hunt hollywood

The two sat on the terrace for half an hour, and the helicopter flew back, and Simon, James and Jennifer boarded the helicopter and returned to Malibu.

Back on shore, the Rayboulds turned down Simon's invitation to join him at a Warner Bros. party that evening and rushed to have dinner with Jennifer's uncle, George Norman's family.

Simon rested for a while at his home on the west side of Cape Dume, and then set off for downtown Los Angeles.

Chapter 280 Comprehension (Revision)

Normally, Sunday is not a great time to party since the next day is a working day.

However, today's situation is somewhat special.

Warner Bros. Pictures' fifth week of "Lethal Weapon 2" was released on Friday and Saturday, and its total box office in North America officially exceeded 1 million US dollars. Therefore, the celebration party for this film was specially arranged for today.

Because "Lethal Weapon 2" is the first domestic film of Warner Bros. Pictures to break through 1984 million box office five years after Joe Dante's "Elf" was released in [-], the celebration party at the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills The scale was very grand, and Steve Ross, the helm of Warner Bros., still took time to come to Los Angeles at the most intense moment of the entangled merger and acquisition litigation game among Time Inc., Warner Bros. and Paramount Communications.

Not only that, it is said that during the banquet for the main creative team of "Lethal Weapon 2" at noon today, Steve Ross also rewarded a group of main creators with an expensive sports car, and personally handed over the keys to everyone.

Steve Ross's generous character is indeed the reason why Warner Bros. can win over a group of top filmmakers to cooperate with him. 'Old Cowboy' Clint Eastwood has only made films for Warner Bros. in the past ten years. Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Cher and other famous Hollywood filmmakers have also worked with Rose. Intersect irreversible.

It was also after receiving two consecutive enthusiastic invitation calls from Steve Ross that Simon could no longer continue to refuse, so he had to agree to attend tonight's party.

After Daenerys Entertainment's 10 foreign cooperation film plans were announced, Simon didn't know if he had become the most powerful person in Hollywood, but he was definitely the one who accepted the most invitations in Hollywood recently.One only has to look at how much Warner Bros. celebrated Lethal Weapon 2 after the box office hit to see why Hollywood is so crazy about Simon.

The box office performance of "Lethal Weapon 2", which made Warner Bros. overjoyed, may not reach half of "The Sixth Sense" in North America.

Because the partners offered by Simon offered to provide scripts, the seven major Hollywood studios, mainstream second- and third-tier film companies, top producers in the industry, and even major talent agencies all sent a large number of scripts to Danni. Liz Entertainment is here.

These days, no matter where he is, Simon almost always has a stack of scripts waiting to be read at any time.

Daenerys Entertainment's main creators of next year's "Ghostly Love", "Pretty Woman", "Dances with Wolves", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and other films have been confirmed. When the news broke out, various talent agencies and Hollywood stars, big and small, also became excited.

10 films, of course, means a lot of opportunities.

Daenerys Entertainment’s ability to make popular actors in a series of films is obvious to all. Second and third-tier actors are crazy about these opportunities that may make them promoted to the first-tier. Even top-tier stars cannot be calm in the face of these 10 movie plans. .

Hollywood's resources are limited after all, and the latecomers who are promoted to the first-tier will not increase their chances too much, and the original first-tier stars will inevitably decline as a result.

Inside the banquet hall of the Hilton Hotel.

When Simon appeared, the eyes of all the guests were like countless compasses that had encountered a powerful magnet, and they all focused on the young man at the door.

Steve Ross led some people to greet him immediately. Although he knew that it was inappropriate to invite Simon, a young man who was destined to become the focus of the audience, on today's occasion, Ross was also helpless. He was flying to Tehran tomorrow. In Delaware, there is simply no other time in the short term to make an appointment with Simon.

"Simon, I'm so glad to see you again." After hugging Simon enthusiastically, Rose joked again: "Why are you alone, but it's okay, I can just find a female companion."

After Simon and Rose hugged and greeted, they said, "How about you, Steve, how are you doing?"

"You know, I'd love to fight Martin Davis if I could."

Simon smiled and said, "Then he must not be able to beat you."

Rose also laughed, patted Simon on the shoulder, looked at the others and said, "You know everyone, well, this is Barbara, she just wanted me to help introduce you."

Simon nodded to Terry Semel, Mel Gibson, Joe Pesci, and Richard Donner, the director of "Lethal Weapon 2", and shook hands with Barbra Streisand, whom Ross specifically mentioned. Started, said: "Hello, Ms. Streisand."

Barbra Streisand shook hands with Simon enthusiastically, and said, "Just call me Barbara, Simon."

"Of course, Barbara."

After a few chats, Mel Gibson and others dispersed the party crowd again.

Steve Rose led Simon to sit down at the dining table in the corner of the hall, beckoned the waiter to serve the two of them drinks, and said, "I called George Cogo this afternoon, Simon, the WGA is targeting Daenerys The entertainment investigation farce should come to an end here, you can get someone to get in touch with that side tomorrow, and this matter will be over soon."

Simon was no longer worried about the WGA's investigation, but he nodded sympathetically and said, "Thank you, Steve. Speaking of which, what's the result of this lawsuit?"

What Simon was talking about was naturally the disputes between the three companies in the merger and acquisition case.

Paramount suddenly made an acquisition offer to Time Inc. in June, disrupting the upcoming merger between Time Inc. and Warner Bros. After being firmly resisted by Time Inc., Paramount filed a lawsuit against Delaware federal court, asking the court to stop the Time Inc. and Warner Bros. merger.

As we all know, due to tax avoidance and other considerations, many large companies in North America are registered in Delaware.

According to Simon's attention, in order to resist Paramount's offer, Time Inc. has recently adjusted its merger and acquisition plan with Warner Bros. to a combination of stock and cash.

Hearing Simon's question, Steve Ross showed a confident expression on his face, and said, "The verdict will be released next month, so it's not a big problem."

"Then, I would like to congratulate you on becoming the head of the largest media company in Hollywood."

Steve Rose raised his glass to Simon with a smile, and he was also very proud.

As far as the current situation is concerned, the lawsuit that is being entangled, because Time Inc.'s resistance is too strong, Paramount is almost doomed to fail.

Moreover, because of this lawsuit, although the merger between Time Inc. and Warner Bros. has twists and turns, Warner Bros. at the helm of Steve Ross has unexpectedly gained more benefits.

Not only has Time’s offer for Warner been raised, but the executives of Time Inc., who were originally the acquirer, tried their best to win Warner’s cooperation in order to avoid the fate of being acquired. Recently, they have also made great concessions in terms of the future power distribution of the new company.

Now, although Warner Bros. is still the nominal acquiree, it has actually occupied a dominant position in the merger between Time Inc. and Warner Bros.

Steve Ross is a person who likes to discuss company management and business negotiation skills with people around him, and he continues to disclose to Simon some inside information about the progress of the current acquisition.

The two chatted enthusiastically for more than ten minutes before the veteran Hollywood tycoon got to the point and asked, "Simon, how do you plan to arrange the 10 movies for Daenerys Entertainment?"

Simon was reminiscing about the inside story of some mergers and acquisitions that Ross just mentioned, and he realized something.He has been paying attention to this merger and acquisition case, hoping to gain some experience related to his future layout. Rose's personal explanation gave him a deeper understanding of this merger and acquisition case.

Time Inc., Warner Bros., and Paramount Communications are all listed companies. However, it is not the shareholders of the three companies that are driving this matter, but the management with their own interests in mind.

Therefore, the lawsuit initiated by Paramount Communications to protect the interests of Time Corporation shareholders was misdirected from the beginning.

The management of Times Company, which has the decision-making power, doesn't care whether shareholders can get an extra billion or two billion dollars. What they care about is whether their profits of tens of millions of dollars are maintained and their own control over the company.

Listening to Rose's question about the 10 movies, Simon withdrew his thoughts for a while, and said with a wry smile: "I have received too many scripts recently, Steve, to be honest, I was still flipping through the scripts in the car just now. .As for the specific arrangements, the most important thing is the quality of the script."

"Simon, I saw the sample of "Batman" this afternoon, it was amazing. Although "Batman" and "Batman" are not released yet, I believe we will definitely have a very happy cooperation. So, 10 Warner doesn't ask for too many movies, how about giving us two more?"

"I'm also looking forward to continuing to work with Warner, Steve, but, you know, it requires meeting the right project."

"I understand, Simon. Warner's copyright library is still very rich, and you can choose it at will. In addition, if you fancy any other script, tell Terry, and he will do everything possible to get it. And, I know Dan Neris Entertainment also reserves a lot of copyrights, if you are willing to use them to cooperate with Warner, even if the conditions are more compressed, we can accept it."

Simon has actually seen the first batch of scripts sent to him by Warner, and roughly confirmed the goal.

However, the dispute with the WGA has not yet settled. Out of caution, Simon is not in a hurry to announce the projects he has already set his sights on.

Feeling that Rose was still staring at him with piercing eyes, as if he would not give up when he could not get an accurate answer, Simon pretended to hesitate for a moment, and finally said: "I can only say, Steve, there will definitely be Warner Bros in these 10 movies." I can't be sure about the number of the number. In addition, even if we can't cooperate on these 10 projects, you know that Daenerys and Warner will definitely continue to develop "Batman" sequels. Now that you have watched After seeing the samples, I think I must have such confidence.”

That quote from Simon is all Steve Ross wants tonight.

Warner and Daenerys are already cooperating in two films, and Ross also saw Simon's intentions in making this decision a few days ago, so he was a little worried that the young man in front of him would give up opportunities to other film companies.Rose actually thought of "Batman", and even "Superman" and "Wonder Woman".

However, the more cooperation projects with Daenerys Entertainment, the better.

"In this case, then, enjoy the party tonight." After getting the promise he wanted, Steve Rose raised a glass of champagne to Simon, and joked himself: "I already feel a lot of eyes You are taking too much of your time to attack me, an old man."

Simon got up and watched Steve Ross leave, and was about to eat something when Jonathan Friedman rushed over before everyone else moved, and asked straight to the point: "Simon, have you picked out the project yet? "

Chapter 281 The Eternal Smile (Revised)

Simon was a little helpless, and Jonathan's question had almost become his mantra these days.

Leading the agent to the buffet table full of food, Simon said: "Joe, you know me, as long as the conditions are right, I will definitely give priority to WMA clients."

"The total number of WMA's customers exceeds 3000, Simon, I believe that any of your needs can be met."

Simon joked: "What if I need Robert Redford?"

"I've been trying to win some clients back from C lately, so you really have to help me this time, Simon."

Simon knew about it too.

Compared with the 80-[-]-year-old old men in WMA, Jonathan is in the prime of his life. He has successfully become the new president of WMA and successfully entered the board of directors. He is ambitious to revive this old talent agency company.

"Joe, I don't think you need to compete for customers anymore. The most important thing is to manage WMA's existing customer resources well. You just said that WMA has more than 3000 customers, which is enough to meet the needs of any type of film. And, You know, I'm not the type to use A-listers too much."

Jonathan nodded, but also insisted: "However, some must be dug back."

Everyone has their own insistence, Simon stopped persuading, and instead said: "Actually, the "Intersection of Life" that Ella is preparing is a project that is very suitable for WMA. You should have read the script, this is a big movie. A large-scale group play requires dozens of actors. Robert Altman's directing is enough to ensure that this film will receive the attention of major film festivals. This kind of artistic film has a lot of room for an Oscar-level director to take the helm role. It is the best platform to train actors. You can include some actors that WMA intends to focus on training in the next few years, so that several similar projects will continue, and then you will be nominated for some awards and starred in one or two excellent commercial films. Most of them Everyone can stay in the ranks of the first and second tier.”

In memory, the original version of "Life at Intersection", the cast list includes Robert Downey Jr., Julianne Moore, Chris Penn, Tim Robbins, Andie MacDowell, Francis McDormand, Jennifer Jason Leigh and a large number of well-known Hollywood stars can be described as star-studded.

However, in this era, these people are basically only second- and third-tier actors.

For Simon, who knows the future well, looking back in reverse, it is easy to find such a very standard road to fame for Hollywood actors.

Before the 90s, veteran Hollywood stars basically relied on luck to star in some successful commercial films that became popular and maintained their fame for a long time.Just like Robert Redford's "Tiger Cub", Harrison Ford's "Star Wars", Al Pacino's "The Godfather" and so on, even Robert De Niro, who is famous for his acting skills, is also in The commercially very successful "The Godfather 2" won the industry's recognition later, and then began to win the Oscars.

However, after the 90s, the new generation of Hollywood stars gradually explored a career development model of accumulating popularity by participating in literary and artistic films, and then advanced to commercial film stars. The key reason for this trend is the re-prosperity of 90s literary and artistic films.

It has to be said that a fat man really played a big role in this process.

Now, Hollywood has just recovered from the low tide in the 70s and 80s. Simon can clearly see this somewhat modeled road to fame. Some people in Hollywood may have tried it, but because the types of Hollywood movies before the 90s were not as strong as after the [-]s Segmentation, at least before the appearance of Simon, there were not many obvious successful models in the circle, so naturally no one made reference.

Jonathan gradually showed a thoughtful expression when he heard Simon's words.

After the appearance of Simon, similar models of fame have been born in Hollywood. Sandra, who became popular relying on "Run Lola Run", is the most special case.

What Jonathan thought of was "Pulp Fiction". Although this movie also used big stars such as Robert De Niro and Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicole Kidman and other actors who were originally unknown But he also became famous through this movie.

Simon does not have the background of veteran directors like Robert Altman, but his fame is not lost to the other party.

Well, Simon's works can make many people popular, and the works of veteran directors like Robert Altman also have such potential.Simon passes the box office, and these people pass the awards. In the final analysis, as long as the qualifications and exposure of the actors are increased as much as possible, it will be easier for them to get more opportunities.

"I'll take a closer look at the script of "Crossing Points" when I get back home, Simon, what do you think of the WMA contracting all the roles for this project? I promise to provide Daenerys Entertainment with the best and cheapest actors."

Participating in such a movie, too high a salary should not be considered. Jonathan believes that most actors should not lack this vision.If you only have money in your eyes, then there is no need to discover and cultivate.

Simon shook his head and said, "Joe, this request is a bit too much, I can't promise you."

"Okay, then, it should be fine to be as biased towards WMA as possible?"

"That is for sure."

The two came to the buffet table, and Jonathan followed Simon to pick up the tray to choose food, while saying: "Also, Simon, do you really not like the new movie that Brian is preparing?"

Jonathan was talking about Brian De Palma.

Also a client of Jonathan, who once helped him a lot, Simon has always maintained close contact with Brian De Palma.

After the cooperation on "Basic Instinct" last year, Palma tried to transform and cooperated with Columbia Pictures to shoot a Vietnam War-themed film "Vietnam War Trauma", which has become popular in recent years, starring Sean Penn and Michael Fox. The budget cost is 2200 million US dollars, and the schedule is August 8, later this month.

Simon has no impression of "Vietnam War Trauma", and feels that Palma's filming of war themes is a bit unreliable, so he is naturally not optimistic.

However, what Jonathan was talking about at this time was another new film that Palma was preparing recently, called "Bonfire of Vanity", adapted from the original novel of the same name, about a Wall Street elite who was targeted by a tabloid reporter because of a traffic accident Since then, the Internet has fallen into a whirlpool of public opinion, and its work and life have become a mess.

For as long as I can remember, this realistic satirical urban comedy starring Tom Hanks had a massive production budget and was a box office flop.

Tom Hanks hasn't played a villain on the big screen since "Bonfire of the Vanities" The appearance of a masterpiece can only serve as a foil for Tom Cruise in a commercial blockbuster such as "Mission: Impossible".

"I think the story lacks bright spots. Moreover, if Brian insists on filming, he must pay great attention to casting and try to keep the budget within a reasonable range, preferably not more than 2000 million US dollars."

Jonathan suggested: "How about this, Simon, take the time to talk carefully."

Simon nodded and said, "Okay, but I have to be honest, Daenerys can't take this project."

With Palma's reputation, as long as the budget is reasonable and there will be no such major casting mistakes in the original time and space, even if the new version of "Bonfire of Vainglory" still loses money, it will not lose too much. It may still make money through post-production operations. to some.

However, if Daenerys Entertainment takes over this project, it must arrange a relatively good schedule for it and invest enough publicity resources.

Hollywood has a fixed and limited number of popular schedules every year. Think about the same summer schedule, the same budget of 2000 million US dollars, and the same publicity investment. The potential loss is enormous.

"This is not a problem, Simon, after "Butterfly Effect" and "Instinct", there is no shortage of investors for the projects that Brian wants to shoot now. He actually just wants to try more genres. You are a director. You should be in this mood. I can feel it better."

Simon nodded understandingly.

While chatting like this, they picked out some food, and the two of them were looking for another place to eat. Finally, someone at the scene couldn't bear to wait for their conversation to end, and cut in directly.

Seeing Don Johnson and Melanie Griffiths approaching, Jonathan realized that he was taking up too much of Simon's time and that he had probably upset a lot of people at the party tonight.

Jonathan and Simon had too many opportunities to communicate, and they were not in a hurry. After simply greeting the Johnsons and his wife, who are also clients of WMA, they readily gave them the space to talk.

Simon had contact with Melanie Griffith during the Cannes Film Festival in France last year and met again. The actress from a Hollywood family has married another actor Don Johnson and is still pregnant today Come to the party.

After patiently chatting with the Johnsons and his wife, Simon pretended to inquire about the sex of the baby out of curiosity.

Knowing that it was a girl, I couldn't help being more enthusiastic, and asked the little guy's name.

Hearing Simon's question, Melanie Griffith stroked her belly and said happily, "Name, we haven't considered this issue yet, Simon, do you have any good suggestions?"

"I'm even more inexperienced," Simon said with a smile, "However, since it's a girl, how about Dakota?"

Melanie Griffith repeated: "Dakota?"

"Yes."