Hollywood Tycoon [US Entertainment + Business War]

From an investor's point of view, Jed certainly does not want a financial giant like Carl Icahn to enter the film industry.After all, the so-called making a movie is largely a game of "burning money". As long as the producer has money, the screenwriter, actor, director and photographer can all be the top Hollywood, and then use the best special effects company to package , and finally throw a large sum of money to the media to tout, no matter how bad the movie is, it will be no problem to win a weekend box office champion.What's more, as long as Carl Icahn does not make himself stupid and can find professionals to help him make movies, then it is impossible for him to make a small company bigger in a short period of time.Think about the development path of New Line in the past, that is, the rich fell in love with movies on a whim, and the result was that the little-known company, New Line, was brought to the status of a small Hollywood giant.If the rich man hadn't lost interest in movies, and finally sold the company to Warner, New Line would become a Hollywood shooting star.

But from the point of view of a filmmaker, Jed hopes that more Carl Icahns will enter Hollywood.The reason why the Premier League has become the best football league in the world is because this league finally concentrated the most famous rich people in the world.To make movies, especially to make good movies, is to fight for the financial resources of the film company. The reason why MGM was able to monopolize the golden age of Hollywood was because it had money; and now MGM is still in decline because it has no money.Which of the film companies that can show off their power in Hollywood now does not have the support of a super consortium or rich people?Behind Columbia Pictures is the Sony Group; behind Warner Bros. is the Time Warner Group; behind Walt Disney Pictures is the Walt Disney Company; behind Universal Pictures is the Vivendi Group; Behind Paramount Pictures is Redstone, an American entertainment tycoon.

"The current seven Hollywood giants are not worthy of your investment. MGM's debt problem is a headache, and Universal's equity structure is too weird. The remaining five giants basically have no worries about food and clothing, so it is not rare to invest. .” Now that Carl Icahn brought it up, Jed had no choice but to help him analyze the situation in Hollywood. "Among the small giant companies, CBS Films is supported by CBS Group, and they don't need investment; Lionsgate Films, Open Road Pictures, Relativity Media, and Weinstein Films are currently developing joint ventures, and they are also companies that don't need investment. The rest The company is divided into two types, one is the independent production company owned by the producer, they basically will not sell the management rights of the company; the other is the small company that can be seen everywhere in Hollywood."

"Mr. Sherman, I am a straightforward person. Can you give me a better suggestion?"

"Two suggestions." Jed replied directly, "Are you interested in Mr. Spielberg's DreamWorks?"

"Isn't DreamWorks currently on good terms with Paramount Pictures?" Carl Icahn asked, "What happened?"

"You should know that DreamWorks was co-founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Their purpose was originally the same as mine, to establish a large unfettered media conglomerate in Hollywood. An independent film company, but..." Jed sighed, "I developed an independent film company into a media group, but Spielberg and the others are still insisting on the traditional independent film production path. Now The situation is that Spielberg has been disheartened and plans to sell the company to a media group. Katzenberg has no interest in movies and plans to engage in animation film production business. As for David Geffen, he originally made up the number Yes, so he is unwilling to come forward to reconcile the conflict between the two."

In that parallel time and space, in 2, Katzenberg led DreamWorks Animation to become independent from DreamWorks.DreamWorks was reorganized into DreamWorks Co., Ltd. and was acquired by Paramount Pictures in 4.In 2, due to Spielberg's insistence and Paramount's cash flow problems, DreamWorks changed back to its original name and was sold to Reliance Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Indian telecom tycoon Abani.Beginning in 6, both DreamWorks and DreamWorks Animation ended their distribution contract with Paramount and signed a distribution contract with 2th Century Fox Film Company.Jed didn't want Spielberg's dream of independent film production to be shattered, so he thought that Carl Icahn would form a DreamWorks Entertainment Group to acquire DreamWorks and DreamWorks Animation, and then form DreamWorks Distribution and DreamWorks Home Entertainment. The company is enough.

"They weren't the best option." Carl Icahn said no. "I don't want my subordinates to be stronger than me. My company should only have my voice. The contradiction between DreamWorks and DreamWorks Animation is the reason why the company has too many voices."

Carl Icahn saw the big problem after the acquisition, and Jed couldn't make any more suggestions, so he said his second suggestion, "Then I suggest you buy a small company that is relatively experienced in Hollywood. If the funds If it is not enough, I suggest you just buy their trademark and the right to use the film library. After all, such companies generally have not produced any good movies in recent decades, so it is meaningless even if you buy the ownership of their film library Not much, as long as there is a priority right to remake."

"So do you have any good film companies to recommend?" Carl Icahn asked. "Since I have said so much, you should have a few."

"RKO," Jade said, "yes, the same company that made Citizen Kane, The Man of the Hour, and King Kong. They effectively ended operations in 1959." , but their assets are currently in custody. But I want to remind you that RKO’s trademarks belong to RKO TV, RKO Broadcasting and RKO Films, and it is very difficult for you to buy out the trademark. And RKO The major shareholders within the film company are also relatively individual, and I think you need to spend a lot of energy to acquire it. In short, DreamWorks and RKO are the two suggestions I recommend to you.”

After chatting with Carl Icahn, Jed will go to the AMC Times Square flagship store to attend the premiere of "White Night".As the latest director signed by Galaxy Film Group, Christopher Nolan's film still has great expectations from Galaxy Film.Generally, works under Galaxy Films hold their premieres in Los Angeles, but this time they moved to New York, an international metropolis, to hold their premieres.The public relations skills of Jia Fei and others are also extraordinary. In addition to the local media in New York City, national media such as the "New York Times" were also present. "White Night" is Nolan's first work after joining Galaxy ("Memento" was only handed over to Galaxy for distribution in North America), so Galaxy Film Group also gave Nolan the best treatment.This film not only invited Robin Williams, but also invited Al Pacino and Hilary Swanker, the pair of actor and actress.Moreover, the film is all arranged for location shooting in Alaska, so the cost can be called high.

"Mr. Sherman, what do you think of the movie "White Night"?" ABC reporter asked on the red carpet.

"I really like Mr. Nolan's shooting techniques and screenwriting skills. I believe this is a movie that will be remembered."

"So what are your expectations for the box office of this movie?" The reporter asked, "Galaxy movies have always been known for their high box office."

"It seems that we need to make more literary films to let everyone remember that we are not just a commercial film company." Jed replied with a smile, "This is not a very easy popcorn movie, so we didn't think too much about the box office factor. Of course, we hope that the audience will give a lot of support, after all, for the director and the production company, it is still very embarrassing to make a film that loses money."

"Mr. Sherman, when we interviewed director Nolan just now, he said that he doesn't like imax technology and 3D technology. As the owner of imax technology and a recognized technical director in the film industry, what do you think of his words? ?”

Jed's head hurt immediately, and he didn't expect Nolan's retro temper to flare up now.Unlike Jed and Cameron, Nolan is very resistant to the application of new technologies in film shooting.On the contrary, he is very willing to study the new application methods of traditional technology in the new era, and has achieved good results.When you watch Nolan's masterpiece "Inception" in the future, you will know that old equipment can also produce effects that new technology cannot match.However, Nolan jumped out to slap imax at this time, which is indeed a bit embarrassing. Everyone knows that Nolan is the new director Jade discovered and praised.As a result, there is an irreconcilable conflict between Maxima and Bole. This is absolutely the most popular news material for the American media and people!

Jed pondered for a while, and said: "Whether imax technology or 3D technology is good, they are ultimately tools for directors to shoot movies. Some people like to use rail cars, while others still like hand-cranked cameras. What's the matter? What about the so-called 'technical stream' directors who are not only chasing new equipment, but also discovering new ways to use old equipment. You call Nolan a 'retro director', but in my opinion, he should be a 'technical director' Streamlined retro director'."

After attending the premiere, Jed flew from New York to London.After arriving in London, Jed also quickly got the box office results of "White Night".Under the joint siege of "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" and "Spider-Man", the restricted-rated new film "White Night" can only rank third in the weekend box office.However, this result is better than the DreamWorks Animation film "Little Pony King", which is also a new film, and the Columbia Pictures thriller "Intolerable".Jed turned off his e-mail and sent an email to Nolan and the "White Night" crew, encouraging them not to be bothered by the box office results, and losing to "Star Wars" and "Spiderman" is not a big deal disgraceful thing.

After dealing with "White Night Chase", the first thing Jed did was to go to the BBC to supervise the production of the second season of "Harry Potter". The production length of the season and third episode was increased to 12 episodes.As the producer of the TV series version of "Harry Potter", Jed still went through all the current materials once, and then put forward some suggestions for revision.After doing all this, the crew of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was formally established, and the filming of the film version also officially started.After the opening photo was announced to the world through Rowling's personal blog, Harry fans all over the world immediately expressed great concern for the second episode of the movie.