After Peter Sanders hurried back to Los Angeles on Saturday night, Simon heard nothing more from Fox for three days.

This result did not go beyond Simon's expectations. After all, his qualifications in Hollywood are still too young.

A young man under the age of twenty not only demanded high share terms from major film companies, but also demanded absolute control over film production. This kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood.

However, with the box office success of "Run Lola Run", Simon no longer has the lack of choices he had a few months ago.

While helping the crew of "Night of the Blood Corpse", Simon also made some plans for "The Reaper" in private. This plasma thriller is very suitable for the Halloween schedule at the end of the year. From the end of February to the end of October, it took 8 months.

The preparation, production and publicity cycle also seemed just right.

Therefore, Simon does not intend to tie himself to Fox. If Fox Pictures does not respond before the weekend, Simon plans to release the news and seek other collaborators.

At the same time, as its popularity and reputation continue to grow, the box office of "Lola Run" not only did not fall in its second week of release, but increased again.

From February 20 to February 22, in the three days of the second week, due to the increase in the number of screens, "Lola Run" still achieved a 21% increase in box office compared to the four days of the first week, reaching 6.69 million.

Dollar.

Immediately afterwards, after the following four working days, the box office of "Lola Run" in its second week finally reached US$9.56 million, second only to the US$11.1 million of "Platoon", successfully ranking second in the North American box office rankings for that week.

The position of the name.

Two films released by its own company simultaneously occupied the top two positions in the single-week box office rankings, and the North American box office of both films is expected to exceed 100 million U.S. dollars. Orion Pictures has been in the limelight for a while.

For a film like "Run Lola Run" that has become the focus of the entire federation, there will naturally be no obstacles to its subsequent release.

Mike Medova, president of Orion Pictures, originally planned to expand the screening of the film as soon as possible, but after a detailed phone conversation with Simon, he quite agreed with the concept of 'hunger marketing' proposed by him. In the end, Orion's third

Zhou still did not rush to significantly increase the screening scale of "Run Lola Run", but only increased the number of screens to 536, and related theaters are still concentrated on the West Coast of the United States.

Many years later, if a movie is released for three weeks, its popularity has either faded or pirated resources are everywhere, and it makes no sense to continue to increase the scale of screenings.

However, in the mid-1980s, the speed of information dissemination was far less rapid than in the Internet era, and film and television piracy was not as rampant as it was later. The multi-round screening mechanism that started from big cities to small towns still existed, and many third- and fourth-tier tiers

It often takes a month or two for small towns to see some blockbusters.

Therefore, the three weeks of word-of-mouth accumulation does not seem to be a long time for "Lola Run" at all, and it will only increase the audience's expectations.

On the other hand, Simon waited patiently until Friday, but Fox Pictures still didn’t give any reply. He called Jonathan Friedman and asked his agent to tell him that he was seeking partners for "Dead Man".

The news is revealed.

Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.

The time is Monday, March 2nd.

Fox Film President Ronald Goldberg walked into Morton's Restaurant, where Hollywood filmmakers often dine, in the evening. As soon as he walked in, he felt that many people who were dining there were looking at him in different ways.

Although he felt a little awkward for no reason, Ronald Goldberg calmly said a few words to the waiter who came up to him, and was then taken to a table.

At this time, there was a middle-aged man in his forties sitting at the dining table. He was somewhat bald, unattractive, and had the same standard Jewish big nose. However, no one in the entire restaurant would look down on each other because of his appearance. The middle-aged man was

Barry Diller, current chairman and CEO of Twentieth Century Fox.

Noticing Ronald Goldberg approaching, Barry Diller, who was reading a newspaper, immediately stood up, smiled, stepped forward and shook hands with him, before the two returned to the dining table and sat down.

After chatting casually and ordering dinner, Ronald Goldberg glanced at the newspaper in front of Barry Diller. It was a copy of the "Los Angeles Herald" and there was an eye-catching picture of a butterfly on the page.

In an evening newspaper that also tends to focus on Hollywood industry news, Ronald Goldberg easily judged that this picture should be related to "The Butterfly Effect".

Barry Diller followed Ronald Goldberg's gaze and looked at the newspaper in front of him, and asked: "I heard that the test screening of this movie was not very good?"

Ronald Goldberg said with some hesitation in his tone: "Everyone thinks the story is very complete and exciting. However, several film critics who participated in the test screening did not like it very much. They felt that the plot of the film was too fragmented.

The main line is not clear enough..."

Barry Diller also frowned slightly when he heard this. In this era, the most direct way for ordinary people to perceive a movie is through newspaper reviews. If the reviewer does not give a good review, it will undoubtedly hinder the enthusiasm of the audience to enter the cinema.

After thinking for a while, Barry Diller asked: "Then what are you going to do??"

Ronald Goldberg said: "There will be an internal audience test screening on Wednesday, and we will make some adjustments based on the situation. Then, I plan to schedule it for Easter, you know, that "Lola Run",

Maybe it can gain some popularity."

Ronald Goldberg said this with obvious bitterness in his tone.

A week ago, Ronald Goldberg almost laughed out loud when Peter Sanders brought back Simon's demands for the "Dead Man" project from Arizona.

That young man was so brave to speak. Ronald Goldberg has worked in the media industry for thirty years and has never seen a guy who dared to make such conditions to a film company. He thought he was Spielberg.

?

So, Ronald Goldberg simply chose to ignore the other party.

However, as news broke over the weekend that Simon Westeros was seeking a new partner for "Dead Man" and the three-day box office data for last weekend was released this morning, Ronald Goldberg hesitated

Uncertain.

Putting aside the news released by Simon Westeros, as long as Fox does not relent and give up, it will be impossible for the other party to reach cooperation with other film companies.

but.

The box office data of "Run Lola Run" in the past three days has really attracted many people's attention.

In its third week, the number of screens increased to 536, but the three-day weekend box office of "Run Lola Run" still reached US$20,110.

According to a report within Hollywood, due to a series of recent media buzz, "Lola Run" has not only attracted the interest of audiences of all ages, but also formed a movie-watching trend among young audiences. These young people

Everyone thinks "Run Lola Run" is a very cool movie, so they generally choose to watch it over and over again.

The report results even show that the scarcity of screening theaters has actually inspired many people to queue up to grab tickets to watch the film.

Finally, in the third weekend, the box office of "Lola Run" reached 10.78 million US dollars, easily suppressing New Line Cinema's "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3" which opened on 1,343 screens this week, and firmly won the top spot in the weekend box office rankings.

.

So far, the total North American box office of "Run Lola Run" has reached 27.31 million U.S. dollars. This box office figure alone has put it beyond the reach of most Hollywood movies.

Moreover, since it has topped the weekend box office rankings, in this off-season for movies, it will be easy for "Run Lola Run" to maintain its top position for a long time.

The first place always gets the most attention.

"Run Lola Run" is already very popular. If it continues to be the weekly box office champion, it will definitely attract more people to be interested in the movie and form a virtuous cycle.

The film's box office has reached 27.31 million in two and a half weeks. So, if the cycle continues, the film's final box office is likely to be even better than the media's general expectations.

Ronald Goldberg's thoughts came to this point and he didn't even want to continue thinking about it.

I regret it.

At this time, the waiter brought the dinner, but Barry Diller did not pick up the tableware. He looked at Ronald Goldberg opposite, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Barry Diller and Ronald Goldberg have been friends for twenty years.

It was Ronald Goldberg, who was still working in the ABC production department, who single-handedly promoted Barry Diller. This led to Barry Diller's continuous glory at the ABC Television Network and Paramount Pictures.

Three years ago, Barry Diller was driven out of the company by Martin Davis, the jealous chairman of Paramount's parent company. It happened that it was Ronald Goldberg who introduced him to be the director of the 20th Century.

Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation.

Twentieth Century Fox controls the Fox Television Network and Fox Studios, and Ronald Goldberg has single-handedly elected his former subordinates to become his immediate boss.

This is the gift of two encounters.

Therefore, Barry Diller has always been grateful to Ronald Goldberg.

However, as the head of Fox Pictures, Ronald Goldberg has managed the film company unsatisfactorily. Fox Pictures has not produced a film with a box office of over 100 million in North America for three consecutive years.

Due to his deep personal relationship, Barry Diller would not drive Ronald Goldberg out of the company under any circumstances, and he even rarely interfered with Ronald Goldberg's management of Fox Pictures. But

Both parties know that if the situation continues, the company's major shareholder Rupert Murdoch will not tolerate Fox Pictures continuing to be tepid.

After a moment of silence, Barry Diller said: "Ronald, I have heard about the young man and the news that came out over the weekend."

Ronald Goldberg showed a wry smile and said: "Barry, do you think I should agree to him? He is just a young boy who is less than twenty years old, but he proposed something that even Spielberg can't do.

The harsh conditions for speaking easily.”

"Isn't there a prerequisite?" Barry Diller said: "16 million US dollars, this guarantee is a bit low, but if the production cost is only 8 million US dollars, Fox will definitely be able to make a profit."

Ronald Goldberg said: "If that's all, of course it can be discussed. However, he also requires absolute control over the project. The director, actors, shooting, and final editing are all his decision.

.How can I feel relieved?"

"I just watched "Run Lola Run" this afternoon," Barry Diller said: "For an 18-year-old young man, it is indeed a very good movie. So, Ronald, if you can be sure

"Run Lola Run" was really completed by him himself, maybe you can agree to it."

Ronald Goldberg still hesitated: "That's for sure. It's just, Barry, you know, this kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood."

"This can just be used as a publicity point in the future," Barry Diller said with a smile: "It's like he is 18 years old. Speaking of which, this is really a very wonderful movie marketing. If he is not 18 years old, this

The movie can get a box office of 10 to 20 million US dollars at most. But now, it can get 100 to 200 million US dollars. It would be amazing if the relevant marketing plan was also planned by that young man. So, Luo

Nader, I suggest you try your best to win over this young man to Fox Film, and maybe you will get a second Spielberg."

After Ronald Goldberg heard Barry Diller say so much, he naturally understood that the other party meant well, and he actually knew his own situation clearly. If the situation at Fox Pictures cannot be improved soon, his contract will expire next year.

Not only will you have to pack up and leave after this period, it will also be difficult to find a comparable position in other studios in the future.

Although wooing the young man who had just made a name for himself in Hollywood felt a bit like seeking medical treatment in a hurry, Ronald Goldberg really had no better choice.

He really wanted to win over Steven Spielberg. In fact, he did so, with last year's "Space Station" starring Spielberg's fiancée. As the film failed at the box office, there was no

Then.
Chapter completed!