The sample of "American Pie" was only half viewed and it was lunch time. It was still time to continue in the afternoon. Lunch was with Amy Pascal, who returned to work after maternity leave a few days ago, and discussed some work matters.

Today is March 3rd.

on Monday.

Easter in 1997 is March 30, and the Easter schedule will start one week in advance on March 21. At that time, Daenerys Entertainment's three films "Horror Ghost", "Hurricane Rescue" and "Cable TV Repair", and MGM's "Alien 2".

In addition, the 69th Oscar this year is March 24.

The Oscars in the 1990s are still at their peak. Even if this year is still the award that Daenerys Entertainment deliberately gave up, Simon will not completely ignore it.

Finally, there is the recent box office status of the movie.

The Star Wars series that was re-released on January 30th, briefly seizing control of the North American film market, soon gave way to the film produced by Daenerys Entertainment again.

As of the four box office weeks on February 27, "Star Wars: The Threat of the Ghost" has been re-released for one month, with a cumulative box office of just over 100 million, reaching 103.37 million US dollars. According to the box office trend of the past weekend, the first episode of this Star Wars has a maximum box office effort of about 20 million US dollars. The total local box office of this re-released is about 120 million US dollars.

In addition, the second film "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" which started on February 21, after the first song consumed most of the fans' feelings, the box office in the first week was only 21.46 million US dollars, and it is estimated that the local area will only have a size of about 50 million.

In comparison, after "BJ Single Diary", which was released on February 14, earned $37.62 million in the first week, the box office decline was well controlled at 23% in the second week from February 21 to February 27, and it closed at 29.03 million, easily winning the single-week box office champion for the second week.

One weekend from February 28 to March 2, the decline of "BJ Single Diary" slightly expanded to 33% year-on-year, and still earned $12.73 million. It is expected that the box office in the full third week will still be around $20 million.

At the same time, two and a half weeks after the release, the cumulative box office of the film reached US$79.38 million, which is only a gap of US$20 million from exceeding 100 million.

Considering the reputation of "BJ Single Diary", the film will still have a good curve until Easter, and the subsequent box office is conservatively estimated to be no less than 50 million US dollars, which also means that the film's local box office will be at least 130 million US dollars.

Since Julia Roberts' popularity is significantly higher than that of Renee Zellweger, and Hugh Grant, one of the male protagonists, did not encounter the scandal of being caught in prostitutes in this time and space, and his popularity plummeted. Therefore, the production cost of this new version of "BJ Single Diary" is 10 million US dollars higher than the original $25 million US dollars, reaching 35 million.

Now, only two and a half weeks after it was released, Daenerys Entertainment has recovered all its production costs in North America.

The total promotion and distribution budget for the three British films in February is US$20 million. Even if 15 million of them are counted as "BJ Single Diary", it will be only two weeks at the latest. As the local film exceeds 100 million, the project will enter a profit cycle.

The other two films, as of the past weekend, the cumulative box office of "Two Big Bowls" reached US$23.13 million, and the box office of "Follow" was US$19.19 million. The two projects, the former's budget was less than US$2 million, while the latter was only US$3 million. Including the additional promotion of 5 million US dollars, the cumulative box office of more than US$40 million since February 7 has also begun to bring considerable profits to Daenerys Entertainment.

This is just North America.

The most successful thing about Daenerys Entertainment’s packaging and promotion strategy in February was in the UK.

There is no need to elaborate on the complex emotions that have been entangled between Britain and the United States for a long time. In short, these three films are considered "winning glory for the country" and have been released in the UK very successfully.

Even though the box office data in the UK cannot be compared with North America in a short period of time due to its market size, according to the recent box office trends reported by the UK, even if the British box office of "BJ Single Diary" cannot catch up with North America, it will be equivalent to over 100 million US dollars, but there is not much suspense.

The other two small films, the new British filmmakers and the excellent quality of the film itself, are more popular in the UK than in North America, and the UK's box office is expected to surpass North America.

Not to mention a series of blockbusters that were still being released at the end of last year, three box office dark horses were released in the first small period of the year, allowing Daenerys Entertainment to show a stigma of "Your uncle is even older than before" in front of other Hollywood studios.

During the meal, Amy couldn't help but ask half-jokingly and half-seriously why Simon's vision of choosing films over the years was so accurate?

"The key is to be one step ahead of others," Simon also replied with a smile: "The film industry, from silent to audio, from black and white to color, in every stage, the types that can be discovered have actually reached the extreme. If you want to make a breakthrough, you can only move forward. The recently re-released Lucas Star Wars series is the most typical case. If this film is placed twenty years later, the result will be difficult to say. For Daenerys Entertainment, CG special effects and 3D animation are technological advancements, and the concept of the movie universe is an advancement at the innovation level. Besides, the three films this time can be said to be a small innovation at the marketing level under the premise that we have three excellent movies."

Although Simon was a little concerned about him, Amy still showed a thoughtful expression and said after a moment: "In this case, the 3D and IMAX technologies that Daenerys Entertainment has been promoting should be our next innovation and breakthrough, right?"

"certainly."

In recent years, Simon has been investing in the research and development of technologies such as 3D and IMAX and conducting small-scale promotions. For this reason, he specially bought the Canadian IMAX company. "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" at the end of last year was a first appearance for IMAX, with only 26 IMAX screens in North America, contributing more than $50 million in box office to the Superbattle.

After IMAX achieved great success in the Super War, the total number of IMAX screens around the world has quickly exceeded 100 yuan in the past year, and this number will double this year. Among them, the two Jinshu Cinemas invested in China, each owns an IMAX screening room.

After the two pilot projects are successful, IMAX will also become the standard configuration for the second batch of 20 cinemas being planned.

With the rapid increase in the number of IMAX screens, the once very expensive conversion and copying costs are becoming more and more acceptable to studios after they are evenly distributed, making this shocking movie playback mode increasingly popular.

As the owner of IMAX, Daenerys Entertainment's advantages in this regard are naturally conceivable.

Compared with IMAX, the promotion of 3D technology is much slower, mainly because 3D shooting and projection technologies are not mature enough. Therefore, Simon delayed the timeline of this technology and planned to make efforts again after 2000.

All these things are in Daenerys Entertainment's plan, Amy didn't talk much, but instead said: "Helen Fielding has completed the conception of the second novel of "BJ Single Diary", with the subtitle "The Fringe of Reason", which explores the story of Brigitte and Mark. According to the agreement, we have priority. Helen and I were on the same phone call, and she also hoped that the sequel would be released with the second novel?"

Simon recalled the box office of the sequel to "BJ Single Diary". North America is lukewarm and still sells the world. He nodded: "You guys are responsible for this matter. Well, I remember Julia signed 5 film contracts with us, so there should be some?"

"Starting from "Steel Magnolia", "The Pretty Beauty", "Sleeping with the Enemy", "Gots Assassination Order", and the most recent "BJ Single Diary", there are exactly five movies." Amy said, seeing her boss looking back at the past, she smiled and said, "Do you feel that time flies?"

"Yes, I'm 29 years old."

This feeling is a bit strange if you hear someone.

Amy rolled her eyes slightly and then said, "Five contracts have been completed, and you gave Kate Beckinsale the last time you gave "Shapes Love History" that Julia had always wanted to act. If it were the sequel, it might be difficult to talk about Julia."

"If we don't know whether we can achieve success, we can't develop a lot of projects here now, so we don't lack this one."

Amy nodded.

Just now, I was just a joke, and I have been in charge of Daenerys Entertainment for so many years. In terms of dealing with big stars, Amy's attitude in her bones is completely the same as her own boss.

Daenerys Entertainment doesn't need to accommodate any filmmaker now.

So I talked about other things again: "The script of "Bad Things" last time was stolen by Paramount. I planned to be produced under the Orion label, and planned to invest 30 million US dollars. I also wanted to be released as a winning film this year at the end of the year. Now many celebrities are in contact, and even our "Batman" is interested. I have read the script and think it is very good. Simon, why did I hint Ella give up?"

Simon asked back, "What do you think is good?"

"A very complete story of black crime, both creative, suspense and rhythm are great, isn't it?"

Simon had to nod, too.

Amy asked: "So what?"

Simon thought for a while and said, "It was mainly because of the screenwriter Peter Borg. He insisted on writing and directing himself, but I was not sure about the other party's ability. You know, although I have always been happy to support newcomers, the premise is that they must first prove themselves, just like the two British directors this time, the two films combined have a budget of only $5 million, which is something I can accept. As for that Peter Borg, he has neither directorial work nor any professional film major. He wants to control tens of millions of dollars of investment with just one script. No matter how good the story is, I would rather give up."

After hearing this explanation from her boss, Amy had no objection.

Not to mention the $30 million from Paramount, even if it doubles, Daenerys Entertainment can afford it now and it can also afford it.

However, this is not a matter of money, the key is time, to be precise. Investing in such a project will definitely require corresponding period resources. By then, losing 30 million is still the second thing, taking up a period of period, but the result is a failure. For Daenerys Entertainment, the potential losses may be more.

The rapid development and growth of Daenerys Entertainment in recent years is ultimately due to the large number of successes that correspond to the rise and fall accumulated by other studios due to the repeated failures of other studios.

Thinking of this, just using a fork to pick up some pasta in the dining plate, Amy suddenly remembered the project proposed by her boss some time ago: "Simon, since that's the case, should we be more cautious about "Ghost Records"? This is your own creativity. I believe that there must be many directors who are willing to take over in Hollywood. There is no need to use a newcomer?"

"Have you seen Lin's work?"

Amy shook her head: "No, why don't I take some time to see it at night?"

"No, you'd better take care of your son," Simon smiled and said, "First of all, I'm very optimistic about this director. He is exactly the opposite of Peter Borg we just talked about. He is from a standard film school and is very pragmatic. He is only 23 years old this year and has made two feature films. There are so many people in Hollywood who dream of becoming famous overnight, and few are really willing to work hard."

Amy listened carefully, felt quite touched, and asked, "What's the second?"

"Secondly, it is to pursue a sense of reality as much as possible. This project is best done by newcomers."

"I've read your memo, but I think it's right for the actor to enable newcomers, but the director doesn't have to?"

"The same goes for the director," Simon said: "Because the film itself needs to give people a more immature texture, if it is a famous Hollywood director, it will inevitably have some deep-rooted pattern. Haha, in this way, Lin, who has made two feature films, may be a bit too mature, but, you know, I can't find a real rookie."

Amy smiled and said, "It's definitely okay if you're watching it yourself."

"Yes, after watching the sample film of "American Pi" in the afternoon, it was the production conference of "Ghost Records". I will have a good chat with them."

Amy nodded slightly and continued, "Also, the first male lead that Brian is doing, Hugh Jackman, you should be optimistic about him, right?"

"Well," Simon cut the lamb chops from the plate and bent the corner of his mouth: "Actually, I have been looking for some actors in recent years. I'm not very deliberate, but I've been doing it. Guess, what am I preparing?"

Amy thought for a while, and suddenly a flash of inspiration: "Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

"Bingo, this is spiritual communication. I want to give you a raise."

Amy smiled and said, "Boss, I will take it seriously."

"Then forget it quickly," Simon continued to joke, and then said, "Hui is one of them. As for which role he is suitable for, it will be kept confidential for the time being."

Amy raised objections again: "But, Simon, if you praise the candidates you are looking for too much, you shouldn't be able to use it in the future and sign a long-term contract."

“I will pay attention.”

When the two said this, they had a quiet lunch for a while, Amy said again: "Also, boss, we should also arrange some acquisition actions this year, Blockbuster, or, remember, boss, you mentioned before, Viacom in Redstone?"

"Not yet possible. For Blockbuster, this year's job is to divest direct stores from authorized stores, sell authorized businesses, actively lose weight, and reduce our resistance to full acquisition in the future. As for Viacom..." Simon thought about the jealous MTV and Showtime TV stations under this media company, but could only shake his head: "The timing is not right for the time being, mainly in the stock market."

Amy thought for a moment and nodded: "I understand."

"And if you know about Thunderstone, you should know that it is very difficult for us to get Viacom."

"Thunderstone Dong has a very tough personality, I know that, but Simon, he is already 73 years old."

Simon remembered a tough old man in his nineties who had been holding on to power 20 years later and barely resigned after being asked by the court to conduct a compulsory mental appraisal. He smiled and shook his head: "This means you still don't understand Lei Shidong."

"At worst, we can make a malicious acquisition."

"If I remember correctly, the Redstone family's control over Viacom should be a two-tier equity model."

“This is troublesome.”

"So, only Leishidong is willing to sell Viacom to us."

Amy thought about it and shook her head again: "Viacom's MTV is very profitable. If, as you said, Redstone is tougher than I thought, and it is very unlikely to let him go."

"Actually, I've been doing it all these years," Simon said: "Redstone has always wanted to acquire Hollywood studios, but it has failed every time, and there will be no chance in the future. In the future, the media industry will be the world of diversified giants. Viacom only relies on the cable TV business and it will be difficult for long-term development..."

Simon said this and did not continue, but Amy smiled knowingly.

Whether it is MTV or Showtime, which is still developing at this time, Simon is determined to win. Over the years, under the snipers of light or darkness, Viacom has missed the opportunity to grow into a comprehensive media group. It would be too easy for Daenerys Entertainment to target Viacom.

First of all, the foundation of the Leishidong family is the National Entertainment Company, a theater company.

Daenerys Entertainment now wants to suppress a theater company...
To be continued...