the Chinese market already has such potential—I suggest the company Increased focus on the Far East, and of course, I guess after Avatar, our competitors will do the same.”
200 million, second in the world, half of North America...
Twisting the bridge of his nose, Robert nodded and turned another page, "Iron Man 2's box office pre-sales and first-day forecast, well, speaking of this, we were worried about the imax schedule squeeze The problem, it seems that the contradiction is not so sharp - with the trend of "Alice", it and "Iron Man 2" should not affect each other."
"The audience's word of mouth is a bit low." Rich also came into contact with the relevant reports of "Iron Man 2" for the first time. After all, this is a Marvel movie, and Paramount is in charge of distribution. Screening meeting? This word of mouth is not too optimistic."
"There are only two shows so far, and the feedback from film critics is generally not very good." Romy, the vice president in charge of contacting Marvel, shook his head and said jokingly, "Kevin and I also said the same-- Although it sounds ridiculous, to be honest, it is very possible that without j.j, Marvel really can't play movies."
"Send people to focus on tracking all aspects of "Steel 2"'s data," Robert's eyebrows have already frowned—compared with the future layout of the film market, "Steel 2" and subsequent "Captain America", "Thor" is a movie that Marvel is already producing, and "Avengers" is already on the way. The combined investment of these series has surpassed "Avatar", which is also very important for Marvel and Disney. It's a huge gamble. If the success of "Steel 1" is just an accident, this series of investments will not hit Disney less than the failure of "Avatar". "Especially audience word of mouth—it's very important."
"Understood." Both Romy and Almond responded. ——Seeing that Robert turned another page, Nora, the executive responsible for integrating Disney animation and Pixar, straightened her back, "About "Toy Story"..."
"Tangled at the end of the year——"
These are heavyweight blockbusters that Disney will release this year. In addition, there are a large number of animations under production such as "Frozen" that need to report their progress. The long preparation cycle of animation is also unmatched by live-action movies. Even though it has been several years since Disney acquired Pixar, if we want to absorb the characteristics of the two and produce an animation that combines the strengths of the two, it may take 12 or 13 years. As for the integration of the resources of Marvel and Disney animation, the production It has been at least 15 years since the finished product was produced. Robert just glanced at these projects, and he is more concerned about the release of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". This and "Alice in Wonderland" are two masterpieces launched by Disney this year. They are both well-known IPs. For the adaptation, the budget is in the 200 million range. At present, "Alice" is making a lot of money, but the fate of "Prince of Persia" is still unknown.
For the CEO of the entire group, of course, Robert can completely let go of specific film projects and only look at the annual profit and loss report to grasp the larger personnel and market. He is very concerned about it, and he does not give Rich a chance to intervene in the projects of other departments. He would rather spend half a day every week holding regular meetings, but also strictly restrict him to the circle of Disney headquarters: Regarding the management ideas after financing , Robert already has a prototype, he will not give anyone a chance to spoil the good situation, not even Rich who has surrendered to him.
"Toy Story", "Prince of Persia", "Tangled", and "Tron: Legacy", these five movies will continue to be released by Disney this year. Of course, no one can match the market share this year. Fox fights, but if the results of "Code Shero" and "Twilight Saga 3" can be added, the Disney department can also firmly occupy the second place-from this point of view, the integrated demand for big dreams is very important for Disney. It has become more and more obvious that Robert has to think about how to buy this high-quality company under his banner. No matter how many difficulties there are, he has to buy it. Convince management?
However, how to retain the core characters and the most valuable resources of Dameng while buying Dameng is indeed a difficult problem for Disney—anyone can see that Dameng Both of the two core figures of Meng want to build their own media group very much, and even if the company of Dream is taken down by strong means, without the core competitiveness, this still cannot be regarded as a successful merger...
Staring blankly at the front in his office, Robert shook his head, as if to shake off all these troubles, he picked up the phone and dialed a number, but no one answered after waiting for a long time——
With a sigh of abandonment, he opened his mailbox and wrote a short email to Cesare Vijri who should be on the plane now: "Haven't finished hiking yet? Don't forget about China."
——After pressing the send button, Robert couldn't help but smiled bitterly——Actually, this email was sent with gray hair. Anyway, Cesare claimed that he could not contact Jennifer unless he could make a phone call. Or call back miraculously, otherwise, with a 90% probability, he still can't get in touch with Jennifer.
He comforted himself somewhat bitterly: at least, Jennifer still gave him the phone number, and the rest, such as Brad Gray and others, can only contact Cesare, which can be regarded as the same between Big Dream and Disney. A piece of evidence of close relationship - although it may be the bait thrown by Dameng, I have to admit that he has indeed been hooked by these special treatment and the box office miracles that Jennifer keeps bringing...
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'Jingling, Jingling...'
The ringing sound with obvious chords and hoarseness was buried under a pile of clothes. The blowing far away did not disturb Jenny, who was walking back with a pile of firewood. In order to resist the strong wind, she pulled the zipper shirt under her eyes. Of course, her hearing was affected even more, but even if it wasn’t like this, I’m afraid she would She doesn't notice the sound of the mobile phone. After living in the forest for two weeks, she has completely forgotten the existence of the mobile phone and completely adapted to this primitive life. It’s pretty good to be able to recharge once every three or four days. If it wasn’t for the fact that Salvi couldn’t get through on the phone last time and drove directly from the camp to find her, she wouldn’t even remember that she had a mobile phone with her.
Carried a small pile of firewood to the bottom of the stairs and piled it in the preparation area, Jenny took a few breaths, climbed up the simple spiral staircase, and got into the small tree house where she lived during this time— — This is a very simple and small room, one room, a narrow terrace, an eco-friendly washroom, no shower facilities, cooking in a cooking space 'downstairs', special attention must be paid to control The source of the fire is powered by solar energy. Of course, there is no wireless network, no TV, and no computer. Apart from books and music, there are no other means of entertainment. What she has to do every day is to prepare three meals a day, and then go to a nearby camp every day Take a bath in the field, do laundry, and then bring home the next few meals—the temperature is relatively high now, if she doesn’t do these things one day, then she can only eat vegetarian dishes the next day. Under the environment, without a refrigerator, fresh meat cannot survive overnight.
After putting aside all the conveniences brought by modern technology, the time required to maintain daily life is actually surprisingly long. The nearest campsite is about 3 kilometers away from this private tree house, and about one kilometer can only be walked on foot. Jenny locked a bicycle at the exit of the woods leading to the road. For several nights, she worried that it would be stolen-only now did she realize that it has been 9 years since she came to the United States, and her impression of bicycles is still deeply rooted. The stage of 'bicycles are easy to be stolen' developed during Chinese student days.
It takes about two hours to go back and forth between the campsites every day. It takes about the same time to cook and eat. The interest in it will also consume a lot of unexpected time. For example, today I suddenly want to barbecue kebabs. Fuel is not a problem, but in order to make kebabs, Jenny can only look for some pine branches-finally She decided to make roasted lamb slices with pine branches—the longer she lived in Yosemite, the more completely she forgot the purpose of "clearing the soul" when she first came, and the decision to communicate with Salvi was repeatedly pushed back , Jenny no longer thinks about what kind of personality and experience the protagonist's "she" needs. She is satisfied with this simple life of isolation and step-by-step, especially the fact that living in isolation can bring her such a great sense of release. , This was also something she had never expected before coming to Yosemite.
Indeed, when she first came to Yosemite, her heart was still full of to-do items, and she suddenly left the familiar rhythm of life, which made her feel uncomfortable—except for those Decision-making matters that must be her, those interpersonal relationships that must be maintained regularly, and unexpected incidents that may contact her at any time, she also has an instinctive sense of love: Dameng now has hundreds of employees, all relying on her Paying wages, it can be said that what she and Cesare have mastered and influenced is not only the invisible box office market, but also the joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys of these crews and staff members, and a part of their lives—very important lives, Jenny has been doing her best Being a good boss doesn't mean she doesn't derive a sense of fulfillment and thrill from this sense of power. Now she suddenly wanted to let go of everything and hand over all affairs to Cesare—she was not afraid that he would steal the money and run away, or make her empty, but this feeling of reluctance was still unavoidable.
"Loneliness is not a problem." When Salvi came to visit her, they held beers and chatted by the campfire—although it was almost summer, the forest at night was still a bit chilly, "I lived with Cesare on a small island in Italy. The island was really small. We didn't talk to each other most of the time. In fact, the feeling was quite soothing-but still not completely alone. Relaxation, the presence of another person represents social pressure, doesn't it? No matter how familiar you are, the pressure is still there."
"Yeah, especially when there's attraction," Salvi said, taking a sip from his beer. "It's more stressful than usual — being around someone you think is attractive. , it’s an instinctive need to perform better, so it means extra pressure.”
Jenny couldn't help laughing, "Then I will feel extra pressure in front of you."
This was the fourth day after she lived in the tree house. Jenny really felt the change of being alone. After the first day or two of being bored and bored, she gradually got used to the feeling of losing power. I also realized that the earth did not stop after leaving her—at least Cesare and Robert didn’t interrupt her holiday life with serial calls. She began to learn to enjoy the starry sky and frogs at night, and the dew in the morning. The rugged path full of wild flowers goes to the stream to fetch water, and even the feeling of looking at the wild deer in the mountains and forests. And this feeling seems to have changed her within 48 hours-if it had been in the past, she would not have been so frank about the attraction between Salvi and her, it was just a topic they would not talk about, she It is inconvenient to fall in love now, and it is inconvenient to maintain a long-term relationship in various senses, Salvi—well, she doesn’t know why he didn’t mention it, but in a civilized society, he is the kind of extremely repressed and self-sufficient character, so he It won't break either. But now, at the campfire, when there were only the two of them within 10 kilometers, the question suddenly seemed so simple that there was no need to avoid it, and she could talk about it with ease, without the usual discomfort.
"Yes," Salvi also nodded easily, accepting Jenny's argument. "We are all good-looking young people, we are both heterosexual, and we all have a strong affection for each other, so we will be particularly nervous when we are around each other."
He raised a beer at Jenny, "That's why I was able to hike with Heath, but now only with you, I don't want to turn the whole subject of thinking into a sour subject - into dealing with our sexual tension , this is not what I want."
"This is not what you want," Jenny repeated, and she picked up the beer and took a sip, "Ha - your tone sounds very smug. It's not what you want, in the director's mouth, An actor is like your musical instrument, I feel like you are manipulating my life, and then manipulating me, manipulating me to achieve the state you specify, to make the changes you want, just like..."
"It's like a chemical formula," Salvi said with a smile, "and—yeah, that's why I like being a director. It really gives me a sense of power."
"And there are always actors who are bewitched in various ways and are willing to be tortured by you, aren't they?" Jenny asked, "Where is Heath now? Another corner of Yosemite? You don't want Quarantine us until the moment the film starts? I mean, that's a little too-"
"Perfectionism?" Salvi said, now he is not like that gentle British gentleman, he is more direct, rough, frank and wild, "good directors are like this, and ——Yes, I do want to isolate you until the day the movie starts, and this must be the first shot we're going to shoot."
"But a good actor can actually store the state you want-this is why we are called actors. You said that I need to experience loneliness in order to perform loneliness. I completely agree with it , but if you want to shoot according to the effect you want, it's not a movie..." Jenny laughed, "That's life."
"Do you think life can't be part of a movie?" Salvi asked.
"At least not all life can become a part of the movie - what the movie wants to express is something more condensed."
By the fire, they were talking about these metaphysical and messy things, wherever they thought of, Jenny guessed that Salvi might be testing her mental state through the conversation, he was really like playing a musical instrument Playing her and adjusting her in the same way, until she is fully ready, he will discuss the role of "her" with her, and discuss the life of "her", but she is not in a hurry to find out what he uses to score , she had a feeling—as long as she still wanted to ask, then she wasn't ready.
Salvi came and went at the campsite, Hiss was maybe 50 kilometers nearby and could only do his 'practice', but she didn't know where he was, nor when they met, Jenny now I really like this kind of life, getting up early every day, fetching water, cooking - as long as you take anti-mosquito measures, she can even walk around naked in the forest, and no one recognizes her as Jenny in the campsite F. Jefferson, in her spare time, she does all kinds of exercise, watching the sweat dripping on the mud floor - once she even walked directly to the stream to take a bath, anyway, she has not been here in two weeks Seen a third person other than Salvi.
Take the meat from the cabinet to the open space, start a fire with canned liquid fuel, throw some pine branches into it to support the combustion, put an iron net on the top of the roasting pan, and Jenny throws a piece of mutton on the broiler, judging Considering the size of the fire and the thickness of the meat——she saw a figure appearing in the distance in the woodland, and she yelled, "You'd better bring the meat."
Salvi appeared in her field of vision wearing a windbreaker and carrying a large backpack.
"You roasted the meat," he said, "it's good, you're full and you're on your way."
Jenny instinctively asked, "Where are you going?"
Salvi shrugged and didn't answer, but Jenny already understood what he meant - he thought she was ready.