Heads Up Hollywood

In recent years, Disney has made breakthroughs in the field of live-action movies. In addition to the golden pair of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, Nate Shyamalan, the Indian-born director of "The Sixth Sense", is also very important. important person.

Needless to say, Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, Tang En will never be lenient.

As for Nate Shyamalan, Twain had a plan early on. He asked Nina Jacobson to contact him secretly to cut off his relationship with Disney.

Regardless of whether the future is successful or not, this route is the right choice.

Why does Disney have a brand value of more than 30 billion US dollars? Not because of Disney Channel, not because of Disneyland, not because of Disney dolls... but because of Disney movies!

Movies are the leading entertainment industry. Even though the revenue of the movie industry only accounts for one-fifth of Disney's total revenue, movies are still Disney's core industry!

This is why Time Group, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi and other media groups have entered the film industry one after another and acquired large film companies.

It is not how much profit the movie can generate, but the additional influence that the movie, as a leader in entertainment, draws out.

Twain can't beat Disney for the TV channel; Twain is still at a loss when it comes to animation production; Barbie dolls have also been cut off by Disney...It seems that Twain's all methods are helpless against the behemoth Disney.

But Twain is very confident, because he still has the last trick - a movie!

Live-action movies are the core industry of Tang En Pictures, and Tang En's biggest reliance on Hollywood fame!

Especially Twain... he is the foresight.

Sitting in the office, Tang En crossed his legs, and a weird smile slipped from the corner of his mouth.

Live-action movies have always been Disney's biggest weakness.

Regardless of Disney in later generations, it has the momentum to dominate Hollywood in the film industry. That's because they bought Pixar, they bought Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.

Now, Marvel Studios has become Twain's company, and Pixar's boss is Jobs. As for Lucasfilm... Twain and George Lucas have a good relationship. Prequel 1: The Phantom Menace, brought to an unprecedented height!

When George Lucas encounters Waterloo in "Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones", the American people deeply influenced by Star Wars culture will definitely miss Dunn Walker very much.

This is his greatest confidence!

Even if Lucasfilm is George Lucas's private company, he can't resist the pressure of public opinion across the United States.

So... Now Tang En has constructed a series of strategies against Disney movies in his mind.

In addition to Marvel Pictures and Lucasfilm, Disney has only one reliance left in the field of live-action movies-Jerry Bruckheimer!

Jerry Bruckheimer is a gold medal producer in Hollywood. Before Disney acquired Marvel, he was the biggest backer of Disney's live-action movies, such as "National Treasure", "Path of Glory", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Clues of Time and Space", " Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Sorcerer's Apprentice...

It can be said that Jerry Bruckheimer has propped up Disney's live-action movie market almost by himself.

It wasn't until 2010 that Jerry Bruckheimer's market appeal was no longer there, and "The Lone Ranger" failed miserably at the box office, and Disney announced the termination of its cooperation with Jerry Bruckheimer.

Therefore, the next layout is very simple for Tang En, grab Disney's largest order, let Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer follow behind and drink the Northwest Wind!

This is Tang En's foresight. No matter how powerful Disney is, it is impossible to advance the future, right?

As for the biggest order, it's simple, the Pirates of the Caribbean series!

For the love of the Coppola family and Nicolas Cage, the "National Treasure" series can also be snatched up.

Tang En did not rush to make a move, first he asked his assistant George Paxton to conduct a survey.

"The adventure area of ​​Disneyland does have a pirate paradise area. This amusement facility, built in 1967, is a bit similar to a cruise ship, with the attack and adventure of being attacked by pirates on the water."

The results of George Paxton's investigation made Dunn feel bad, and asked, "Does this block... have a name?"

"Yes! It's called Pirates of the Caribbean."

Tang En's face was serious, and he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

In the United States, the protection of intellectual property rights is very strict. Even if Disney did not register the brand name "Pirates of the Caribbean" with the Film Association, relying on the influence of Disney's decades-old Pirate Paradise, once Dunn dared to use "Pirates of the Caribbean" as the movie name, copyright disputes would definitely arise .

Even if Twain wins the lawsuit in the end, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" adventure zone will definitely rise and become more popular with tourists. This is a result that Twain absolutely does not want to see.

"Forget it, change your name!"

Tang En sighed and waved his hands helplessly.

George Paxton is Tang En's personal assistant. He is not involved in the company's operations, but is responsible for his personal life, "By the way, Tang En, at the end of this month, you can move into the mansion on the top of the mountain." .”

Only then did Tang En's face flash with joy, "So fast?"

George Paxton said with a smile: "There is no major repair, just a simple rectification. The 50-day project period is enough."

...

Bill McNick's face was a bit ugly, and he didn't knock on the door. He rushed into Tang En's office angrily, and threw a script heavily on his desk, "Tang En, you can't do this!"

Tang En glanced at him in surprise, looked down, and found that this was his newly written script "Pirate Captain: The Curse of the Black Pearl" that he sent his secretary to send over this morning.

It took 3 full days before Tang En passed the screenwriting department to write the framework of the story.

The specific details still need to be carefully considered. After all, the original version of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" has many regrets and loopholes.

"Isn't that a bad idea?"

"No! In fact, the great success of "Spider-Man" made me understand the reality that you have absolute authority in terms of movie content."

Tang En smiled a little smugly, "Isn't that enough? Bill, believe me, the series of "Pirate Captain" will become a well-received and well-received classic of Dunn Films!"

Bill McNick frowned and shook his head again and again, "Twain, I'm not doubting your film vision, I'm talking about your business strategy, there is a big problem!"

"Huh? How do you say it?" Tang En looked at him strangely, "Is it because the budget is not enough? It doesn't matter, I have said it before, I will solve the money problem!"

Three months ago, Tang En injected 1 billion US dollars into Tang En Pictures through Tang En Capital.

However, Tang En Pictures also spent a lot of money. It spent 170 million US dollars to acquire Starz TV station; 70 million US dollars to invest in "The Chronicles of Narnia"; 50 million US dollars to invest in "Band of Brothers"; Invested in "Six Feet Under", spent 20 million US dollars; invested in Sillywood Animation Studio, spent 30 million US dollars; invested in "Unsinkable", spent 200 million US dollars...

In addition, Tang En's upcoming filming of "A Beautiful Mind" will cost a lot of money to shoot a super blockbuster. Tang En Pictures is indeed under great financial pressure.

Bill McNick shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of funds. Although our investment is large, our income is also high. The second share of "Wedding Crashers" has arrived, and the sponsorship income of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" has reached 2,000 yuan." It is still negotiating with several sponsors such as Dior and Chanel. This income will be at least 5 million US dollars. Now the company still has 470 million US dollars on its books, which is enough."

"why?"

Bill McNick frowned and said, "Tang En, don't you think our investment is too much? In other words, the major film companies in Hollywood usually only shoot two blockbuster films a year, one for summer and one for Christmas. , others are small and medium-sized investments. This is not only a matter of avoiding risks, but also maximizing the benefits of a reasonable distribution of the box office.”

Tang En understood what he meant.

In 1999, the total box office in North America was $7.4 billion, in 1998 it was $6.9 billion, in 1997 it was $6.3 billion...

The total movie market in the North American market is so big, it is impossible to increase the total box office just because there are more movies. According to the box office growth in the past few years, the total box office in North America this year will definitely not exceed 8 billion US dollars!

Tang En smiled and said: "Bill, you don't worry too much. The commercial blockbusters we invest in now are only "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Unsinkable". "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a joint investment with Warner, and the schedule is Christmas next year files, and there is no competition.”

Bill McNick understood Tang En's meaning and tentatively said, "You mean...the movie "Pirate Captain: The Curse of the Black Pearl" won't be released next year?"

Tang En said: "Even if I think about it, it's impossible! "Unsinkable" will be released in May, and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" will be released in July. The theme of "Pirate Captain" must be a summer file. It's impossible to fight against yourself, right? "

Bill McNick breathed a sigh of relief, this is okay, otherwise... Universal would not agree.

Next summer, Universal will release two blockbuster films, "The Mummy Returns" and "Jurassic Park 3", and it will have to compete with Dunn Films.

If Twain Pictures releases another commercial blockbuster, there will probably be internal strife.

Tang En had already thought of Bill McNick's worries. In fact, his original idea was to release "Pirate Captain: The Curse of the Black Pearl" in the summer of 2002.

The original "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was approved in July 2002, filmed in October, and released in the summer of 2003.

Tang En was looking forward to it. When Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer were excitedly planning to prepare a pirate movie, they would suddenly see a pirate movie with the same theme and similar ideas popping up on the market. What kind of frightened expression would they have?