I’m in Hollywood

d PS. Here is today's update, and by the way, we will vote for the Starting Point 515 Fan Festival. Everyone has 8 tickets, and voting will also send starting coins. I beg everyone for your support and appreciation!

Bill Michanick brought Howard Stringer to his office. Just as he sat down, Howard Stringer took out a document from the briefcase he was carrying: Bill, take a look first. this.

Bill Michanick took it and opened it. The first thing that caught his eye was a photo. The photo was of a giant beast with armor that resembled dinosaurs on its back. Bill Michanick blurted out without thinking: Godzilla?

Yes, Godzilla, Howard Stringer nodded, took the coffee from Secretary Bill Michanic and put it aside, waved the other party away, and continued: Mr. Idei contacted me yesterday, After passing this information, the Sony headquarters has started to contact Dongbao, and it will be authorized soon, and he hopes that we can use the most advanced CG special effects technology in Hollywood to bring this monster to the big screen.

Since the appearance of the first Godzilla special film in 1954, the image of this monster, which came into being under the Japanese's nuclear fear, has spread all over the world and has gathered very high popularity. In addition to the more than 20 Godzilla movies produced by Dongbao, there are endless comics, animations, toys and other products related to Godzilla around the world. huge impact.

Bill Michanick knew that Sony executives must have been stimulated by the resurgence of Jurassic Park 2 at the box office, so he came up with the idea of ​​making a CG special effect version of Godzilla on a whim. Since the Jurassic Park series is used as a reference, the budget size of this project will never be less than 100 million US dollars, but if this project is launched, it will conflict with the development strategy he designed for Columbia.

After pondering for a moment, Bill Michanick asked: Howard, what is Mr. Idei's plan for this project? You know, Colombia's current situation is not very good?

I know what you're worried about. Bill, Howard Stringer said with a smile on his face. There's nothing wrong with the budget, Mr. Idei said. Sony is willing to take $150 million as long as we can get this project right. Within the production budget, he will spend $50 million for distribution, because he wants the first film to become famous, and then make a series like Toho.

Bill Michanick listened to Howard Stringer. There was no joy in my heart.

If Sony spends $200 million on this project, then the future global box office must reach at least 500 million in order to ensure that the project can break even. Although Jurassic Park pushed Hollywood's highest global box office record to $1 billion two years ago, Bill Michanick, who has been in Hollywood for two decades, knows very well that even now Given the overall expansion of the global box office market,

It is definitely not an easy task to make a movie with a global box office of 500 million.

Compared with the past, the Hollywood film market last year can be described as brilliant, but it has been down for the whole year. There are only six films that have surpassed $500 million at the global box office. Bill Michanick can imagine that if this 200 million-dollar project fails again, Sony's confidence in operating the movie business may be destroyed, and it may withdraw from Hollywood like Panasonic. Every change of ownership of a major film company means management turmoil, and at that time, his CEO will face an uncertain future again.

After hesitating, Bill Michanick said: Howard, when I joined the company, I said that if Sony wants to operate the film business for a long time, it will be in the next few years. The main focus should be on producing low-cost films. , through this conservative business strategy, steadily repair Colombia's production and distribution system that is on the verge of collapse. At the time, you and Mr. Idei agreed with my business ideas, so why take the risk now?

Howard Stringer explained patiently: Bill. Mr. Idei's original words are that Sony wants Columbia to have a very representative big movie series.

Howard, I just think this kind of decision is stupid, they should know what it means if this project fails. And. If the Japanese want to maintain a decent, Men in Black and Jumanji this Two series is enough, Bill Michanick shook his head and continued: Howard, I think we should convince Mr. Idei to give up this idea, and even if we do, we should postpone it for two or three years until Colombia recovers. Make plans later.”

Howard Stringer was born in the media industry, and he also knew that Nobuyuki Idei appointed him as CEO of Sony's US branch, hoping that he could revitalize Sony's entertainment business. Not only the top executives of Sony headquarters, but even Howard Stringer himself, were greatly stimulated after seeing the box office data of Jurassic Park 2 in full swing. Therefore, after Sony headquarters threw out the Godzilla project, Howard Stringer also felt that there was a lot to do.

However, he didn't expect that he would come here with great interest, and before he said a few words, he hit several soft nails in a row in front of Bill Michanic.

Bill, we just got out of the 'Men in Black' and 'Jumanji' situation that we needed to do this project alone. As long as we have our own franchise, we won't be held back by anyone.

Bill Michanick wanted to say something, but when he saw Howard Stringer's serious expression, he realized that it was not appropriate to continue with his immediate boss, and his tone softened, and said, Then, Howard, We can do this project, but I think it's better to postpone it for a year. We all know the situation in Columbia, because of Peter Cooper, the production and distribution business under Columbia has been in half since the second half of last year. The stagnant state, although it has improved in the past few months, if there is another year...

Bill, this matter is the decision of the headquarters, there is no room for negotiation, all we have to do is implement it, Howard Stringer finally lost his patience and interrupted Bill Michanick, saying: Also, I I don’t want us to continue arguing. The board will never allow Colombia to get out of control again, and if you don’t cooperate, I will report the situation here truthfully to the board.”

Bill Michanick looked surprised. He has been on the job since the end of April. During this period of time, the two of them got along well, and he even thought Howard Stringer was an easy-going person. But he didn't expect Howard Stringer to have such a self-willed side, and even threatened himself. He couldn't help but cursed in his heart. Bill Michanick thought that Sony had just chased away two scumbags. Hired another idiot who doesn't know anything about the movie business.

Howard Stringer used to be a reporter and later served as the president of CBS News. Although he was also in the media field, he never set foot in the film industry from beginning to end. There are many non-professional executives in Hollywood, but the current seven Hollywood leaders such as Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Eisner, Shirley Lansing, etc., including himself, are all from the bottom of Hollywood. Climb up step by step.

It is not uncommon for laymen to command experts, just like Paramount, which was brilliant ten years ago, because Martin Davis, a lay shareholder, frequently intervenes in the management of the company. It led to the rapid decline of the company and was eventually acquired by Viacom.

Okay, Bill Michanic shrugged slightly. Although he was very resistant, he didn't want to find a second job so soon. Since this project was decided by Sony headquarters, even if it failed, he didn't need to Too much responsibility to bear, if it can be successful. That is naturally better: Howard, in this case, where are you going to start?

Although Bill Michanick made a compromise on the surface, Howard Stringer could still feel the obvious negative attitude in him. After thinking for a while, he said, Well, Bill, I will take charge of this project myself, and leave the production to Samsung Pictures. You can continue to manage the company according to your own ideas. Just cooperate when necessary.

Bill Michanick felt in the bottom of his heart that Sony executives and Howard Stringer had obviously been stunned by the success of Jurassic Park 2 at the box office, thinking that they could make a one-billion-dollar movie at random.

He originally thought about how to completely get rid of this extremely risky project, so that the project succeeds in the future, and the improvement of the company's overall strength will also be of great benefit to his management of the company. If it fails, even if he faces the risk of losing his job, he is looking for In the next job, at least he won't have to carry this big stain on his back.

Of course there's no problem, it's naturally better that you can go out in person, Bill Michanick nodded without hesitation and said with a smile.

Seeing that Bill Michanick no longer resisted this plan, but also freely delegated power, Howard Stringer was very satisfied, and at the same time felt that the tone of what he had just said was a little heavy. He is indeed not a tough person. The remarks just now were actually repeated in private by Nobuyuki Idei, and the Sony board of directors really does not want to see an uncontrolled manager appear in Colombia again.

However, neither he nor the Sony executives realized that trusting the horse with the reins may cause the horses to lose control, but the reins are too tight, and the result is often strangling the horses.

So, Bill, who do you think is the most suitable Hollywood director to direct this film? Howard Stringer asked in a gentle tone, trying to ease the atmosphere.

I think we should solve the problem of special effects first. Although he felt Howard Stringer's thoughts, Bill Michanick still made up his mind not to get involved in this matter, so he would not take the initiative to recommend it. The director candidate just said: If you want to use CG technology to bring Godzilla to the big screen, Hollywood can only undertake the special effects of this project, only the digital field, but after the incident at the beginning of the year, our relationship with Firefly is now the same. Not very good, although Firefly said that the digital field is operated independently, no one can guarantee whether Firefly will deliberately set up obstacles for us.

Isn't the special effects of Universal's The Mummy also done in the digital domain, Howard Stringer thought for a while, and said, The relationship between Michael Eisner and Eric Williams once was comparable to that of Firefly. Much worse than Colombia.

I think that's mainly the reason why the heroine Nicole Kidman reconciled it, Bill Mitnick said: She's Eric Williams' woman, and she's from the first 'The Mummy' movie. Getting a staggering $30 million in salary, to a large extent, should be considered the price Universal paid for the success of the Mummy series.

If Godzilla can be successful, we can't afford this price, Howard Stringer pondered for a moment, and said, So, do you think we can adopt the same strategy as Universal?

Bill Michanick shook his head and said, I don't think so. In the Fair Game that Warner Bros. released at the end of May, the heroine Claudia Schiffer is also Eric Williams' woman, but this one The action movie, which cost $50 million to make, was less than $10 million in its first week. Last weekend, under the impact of Jurassic Park 2, the box office dropped 57% over the weekend and only received $3 million. There are also evaluation agencies predicting that the film will reach 30 million at the box office, but now it seems that it can reach 25 million US dollars.

I heard about this at a business reception a few days ago, Howard Stringer said: It is said that during the preparation of the film, Eric Williams predicted that the project would fail, and Joe Rogers would fail. Silver made a lot of changes to the project, trying to save it, but unfortunately it didn't work, but I didn't hear about the heroine.

Bill Michanick thought to himself that at a formal business reception, people certainly wouldn't talk about these gossips, just a little more attention to Hollywood, which is never a secret: Anyway, Howard, we have to deal with special effects first. Secondly, for such a big project, it is also very important to find a reliable director, and this director should have directed a successful special effects blockbuster.”

Although he didn't intend to mix things up, Bill Michanic still tried his best to guide Howard Stringer to the right idea.

Howard Stringer almost immediately thought of the recent hit Jurassic Park 2: Then, maybe we can try to get in touch with Joe Johnston.

If it can be successful, of course it would be better, Bill Michanick nodded in agreement, but he didn't have much expectations for it. Since Firefly asked Joe Johnston to take over Jurassic Park, he would definitely work with him Signing a strict option contract, unless someone is willing to pay huge liquidated damages for him, or Firefly will mercifully take the initiative to release people, otherwise, Joe Johnston is extremely unlikely to make films for other film companies.

[515 is coming soon, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and by May 15th, the red envelope rain can give back to readers and publicity works. A piece is also love, it must be better! ](To be continued.)c