Hollywood Drawing

As a leader among senior agents, Michael Ovitz has personally promoted countless star directors. No one understands the influence of a big director better than him.

Wayne Greenberg now is simply a replica of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas in the 1980s, which in itself represents a large amount of human resources.

"That idiot Bob Martin! He let his agent fool him!"

A low muttering sounded, and the newspaper was thrown back on the table. Michael Ovitz picked up the coffee and drank half of the cup in one go before suppressing his anger.

Since he left CAA, there have been many incidents where important clients fired their agents and changed their agencies. All of this is unforgivable in his eyes.

The CAA agency in the Michael Ovitz era, innovative elite agency, used a new management method to rapidly grow into the industry's leading agency in just a few years. At the same time, their operation methods also promoted the Hollywood film and television industry. Some updates.

Michael Ovitz successfully obtained an "advance total box office" split with major Hollywood film companies for the directors and actors they represented. This form of account sharing has changed the rules of the game in Hollywood, and at the same time, it has also won more big names in the film and television industry for the innovative elite agency to become their agent artists.

This was accompanied by an increase in the salaries of Hollywood stars in the 1980s and 1990s, which led to a sharp increase in film production costs for major Hollywood companies.

To put it bluntly, as long as they are clients of CAA, whether they are stars, directors, producers, or various types of work in the behind-the-scenes team, they are particularly superstitious about Michael Ovitz at a certain period because he can bring great things to everyone. Interests.

The new business philosophy of Innovative Elite Agency, Michael Ovitz's innovative agency packaging method, and the new box office share he won for their artists, etc., made Michael Ovitz consecutively selected by "First Time" from 1990 to 1992. Film Magazine selected him as "No. 1 on the most powerful list of Hollywood entrepreneurs."

So far, he is the only brokerage company leader and entrepreneur to enjoy this honor.

"Dang" "Dang" "Dang"

Several knocks on the door brought Michael Ovitz back from his thoughts. When he turned to look in the direction of the door, he saw Zack Snyder walking in under the leadership of his agent Frank.

Perhaps when faced with a messy corporate power struggle, his performance was not very satisfactory, but when faced with a star director, Michael Ovitz had enough confidence that he felt that the probability of him defeating the other party was quite high. There will be any unexpected situations, unless the other party really has no desires or desires.

"Hello, Mr. Schneider, I am Michael Ovitz." Without waiting for the agent to introduce himself, he took the lead in extending his right hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ovitz."

Zack Snyder patiently shook hands with the other party, and before continuing the greetings, he sat down and said directly: "I heard Frank say that if you want to talk to me, if you have anything to say, just say it." Bar."

Michael Ovitz was observing him as soon as he entered the door. His many years of work experience have given him quite keen observation skills.

"Okay, Director Snyder, I represent Walt Disney this time, and I bring a very high degree of sincerity..."

Time flew by, and two hours later, Zack Snyder and his agent Frank left the business club in a hurry, without saying a word along the way.

The car was parked downstairs in the apartment. After the two returned to the apartment for a while, the agent Frank observed his client's face and said after careful consideration: "The conditions offered by Disney are very high. Participate in Jerry Brookhay For a project initiated by Mo, the production cost will not be less than 100 million US dollars, you will be given a share of the box office, and you will also have the right to make final decisions on the project."

"It just looks very tempting." Zack Snyder frowned, shook his head and interrupted his agent. "The premise of these conditions they gave is that I want to sign a long-term film contract with Disney as soon as possible. Warner Bros. can also give me these things."

To be honest, the conditions for the director's remuneration were not what attracted him. What was most tempting was the rights to the crew and the control over post-production work, which only famous directors can get.

"Then give them up, we have other options." The agent shrugged, also realizing the purpose of Disney's painting.

At this point in time, asking Zack Snyder to sign a long-term film contract is most likely to discourage Wayne's upcoming movies. The conditions given are indeed attractive. It can be said that as long as he signs this contract, Zach will step into the status of a top director in the industry.

The more this happened, the more it aroused his vigilance. He encourages clients to leave Warner Bros. in order to achieve better development, but it does not mean that he is willing to use it as a gun for others.

"We will talk to people from 20th Century Fox this afternoon. I believe they will give better terms."

"You arrange it." Zack Snyder closed his eyes. He was analyzing the pros and cons along the way. It was okay to want him to leave Warner Bros., but he had to give people something exciting. This alone was definitely not enough.

The day passed in a hurry, and after another weekend passed, early on Monday morning, Zack Snyder drove alone and came to Greenberg Manor again.

He skillfully parked the car by the fountain in the small square, and under the guidance of the housekeeper Hela, he walked to the awning on the lawn in front of the garden.

Wayne was lying on his favorite recliner as usual, except there was a little guy sleeping soundly next to him. Looking at Greenberg's burly figure on the recliner opposite the table, Zack Snyder noticed that the father and son were chatting about something.

"Hi, Zach."

Wayne saw him coming, waved hello enthusiastically, and pointed to the chair next to him. "Take a seat, this is my father, Reuben Greenberg, a washed-up studio producer who is now a successful farmer."

The two met and greeted each other at the party. Zack Snyder nodded politely. After sitting down, he organized the words in his mind and considered how to speak.

"Many people have looked for me these days..."

While speaking, he was also observing Wayne's face. "Those guys made pretty good offers to get me out of Warner Bros."

With a click, Wayne lit a cigarette and asked curiously: "Well, what do you think?"

"Wayne, you know, how crazy and tempting those conditions are." Zack Snyder shrugged and simply said all his thoughts directly. "I was told that when I stay at Warner Bros., I will always be just a foil. Others promised me that I would become the leader of a certain series."

"so what."

"So, I'm very hesitant right now."

Wayne suddenly smiled and watched Zack Snyder sit up cross-legged, tapping the table with his fingers holding the cigarette.

"Zach, do you want me or Warner Bros. to give you that kind of commitment? Well, I can tell you right now that it's definitely better to stay than to go out and take risks. There are two more movies to come from "The Matrix" When the song is shot, the director will only be you, and this will be your series.

I don't know what others promised you, but, Zach, believe me, no one knows you better than me, no one! You can go back and think it over carefully. No matter what decision you make, there will be no problem with me. "

In silence, Zack Snyder nodded and left after a while. Looking at his back, Wayne smiled and shook his head.

No one here is irreplaceable, including Zack Snyder and himself. Director Zack is indeed a genius. This is understandable, but the premise is that the right production direction must be chosen for him, otherwise it may turn into a box office disaster.

"Your mother and I are going back to the farm tomorrow."

Reuben Greenberg, who was lying on the other side, suddenly spoke with a big pipe in his mouth. "You have to start promoting your new film tomorrow, so you don't have time to spend with us. I also miss my collections."

"Well, I thought you would stay a few more days to attend the premiere of my new movie." Wayne looked at his father and said regretfully.

"Boy, when you are sure that you can get the statuette, your mother and I will support you."

Time is slowly advancing, and "The Departed" has also begun its pre-release publicity. Traditional media such as newspapers and magazines have begun to frequently mention this upcoming film.

Huge billboards on the streets of Los Angeles were replaced by Christian Bale and Brad Pitt overnight. More posters about "The Departed" also appeared in theaters. Warner Bros.'s distribution department was releasing materials at the same time. , also released the first trailer on the TV station.

The trailer, which is just 30 seconds long, focuses on a lot of scenes of Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, as well as a fleeting glimpse of Jack Nicholson. Judging from the released trailer alone, this is a movie. This is Chi Luoluo's man drama.

Warner Bros. didn't do anything fancy this time in terms of publicity and promotion. Wayne's film and the three male leads will not lack attention at all. Just a step-by-step promotion is enough.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, North American cinemas were still in a period of rapid expansion and construction. Wayne knew that in this era, the number of theaters and screens for "The Departed" would not be comparable to that of ten years later.

No matter how high the attention of this movie is, no matter how good the response from test screenings is, and even if the number of viewers in North America exceeds that of the original movie, there is a high probability that the box office will be about the same as that of the previous movie, and it is unlikely that there will be an outrageous increase.

It is true that the cost of watching a movie in North America has not increased significantly in the following ten years. The price of a movie ticket is almost the same as in 2005. However, the difference in audience issues cannot be ignored.

Ten years later, the audience's acceptance of R-rated movies will be quite different from what it is now. Wayne can't do anything about this. Movie audiences need to be cultivated. Now he only hopes that after the film starts, it can reach the level he remembered. the height of.