Movie Master

Austin Hogan sat in front of the desk, sorted out his thoughts a bit, then picked up the phone and connected to the branch line of the secretary outside the office, Call me the office of Chaos Films and find Lancelot- Strelo. After hanging up the phone, after waiting for a little more than a minute, the secretary pushed open the office door, Lance is not in the company, I only found Ian Strelo.

Austin exhaled lightly, and nodded towards the secretary, Line 2. After the secretary finished speaking, he closed the door softly.

If given a choice, Austin still hopes to communicate with Lance. It's not that Lance is better at speaking. In fact, Lance is even stronger than Ian and Theo in his bones, and he often doesn't leave room for maneuver when talking; but Austin knows that Lance is a pure filmmaker, not a filmmaker. He is a businessman, so he tends not to hold on too tightly to some delicate and delicate issues.

However, it is clear that he has no choice now.

Picking up the handset, Austin heard the relaxed and freehand voice on the other end of the phone, Austin, what can I do for you? Ian is always like this, warm and hospitable, cheerful and bright, but unrestrained, with every gesture of his hands. A special charm.

Of course, after discussing the cooperation with 'Sin City', we have decided to expand the film's release scale from next week, so there are some details of the contract that need to be communicated. Austin's personality is still straightforward, no Abandoning the politeness of social occasions, but also making things more pure.

Oh. Ian seemed to sound surprised—of course, Austin knew that Ian was not surprised at all, This is good news, and I think Lance will be very happy. Ian's gentle voice carried A trace of joy makes people not hate it at all, So, if there is anything that needs to be changed, I will fully cooperate.

AMC has decided to expand the screening to 900 theaters, and the number of screens will reach 2,938, which will last for at least three weeks. Austin listed a series of simple numbers, but the most plain way of expression is like hitting a ball. , slammed towards Ian quickly and fiercely, leaving Ian with almost no time to react.

Oh? Ian was indeed a little surprised, this time it was true.

After the tug of war, Sin City won screening qualifications in 694 theaters at AMC, including 2,009 screens. Later, under the matchmaking of AMC, Royal Entertainment and other theaters also agreed to such a plan. After adjusting their respective proportions, it was ensured that the movie would be released in 2,700 theaters during the premiere weekend. On average, each movie theater has about three projection screens, but less than three.

Now, AMC has not only added more than 200 theaters in one go, but also guarantees at least three more screens per theater on average.

Just this one detail, we can see the sincerity of AMC. What's more, such a scale will be maintained for at least three weeks, which also means that Sin City can maintain such a large-scale screening situation in the next three weeks, winning a more favorable geographical location for defeating Saharan Cavalry.

From the standpoint of an independent film company, this is indeed a very gratifying thing. But Ian was not overwhelmed by joy, because he clearly realized that the increase in screening theaters in the next three weeks would actually increase the revenue of Chaos Pictures, and it also meant that the revenue of the theaters would increase even more.

It can be said that this should be a strategic adjustment of the theater chain to win more benefits, not for friendship or the like.

Now, AMC took the initiative to throw this bait, obviously hoping to express friendship, and took the initiative to extend an olive branch. But in Ian's view, this means that AMC wants to seek more benefits-if Chaos Films accepts this favor, does it mean that when Chaos Films and AMC sign a long-term contract in the future, they still need Let go of some benefits? Sure enough, AMC played a good game and won benefits for itself. It also wants Chaos Films to be grateful to Dade-this is the rules of the game on Wall Street.

I believe Lance will be very happy when he hears the news. Ian said politely, with a slack smile on his lips, As I said before, please believe in Lance's ability, you will not I regret it. Immediately, Ian hit the straight ball that Austin threw back: You are the one who gets the benefits, don't get cheap and act good.

Austin knew that Ian was not so easy to fool, and Ian had already launched a counterattack after only two sentences of dialogue, but Austin was not to be outdone, Of course, AMC welcomes any movie that makes money This sentence is actually implying that Chaos Films is just a small company in Hollywood. It is estimated that the number of works produced in a year cannot exceed one hand, so it is best not to be too greedy.

That's for sure, no one will refuse to make money, right? Ian also answered along the way.

Although the scale of Chaos Films is small, Lance has two consecutive works that have exceeded 200 million. Now it seems that Sin City also has such potential, so Chaos Films is a cash cow that is sure to make money , who would say no? Ian believes that AMC will not.

Austin heard Ian's subtext, and he also knew that this was a tug-of-war process between the two sides. From the current point of view, it is imperative for Chaos Pictures to establish a distribution department, and it has a certain strength. The major theaters and Chaos The cooperation of the film industry is not a problem, but there are still many parts worth discussing in terms of cooperation details.

If the box office of Sin City really crossed the 200 million threshold, then Chaos Films is indeed worth a gamble for AMC-after all, the distribution dividend ratio of the entire Hollywood industry is almost at this level, large distribution companies and small distribution companies There is not much difference in the profit and dividends. The real difference is in the thickness of resources, such as the number of screens, the geographical location of theaters, the location of posters in theaters, the degree of recommendation of theater staff, and the schedule of screenings. , The amount of promotional content of the movie in the theaters and other relevant details of publicity.

But if the follow-up box office performance of Sin City is weak, especially in the case that the performance of Sin City has not met expectations because the theaters have increased the number of screening venues, then they will definitely not be soft-hearted.

Therefore, now is just the beginning, and both sides are just testing each other's bottom line.

So, what is Lance's new work plan recently? Austin changed the subject. Although it is not directly related to the release, he is inquiring about the depth of resources of Chaos Films. At present, Chaos Films is all relying on Lance. People are creating, and Lance's creative inspiration directly determines the competitiveness of Chaos Films.

Ian chuckled lightly, Why, did you hear the inside information? A rhetorical question made Austin stunned, But the inside information is not credible at present, Lance has several projects in his hand, but He is not in a hurry for now. After all, the most important thing right now is not the new work plan, is it?

Austin believes that with Lance's current reputation, there will definitely be no fewer projects coming to him, but he is a little surprised that the information revealed from Ian's words shows that Lance is not willing to accept foreign projects, and prefers Create a new project on your own. This is good news - Lance, who maintains a strong creative inspiration, is currently the most concerned object in the entire North American market.

Then let us wait and see. Austin did not continue to inquire further, he planned to listen to the rumors in the circle first. Contract details, do you need an interview?

No, you can fax it directly to the office, and Theo will sign it after reading it, and then send it back. Ian agreed without any entanglement, because he knew that there is no need to entangle these details now, and wait until Chaos When the film industry and theaters talk about long-term cooperation, the real battle begins.

Austin obviously understood this too. Ian is indeed a fox, so shrewd that he doesn't want to let go of any details, Very well, then it's settled. If we have time next week, we will come out for lunch together. This is not a formality, but paves the way for future cooperation negotiations between the two parties.

Of course. Ian naturally would not refuse.

After hanging up the phone, Austin sat in a chair and thought for a while. A month ago, they didn't pay much attention to the idea of ​​Chaos Films. After all, the distribution department was not established just because it was established; but in the blink of an eye, their ideas have been broken. With Lance's momentum, Chaos Pictures will flourish, just like DreamWorks back then.

However, such disadvantages are also huge, one prospers all, one loses all, and the entire Chaos Film Industry is maintained by Lance alone. It is precisely this kind of adventure that makes Austin look forward to the future development of Chaos Films, and how high can their distribution department reach?

Chaos Films is like a spring breeze, blowing up the lifeless Hollywood, but everyone will wait and see if it can change the pattern and achieve the goal that DreamWorks failed to achieve.

Immediately afterwards, theater chains such as Royal Entertainment, General Motors, and United Artists all contacted Chaos Pictures one after another to discuss the expansion of the screening. Sin City, which has only been released for one week, has embarked on the road of expansion. The direct reaction of the theaters is the most direct reflection of the prosperity of the entire market. Doubtful evidence.

After the release of many films, they have achieved excellent box office performance and excellent word-of-mouth feedback, and theaters will arrange for further expansion of screenings-it is a fool to make money but not make money, but generally speaking, because the film itself is released on a large scale, the expansion The scale fluctuates more in the range of one or two hundred. But this time, Sin City showed the strength of sweeping thousands of troops, which not only broke the expectations of the media, but also refreshed the subjective judgments of major theaters. As a result, theaters have expressed their attitudes with practical actions: the mighty expansion is in progress.

In the second week of April, Sin City will be screened in 3,300 theaters, and the expansion scale has reached 500, which is incredible. In contrast, Saharan Cavalry was screened in 3,150 theaters.