American Fortune Life

"As of December 26, 2008, the total box office in North America in 2008 was US$9.179 billion.

Compared with 2007, when the year-end results of the six major film companies all exceeded the US$1 billion mark, in 2008, only four had a total box office of more than US$1 billion. . .

Summit Entertainment and Legendary Pictures, the other two are Disney and 20th Century Fox. . . . . . "

In the conference room, Andy Smith held his first New Year's meeting of all management after he joined Universal Pictures, and listened to the 2008 summary report.

It has to be said that the performance of the Hollywood film industry in 2008 has declined to a certain extent compared to 2007. Both the year-end total performance and the number of films exceeding 100 million are not as good as last year. More importantly, the overseas box office is shrinking.

The six major movie companies represent the trend of mainstream movies in Hollywood today. In 2008, except for the number of movies released by Sony, which was the same as last year, the others all declined to varying degrees.

In fact, the overall performance in 2008 is quite good. After all, under the impact of the Hollywood Screenwriters Guild strike at the end of 2007 and the outbreak of the financial crisis, Hollywood has experienced a big landslide after the summer vacation and a downturn in the Christmas movie. It is really not easy for the total box office to rank second in history.

Andy looked at the form in his hand. In 2007, Universal was relatively good. It had a double harvest at the box office and Oscars. There were also five films with over 100 million domestic box office, ranking first among the six major companies.

In 2008, low-budget films performed well, but because there were no annual box office duds like "Fake God 2" and "Golden Compass", although there were no dazzling blockbusters, they still maintained a certain market share, which was the same as last year. .

In 2008, Universal Pictures did not have 200 million films. Under Aunt Mei's meticulous interpretation, "Mamma Mia" became a hit at the domestic box office, and the overseas box office was as high as 430 million. It has a tendency to catch up with "The Dark Knight".

But The Incredible Hulk can be regarded as the most ironic failed movie of the year. Before its release, the old version of the Hulk was suppressed and mocked many times, but in the end the box office was not satisfactory, and the loss was not small.

Well, Andy was so depressed that he almost vomited blood. At the beginning, it was to share the risk and let Universal Pictures help Marvel Pictures to take the blame. Now it's better, and he cheated himself. . .

By the end of 2008, only four films of Universal Pictures had exceeded 100 million yuan. Thinking about the number of films exceeding 100 million yuan in 2007, other companies were extremely envious, but now it is nothing more than everyone.

Andy looked at Rob Freeman, who had taken over as the CEO of Universal Pictures, and felt a lot more relieved. After all, his Peak Entertainment Pictures was very up-to-date, and stepped on four of the six major companies.

The rise of Summit Entertainment has really shocked Hollywood. You must know that this does not include several major productions that have been filmed and postponed to release in 2009, such as "Superman", "Twilight", "Fast and Furious 4", and so on. There are films that are in full swing, and no matter which one it is, it can easily exceed 100 million domestic box office.

You know, when the management of Universal Pictures saw the 2009 Summit Entertainment release schedule presented by Rob Freeman, they were all dumbfounded. The 12 films were exactly three times the release schedule of Universal Pictures.

When everyone lamented that the rise of Summit Entertainment had become a general trend, they were extremely grateful and delighted. After all, Summit Entertainment has now become a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, and Universal Pictures will also get a big piece of cake in terms of distribution.

Andy believes that this year will definitely surpass last year, create a new historical record for Universal Pictures and help Hollywood hit the 10 billion mark!

"The release plan of only 4 movies this year is definitely not going to work!" Andy looked at the project proposal, frowned with a somewhat ugly expression, closed the folder, and threw it on the conference table.

"$2 billion! Excluding Summit Entertainment, this is the minimum standard that Universal Pictures will achieve this year."

Hearing the request from the big boss, black lines appeared on the foreheads of everyone in the meeting room unconsciously, feeling bitter and speechless in their hearts.

Adam Ferguson opened his mouth,

I wanted to say something, but seeing Rob Freeman on the opposite side blinked his eyes a few times, shook his head unobtrusively, and couldn't help but wryly smiled.

"It shouldn't be a big problem." The conference room was unusually quiet, and the sound of breathing could be heard clearly. At this moment, Rob Freeman said with a light smile, which immediately attracted everyone's wide-eyed attention.

"However, boss, do you think it's possible to get some scripts from Mockingjay Copyright Company?"

"Hehe, it will save you trouble. Well, I will ask Carl to bring over the script of "The Hangover"... How about this, let him bring over "Red Field" and "You Now You See Me." Andy smiled and said to Rob Freeman.

Rob and Carl get along well. He knows from him that his big boss has written several scripts and has read the outlines of these scripts, so he knows very well that those scripts are very good stories.

To be honest, the script of the big boss has solved a lot of trouble for Rob. Since he took over as the CEO of Universal Pictures, he has spent a lot of time reviewing the script outline in addition to being familiar with various departments and sorting out personnel issues.

Universal Pictures has been running a set of about 7-page story outlines submitted by the creative team to the decision-making level. Only projects that have been unanimously approved by the decision-making level can continue to be developed until the final script is confirmed. This process can take up to two years.

Although it is safe, the project approval period for a film is too long and troublesome, and he does not have the freedom he had at Summit Entertainment. Of course, the six major Hollywood companies have their own unique screening mechanisms. Rob, who originally worked for Paramount, Freeman is naturally no stranger, and he has also changed his thinking very well. After all, the way he is now in charge of Universal Pictures, which is a big business, is different from the way he manages a new company.

However, the change of ownership of Universal Pictures again inevitably caused some turmoil and confusion within the company. Changes in the top management and the entry of a new team will naturally take time to adjust. This is not something that can be resolved overnight. At any time, people's hearts are the biggest problem.

Project development has always been the top priority of the film company, and the production management department is also in a very important position in the Universal Pictures system. In order to get Universal Pictures on the right track as soon as possible, the CEO Rob Freeman personally Served as the head of the department. In just one month, he has personally reviewed and read more than 200 projects.

The production department is very important in the structure of a film company and has a lot of power. It will be involved in the project from the earliest stage of script development. From shooting to post-production, most of the speaking power is managed by the production department. Departmental control, which also requires the production department to be extremely professional, formulate a standard production process, and have a keen control and accurate judgment on the market.

These problems and difficulties, Rob Freeman has already reacted to Andy. Today's meeting is also a platform that Andy gave to his subordinates to solve the problem, and the easiest way to solve this problem is to put the And the wonderful 'Green Light Committee' run by Marvel Studios was set up.

"In order to ensure the annual production of 15-17 films, the development department with only 10 people needs to have extremely high work efficiency and accurate judgment, and the number of projects that need to be reserved every year has to increase to 400. An important guarantee for strong vitality and competitiveness.

In order to shorten the project approval cycle of high-quality projects, the company will establish a film project risk assessment and control system consisting of planning department, production department, financial department, global distribution department, derivatives development department, legal department, etc., which is the "Green Light Committee".

For a high-quality project, after making estimates and financial trial calculation models for each link, and submitting the data to the Green Light Committee, the project can be established immediately if it can ensure that the profit return index of more than 15% is achieved. "

Andy looked around at the people in the conference room with a serious expression, and made a decision in a clear voice. This is the benefit of speaking in one voice. There is no need to discuss and discuss. As a big boss, he can make a decision with one word.

"The creation and production of a movie is not a game. You can't give up halfway or have doubts. The commitment and investment of each staff member to the movie, and the adjustments, compromises, and quarrels experienced in each link can create a gradually perfect film. team.

The turmoil is over, NBC Universal has become my asset, and its future will only be brighter. I hope you will seize this opportunity and witness the new glory of Universal Pictures with me! "

"Papa papa—"

There was warm applause in the conference room. No matter what he thought in his heart, the declaration of the big boss was still very encouraging. The Green Light Committee was nothing new. The turmoil caused the management to seek stability and dare not take risks.

Now that the green light is turned on again, perhaps a new round of growth is really about to usher in!