Hollywood New Century

Universal Pictures' parent company Vivendi Universal Entertainment (the entertainment division of Vivendi Group) was acquired by General Electric Group just last year. After General Electric Group acquired 80% of Vivendi Universal's shares, Universal Pictures and General Electric The NBC radio and television networks are combined to form the NBC Universal Entertainment Group.

Universal Pictures, now a subsidiary of NBC Universal Entertainment, is headquartered in Universal City, between Los Angeles and Hollywood.

Universal City No. 1 is the headquarters address of Universal Pictures. Focus Pictures, as an independent film distribution label under Universal Pictures, is of course also here.

Focus Pictures was established in 2002 by the merger of three small film companies under Universal Pictures, namely Good Machine Pictures, Universal Focus Pictures, and American Films.

Focus Pictures is Universal's special label for producing and distributing independent films. It also distributes foreign films in the North American market. For "House of Flying Daggers" released last year, the North American distribution rights were acquired by Focus Pictures.

"Have you talked to them, what is the preliminary agreement?" On the way, Simon asked Nicole Kidman.

"The distribution commission is 19%, and the publicity fee is also deducted from the box office. I'm calling you mainly to talk about the release schedule and publicity," Nicole Kidman said lightly.

"With a 19% commission, the distribution company really makes money." Simon thought to himself that he must have his own distribution network in the future. He still needs movies to support a ticket of distributors, so let's take it slowly.

"How's the filming going? I've only received the dubbing of one animation this year, so there's still plenty of time, and I'm going to see the editing of that "Juno"," Nicole originally wanted to take over "Juno" Fur", but because he invested in "Juno", he gave up the small-budget independent film and took a break.

"The filming of the film went very smoothly. It is estimated that the film will be closed in the first half of next month, and the filming time will be about a month. My idea is to sign up for the Cannes Film Festival in May, and then start the promotion to see if it can be released at the end of July or early August, stepping on the summer vacation. The tail of the file is on," Simon said what was in his mind.

"Well, in such a hurry, wouldn't it be better to release in December? Christmas time," Nicole Kidman asked.

"Focus Pictures has their flagship film Brokeback Mountain during the Christmas period. It is a very controversial film about homosexuality. Our Juno, which focuses on teenage pregnancy, is also controversial, and Brokeback is also controversial. The same schedule of "The Mountain" is not very good, and "Brokeback Mountain" is also invested by the focus itself, and "Junot" can't compete with them in terms of resources," Simon still didn't say the reason, that is, the box office of "Brokeback Mountain" is higher than that of "Juno" "It's even more unbelievable!

Coupled with the full controversy, the halo of "Juno" will be reduced, and to participate in the Cannes Film Festival, it is also necessary to avoid the Venice Film Festival in September, and "Brokeback Mountain" is going to participate in the Venice Film Festival!

Remember, Juno was nominated for several Oscars!

"Brokeback Mountain is indeed very controversial. It's the same type as Juno. It seems that your idea is right. It was closed in early April, and it will participate in the Cannes Film Festival in May. Is it too urgent to release it in August? ?" Nicole Kidman knows that this movie is simple and doesn't have any post-production, but you have to look at the arrangements of Focus Pictures!

"Don't worry, our "Juno" can be edited in May. When participating in the selection of the Cannes Film Festival, we only need a rough cut version. It will be released in August, and there will be three months, which is completely enough. After all, Focus Pictures The released films are all independent films, and many are released within a few days of release, and the promotion cycle is not long, which is different from the strategy of commercial films.” Simon felt that it could not be close to Brokeback Mountain, otherwise Focus Pictures resources are on it.

"Also, Universal Pictures just changed its backstage last year. Now there must be some high-level changes. Although the impact on Universal Pictures will not be great, if the following people have a successful film release, it will definitely be a good thing!"

Big distributors, like Universal Pictures that release their own films, have their release dates set the year before, and shifting gears is not common. However, for small-budget independent films, shifting gears is commonplace. After all, many times the distributors will consider the quantity.

"Okay, I hope Focus Pictures will use some snacks in the promotion," Nicole Kidman voted 5 million, of course, he is very concerned about this movie.

Coming to Universal City One, Nicole Kidman takes Simon Pike into the location where Focus Pictures is located.

Nicole Kidman walked in front, Simon followed, and people passed by from time to time, and Simon didn't pay much attention.

"Bump," Simon bumped with a guy who came out of it, and one of the guy's documents fell off.

"I'm sorry," Simon apologized, then bent over to help him pick it up.

"It's okay, anyway, it's trash that no one is optimistic about," the man also bent down, with some sadness in his words.

"Little Miss Sunshine, is this a script?" Simon happened to see the name of the cover when he picked it up.

"Yes, it's been five years since I wrote it, and no one likes it. After Focus Pictures researched it, it gave up the investment," the man said and re-clipped the script.

"Simon, hurry up!" Nicole urged back.

"Oh," Simon and the tragedy's writers nodded and left.

"Little Miss Sunshine", it's been five years and no one likes it. This is a movie with a small and broad character. Dear, poor screenwriter, you must buy this script, the price is definitely low!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Simon followed up as usual.

Nicole Kidman met with Focus's head of distribution, David Lynn, who is co-president of Focus along with production head James Summers.

Simon Pike is just a small person, listening more and speaking less, Nicole Kidman as the main talker.

"July is not good for release, but August is ok. It is no problem to participate in the Cannes Film Festival. It is good that the film can be selected. After the filming is finished, we will hold an internal preview first, and then discuss the announcement and distribution plan, and then organize it later. A small audience will try it out, and their evaluation will determine the strength of the film's release," David Lynn said with a smile, looking at the young Simon Pike,

"Only 23 years old, yes, you are so confident that you will be selected by the Cannes Film Festival, that is a good thing!"

"Our focus this year has a self-produced "Broken Flower" that has been invited to the Cannes Film Festival, and "Brokeback Mountain" was also invited to the Venice Film Festival, and we all participated!"

"In May, let's see if Broken Flower or Juno wins!"

"Really, that's good, there will be someone to take care of at that time. The main creators of our crew are all newcomers and have little experience," Simon also said with a smile.

"You have Nicole Kidman, which comes with its own spotlight," David Lynn joked, too.

"However, the script of "Juno" is still good. If it is well filmed, it may not be possible without success!"

"Thank you, David, this little guy used to ask for money every day. The movie box office was not good, so I locked the little guy in the house and wrote the script every day," Nicole Kidman said, glaring at Simon.

Then, all three laughed.

"By the way, Mr. Lynn, when I just came in, I met a screenwriter with a script. Is he here to sell the script?" Simon took the opportunity to ask.

"Yes, Michelle Andert's script is too bland. We were going to buy it, but after discussing it again, we decided to give up. I heard that he wrote it for five years, and no one has taken over." David Lynn knew that Simon Peck was also a screenwriter,

"Simon, this situation is very normal. After all, there are a lot of scripts in Hollywood every day!"

"Well, I understand that if I didn't find a way to get my script "Juno" in front of Nicole, I don't know how many years it would take," Simon said, but he remembered that David Michelle Andert, author of "Little Sunshine," as Lynn speaks.

After leaving Universal City, Simon and Nicole had a meal together. Although he remembered the script of "Little Miss Sunshine" in the hands of Michelle Anderte, he still talked about another thing.

"Nicole, there is a novelist Lauren Weisberg under Sonia Roman. Her novel "The Devil of Fashion" is very good. Let's buy the film adaptation rights, okay?"

"Well, I've read this novel. It was quite popular back then. It should have been taken away by other producers or film companies, right?" Nicole looked up and said.

"Dune Entertainment signed a five-year pre-emption agreement, $1.8 million, paid a deposit of 200,000, and the film did not start production, and Dune Entertainment paid the author $150,000 a year, so we could negotiate with them to adapt the novel into a movie. Buy the right back, I thought, let them give up the agreement, we will not spend more than 3 million US dollars at most!" Simon said in a low voice.

"$3 million? Simon, you're making your first movie now, and now you're thinking about other movies? Can you get this thing done first and think about other things," Nicole hated.

"Hey, I have participated in the script adaptation of the novel. It's really good. If you don't want to buy it, then I will buy it. I will mortgage you with 20% of the movie income of my "Juno". Can you buy the script for me? Even if you don't make it later, the adaptation rights can be sold for $2 million, and I'll definitely have the money back to you!" Simon said, looking at Nicole eagerly.

"You, really want it?" Nicole has become more and more confident in "Juno", and David Lynn is also optimistic. He mortgaged 20% of the movie's proceeds, no big problem.

"If you want, you come forward to discuss with Dune Entertainment and Lauren Weisberg, and help me buy back the film adaptation rights!"