Made in Hollywood

The relatively relaxed post-work schedule gave Duke a little spare time. Taking advantage of the weekend, he met a stockbroker recommended by his mother, obtained a lot of information on the stock market and financial market from him, and hid in his apartment to study it carefully. After a while, I found that apart from the well-known companies such as General Electric, General Motors, and Mobil Oil, only Microsoft and Apple have a clear impression of emerging IT stocks.

Although the likes of Intel, for example, have been bombarded by advertisements and often dealt with computers, Duke also knows that they are giants, but they are not clear about their future direction, and there are Microsoft and Apple, why choose other?

The purpose of his investment is very simple, which is to preserve and appreciate value. Holding a large amount of cash must be the stupidest way to invest.

Microsoft, which is a hot stock in North America today, Duke thought about it, decided to give up temporarily, and then set his sights on Apple.

Of course, Duke would not be foolish enough to directly buy a large amount of Apple's stock. He found an investigation and consulting company and briefly investigated the situation of Apple and Steve Jobs, so that the situation would not be what he had vaguely remembered. Go bankrupt with Apple in the end.

Within a few days, the investigation and consulting company returned enough information for him to make some judgments. Apple is now in a quagmire. It is said that there is a possibility of bankruptcy and reorganization at any time.

And Steve Jobs is hiding in San Francisco to work on his Pixar studio. The first animated feature is more than half finished, telling the story of a group of toys...

Because the memory of North America outside the movie is not too much, these are not enough for Duke to make a clear judgment, but just like investing in movies, any investment comes with risks, and Apple is in a bad situation right now. A good time to buy stocks.

Under Duke's strong request, the three million dollars in his name became the corresponding Apple stock in just one week.

It's not that Duke doesn't want to invest more money, it's just that he has no spare money, some overseas shares have not yet been received, and he has just repaid his mother's loan, which is seriously overdue, and has to pay commissions for Nancy and others, and prepare enough movies. Copyright transfer payment in case Nancy's possible negotiation progress requires...

Investments aside, Duke had been planning to buy a mansion instead of a long-term rental apartment, but it didn't work out because of funding issues.

According to Duke's idea, the mansion to be bought must be relatively spacious, and there must be enough cover around it to avoid being peeped directly from the outside by the paparazzi. The Internet era is coming, and directors at that time will not hide behind the scenes like they are now. Even if it is far less attractive than stars, it is also the target of many paparazzi.

A villa in Malibu or Santa Monica occupying a canyon or a cliff by itself is Duke's favorite choice, but such a residence doesn't have to be thought of if it doesn't cost tens of millions of dollars.

But these can't be rushed, the road is always taken step by step, and now he is walking on a correct path.

Post-production is still going on. Duke is preparing for the release of "Independence Day", and preparations are also being made for a film that is the closest to the Independence Day release and has a relatively high investment. This film is invested by Castle Rock Films, Columbia The film released by the film industry, after several discussions with the original author Stephen King, finally determined the official title - "The Shawshank Redemption".

The film is scheduled to premiere on July 7 and will be released on July 8, a week before the release of "Independence Day".

"Nowadays, popcorn movies in summer are more and more dependent on the first-week box office."

In the Columbia Pictures conference room, the director of distribution, Jack Mushkri, was explaining to the board about the competitors' situation, "Judging from the advertising clips that have been released, "Independence Day" must be a standard commercial masterpiece, and there is no such thing as a People dare to underestimate Duke Rosenberg, and his commercial clips and trailers are by no means the only essence of the film. Judging from the style of "Speed ​​of Life" and "Brave Island", "Independence Day" will Full of commercial-like scenes."

"Then why did we choose to release it closer to Independence Day?"

Asked by Sony Columbia's independent director Peter Peterson, he seemed puzzled, "Can't we choose another weekend during the summer?"

"We don't have a choice."

The vice president of the company, Mitch Schulhoff, stood up and motioned the staff on the other side to turn on the projector. He pointed to the title of the film and the corresponding release date and said, "The summer schedule, even the August schedule, every weekend. All films with investment no less than "The Shawshank Redemption" were released. Originally, we could not find a weekend without strong competitors, but Paramount took the initiative to adjust the release date of "Forrest Gump". This weekend is not the same. A movie of this magnitude is released.”

"There's one more point," added Jack Mushkeri, "The Shawshank Redemption is completely different from Independence Day in terms of style and subject matter, and the audience hardly overlaps, even though Independence Day is better than Independence Day. It’s going to be hot, and it won’t affect us too much.”

"Before the final release, we held a special screening for film critics."

The film was completed as early as the end of last year. Colombia is not only the distributor, but also part of the investment. They are also eager to recover the cost. "A total of 178 film critics and reporters scored the film, with an average of 9.8 points!"

After this sentence, everyone in the venue fell silent. These people understood that the film critic's rating may not necessarily represent the market's acceptance, but since Jack Musikri said it, it must not be the PR rating, but the real data, so Are the high ratings really out of the hands of those film critics with eyes on their heads? The highly acclaimed "Godfather" did not achieve such a high professional rating, did it?

"Roger Albert, Kenneth Turan, David Dembey, Todd McCarthy all gave the film a 10 in the preview!"

Jack Mushkeri continued, "They promise to recommend this film with all their might when it comes out!"

Even if professional film critics cannot represent the market, Columbia’s executives also know that these film critics can stand at the top and have a considerable number of supporters. Their appeal should not be underestimated. If they are willing to fully recommend, the film’s prospects It is bound to exceed Colombia's expectations.

"It's almost April,"

CEO David Yetnikov, who was sitting at the top of the conference table, said, "Hold the theater test screening as soon as possible, and pay more attention to the news of "Independence Day"."

Duke saw the title of "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Prison Redemption", which was the first to occupy this weekend's slot, as early as "Forrest Gump" was changed. The company guessed that it should be that masterpiece.

If the next week's competitor is "Forrest Gump", Duke will definitely be worried, even a little nervous, but instead of this movie, he directly throws it behind his head, in the theater, "The Shawshank Redemption" "There is no qualification to compete with "Independence Day" at all!

However, Duke then thought of another aspect. With such a film to be compared during the same period, the professional reputation of "Independence Day" may have hit a new low for him.

The fact that film critics can influence some fans is a fact that Duke cannot deny. A film with a strong commercial element like "Independence Day" will never be liked by film critics.

Of course, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox can have public relations with film critics, but the subject matter of the film is decided, and in order for film critics to speak well, it is bound to come up with more resources than ever before...

"Jeff..."

Sitting in his office in the Warner Building, Duke looked at Robinoff across from him. "I would suggest that the previews don't invite critics, and only invite theater representatives, ordinary fans, and the media we can influence."

"A film critic?" Jeff Robinoff frowned slightly.

You know, it has long been a practice to invite film critics to watch a Hollywood movie before it is released, and it is also a tacit understanding between the two related industries.

"Critics will accept public relations." Duke thought for a while and said, "But the top batch is relatively fair."

He emphasized 'justice', and it sounded like a sarcasm, "Jeff, you also know what the selling point of "Independence Day" is. If we want these people to applaud the film, we must pay more, but Instead of wasting too much resources on these vampires, I think it's better to put more advertising on it."

What Duke said is also the basic situation. Some films that are very suitable for the appetite of film critics, even if they only pay a small price, they will wave their flags, because it will not affect their image.

For a standard popular film like "Independence Day", if you want to raise the flag of film critics who always show unique tastes and flaunt art, they must spend more real money.

Especially the top film critics, who are relatively fair and often the most aggressive.

In Duke's view, throwing millions of dollars to these vampires is better than doing more prime-time commercials on the four major TV networks. Although this may lead to a fierce reaction from the film critic group, his experience has taught him that these Reaction is not necessarily a bad thing.

"I'll consider it." Jeff Robinoff didn't respond directly.

"That's good..." Duke stood up and prepared to leave. If it wasn't for the film's publicity effect that was related to the box office, and the box office was directly related to his income, he wouldn't bother to say this.

"Duke, wait a minute."

Just as Duke was about to shake hands and say goodbye, Jeff Robinoff took out an invitation and handed it over, "April 4th is Warner's anniversary, and there is an invitation at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. Celebration party."

This is the most normal human interaction. Duke didn't mean to refuse. He took over and said, "I'll be there on time."

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