America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 21 "The Walking Dead" Project Established

After coming out of AK Film and Television, Eric took a special car directly to MGM. Now his status is different. Many times driving by yourself is a waste of time. You have to find a parking space and park. But for people in high positions, A waste of time is a waste of money.

Besides, finding a driver can also create a job, and the salary is not low, which is equivalent to supporting a family and benefiting society. Why not?

Because they had just kicked out the previous elders and killed most of the projects, everyone in the company now knew the new boss. They greeted him cautiously, for fear of making him angry and losing their jobs.

Entering the office, which had been tidied up meticulously, Eric pressed the bell. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door outside.

A young man in his twenties walked in. His name was Chen Xing. He was the secretary Eric had found for him. He was Chinese.

Why not find a female secretary with a sweet voice?

nonsense! Eric wants someone who can work, not someone who can do it!

Can a female secretary have a male secretary to work overtime? Secretaries often have to be on call, and the work pressure is very high, which most people cannot bear.

Chinese people have always been synonymous with seriousness, and Eric was naturally chosen because of his own reasons. If he has potential and is willing to work hard, he may not be unable to be promoted in the future, such as when opening up the Chinese market.

"boss!"

"Have Biligis come to me."

"OK!"

After a while, Chen Xing knocked on the door again and led Billy and the others in.

"How was the investigation about the matter I mentioned?"

A woman wearing glasses immediately handed over an investigation report. Eric had a vague impression of her. He had met her during the meeting. She seemed to be a middle-level cadre in the marketing department.

Billy said: "In the past three days, we have visited almost all physical stores in Los Angeles. We have also consulted professional comic companies and publishers, and found a total of 27 zombie-related works, including comics and novels. .”

"However, these works are not very well-known, and some of them are even published by the authors at their own expense. I have bought these works. Are you interested in taking a look?"

Eric looked at the research report carefully and found that there was no comic version of "The Walking Dead". He couldn't help but feel relieved. It seemed that the original work had not been released yet. For him, this was good news.

"Category those 27 works and send them to me that involve survival in the apocalypse and the struggle of human nature."

Soon, several novels were sent over, but not comics.

"According to your requirements, these five books are the only ones that meet your requirements. However, these five books only deal with some human struggles. The main plot is still about killing zombies."

Eric opened a novel called "The King of the Last Days", and as soon as he saw the name, he knew that it had something to say.

Now in 2002, zombie works have little depth, let alone discussing human nature as a selling point.

"Well done, keep an eye on George Martin and get the copyright to his novels as soon as possible, especially "A Song of Ice and Fire". No matter what method you use, you must win this one."

After being praised, several people suddenly smiled. Everyone at MGM had been nervous recently, but now they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Eric browsed through about five novels in the morning, and after confirming that there would be no copyright disputes, he felt completely relieved.

After lunch, I called the manager of the production department directly to the office. Although this middle-aged man was also a talent recruited by his father, he knew very well who was the king. He was a high-level wage earner, and in the hands of the young man opposite him He holds the power of life and death. ₆₉ₛₕᵤₓ.cₒₘ

"Julio, look at this script outline, I'm going to develop this project."

"The first part of The Walking Dead? The sequel has been ordered before filming even started?" Julio frowned slightly.

Seeing that Eric didn't speak, he could only continue reading. The outline was not very long, it just explained the background, characters and plot clearly.

After reading it, Julio pursed his lips, organized his words and said, "In terms of creativity alone, I think it's pretty good. The market prospects should be good, but there are a few problems."

"explain!"

"How many episodes do you plan to shoot in the first season? Although only the story is written in the outline, I can predict that the cost of filming this kind of TV series will be very high. Makeup, props, extras, locations, many scenes we can't even complete in the studio Shooting on location would involve troublesome things like blocking off neighborhoods, which would burn a lot of money.”

"Although the show has good prospects, considering the production costs, I am worried that the profit margin may not be high."

Julio is a very experienced producer, but the more experienced he is, the more he has to consider, and the cost of filming is the most important thing for the producer to consider.

Judging from his experience, this kind of drama is undoubtedly a large-scale production. Otherwise, the desolate feeling of the apocalypse cannot be created. I am afraid that the cost of each episode will not be less than 1.5 million US dollars. If it is too small, it will not be effective, and it will only draw tigers. Not an anti-dog.

So what he was thinking about was not only the small profit margin, but also the loss of blood. However, due to his identity, he couldn't say it too straightforwardly.

Eric had naturally anticipated Julio's concerns. Before traveling through time, he had learned that the average production cost of a single episode of "The Walking Dead" was US$2.75 million.

Even in that era, it was considered a very expensive drama. If it were 2002, after deducting inflation, it would still be terrifying and frightening. If word spread, it would probably shock the jaws of many colleagues.

But its return rate is also astonishingly high, with an average revenue of $11 million per episode, making more money than many movies.

"You don't have to worry about cost. I plan to shoot 12 episodes in the first season. The estimated investment is US$40 million. I want to create an award-winning masterpiece."

The original "The Walking Dead" only has 6 episodes in its first season. That's because the cost is high and the future is uncertain. No matter how wealthy investors are, they don't dare to invest too much at once. 6 episodes per season is also the normal number of episodes for many high-investment American dramas. .

However, knowing that it will be a big hit, it would be too petty to produce 6 more episodes. Eric plans to directly integrate the content of the original first and second seasons.

However, he will significantly delete the emotional line in the second season. Those protracted emotional entanglements are really unnecessary, especially the love triangle between Rick, Rory and Sean. The audience will only feel disgusted and unhappy. When he originally followed the show I just want to fuck this old lady Luo Li!

One of the reasons why "The Walking Dead" is getting worse and worse is because it tests humanity for the sake of testing humanity. It's not that the audience doesn't like the struggle of humanity, but many times they don't even care about logic. If you look at it at a glance and it's all mentally retarded, the effect will be counterproductive.

Therefore, the struggles and tests of human nature need to be there, but they must be profound enough, and they must be placed on key links to play the finishing touch.

At the same time, it is necessary to increase the proportion of zombie-fighting scenes, continuously stimulate the audience's adrenaline, and make "The Walking Dead" into a work that is both exciting and in-depth. This is Eric's goal.

The 12-episode budget is US$40 million, with an average of at least US$3.33 million per episode. After deducting inflation, it is at least US$1 million per episode higher than the original version. The higher part is naturally due to the large increase in zombie scenes and the hiring of more reliable screenwriters. Even if you spend money, you have to produce a high-quality script.

Across the desk, Julio's heart skipped a beat, and he opened his mouth to try to persuade him. However, seeing Eric's high-spirited and ambitious look, he held back the words that came to his lips.

"I'm just a wage earner, why should I make my boss unhappy? What's more, it might not be a good thing for this young boy to get into trouble."

With this in mind, Julio nodded: "I understand. I will arrange for the best producer to be responsible for this project. Are there any requirements for screenwriters and directors?"

"The best director is Frank Darabont or Neil Marshall. Of course, if you can bring in John Carpenter, I will applaud you. You can come up with the screenwriter, but I have to check the script."

Of the three directors Eric mentioned, John Carpenter needs no introduction. I believe everyone knows his name.

Frank Darabont is the director of the first season of the original "The Walking Dead" and has also directed the masterpieces "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Miracle". Eric likes his director's style. The zombies are more aggressive. The sense of pressure and tension is stronger.

As for Neil Marshall, many people may not have heard of it. His works include "Dark Invasion", "The Shining Warrior", "Doomsday Invasion", etc., and "Game of Thrones", "Westworld", "Black Sails", "Hanni" He is the director of many high-quality American TV dramas such as "Battle", and he is very capable.

bell

Suddenly, the phone rang, Eric waved his hand, and Julio left the office knowingly.

"Eric, this little beauty is a bit difficult to deal with. I suggest you come to Israel yourself!"

I just received a notice that there will be a meeting in the evening. It seems that fishing is no longer an option.

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