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After Daenerys Entertainment communicated the projects selected by Simon with Columbia, Sony's negotiating team hoped that Daenerys Entertainment would postpone the announcement of the results, so that Simon's fancy projects would be a 'good start' after Sony won Columbia.

Daenerys Entertainment naturally doesn't mind cooperating.

While various film companies began to devote energy to various projects, many talent agencies in Hollywood also favored them.

Except for C, of ​​course.

Since the second half of last year when Daenerys Entertainment had a dispute over "Rain Man", in this year, many key projects produced by Daenerys Entertainment have no C stars at all.For the two projects in the summer file, the actor Kevin Costner of "Bodyguard" is an artist under ICM, and the actor film contract of the actress Whitney Houston was also signed by WMA.As for "The Sixth Sense", including Robert De Niro, all the main and supporting roles are WMA customers.

This situation was not a problem at first, and the stars under C did not lack film appointments.

However, with the announcement of Daenerys Entertainment's 10 foreign cooperation film plans, everyone in C felt very obvious pressure.

Chapter 286 The Situation of CAA (Revised)

"Mike, of course we'd love to work with Barry, but his new script is so underwhelming. Also, there's no way we're going to accept a $2500 million budget."

"I know what you're thinking, Sid, and Paramount is definitely looking forward to getting a project or two from Daenerys Entertainment's 10 movies, but because you're getting a project from Simon Westeros in a less than glamorous way." He snatched "Rocket Scientist" and "Firebird Attack", do you think there is still a possibility for him to cooperate with you?"

"Mike, it is precisely because we are very aware of our situation that you and I have this meeting today. I guess other studios are probably unwilling to discuss this project with you again?"

"..."

Hollywood Paramount Studios.

Paramount Pictures President Sidney Garnis and Michael Ovitz are discussing Barry Levinson's new screenplay "Avalon," the European mythology of 'Elysium' The Land', the story tells the story of the struggles of several generations after the Eastern European immigrant Klitzynski family immigrated to the United States at the beginning of this century.

For the "Rain Man" project, although Dustin Hoffman still won his second Oscar statuette, which can be regarded as saving some face, in fact, Barry Levinson and other main creators are quite embarrassed.

Barry Levinson has been focusing on creating his new script "Avalon" in the first half of the year, hoping to get rid of his shame with this project. At the beginning of July, Levinson finally completed the script of "Avalon". Several Hollywood studios also expressed interest in "Avalon", and all parties began to approach.

However, with Daenerys Entertainment suddenly announcing plans for 10 foreign cooperation films, things began to take a turn for the worse.

Disney, Columbia, and Warner Bros., who were originally interested in "Avalon", all expressed their rejection firmly, and only Paramount remained undeterred.

These days, Michael Ovitz secretly regretted more than once why he didn't stop Barry Levinson and others from trying to shirk responsibility. Now, the entire C has been blacklisted by Daenerys Entertainment.

After a moment of silence, Michael Ovitz said: "Sid, let's be honest and talk about Paramount's conditions?"

"Barry's new script is supposed to hit the Oscars, and the box office potential is not great. Therefore, Paramount can only give a budget of 1200 million US dollars at most, of which 200 million US dollars is Barry's salary. Of course, we can add another net A 10% profit sharing clause."

Michael Ovitz was a little angry: "Sid, $200 million, do you think this is possible?"

After Barry Levinson made his debut in the 70s, he was quickly promoted to first-line screenwriter and director. Even if "Rain Man" is not included, blockbuster films such as "Good Morning Vietnam" are enough to make him among the first-line directors with a salary of 500 million US dollars. .

What's more, no one can completely deny Barry Levinson's contribution to "Rain Man".

Right now, after two back-to-back "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Rain Man," Paramount is only willing to pay $200 million for a new film that Barry Levinson wrote and directed, which is nothing short of insulting.

Sidney Garnis ignored Michael Ovitz's mocking question, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and said, "I have a meeting right now, Mike, you can go back and think about it first, and call I."

Leaving Paramount Studios in a gloomy mood, Michael Ovitz was thinking about how to talk to his clients about it along the way.

Paramount is obviously taking advantage of the fire, but Barry Levinson doesn't have much choice.

or.

Let Barry put the project aside for the time being, and start making a better-looking commercial film.

This idea was immediately dismissed by Ovitz.

Matthew Broderick, who had entanglements with Simon Westeros at the beginning, has been completely abolished. Now, although Daenerys Entertainment has not publicly said anything, Hollywood dares to continue to cooperate with Barry Levinson There are not many film companies in the world.

Even within C, many stars are deliberately avoiding Barry Levinson and others.

Back at the C headquarters in Century City, as soon as I sat down behind the desk, one of the company's brokers, Richard Lovett, came to report that Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn planned to leave C.

Michael Ovitz couldn't help frowning.

This is another, more serious problem that C faces.

After Jonathan Friedman became the president of WMA, he was ambitious and wanted to regain the lost customers from WMA.Both Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn were first-line stars that C took the opportunity to poach when the former WMA president Stan Kamen passed away three years ago. This time it is obviously WMA's counterattack.

Picking up the microphone on the table and making a few calls, Michael Ovitz quickly reached Kurt Russell.However, the invitation to make an appointment for dinner was directly rejected. Although Kurt Russell was very polite in his words, he said that the couple's lawyers would be responsible for the follow-up matters.

Obviously, there is no room for change in this matter.

Moreover, the Russell couple is not the first wave of stars who have recently left.Michael Ovitz is well aware that not just WMA, but every other talent agency in Hollywood has been wielding their hoes at C lately.

Michael Ovitz once ambitiously wanted to hollow out the "essence" of all other talent agency companies in Hollywood, relying on C's unique packaging mechanism to strive for more and more lucrative remuneration for stars, this matter was originally very smooth.However, after the appearance of Simon Westeros, in the past two years, Michael Ovitz found that everything was not going well for him. He once wanted to recruit many clients under C, Robert De Niro, Kevin Coster Na, Brian de Palma, etc., all failed.

Now, as Daenerys' entertainment has become more and more popular, C has even begun to be poached in reverse.

C's packaging strategy is not outdated, but more and more popular, but Ovitz also understands why this is happening.

In the final analysis, it is still a problem of competition for resources in Hollywood.

In the past few years, because of the successful launch of a large number of box office packaged projects such as "My Fair Man" and "Out of Africa", C can be said to be unstoppable in Hollywood.Not only has it successfully recruited a large number of first-line stars to join, but projects involving C can also obtain resources from the studio for schedules, screens, and other aspects.

However, the rise of Daenerys Entertainment quickly made C lose these advantages.

Because many non-C customers relying on Daenerys Entertainment's series of blockbuster movies have greatly increased their popularity, they have attracted more attention from Hollywood studios, and they have more blockbuster movies. Robert De Niro, Kevin Coase Stars such as Turner and Sandra Bullock can also ask for better resources from the studio.

In comparison, the commercial performance of its stars is obviously not as good as Daenerys Entertainment's movies, and C has gradually fallen into a disadvantage in this regard.

Now, once Daenerys Entertainment's 10-film plan excludes the participation of C stars, it will undoubtedly widen the gap.After all, these 10 movies will definitely occupy the best schedule, the most generous announcement and the most lucrative number of screens in the next two years.

At the same time, no one doubts that another group of celebrities will have their coffee positions greatly improved.

One ebbs and another, some of C's first-tier stars are likely to be squeezed into the second-tier after a year or two.

Michael Ovitz couldn't help thinking of the recent Sony acquisition of Columbia. As the broker of this merger, Sony had also expressed its intention to let him be the head of Sony's film and television entertainment business.Now, the M & A case is basically settled, but Sony no longer mentions it.

A talent agency company does not have any fixed assets, so it is destined to be difficult to grow.

Seeing that Simon Westeros, Michael Eisner, Barry Diller and others have achieved fame and fortune in the production industry, Ovitz certainly has similar thoughts.

In the end, it was still because of Simon Westeros.

After weighing and thinking for a long time, Michael Ovitz picked up the phone again, and skillfully dialed a number without consulting the address book.

The phone was connected, but Westeros was not in the company.

Michael Ovitz chatted with the other party for a few words, but the other party only said that he would convey it, but did not intend to transfer the call for him.

Putting down the microphone, Ovitz was thinking about how to deal with this matter when the fax machine in his office rang.

Pulled out a page from the fax machine, there were only four names on it: Barry Levinson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan.

There is also a handwritten 'W' logo in the lower right corner of the page.

W, Westeros.

After being stunned for a while, Ovitz immediately understood that what Simon Westero meant was that C must draw a clear line with these four people, so that the entanglement between the two parties can be resolved.

Simon Westero obviously completely ignored Matthew Broderick, who had previously been transferred to the C banner and has now been completely abolished.

To draw a clear line, it is definitely necessary to terminate the contract with these four people.

just.

Can C do this?

Not to mention that these four are top Hollywood celebrities, if they terminate their contract with these four stars in order to protect themselves, what will other customers under C think?

However, after a brief moment of anger, Ovitz suddenly realized that perhaps other clients of the company did not mind him doing this, and might even expect him to do so.

After all, the four of Barry Levinson left C, and other large talent agency companies obviously would not accept it easily, and small agency companies probably would not dare to provoke Daenerys Entertainment, they could only do it alone.

There are not no stars in Hollywood who go it alone.

Jack Nicholson has been drifting away from several major talent agency companies these years, and he is still doing well.Before joining WMA, Robert De Niro had also been working alone.

However, if these four people who have been suppressed by Daenerys Entertainment go it alone, without the resource and network support of a large talent agency company like C, and Hollywood studios dare not easily cooperate with them, the result will be nothing but The future can be described as uncertain.

People are selfish.

The fall of the positions of these four first-line filmmakers actually means opportunities for others.

and.

Michael Ovitz also has to admit that this is undoubtedly the most beneficial approach to C.

However, Ovitz had a hard time convincing himself to succumb to Simon Westeros.

When he was in a bad mood, an assistant outside knocked on the door. Ovitz looked up and saw a screenwriter client under C appearing at the door.

This is Joe Eserthas, because of the success of films such as "Lightning Dance" and "Blood Web Edge", Eserthas is currently one of the most expensive screenwriters under C, and the highest transaction of his previous scripts The price tag is as high as $125 million.

Remembering that this was a scheduled meeting in the afternoon, Ovitz temporarily put away the anger just now, stood up with a smile, went up to shake hands with Estherhas, and said, "Joe, come in and sit down."

Joe Ezettehas had a somewhat unnatural expression, and sat down with Ovitz in the reception area.After chatting for a while and taking a sip of the coffee that the secretary had just brought in, Eszerthas said, "Mike, that's right, my original agent, Guy McElwyne, do you remember ?"

Ovitz nodded and said, "Didn't he go to Columbia to be a producer? It's been a long time."

"You also know," Eszerthas continued: "Sony is about to acquire Columbia, and Gay found that he is not very suitable as a producer. He wants to return to the agency industry."

Ovitz recalled the information of Guy McElwyne, nodded readily and said: "Guy is still very capable in this area. In this case, let him come back directly. Let's find time to talk about it. talk."

"No, it's not like that," Esserthas shook his head, his face was a little more embarrassed, and said, "Guy has already confirmed that he will go to ICM. This time, I actually, you know, Guy and I The relationship has been excellent and I would like to continue to have him as my attorney."

Ovitz restrained his expression: "Joe, do you want to leave C?"

Joe Eszerthas nodded and said, "Yes, Mike, I hope you can understand."

A series of events today have made Michael Ovitz feel extremely bad. Hearing that the client that C has spared no effort to support over the years is leaving, his bad mood suddenly broke through a certain threshold. He shook his head without hesitation, and said coldly: "Joe, I won't let you go."

Joe Eszterhas didn't expect Ovitz's tone to be so blunt and resolute, he was taken aback and said, "Mike, I can pay the liquidated damages."

"No," Ovitz shook his head again, and said, "Joe, you are C's most precious asset, and I will not allow you to leave."

Joe Ezettehas dissatisfied: "I am not an asset of C, I am a person."

"Well, you are alone, no matter what, you can't leave, at least, you don't want to leave C one step before your contract ends."

"Mike, I just heard that Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have left. Why are you embarrassing me?"

"Why, Joe, do you know how many resources C has invested in you these years, and do you know how much I have spent on you. All in all, you want to terminate the contract early, which is impossible."

Feeling Ovitz's unreasonable and firm tone, Joe Ezettehas also became angry.

The voices of the two couldn't help getting louder, and soon turned into a quarrel, and Ovitz's roar spread to the corridor.

"...Don't forget, it was C who gave you 125 million US dollars... Without C, you are nothing... Don't even think about it, I will entangle you with lawsuit bombing, so that you can't take a step Get close to the typewriter and make you completely useless...I'll make you eat shit and you'll have to eat shit...See those people out there, you want to run away, C's infantry fighters will find you from anywhere, and then Smash your head off... I don't care what the outside world thinks, all those guys want is to write a script for Robert Redford..."

The quarrel between the two became more and more intense, and it was not until several of Ovitz's assistants rushed into the office feeling that something was wrong, that a physical conflict was stopped in time.

However, the matter did not end there.

The next day, Joe Ezettehas published the details of the meeting in the Hollywood Reporter in an open letter, accusing Ovitz of tyrannical acts of physically threatening him.

The image of Michael Ovitz in Hollywood has always been low-key, mysterious and omnipotent. Whether it is a Hollywood studio executive or a first-line star, they have been in awe of Ovitz in recent years.Once Joe Eszerthas's open letter was released, there was an uproar both inside Hollywood and the outside media.

Michael Ovitz's personal image carefully built over the years collapsed for a while, and under the intentional or unintentional suppression of Daenerys Entertainment, C's situation became even worse.

Chapter 287 Novels About Dinosaurs (Revision)

For the next week, the North American media were discussing Michael Ovitz and the 'Infantry Warrior' incident.

The embarrassing Ovitz had to quickly publish a public reply, resolutely denying that he had threatened Joe Eserthas during the dispute, saying that Eserthas could leave C at any time, and he would never will block.

Joe Eszterhas did not buy Ovitz's account. In an interview with the "Los Angeles Times" reporter, he once again accused Ovitz of verbal violence against him, and claimed that he was severely traumatized and had completely lost his mind. A sense of security, because Ovitz threatened to destroy his career, and Eszerthas also said that he had to sell the property he had just bought with his family to avoid accidents.

Immediately afterwards, I don't know if it was Ovitz's promotion. Many customers under C began to publicly support Ovitz. Sean Connery, Sidney Pollack and other big names expressed their disbelief that never A well-mannered man with few gaffes would have said that to Joe Eszerthas, suggesting that Eszerthas was probably embellishing it for sympathy.

This possibility certainly exists.

However, Joe Ezettehas did not defend himself, and continued to play the tragic card wisely, and suggested that the voices of the big names were Ovitz putting pressure on himself to shut him up.

The media, which is not a big deal to watch the excitement, continued to fan the flames.

In such excitement, on August 8, Japan's Sony Corporation suddenly interrupted the media's hot discussion on the "Infantry Warrior" incident, and announced that it had reached an agreement with Columbia Pictures to acquire Columbia Pictures for $23 billion in cash. industry, while assuming the veteran film company's $34 billion in debt.

On August 8, Columbia's board of directors voted to approve Sony's acquisition plan.

So far, after a year-long tug-of-war, Sony has officially acquired Columbia Pictures, one of the seven major Hollywood film companies.

With a total value of US$50 billion, the Columbia Pictures assets brought to Sony include the two major labels of Columbia and Samsung, a huge library of more than 4000 film and television program copyrights, the Loews theater chain with 820 screens, and some TV station assets.

At the end of the 80s, the television industry in the United States was not yet open to overseas investors. Therefore, Sony also stated in the announcement of the agreement that it would divest the television assets of Columbia Pictures after the transaction was completed.