Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 379 The Power of Hollywood Continues to Grow
Seeing that the young boss was so high-spirited, Andy Albert and David Bigelman naturally responded jokingly, "It must be us."

"Yes, that's us." Tang Huan knocked on the table, "Have you ever calculated how many promising movies we have this year? Compared to last year, we have significantly more movies. Last year, we not only got out of the predicament, but also We were completely elated, and among the top ten North American annual movie box office rankings, we accounted for three of them."

Andy Albert and David Biegelman nodded approvingly. They weren't just complimentary, that was the case.

In addition to Spielberg's "ET Alien" and "Poltergeist"-"Speedy Ghost" filmed by United Artists and MGM respectively, United Artists also has a series of films similar to "007" released this year. Namely Sylvester Stallone - Sylvester? Stallone's "Rocky III" - "Rocky 3".

As early as 1976, when the first film of "Rocky" was released, the response was enthusiastic, and it was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won the Oscar for Best Picture, Oscar for Best Director, and Oscar for Best Editing three times. awards.

Sylvester Stallone, who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor, has since established his position in Hollywood.

It is no exaggeration to say that "Rocky", like "007", is United Artists' bottom-of-the-box program, full of gold.

In addition, Sylvester Stallone's other movie "First Blood" - "First Blood" is also expected to be released this year, and Tang Huan will naturally not let this movie go.

Due to Hollywood's mature risk-resistant operating mechanism, many box-office-successful films were not so glamorous at the beginning of their production. They often encountered financing difficulties because they were not favored, or had many conflicts due to disagreements between different investors. , "First Blood" is like this.

Tang Huan, who has always paid attention to intelligence gathering, also pays attention to collecting all kinds of news in Hollywood, and the image of Jiyu's nouveau riche is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so more and more filmmakers are trying to ask for help.

After Tang Huan saw the report document about this project, he discovered that Warner also had a small investment, so he kicked the other party out without politeness and participated himself.

For another participant, Orion Pictures, Orion Films, Tang Huan was very polite and even offered an olive branch. Gein, this company was established by the group of executives who left United Artists, and he hoped that the other party could return. .

Of course, Tang Huan took a fancy to the potential of Orion's production, and its performance in the past few years has been remarkable. Among the top ten films at the North American box office of the year.

MGM's "Conan the Barbarian" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger started previewing in Houston, Texas on February 2. So far, it has been screened in Such activities are held in 19 cities in the United States.

Although the movie has been changed again and again due to too many violent scenes, fans have always been interested in it, which can be seen from the popularity of the preview.

In the capital, District of Columbia, there were traffic jams as fans lined up on the streets; in Denver, Colorado, movie tickets sold out quickly; Tickets were disappointedly turned away.

"From market research, the vast majority of the audience are white men, and they are well-dressed. They are not the kind of punks who wear leather, but they have an obvious feature, bulging muscles. It is obvious that they are interested in the violence of this fantasy theme. Movies are not your ordinary soft spot.”

David Biegelman introduced it very attentively, because this is the first important film that MGM is responsible for after regrouping after years of decadence. Whether it can turn around in the film field depends on whether it can get a good start. .

"According to the plan, "Conan the Barbarian" will be fully released in Spain and France first, and then return to the United States, and will deliberately avoid competition from other high-cost and big-budget movies in the summer."

"We have agreed that if the global box office of this movie exceeds [-] million, I will work with the Middle East consortium to reward everyone." After listening to the report, Tang Huan nodded and promised.

After finishing all the major issues ahead, Tang Huan began to specifically ask about the release status of the movie "Shaolin Temple".

"This movie now has a box office of about 1500 million US dollars. Many viewers appreciate the long-shot fighting scenes very much. As a non-English niche work, it is quite successful."

Andy Albert knew that his boss paid more attention to the performance of this Chinese film, so he did a lot of homework, and he answered very fluently at this time.

"Do you think, based on the reaction to this movie, works of this type will win a certain part of the American audience?" Tang Huan asked in a deep voice.

"It should be possible. After all, Bruce Lee's movie attracted attention at the beginning. Among the audience of "Shaolin Temple", there are even some EA game players who came here for the name. In addition, I have to say that the enthusiasm of the Chinese audience is very high." The views expressed by Andy Albert from outside the Chinese-speaking cultural circle sound very pertinent.

"After a few months, I will recommend two more movies from Xiangjiang to watch." Tang Huan said with a smile.

"In fact, compared with those Japanese Bushido movies, Chinese kung fu movies are not inferior. The former landed in the United States relying on Japan's growing economic influence, but you are a powerful Hollywood boss who wants to promote a few movies. It's not difficult to be an actor." After such a long contact, Andy Albert seemed to regard himself as Tang Huan's confidant, and he closed the door to talk, directly pointing to the essence of the problem.

"I won't mess around. Hollywood rules still have to be followed, and I have to listen to your suggestions seriously." Tang Huan laughed loudly and waved his hands.

……

After Pan American, an insurance giant, acquired almost all of its assets, it has been intending to change its name to Pan American Films to expand its influence. As a result, it was strongly opposed by the senior management of Luan Mei, so that the conflicts between the two sides became more and more serious. deep, and finally led to the collective exodus of the United Artists in 1978.

These include Chairman Arthur Krim - Arthur Krim, President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Pleskow - Eric Pleskov, Finance Committee Chairman Robert Benjamin - Robert Benjamin.

Obviously, these people were the pillars of United Artists, but Pan Am refused to buy it and insisted on forcing them away. The outside world commented that these people were stupid, and United Artists suffered greatly.

To be honest, these high-level executives who have left are well-deserved elites in Hollywood. The money United Artists is currently enjoying on films such as "007" and "Rocky" were all accumulated by them.

Three people, such as Ashek Reem, Eric Preskov, and Robert Benjamin, entered United Artists as early as 1951. According to the gambling agreement, they used excellent performance to earn money at low prices. Price bought shares of United Artists from Chaplin and Mary Pickford, the founders of United Artists, and made them public.

The most dazzling achievement of their team is 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" - "Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest", 1976's "Rocky" - "Rocky", 1977's "Annie Hall" - " Annie Hall", won the Oscar for Best Picture for three consecutive years.

So after these people established Orion Productions, they also performed well.But some capital accumulation must rely on time to settle, such as the distribution network.

At the beginning, Orion Production Company solved this problem by cooperating with Warner. For example, the comedy film "Arthur", which was the top ten box office in North America last year--"Twenty-Eight Girls and Playboys", was produced by Orion and distributed by Warner of.

However, the cooperative relationship between the two parties does not seem to be harmonious, so that this year, there are signs of parting ways.

Naturally, Tang Huan would not let go of the opportunity to poach the corner of his old rival, not to mention the deep relationship between Orion Production Company and United Artists.

In this way, Tang Huan invited several founders of Orion Production Company, the former United Artists executives who had left, to gather on the yacht.

The ship queen Christina is the best at this kind of luxury toys. Tang Huan didn't bother at all, and just took it and used it.

On a yacht far away from the land, blowing the wind and fishing, it seems that you are really not bothered by secular disputes, but in fact, this pavement for enjoying tranquility is precisely for the next secular disputes.

Everyone knew what the purpose of this trip was, so after being arty, formal negotiations started.

Of course, some of his subordinates had already made initial contact before. The appearance of Tang Huan, the big boss, was purely for the final word - whether it's OK or not, let's give him a happy word.

Of the several founders of Orion Productions, Robert Benjamin passed away in 1979.

In the same year, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award was awarded to Robert Benjamin, which shows his achievements. Unfortunately, his wife could only come to the Oscars on his behalf. Receive the award.

At present, Eric Preskov and Mike Medavoy are responsible for most of the daily operations of Orion Production Company. I don’t care much about specific matters.

"I heard that Orion Production Company wants to establish its own distribution network by acquiring Filmways." After tasting the fresh fish carefully prepared by the chef, Tang Huan went straight to the point.

"Don's information is really well-informed, and we do have this plan." Eric Preskov frankly confirmed the news. It must be said that the previous contacts between the two parties were relatively pleasant, so there was no psychological conflict between them. , and even have a strong interest in cooperation.

"With all due respect, the acquisition of a company is only the first step in capital operation, and the next resource integration is the key. Filmways' industrial structure is not limited to entertainment, but also includes other fields such as broadcast electronics. Frequent adjustments in integration and other aspects, but these tasks are not your expertise."

Tang Huan expressed his opinions bluntly, "These irrelevant matters will distract your energy for at least a year. During this period, if it fails in the film field, what can Orion Production Company, which has a shallow foundation, do to resist?" The risks, just those financings, are probably far from enough.”

"Any company has to go through the risk of this kind of transformation. Orion Productions has a very promising prospect. Our management team is also experienced. I believe these small difficulties will disappear soon."

Eric Preskov had a lot of experience at United Artists before, and he had participated in successful projects such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", so he answered with confidence in his tone.

Tang Huan smiled slightly, and decided not to hit the confident Eric Preskov anymore, but to lobby from another angle.

"You and Warner, it seems that the cooperation is not as close as imagined. Warner and I are old rivals, and I know their greed. Rather than swallowing their anger under others, it is better to return to the embrace of United Artists. After all, there is a deep relationship between us. Very deep, and Pan Am has long since completely withdrawn from United Artists.”

"The cooperation between the two companies is not a big problem, but it seems that there is no need to return to the embrace of United Artists. After all, Orion Production Company is doing well now." Eric Preskov had a smile on his face. kind of cunning.

These Jews are so shrewd. Tang Huan muttered to himself and shook his head, "If I wait until Orion Production Company is not doing well, then I will speak out, and that will be taking advantage of the situation."

Tang Huan glanced at the few leisurely looking guys in front of him, and decided to control the negotiation process at his own pace, that is, to go fast and slow.

"Orion returns to United Artists, and can still maintain its independent operation status, and can use the distribution network of United Artists and MGM." Tang Huan waved his hand heroically, "What else do you want? Just ask."

"We hope you can help acquire Filmways and at the same time support Orion to produce a blockbuster film every year." Eric Preskov said.

"It seems that I was wrong. You are more greedy than Warner." Tang Huan laughed playfully.

(End of this chapter)