Ella Deutschman was a little silent. After being in Hollywood for so many years, how could he not understand what Simon said.

But that’s how people are, knowing a truth doesn’t mean they can do it.

As a graduate of the prestigious Northwestern University, Ella Deutschman has a sense of academic superiority in front of most people in Hollywood. This sense of superiority also unknowingly restrains his behavior pattern, making

He never forgets the dignity of an intellectual. Therefore, although he knows that hyping up elements that the audience likes will help the film get higher box office, Ira Deutschman has always resisted doing so from the bottom of his heart.

The waiter just happened to bring lunch to him at this time. Simon waited for a moment, and when the waiter left again, he asked Deutschman: "So, do you still want this job?"

Ella Deutschman hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Simon, is it really right to purely pursue the commercial interests of a movie like this?"

"Many maverick filmmakers always say that I don't make movies to make money. But that's not actually the case. Since they have chosen movies, they are bound to have a stronger desire for expression than ordinary people. In their hearts, they definitely hope to be more expressive.

Many people can see your film," Simon looked at Ella Deutschman and said slowly: "As a film distributor, it is your job to find ways to let more people see your film.

Filmmakers are responsible, and they are also responsible for investors, regardless of whether it is correct or not. In a film that tells the true meaning of life, if you use "sex" as a publicity stunt, the director of the film may be very angry, but when the film originally only had a few million

If a film with box office potential of US$10 million, 20 million or more is sold, and it also wins an Oscar, then, afterwards you will find that not only will he no longer blame you, but he will look forward to continuing to cooperate with you. Ella, only the winner will

It is always right, and the winner is not blamed."

After hearing what Simon said, Ella Deutschman's expression changed slightly for a moment, and then she said sincerely: "Simon, I need to confess. Before the meeting, I very, very much hoped to get this job. But now, I find that

You have far greater expectations for the company I might be running than I imagined, and I'm not sure I can do it well."

Simon showed a smile on his face and said: "Actually, I'm not sure, Ella, the main reason why I chose you is because your conditions are just right in all aspects. You are only 35 years old this year, and you won't be like those who are in their 50s or 60s."

Old men have completely lost their plasticity, and they also have more industry experience than young people who are just starting out. However, once you join the job, you only have one year."

Ella Deutschman wondered: "One year?"

Simon nodded and said: "That's right, even if you are willing to accept this job, you still need to go through a one-year inspection period. Within this year, I will completely follow the operation of Gaomen Pictures and personally urge you to change the past tradition.

Conservative business thinking. After one year, if your work results satisfy me, we will sign a formal long-term contract."

Ella Deutschman keenly captured another meaning in Simon's words: "Simon, what you mean is that Gomen Pictures operates completely independently. I am only responsible to you personally and do not need to accept Ms. Pascal's

leader?”

"Yes, and Highgate Pictures is more independent than you think. The production and distribution departments of Daenerys Pictures and New World Pictures are separate, but Highgate Pictures will have a

A completely independent film production and distribution system, except for the financial aspects that need to be supervised by the parent company, you will have very large autonomy in other aspects."

Ella Deutschman's expression changed for a few seconds, and she quickly made up her mind and said: "Simon, what should I do in the next year?"

"Complete the familiarity and adjustment of Gaomen Pictures as soon as possible. You can hire or fire some people by yourself, and at the same time take over the distribution work of several artistic films under the company. In the next year, you will identify projects, purchase films from outside, and operate and distribute...

You need to do all this work yourself, but I will try my best to participate in the main decisions, provide my own suggestions, and personally urge you to change the distribution strategy that I think is inappropriate, and I will also help you find some projects to operate." Simon said.

At this point, Deutschman paused briefly, and waited for Deutschman to digest it for a moment before continuing: "As for the criteria for judging the results of your work, the core is of course the commercial income of the film, but it is not absolute. Film has always been an uncertain

I allow my subordinates to fail in this high-risk business. Therefore, all the projects you run in the next year will be judged individually, as long as you work hard on each project and follow a path that I think is right.

Yes, we can sign a formal contract in one year."

Ella Deutschman carefully took note of Simon's words. After Simon finished speaking, he continued to ask: "So, Simon, how much company budget can I get in the next year?"

"With 30 million US dollars, this is a pure film business budget. You can do whatever you think is feasible, production, film purchase, distribution, etc., and you don't need to complete it all before next year's deadline. You only need to make sure

Continue to work on accurate projects." Simon said, and then added: "In addition, your salary for the next year is 150,000 US dollars, and there is no bonus clause. But if your work is good enough, you will get a bonus when you sign the contract next year.

A signing bonus, you can bet on whether my boss is generous or stingy. Oh, and one more thing, after joining the company, you can use the company's private jet, but only for business flights. If we sign the contract successfully after one year, you

You can have permission to take your family on vacation. If you stay with Daenerys Entertainment long enough, you might even have a private jet entirely paid for by the company."

30 million U.S. dollars, such a sum of money may not be enough to produce a blockbuster film in Hollywood today. The public budget of "Batman" that Simon is preparing has reached 50 million U.S. dollars.

However, Ella Deutschman was not dissatisfied. The new film company he worked for previously did not have 30 million US dollars to spend at will in the most relaxed financial year. Ella Deutschman even began to feel fast.

Thinking about how to spend the money. Although Simon did not prohibit him from immediately investing in the field of production, Deutschman made up his mind that all the money would be used to purchase films and distribute them. The risks of these two businesses were relatively low.

It is said to be the smallest, and the operation cycle is also short. The investment in literary films is much lower than that in commercial films. Based on the average budget expenditure of 5 million US dollars for a single project, 30 million US dollars is enough for him to run six projects next year.

As for the producer, he can definitely look for a script first. If he can formally sign the contract next year and then put it into production, he will definitely have a larger budget by then.

Thinking like this, Ella Deutschman quickly stood up, stretched out her hand towards Simon across the dining table, and said with a smile: "Boss, I look forward to the day when I can have my own private jet."

Ella Deutschman was more straightforward. She decisively signed the employment agreement and started working at Gaomen Pictures from the very next day.

In the following days, Simon also confirmed two other major supporting roles in "Batman."

In addition to Willem Dafoe being cast as 'Black Mask' Roman Sionis, the final choice for Commissioner Gordon was Tommy Lee Jones, and Anthony Hopkins was chosen to play Batman's butler Alfred.

Both Tommy Lee Jones and Anthony Hopkins became famous later on. One entered the 20 million salary club with the "Men in Black" series, and the other won an Oscar for his superb performance in "The Silence of the Lambs".

If ten years later, Simon wants to bring the two of them together to play the two supporting roles in "Batman", don't even think about it. But now, they are far from the fame they later became, and they can barely be regarded as second-tier in Hollywood.

Tommy Lee Jones is in his early 40s. Since his debut in the 1970s, except for a biopic "Miner's Daughter" in 1980, he has no other outstanding works. Before he accepted the role of Commissioner Gordon

Of the five films, except for the low-cost science fiction thriller "The Furious Moon" produced by New World Pictures, which took in more than 6 million U.S. dollars, the other four films all only had a box office of more than 1 million U.S. dollars.

It can be described as a rush on the street.

Anthony Hopkins, who is 51 years old this year, is even worse than Tommy Lee Jones. In recent years, he has not even had a few big-screen works and has basically starred in TV movies and TV series.

Therefore, both of them belong to the category of veteran actors who are low-paid and can give the audience a familiar feeling, and they completely fit Simon's role positioning of Sheriff Gordon and Butler Afu. The most important thing is that both of them agreed to have a long-term relationship.

Long-term contracts for up to five units.

In the original time and space, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, who plays SHIELD Director, are supporting roles in the series, but their pay is much higher than that of the protagonists such as Thor, Hawkeye, and the Hulk.

The main reason is that the roles played by the two are irreplaceable, but they did not sign long-term contracts like the previous ones.

Unlike Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon and Butler Alfred are completely bound to "Batman". As long as this series can continue, it is unlikely that the two will disappear out of thin air, and Simon does not want to replace them midway.

After negotiations, the starting salary for both of them was US$150,000, and each subsequent sequel would receive a salary increase of up to US$300,000. Simon was not too generous in this regard. For supporting actors, the salary increase would be US$300,000 each time.

It’s not stingy. Moreover, if the two of them can reach the level of celebrity in the next few years, whether it is US$300,000 or US$500,000, it will only seem insignificant.

Therefore, although he cannot impose restrictions on the future films of the two supporting actors like the leading actor Adam Baldwin, Simon has secretly made up his mind to suppress the career development of the two of them as much as possible if necessary, such as replacing "Silence"

The male protagonist of "The Lamb" and so on.

As long as he can successfully advance his own DC movie universe series, he doesn't have to worry about much else.

In addition to the core main and supporting roles, some secondary roles for "Batman" have also been finalized during this period, and there are also some minor roles at the supporting level that will probably be selected temporarily during the filming process.

After the role was confirmed, the film also began more frequent script reading sessions and plot rehearsals. Simon's deputy Joe Silver also flew to Melbourne again in late October to coordinate the location and scenery for the film's start of filming early next year.

Amid such busyness, Halloween is gradually approaching.

Compared with the same period last year, the upcoming October period can only be described as bleak.

In October 1987, the market's total revenue was close to US$180 million. However, this year, although October has not completely passed, the market's total revenue is expected to be only US$130 million, a decrease of almost one-third.

Moreover, even in the year-end schedule of November and December, the number of films expected to be released is much sparser compared to previous years. In order to avoid more losses, major studios have generally adopted a strategy of tightening the scale of distribution. Therefore,

, Daenerys Entertainment, which is about to release four films "Scream", "Steel Magnolias", "Dead Poets Society" and "Rain Man", has become the most prominent presence in this year-end schedule.

At Simon's insistence, and after negotiations with major theaters in North America, "Rain Man" finally succeeded in signing 1,136 screens. Counting the other three films, Daenerys Entertainment's four films at the end of the year were basically all

It can be considered a large-scale release.

Simon also approved a pure advertising budget of US$5 million for each film, and began to fully promote the four films on various media platforms in North America. Taking into account other costs such as copying and printing, the total publicity budget for each film is expected to be generally

It will exceed US$8 million and can be increased in the future.

In this era of transition from traditional distribution to comprehensive distribution, studios generally tend to be conservative in film distribution. Such investment in publicity and distribution, even directly chasing production costs, is considered very unwise by many people, but Simon does not think so at all.

Pay attention to it.

After all, whether it can get rid of the restrictions of the distribution channels of major studios is basically a matter of struggle. In the next few years, it is impossible for Daenerys Entertainment to encounter a situation where the right time and place are completely on its side.

market form. If it misses it, once the major film companies recover from the impact of this year's Hollywood writers' strike, Daenerys Entertainment, which is too powerful, will definitely face joint suppression from all parties in Hollywood.

After the last wave of intensive trailers aimed at teenagers from mainstream TV networks and MTV, the release date of "Scream" has finally arrived.

In the past week, due to the release of "Moonlight 4", a well-known horror film series by an independent film company, Galaxy International, the North American market rebounded slightly in a single week, reaching US$32.67 million. "Moonlight 4" grossed US$8 million in its first week

The outstanding box office performance basically cannot pose a threat to "Scream".
Chapter completed!