Hollywood Hunter

Chapter 72: Rushed to the doctor

After Peter Sanders hurriedly returned to Los Angeles on Saturday night, Simon did not hear any more news from Fox for three consecutive days.

This result did not exceed Simon's expectations, his qualifications in Hollywood are still too young after all.

A young man under the age of twenty not only asks a large film company for a high share clause, but also demands absolute control over film production. This kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood.

However, with the success of "Lola Run" at the box office, Simon no longer lacks options like a few months ago.

While helping the crew of "Blood Corpse Night", Simon also privately made some plans for "Death Is Coming". This plasma thriller is very suitable for the Halloween schedule at the end of the year. From the end of February to the end of October, the 8-month period of preparation, production and publicity also appeared to be just right.

Therefore, Simon does not intend to tie himself to Fox. If Fox Pictures did not reply before the weekend, Simon plans to release the news and seek another collaborator.

At the same time, as the popularity and word-of-mouth continue to ferment, the box office of "Lola Run" in the second week of its release has not fallen, but has increased again.

From February 20 to February 22, during the three days of the second week, due to the increase in the number of screens, "Rola Run" still achieved a box office increase of 21% compared to the four days of the first week, reaching 6.69 million Dollar.

Then, after the following four working days, the box office of "Run Run" in the second week reached 9.56 million U.S. dollars, second only to "Field Platoon"'s 11.1 million U.S. dollars, and successfully ranked second in the North American box office rankings that week. The location of the name.

The two films released by the company simultaneously occupy the top two positions in the box office rankings of the week, and the North American box office of the two films is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars. Orion Pictures can be described as the limelight for a while.

"Lola Run", a film that has become the focus of the entire federation, naturally has no obstacles to its subsequent release.

Mike Meadow, the president of Orion Pictures, originally planned to roll out the film's screening as soon as possible, but after a phone call with Simon, he agreed with his concept of ‘hunger marketing’. In the end, Orion still did not rush to greatly increase the screening scale of "Lola Run" in the third week, but increased the number of screens to 536, and related theaters were still concentrated on the west coast of the United States.

Many years later, a movie was released for three weeks. Either the popularity has faded, or the resources of piracy are flooding the sky, and there is no point in continuing to increase the scale of the show.

However, in the mid-1980s, the speed of information dissemination was not as fast as that of the Internet era, and film and television piracy was not as rampant as it was later. Multiple rounds of screenings from large cities to small towns also existed. Many third and fourth lines. It often takes a month or two for the small towns to see some big movies.

Therefore, the three-week accumulation of word-of-mouth does not appear to be a long time for "Lola Run", and will only increase the audience's expectations.

On the other hand, Simon waited patiently until Friday, but Fox Pictures still didn’t give any reply. He called Jonathan Friedman and entrusted an agent to explain that he was seeking a partner for "Death is Coming". The news was revealed.

Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.

The time is Monday, March 2.

Ronald Goldberg, the president of Fox Pictures, walked into Morton's restaurant, where Hollywood filmmakers often dine in the evening. As soon as he walked in, he felt that many people who originally ate were looking at him with different eyes.

Although feeling a little embarrassed inexplicably, Ronald Goldberg casually said a few words to the waiter who approached him, and was then taken to a dining table.

At this time, there was a middle-aged man in his forties sitting at the dining table, a little bald, his appearance was not good, and the same standard Jewish nose. However, no one in the restaurant would belittle each other because of his appearance. The middle-aged man is Barry Diller, the current chairman and CEO of Twentieth Century Fox.

When he noticed Ronald Goldberg coming by, Barry Diller, who was reading a newspaper, immediately got up, smiled and shook hands with him two steps before the two returned to the table and sat down.

Random greetings, after ordering dinner, Ronald Goldberg glanced at the newspaper in front of Barry Diller. This is a "Los Angeles Herald" with a striking butterfly picture on the page. An evening newspaper that is also more biased towards the dynamics of the Hollywood industry, Ronald Goldberg easily judged that this picture should be related to the "Butterfly Effect."

Barry Diller followed Ronald Goldberg's gaze and glanced at the newspaper in front of him, and asked, "I heard that the trial screening of this movie was not very good?"

Ronald Goldberg said with hesitation in his tone, "Everyone thinks the story is complete and exciting, but none of the critics who participated in the screening didn't like it very much. They thought the plot of the film was too fragmented. The main line is not clear enough..."

Barry Diller frowned slightly when he heard this. In this era, ordinary people’s most direct perception of a movie is the newspaper film review. If the film critic’s evaluation is not good, it will undoubtedly hinder the enthusiasm of the audience to enter the cinema.

After thinking about it, Barry Diller asked, "Then what are you going to do?"

Ronald Goldberg said: "There will be an internal audience screening on Wednesday, and some adjustments will be made depending on the situation. Then, I plan to arrange the schedule for Easter. You know, the "Lola Run", Maybe you can build on the popularity."

Ronald Goldberg said so, but his tone was obviously bitter.

A week ago, Peter Sanders brought back Simon's requirements for the "Reaper Is Coming" project from Arizona, and Ronald Goldberg almost laughed out of anger.

That young man was so daring to speak. Ronald Goldberg has worked in the media industry for 30 years and has never seen a guy who dared to make such a request to a film company. He thought he was Spielberg. ?

So Ronald Goldberg simply chose to ignore the other party.

However, with the news that Simon Westero was re-seeking a partner for "Death Is Coming" on the weekend, and the box office data for the three days of last weekend was released this morning, Ronald Goldberg hesitated again. Uncertain.

Simon Westero's news will not be mentioned for the time being. As long as Fox does not let go, it will be impossible for the other party to reach cooperation with other film companies.

but.

The box office data of "Run Lola Run" in the past three days has really caught a lot of attention.

In the third week of the painting, the number of screens increased to 536 yuan, but the box office of the three-day weekend of "Lola Run" still reached $20,110.

According to a report inside Hollywood, due to a series of recent media heated discussions, "Run Lola" not only attracted the interest of audiences of all ages, but also formed a wave of movie watching among young audiences. These young people They all think that "Lola Run" is a very cool movie, so they generally choose to watch it repeatedly.

The results of the report even showed that the scarcity of screening theaters has inspired many people to queue up for tickets to watch the film.

In the end, on the third weekend, "Lola Run" reached 10.78 million U.S. dollars in box office, easily suppressing New Line Pictures' "Most Ghost Street 3" which opened with 1343 screens this week, and won the top position of the weekend box office rankings. .

Up to now, the North American box office of "Lola Run" has reached 27.31 million US dollars. Just this box office number has left most Hollywood movies beyond the reach.

Moreover, now that it has reached the top of the weekend box office rankings, in the current off-season of movies, "Lola Run" wants to maintain its position as the champion for a long time.

The first place is always the most concerned.

"Lola Run" already has a very high degree of topicality, and then continuing to maintain the position of the weekly box office champion will definitely attract more people's interest in this movie, and then form a virtuous circle.

The film's box office has reached 27.31 million in two and a half weeks. Then, if the ‘loop’ continues, the final box office of this film is likely to be even better than the general expectation of the media.

Ronald Goldberg's thoughts came here, and he didn't even want to continue thinking about it.

I regret it.

The waiter brought the dinner up at this time, but Barry Diller did not pick up the cutlery and looked at Ronald Goldberg on the opposite side without knowing what to say.

Barry Diller and Ronald Goldberg are two decades old.

It was Ronald Goldberg, who was still working in the production department of ABC, who promoted Barry Diller. This led to Barry Diller's continuous brilliance on the ABC television network and Paramount Pictures.

Three years ago, Barry Diller was kicked out of the company by Martin Davis, the jealous chairman of Paramount’s parent company. It happened to be introduced by Ronald Goldberg that he was able to serve in the 20th century. Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation.

In the twentieth century, Fox was in charge of the Fox Television Network and Fox Pictures, and Ronald Goldberg was equivalent to electing his former subordinates as his immediate boss.

This is the grace of two encounters.

Therefore, Barry Diller has always been grateful to Ronald Goldberg.

However, as the leader of Fox Pictures, Ronald Goldberg has managed the film company to be unsatisfactory. Fox Pictures has not seen a North American box office movie with more than 100 million yuan in three consecutive years.

Because of his deep personal relationship, Barry Diller would never drive Ronald Goldberg out of the company, and he rarely even interfered with Ronald Goldberg's management of Fox Pictures. But both sides are very clear that if the situation persists, the company's major shareholder Rupert Murdoch will not tolerate Fox Pictures being so tepid.

After a moment of silence, Barry Diller said: "Ronald, I have heard about that young man, and there are news from the weekend."

Ronald Goldberg smiled bitterly and said, "Barry, do you think I should agree to him? That's just a little boy who is under twenty years old, but he said that even Spielberg can't The harsh conditions for easy opening."

"Isn't there a prerequisite?" Barry Diller said: "16 million US dollars, although this guarantee is a bit lower, but if only 8 million US dollars of production costs are required, Fox will definitely be able to make a profit."

Ronald Goldberg said: "If this is the case, of course it can be discussed. However, he also requires absolute control of the project. The director, actors, filming, and final editing are all in his mind. . How can I rest assured."

"I just watched "Lola Run" in the afternoon," Barry Diller said: "For an 18-year-old young man, it is indeed a very good movie. So Ronald, if you can be sure "Lola Run" was really done by him himself, maybe you can agree to it."

Ronald Goldberg still hesitated: "It's certain. But, Barry, you know, this has never happened in Hollywood."

"This can be used as a publicity point in the future," Barry Diller smiled: "Just like his age of 18 years old. Speaking of which, this is really a wonderful film marketing. If he is not 18 years old, this A movie can get at most one or two million dollars in the box office. But now, it can get one or two billion dollars. If the relevant marketing plan is also planned by the young man, it would be amazing. So, Luo Nader, I suggest that you bring this young man to Fox Pictures as much as possible. Maybe you will get a second Spielberg."

Ronald Goldberg heard so much from Barry Diller, he naturally understood the other party's good intentions, and he knew exactly what his situation was. If the situation at Fox Pictures cannot be improved as soon as possible, he will not only have to leave after the contract expires next year, but it will also be difficult for him to find a comparable position in other studios in the future.

Winning the young man who has just made his mark in Hollywood, although he feels a little sick to go to the doctor, Ronald Goldberg really has no better choice.

He really wanted to win Steven Spielberg. In fact, he did that too. It was the "Space Station" starring Spielberg's fiancée last year. As the film failed at the box office, then there was no more.

Thinking of this, and nodding, Ronald Goldberg said: "Well, then I will talk to him as soon as possible."

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