Hollywood Domination Chapter 419: Test and Premiere (Part 1)
Based on the current capital chain of Big Dream, investing in a crime comedy of about 100 million yuan is basically a small fight, and it will not hurt the bones if it loses-after so many years of using the prophetic advantage After various investments, the fault-tolerant rate of Dameng's operations has finally improved, and it will no longer slide directly to the brink of bankruptcy because of the failure of one or two movies. Therefore, increasing production is definitely imperative, but Jenny and Cesare have no intention of listing the company yet—they need to go public when the money is not enough, and at least for now, their money is still enough to spend. In the developed industrial market, the company's expansion is still steady and steady. Slower is better, too fast. Although it seems lively at first glance, this brilliance may be just a flash in the pan.
Before this, Dameng’s investment model was basically to designate directors, and the designated directors were relatively unknown and unpopular directors, so finding a director was not difficult. The famous Salvi, but now he wants to create an original story, the script becomes extremely important, because the big dream must rely on the script to attract a good director, like Justin Lin, he will not make a hasty decision now The directing target of the department will at least wait until after the preview is over and the evaluation of the film critics and audience will come out before giving a new quotation. At that time, there will not be one or two big companies that are attracted by the work and offer him an olive branch. . After all, for studios, good directors for art films are easy to come by, but good directors for commercial films have always been very difficult to find.
To make an aesthetically excellent movie, this is basically a necessary skill for a director. Give some time, a little budget, and grind slowly, and you can make a good movie, but ten years have been produced under industrial standards. In the process, to make a commercial film that is sought after by the market requires a kind of talent, luck... an indescribable thing, even if it is not sought after, but to reach the profit line and not lose money, this requires great fortune , there are so many directors who made one or two high-grossing blockbusters, feel as if they have exhausted their aura, and then they can no longer produce movies of the same level as before, and they can only waste the investment of filmmakers again and again , were ruthlessly abandoned by them. That's why James Cameron, Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and other directors have such high status. They are all directors who have been able to maintain high-quality commercial films for decades. At least most of the works will not lose money, which is very rare for film producers. They will always have a lot of scripts waiting to be read, and a lot of investment waiting to be accepted. To attract such directors , in addition to the asking price, what is more important is whether the cooperation model is comfortable or not. As for what kind of story to shoot... This does not allow your film studio to speak. He can shoot whatever he wants, and it is impossible to accept orders.
Directors like Justin Lin, who can make three racing movies in a row and are not badly rated, are the favorites of filmmakers. It seems that they are still on the rise, and the price is not too high. I am also willing to accept the arrangement of the film company, and choose movies from the choices given by the film company, so don’t look at the new movie that Cesare wants Justin to direct Dameng, and the cooperation between Justin and Dameng is very happy, but if the script No, he is also very likely to be snatched away by others. For example, he is about to make a move now, and wants to sign a package contract with Justin, setting his Universal for the next few years, which is a potential competitor of Dameng.
"A total of 120 scripts." Putting a few large stacks of scripts in front of the two, Mary wiped her sweat, "It has passed the first screening of the review department, and this is all the scripts that are considered interesting this year. The script is over, enjoy your time slowly - I will arrange dinner."
Originally, Cesare was doing the screening of scripts, but with the gradual expansion of the company's business scope, Dameng also inevitably added a planning department. At present, the main function is to analyze the market, select hot spots and make plans For the project, the initial screening of the scripts submitted to the department is carried out, and the shooting of the project can only be started after the approval of both of them. However, on this point, Jenny and Cesare usually have no big differences in opinion, as long as one of them is optimistic about the project. , the probability of another person calling the card is not very high.
"By the way, how is the preparation for "Empire of Hip-Hop" going?" Jenny asked, she found that she was becoming more and more confused about the progress of the company's projects, unlike when the company was young, The details of any project are well known. Except for the few projects she manages, other projects can only listen to the report. Even Cesare can only listen to the report of the producer. A confidant followed the scene and reported the progress at any time, so as not to be deceived by the producer. "The broadcast will start in a few weeks, is everything going well?"
Cesare, who has already begun to read the script, has completely returned to work. "The production of TV dramas is more standardized than that of the film industry. There is nothing to worry about. The atmosphere on the set is also good-the thing that worried me the most did not happen."
"What's the matter?" Jenny asked curiously, "Don't tell me, let me guess——jay-z intervening in the plot, is this what you are worried about?"
"It's not what I'm most worried about," Cesare half admitted, "Of course, that's one of the things I'm worried about—but what I'm most worried about is that he can't produce high-quality music. "
"You mean you have an appreciation for hip-hop?" Jenny asked, and she laughed, "Are you serious, Chesa? I didn't know you had such a secret hobby, did you? Secretly listening...listening..."
She stuttered for a while, and finally Cesare laughed, "It seems that the person in this room who doesn't listen to hip-hop is not me."
Jennie shrugged helplessly, opened another script, and gave up bickering with Cesare. "In short, if jay-z's songs can even conquer you, then there is really nothing to worry about."
"Indeed, the core of musical comedy is always music." Cesare said, "Besides that, there is a lot of drama, just like I told you, the dramatic conflict will be reflected in the mood of the music , so that the audience can be more involved in the play—"
"And the rapper's luxurious life has also brought great visual stimulation to black audiences, making them even more mesmerized." Jenny nodded—she hadn't watched "Empire of Hip-Hop", but just vaguely listened to it. With this name, the movie hadn’t aired at the time, and she was also busy with her divorce, so of course she no longer paid attention to entertainment news, so she could only judge Cesare’s project from her own knowledge base. "It's a great idea, taking the best from Hustle and Flow, but ditching the elements that make it niche - it's cruel to say that, but hip-hop fans really don't like inspiration, Upwards, these things only belong to "glee"."
"Hustle and bustle" is a small-budget movie starring Terrence Howard in 2005. Its cost was 2.8 million, the box office was more than 20 million, and the local market was 2.2 million. It was a small profit, but compared with the quality of the film itself, The box office should be low. Of course there are reasons for publicity, but there are also reasons for the serious mismatch between the content of the movie and the needs of the masses. "Hustle and bustle" tells the story of a pimp who changed his destiny by practicing rap and stepped out of the bottom. It is mainly based on warmth and inspiration , but this kind of chicken soup, which is like successfully learning to draw a horse*, will actually make the bottom-level audience who are really sinking into suffering feel pain and anger.
——The United States is one of the countries with the most serious class solidification. In the slums of every city, there are a group of poor people who cannot see the future and have no upward channels. To change lives? Yes, but most people will realize in frustration that hard work is not going to help them get out of the poverty trap. For these poor people at the bottom who are composed of blacks, illegal immigrants and a small number of whites, hip-hop represents an opportunity to rise to the sky in one step. It is the success of countless former gang members and the bottom of society relying on flow to become billionaires within a few years The legend of wanting wind and rain is also a kind of dream that everyone can dream. You must know that rap is almost a racial talent of black people. For living in a slum, it is precarious and cannot receive a good education since childhood. Even unable to maintain a fixed address, it is even more difficult to find a fixed job, and can only rely on odd jobs to make ends meet. Black people who sell drugs and join gangs are likely to make a living anytime and anywhere (this is already a young man with super self-control. He doesn’t even have a criminal record), what he needs is not a joke like “practicing rap and becoming famous through self-improvement”, what he needs is to lie down in his small house every night, or even in his own truck, while following Kanye, Jay-z's song of showing off wealth hums "I have a gold chain, I have developed, I am high, and I have returned to my hometown", while imagining that one day my talents will be unearthed unintentionally, and I will earn money in the sky by relying on flow . Hip-hop actually acts as a kind of spiritual opium for them, allowing them to escape from reality for a short time, immerse themselves in this wonderful fantasy, and get close to those luxurious lives that he never had.
In response to this fact, Cesare proposed several elements that must be displayed in the pilot episode: excellent music, luxury, and ostentatious, costumes and props that conform to the low-level imagination, an exaggerated plot that reflects his rich status, and References to past poverty, gang vendettas and other facts, ugly and alienated family relationships, and the brotherhood that black people value most, of course, **** is also essential. "Empire of Hip-Hop" will be a large-scale rap music series, and the key words will be created according to the elements of popular songs. He believes that this can open up the market for black audiences and let them see their own series-for white middle-class audiences For people of color, this is a novelty-hunting work, with a lot of extreme scenes and extravagant shots that make them swing back and forth between ugly and aesthetic, and for those people of color who are tired of white stories, "Hip-Hop Empire" is almost It's their only choice. The plot doesn't even need to be too reasonable. As long as it can continuously give exciting points and good music, the audience will not collapse. At least maintaining a survival rating is not a problem. As for whether it will be better—— — Then it depends on how many viewers there are in this segment.
Of course, according to Fox’s standards, to survive, the ratings must reach 1.5 or 1.6. If you want not to be ridiculed, breaking 2 and 3 is the baseline. According to the pilot episode, it was tested in Fox The ratings of "Empire of Hip-Hop" are still quite optimistic. The expectation of Fox and Dameng is that the first broadcast will exceed 10 million viewers. This is already a very high number for Fox, which means that in "24 hours" After the prelude, the number of viewers who were originally hovering between 13 and 14 million must have 10 million to stay and watch "Empire of Hip-Hop".
"If the first season can reach 10 million viewers, how likely do you think Fox will renew the show?" Jenny asked while flipping through the script, "Even if they renew, will they lower the price?"
"If the number of viewers is 10 million, Fox may lower the price, or it may not. It depends on the popularity of ost. If they think it is profitable, or even just topical, then they may put "Hip Hop" "Empire" was transferred to another schedule, and the advertising fee was used to balance the expenditure." Cesare put a script aside, "But even so, I think as long as it doesn't lose money, we should stick to it. If it survives to the fourth season, Overseas copyright will be a big income..."
His voice gradually decreased, and Jenny lowered the bland script outline in her hand, and looked at him in surprise, "Good script?"
"At least it's a very new subject..." Cesare seemed to have finished browsing the outline, he raised his hand, and threw the script to Jenny, "Look at the name, do you have any impressions—" ", look Looking at it, it seems to fit well with Lin's temperament..."
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If the Christmas schedule in 2009 was a miracle and the summer schedule in 2010 was full of surprises, then the Christmas schedule in 2010 seemed quite ordinary. "Ji" was a surprise. After getting 44 million in the first week, the next week began to drop like a dive. The box office in North America could not even match the cost line. The concept of 3D is in the ascendant. In April, the box office of "Alice in Wonderland" At a good time when it can reach 1 billion in the world, the box office trend of "Tron Wars" is so disappointing, which seems to imply that the audience's unprincipled pursuit of 3D has expired, and the golden period of the film's brainless money has officially passed. Next In order to make money, apart from 3D, the blockbuster has to work **** the story and characters, but even so, it may be difficult for the box office to repeat the peak reached by several 3D blockbusters released this year.
——For the lucky ones such as "Alice" and "Code Name Shero", if you get it, you get it. The box office of the sequel will definitely be higher than that of its competitors. This is a fact that makes filmmakers very helpless, but there is nothing they can do about it.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)", "Meet Your Father-in-Law 3", "Tangled"...December 2010 has passed so smoothly, and it should get the box office At the box office, both "Deathly Hallows" and "Father-in-Law" achieved better results than expected, and Disney's first 3D animation "Tangled" received better treatment than "Tron" , "Creation" was scolded bloody, and "Tangled", which cost 260 million yuan, although it seems difficult to break through the 200 million box office in North America, and the global trend is also difficult to return to the box office. But for Disney’s attempt this time, the critics responded very well, and the global box office of 600 million also shows that as long as the cost can be controlled to the level of 150 to 200 million like Pixar and Blue Sky, Disney can still make money on cartoons. Those who make a little money, as for the real profit point, of course it is in the peripheral development.
After the grand Christmas reception, Jennifer Jefferson returned to the sight of the Hollywood crowd. After returning from filming in New Zealand, she once again became the busiest, richest and most popular woman in Los Angeles. Marriage-related reports have also quietly disappeared, replaced by street photos of Jennifer and her girlfriends. The media, which was previously stimulated by the news of "marriage against each other", now has to accept this fact helplessly: it seems that this couple is I am very used to this kind of long-term separated life, and the previous closed shooting... After Heath returned to New York, he restarted his life of embracing left and right, feasting and feasting... It was really just a closed shooting.
There is no marriage change, no scandal, and no new movie recently. The media's attention to Jennifer's private life has finally gradually decreased, but this does not mean that they will let her go so easily. Invited to participate in the first internal viewing meeting, but well-informed, they still gathered outside Fox's office building: Today, it is not only Fox's own internal staff and some internal authorities who were invited to watch the film, even People from Sony, Paramount, Disney, Universal, and Warner all came, and it was a big industry party.
"It's been more than two hours, why should it be over?" He opened his hand and looked at his watch, and some of the group of paparazzi started to commotion impatiently. "Does Fox still hold a reception or a seminar? The first internal preview is so grand..."
Before his muttering reached the ground, there was movement in the office building, and the paparazzi immediately became commotion-they were expecting Jennifer and Cesare, which is the best, but if they can visit It’s also good to the high-level executives. "Fast and Furious 5" is the first finished product that Dameng participated in the production of. If its quality is not so ideal, it will also be the first Waterloo of Dameng.
"It's Kerry Orient—" someone said, and then the crowd shouted. "Hey! Carrey! -- how is it, is this a good movie?"
"Oh, Larry Garner at Sony, Larry, hey Larry! What do you think?"
"Riley - Riley -"
Amidst the shouts of the paparazzi, executives walked out of the office building one after another. They had inscrutable smiles on their faces, as if they didn’t hear the paparazzi’s question at all. Sony’s Larry Garner Talking to the entourage around him, he even shook his head, as if he was sighing something-this also made many paparazzi excited: Is "Fast and Furious 5" really a mess? Has it even hit to the point where Larry can't stand it?