Movie Master

Austin Hogan looks unremarkable, he is the head of a typical middle-class American family. He has neat short hair without any fancy dress, just neatly combed with pomade, and matched with a well-regulated white shirt and black Suit, clothes are not a fashionable design, the length of the hem covers the buttocks, and it looks a little wide, more like the most popular style in the late 1990s.

There are no traces of elites in his body, and his calm life can even appear in his mind: the girlfriend he met in college, married early after graduation, and now has a son and two daughters. I started with the accounting department of the first line, and over time, I became the manager of this theater chain. I have demonstrated sufficient handling and management skills. Although I don’t have the courage to pioneer and innovate, I am a conservative candidate. So under the right opportunity, he became the theater general manager of AMC's Los Angeles branch.

Lance was a little worried for a while. On the surface, such a person seems to be easier to deal with, but there is absolutely no weak person who can roll to this position in Hollywood. On the contrary, it is even more difficult for such seemingly ordinary people to find loopholes, even if they want to find a breakthrough—maybe because they are rigid and stubborn, maybe because they are conservative and timid, or because they follow the rules.

Thoughts turned around in his mind, Lance took the initiative to walk to Austin, So, to participate in such a dinner party, you must be worried that the children will not be able to go to bed on time, right?

Austin was stunned, and looked at Lance with some surprise. It seemed that he was very surprised that Lance would put aside a large number of other people and come to talk to him, but he didn't say the questioning words after all, but He showed a smile, Yes, they are always too naughty, their mother may not be able to control all the situation by herself. Especially the little monkey, who is only five years old this year, is extremely naughty and pesters me every night tell a story.

Two kids? Lance asked curiously.

Oh, no, three. Two girls and one boy. Austin shook his head, and his happiness could be heard in the words, almost overflowing. And you?

Lance's laughter overflowed from the corner of his mouth, I hope to have two children. Austin suddenly understood, with a hint of apology in his smile, At such a dinner party, few people are willing to talk about children, so I thought... Lance waved his hands again and again, No, no, I like children very much. Although they are very troublesome, like little devils, but more often, Lance paused for a moment and said with a smile , They're all angels, aren't they?

This sentence made Austin nod again and again, his eyes filled with admiration, Not long ago, I planned to repaint the exterior walls of my house, and Nathan—the little monkey in my house—tried to come over to help, but it didn't work. In three minutes, a bucket of paint was knocked over. When I was about to get angry, he looked up at me innocently, but his face was like a cat, with light blue paint smeared all over his face. I didn't hold back, I just laughed, and I didn't succeed when I got angry.

Lance was amused by Austin's words, sincerely, I remember when I was a kid, I tried to build a tree house, and I locked my brother in it, and I nailed all the boards. I was locked in It was poor Gawain who finally demolished the failed tree house after waiting for Theo to come back. My brother and I were dumbfounded. Neither of us knew what to do. Haha, even thinking about it now, we still laugh so hard.

Brother? Austin asked curiously.

Lance hesitated for a moment, but still said, I have three older brothers.

Wow, then your parents must have a lot of headaches. Austin couldn't help but sigh. Lance didn't deny it.

The two talked about children, and the atmosphere became very harmonious. Between you and me, twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Austin still had his father's smile on his face, but he looked at Lance seriously, Mr. Strelo. But under Lance's gaze , Austin paused, and changed his words again, Lance, hehe, look, I'm still not used to it. Lance, I mean, you came to see me, you definitely didn't come to talk to me about children. Ye, you are one of the people in the spotlight tonight, and I'm just the general manager of AMC Theaters in the Los Angeles area.

Austin may not be one of those big shots, but that doesn't mean he's an idiot either.

Lance chuckled lightly, I've been waiting for your question. This frank answer made Austin laugh too, Tell me, is there anything I can help? Or, what's the matter Can we work together? Not only is he not stupid, but he is also quite smart.

Chaos Films has just completed the production of a film, and we hope to distribute it ourselves. Lance didn't go around in circles, and said the answer directly.

Austin let out a breath, and said easily, This is a very simple matter. Your distribution department can directly send a representative to discuss it. To be able to cooperate with Chaos Films, all major theaters are wishing for it.

That's the problem, we don't have a distribution department. Lance didn't make any further explanations, because Austin is an insider of the theater, and he can figure out all the twists and turns in one go. However, we plan to establish a distribution department. This work is the first test of the water. If the cooperation is good, then we can discuss the issue of long-term cooperation; if it fails... Let's put it this way, I will pray that there is no such possibility .”

Austin chuckled twice, but then fell silent, thinking about it, You should know that the release of a work also means that we can only deal with it according to the specifications of independent films. The subtext is , theaters must exploit more interests.

Of course. Lance shrugged, But, the point is, the future development must also be used as a reference standard, isn't it? If it's just a movie, as Austin said, they will lose huge profits, so Lance had to bring out the brand of Chaos Films and rely on the reputation they had accumulated so far to win more initiative.

Austin did not shirk, and nodded as a matter of course, This is for sure. Although Chaos Pictures currently only has three works, it is worth mentioning that all three works have achieved profitability, and the rate of return is very gratifying. Generally speaking, box office figures and revenue ratios are what theaters are most concerned about, and they are also the only ones they care about. AMC is not an art theater, commercial interests are their only consideration. Therefore, the signboard of Chaos Shadow Industry can indeed be taken into consideration.

So, what is the latest work of Chaos Films? I have heard a lot of news before. The words were originally ridiculed, but Austin said them rather rigidly, without a sense of humor. But the meaning was conveyed.

'Sin City'. Lance's answer made Austin slightly nod his chin, but without any superfluous expressions, it was difficult to guess Austin's real thoughts now.

'Sin City'. Austin repeated the name, and then looked at Lance seriously, Actually, I am more curious about how you will shoot. This sentence is still calm, listening to Not knowing what Austin meant, this really made Lance fall into more passivity.

Having experienced the diorama film industry, Lance clearly knows how the major theaters operate.

Even in the face of giants such as Warner Bros. and Disney, theaters have their own way of arranging films. For example, there are definitely fewer premiere venues for R-rated movies. Relatively speaking, Disney’s family-friendly premiere venues are easier. It is rare for the former to reach 3,000 venues, and 3,000 venues for the latter is just the starting line; another example is independent films with strong artistic styles, experimental films produced in Europe, and bloody and violent NC-17 films. Even if it is fully released, the number of screening venues will inevitably be less than 1,000; there is also a very important point, there is competition among large theater chains such as Royal Entertainment, AMC, and General Motors, and there is also a tacit understanding among them. The arrangement of venues rarely deviates greatly.

For Sin City, it's certainly no exception. However, the biggest disadvantage of Sin City is: if the distribution company has signed an agreement with the theater chain, then the agreement will have detailed corresponding provisions. In case of any situation, how many venues should the theater chain arrange? How many sessions should be arranged, and when encountering any situation, the theater chain can independently reduce the number of venues or sessions. However, Chaos Shadow Industry does not have these things.

In short, they have no guarantees.

Sin City is originally a work with a sharp style, and the audience either likes it extremely or hates it extremely. This is not good news for theaters, they will not be willing to gamble on this chance.

Therefore, Lance intends to continue the way he had succeeded in the first place - to be the first to win!

Maybe you can see it with your own eyes. Lance's answer made Austin stunned. Generally speaking, when theaters determine the number of screening venues and arrange screening schedules, they will indeed send professionals to watch the movie once, and then Make a corresponding plan based on the film, but the premise is that the theater and the distribution company have signed a cooperation agreement.

In the case of Lance, before signing any kind of agreement, they need to watch the finished film, so that they can proceed to the next step of negotiation. But the subtext of Lance's words seems to be... Now? Austin hesitated to ask his own question.

Lance shrugged his shoulders as a matter of course, Why not? After speaking, Lance took the initiative to lead the way ahead, and Austin couldn't turn his head for a while—here? In the Sunset Tower Hotel? Watching a demo? Did Lance move all the projection equipment to the hotel? This is impossible!

Looking up, Austin saw Lance stop, waiting for him not far away, with a confident and calm smile on his lips. He suddenly became curious. Austin adjusted his breathing and followed Lance's footsteps.