Hollywood New Century

New York, after the 9/11 incident, for better development, the newly appointed Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced a series of tax cuts to stimulate the economy.

At the end of last year, the billionaire founder of Bloomberg was re-elected as the mayor of New York. After all, the economy of New York recovered quickly under his leadership.

The movie tax rebate is also an important policy. As the entertainment capital of the East Coast, New York itself has a lot of movie personnel.

The New York Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival are good places for independent film screenings.

"The Devil Wears Prada" crew, on the ground floor of the Mike Green-Hill Publishing Building in Manhattan,

Emily Blunt's first female assistant is commenting on new second female assistant Anne Hathaway with fellow Victoria's Secret supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

It has been three days since Simon came to the crew, and everything was filmed normally, and indeed the room was full of fashionable clothes.

David Frankel really turned this into a fashion ad film.

"Does the crew have any other questions?" Simon asked the production assistant standing beside him.

"That's not true. I was a little worried about sponsorship before, but Prada has already helped us solve this," the production assistant laughed.

"If they can't solve it, I don't mind changing the name to 'The Queen Wears Versace' or 'The Queen of Chanel,'" Simon Pike said lightly.

"Uh..." The production assistant was a little speechless, and looked at Simon Pike, whose style was strong enough.

"By the way, that actress seems to be named Emily Blunt. She acted well and doesn't feel like a newcomer," Simon remembered as if she had been selected by herself during the audition, and she was beautiful anyway.

"She is British, and she has acted in a TV series before. Last year, she played a supporting role in a drama film. She performed well. She played a drama role in the UK before," said Simon, the production assistant.

"So that's the case!" Many actors from the United Kingdom who came from the theater are still quite good in their acting skills.

Then, the director called to stop, and it was time for lunch.

"The film will be closed next month, and then the post-editing will start. The schedule arranged by 20th Century Fox is also good. It will be released on 6.30. They don't have any blockbusters in the summer, and only "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" will be released on 5.26. The time is very short. Enough," Simon said as he looked at the director's shooting plan, whether other films were a threat to "The Devil Wears Prada."

"6.30, no problem, the promotion time can keep up," David Frankel said, satisfied with the schedule.

"It seems that Fox is quite optimistic about the prospects of this movie," Simon actually did not expect that 20th Century Fox would be willing to give this good schedule.

20th Century Fox's epic "Kingdom of the Kingdom" released last year was a mess at the box office. Although it also released Lucasfilm's "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith", it was Lucasfilm. Twentieth Century Fox only takes hard-earned money for an 8% commission for the films it produces.

Simon also stayed in the same hotel as the crew in New York, and was responsible for the follow-up work of the filming, but he was not very busy.

In the cafe below the hotel, Simon is chatting with Wendy Fineman, one of the filmmakers.

A young man led a few people to the door of the hotel, surrounded by a group of reporters.

"Simon, look, the young man who is being interviewed by reporters has a lot of background," Wendy Fineman pointed to the hotel door with a smile.

"Oh, and someone from the entertainment industry?" Of course Simon Pike didn't know him.

Wendy Fineman smiled and said: "His name is David Ellison. He invested in an air combat movie "Air Combat Hero" last year. He entered Hollywood last year. Do you think he is a person in the entertainment industry? ?"

"Crossing the border to play," Simon smiled, such a rich kid, "Wait, Ellison, this surname?"

Simon reacted and smiled: "This David Ellison won't be Larry Ellison's son, right?"

"Haha, it's him, Simon, we independent producers should pay attention to this kind of funder with investment ability. Oracle has a market value of tens of billions of dollars. Larry Ellison's son will not be short of money," Wendy Fineman responded with a smile.

"Also, the most difficult thing for independent films is to attract investment. This kind of funder is indeed a good friend of the independent film industry," Simon Parker is also an independent producer now. However, Simon does not think more about art, but business.

"What happened to that movie "Air Combat Heroes"?" Simon continued to ask.

"David Ellison entered Hollywood after graduating from college in 2004. He likes airplanes very much, and he likes air combat movies the most. "Air Combat Heroes" is about the story of American pilots fighting in the French Air Force in World War II, which fits him well. 20th Century Fox will do the distribution!” Wendy Fineman explained,

"In addition, I heard that if you want him to invest in a movie, it is best to add an airplane to the story of the movie. The office of Tianwu Pictures he set up seems to be located at a certain airport!"

"Haha, interesting!" Simon Parker remembered, this guy seems to have a younger sister, Megan Ellison, who will also enter Hollywood as a filmmaker in the future, specializing in independent literary films!

"The production cost of "Air Combat Hero" is 60 million US dollars, and it will be released in September! It is estimated that David Ellison will fly to the premiere by then!" Wendy Fineman smiled, this kind of sponsor , the more the better.

"I'm afraid he's just here to play, and it's not good to be scared away this time," Simon couldn't deny it. Most of the newcomers lost money when they made movies.

"Who knows, he's only 23 years old anyway, and he's a year younger than you, Simon, so he can slowly hone his skills in Hollywood!" Wendy Fineman is still very concerned about the situation of coming to Hollywood and then leaving clearly.

"Hey, this is not bad. He became the producer of a movie with a cost of 60 million dollars at a young age!" Simon said, and looked at the door of the hotel. The people of the Ellison family are uglier than the others.

However, when he thinks that his father is the chairman of the Oracle Group, he is so handsome!

After spending more than a week in New York, Simon returned to Los Angeles because the 63rd Golden Globe Awards in 2005 were about to be held.

Xinghai Pictures, Simon sat on the chair behind his desk and asked, "Focus Pictures has remitted the follow-up balance?"

"Arrived, $3.264 million!"

"It's still distribution to make money. Focus Pictures has earned more than 28 million US dollars from commissions from this film, and they don't have to take risks," Simon said, curling his lips.

"By the way, I took a look at some of the scripts handed over by the company, and it's not bad," Simon said, taking out a movie project and putting it on the table.

"Based on a novel by Mark McCarthy, No Country for Old Men, the author seems to have won the Pulitzer Prize before. The story is profound and deep, suspenseful, humorous and thrilling. If the Coen brothers directed it, it's okay. This recommended production Scott Rudin still has some vision!"

Sonia Roman laughed: "Scott has participated in eight films this year, and some of them are not easy to attract investment!"

"I did some research, the budget cost of $25 million is enough, the Coen brothers have a lot of control over this kind of film, let the brothers adapt the script well and try to start shooting in the second half of the year, let the two brothers also become filmmakers. , more power!" Simon is relatively familiar with this film, but what about the film that won the Oscar for Best Picture.

The background of the Western modern story, the suspenseful black humor style, especially the killer's stern expression and an ugly hairstyle are so impressive.

"Simon, we're not raising money anymore?" Sonia Roman reminded, meaning how could the company have $25 million? In addition to the more than 3 million funds received, the company now has a working capital of 5.2 million US dollars!

"Adapt the script and choose the actors. It will be at least July and August when filming starts. Not to mention that "The Queen Wears Prada" has already been released, and our "Little Miss Sunshine" will be released in early March. Isn't it rich?" Simon Of course, she knows what she is worried about, invest by herself, and then find a publisher, there are few constraints, and the progress will be faster!

Can't find a release for the movie? As long as the filming is excellent, I will worry about this. Besides, Simon is not directly selling off the distribution rights. The North American market is all divided into accounts, and he is not the kind of independent filmmaker who needs to repay bank loans urgently and has no confidence in his films.

Big producers like to distribute accounts for uncertain movie projects. The distributors are very happy to be able to make money without investing any money.

"Juno" did make Focus Pictures less happy, that's why they were jealous. But this kind of movie, hundreds of movies a year in the United States, only one or two such high profits, is it so easy to come across?

In fact, anyone can do the distribution, but it needs to support a strong distribution team. The up-front cost of film announcement and distribution must be paid in advance, and there must be enough films to distribute, otherwise those staff will just take the money?

In the North American market, it can be said that the six major publishers are top-tier publishers, and there are some second-tier publishers, third-tier publishers, and so on.

There are only six overseas distributions, with strong brands, strong brand effects, strong funds, and a large number of movies to support the distribution team. It also acts as a film intermediary in different markets, and it is impossible to do it without background.

Lionsgate did not have a certain influence in overseas distribution until later through the popularity of the "Hunger Games" series. As for now, that is, North America and the United Kingdom have a distribution team, and the rest of the region is either sold to local publishers or handed over to six. Big release.

"Is this okay?" Sonia Roman thinks that Simon Parker is too confident, and "Little Miss Sunshine" can also be popular?

"Of course, just do as I say, don't worry!" This guy still has no confidence in me?