From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The Weinstein brothers, infamous in later years, were not yet disgraced; of course, these two brothers were also not standing at the pinnacle of Hollywood—they were still climbing.

In March 1999, "Shakespeare in Love" unexpectedly defeated "Saving Private Ryan" to win the Oscar for Best Picture, only five short years ago.

The Weinstein brothers' strategy of completely changing the rules of the game and establishing a brand-new award season academy public relations approach was still in its early stages of development, sometimes effective, sometimes not, with both good and bad results, and had not yet completely subverted the Oscar landscape that had existed for many years.

Accurately speaking, the Weinstein brothers were also trying to change the map of Hollywood.

Miramax Films, the film company named after their mother, was acquired by Disney in 1993, and they joined Disney to specifically produce and distribute award season-related works for Disney.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and the Weinstein brothers had been challenging Disney's bottom line, launching a series of works that did not conform to Disney's traditional family style. Finally, Disney could no longer tolerate it and officially announced a break in relations this year.

The Weinstein brothers also realized that if they wanted to be the ones playing the game, they had to have their own voice, just like Forest Pictures.

On the one hand, the Weinstein brothers had been haggling with Disney because the name Miramax came from the two brothers' mother, so they hoped to get the name back.

On the other hand, because Disney consistently refused to compromise, the Weinstein brothers had to temporarily start anew under the name The Weinstein Company, starting from scratch.

However, the Weinstein brothers had been in Hollywood for many years, and long before leaving Disney, they had already begun to lay out a comprehensive plan. Dimension Films, specializing in horror and thriller films, was one of their hidden lairs, and the "Scream" series was their trump card series.

This time, Quentin approached the Weinstein brothers, hoping that Dimension Films could provide support.

Quentin could be said to be a director from Miramax's direct lineage. "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" were all produced and distributed by Miramax—among them, works like "Kill Bill" were an important reason for Disney's anger. Quentin and the Weinstein brothers were also very close friends.

Although the Weinstein brothers had reservations about "Sin City", Dimension Films still gave Quentin a sum of money, and then Quentin and Robert dug into their own pockets to fill the gap, raising $40 million to complete the filming, which led to the emergence of the classic "Sin City".

So… are the Wood brothers now preparing to steal food from the Weinstein brothers' mouths?

Thinking seriously, is all of this a coincidence?

Forest Pictures and The Weinstein Company were established around the same time. The Weinstein brothers broke up with Disney to the point that they realized they had to become the ones playing the game. Anson was caught in Sony Columbia's power struggle and fell into crisis to the point that Lucas realized they had to take the initiative.

One after the other, they set up their own businesses, preparing to show off their skills.

Of course, for now, it's just a coincidence.

After all, The Weinstein Company has just been established, but the Weinstein brothers have already established their reputation and influence in Hollywood over the past five years. "Shakespeare in Love", "The English Patient", and "Chicago", three works that topped the Oscar for Best Picture, undoubtedly made them the hottest stars.

Although the film company has just been established, they already have a lot of resources and experience, leading Forest Pictures by more than one position.

I'm afraid the Weinstein brothers simply don't have Forest Pictures in their eyes—

Anson?

Just a pretty face. Even if he's popular and has a loud reputation, can he exceed the peak limit of Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio?

Moreover, even Tom and Leonardo are no exception. If they are preparing to compete for an Oscar, the Weinstein brothers are still the most guaranteed operators in Hollywood.

In the eyes of the Weinstein brothers, Anson does not pose any threat and has no weight.

However, now, Anson is preparing to steal food from the Weinstein brothers' mouths. Things are a little dangerous.

However, this is not something Anson needs to worry about. He has confidence in Lucas—

The Weinstein brothers are not that scary.

Lucas fell into a brief contemplation, but didn't linger for too long. He raised his eyes again, "$30 million. I think this collaboration can take shape."

Anson raised his eyebrows slightly—

From his previous life, "Sin City" had a production cost of $40 million, and spread like a cultural trend on a global scale. Whether it was the visual style or Jessica Alba, it could be said to be very popular, and it was still a unique existence even twenty years later.

But in fact, the movie box office was not as good as expected. $74 million in North America, $84 million overseas, and eventually a global total of $158 million.

From a purely commercial point of view, the film brought Dimension Films a profit of $20 million, which is indeed worth celebrating; however, the real success of the film lies in the deep explosion at the cultural level, causing all-round hot discussion, and even had a series of impacts on the Hollywood film industry.

Later, after a full nine years, the film spawned a second part.

The same model, the same production, but ushered in a double failure of word of mouth and box office, and even led to Dimension Films facing a loss of more than $40 million.

This time, the income and word of mouth earned from the first film were all paid back in the second film.

In the final analysis, in Anson's view, the emergence of "Sin City" was due to the positioning deviation of publicity and promotion. The market felt a sense of novelty, a fresh visual style, a fresh narrative method, and a fresh integration of comics and movies. This brought success to the film, but did not truly touch the sense of fate behind the bloody violence of the film images, a despair and pain that cannot be escaped from the constraints of the city, losing the lingering charm.

It is precisely because of this that Anson believes that Forest Pictures' production of "Sin City" focuses on making a name for itself, and profitability is secondary.

But if Lucas can control costs, but still complete the filming with guaranteed quality, and cooperate with Anson's publicity strategy, perhaps this film can create a different impact.

But… $30 million, really? Are you sure it won't affect the quality?

Anson looked at Lucas, "Are you confident you can convince them?"

Anson sneered, "Tch, children make choices, adults want everything. I want dreams and checks, can't have one less."

That look of course, without the slightest guilt or shyness, completely upright.

Lucas nodded slightly, "As expected of you."