Hollywood Drawing

"According to Warner Bros.'s survey data, the box office profitability of Hollywood movies is trending downward year by year. Similar to low-cost horror films and pee-pee comedies, special cases of low-cost and high-box-office success will still occur, but the frequency is the same. It shows a trend of getting lower and lower.

The bulk of movie revenue is gradually generated from movie peripheral derivatives, video tapes, and copyright operations through various channels after the film is released. The proportion of box office profits will only become smaller and smaller. "

In the corner of the screening room, Wayne was holding a glass of champagne and chatting. The people around him were almost all big directors of similar importance to him in the industry. They also had the same identity, that is, well-known alumni of the University of Southern California.

"Well, Wayne, don't tell me, is this why Warner Bros. has continued to invest in big productions in the past few years?" Robert Zemeckis, who had just been introduced to him by George Lucas, suddenly joked One sentence.

"There is a reason for this." Wayne nodded with a smile, clinked glasses with the other party, and continued: "This is also the reason why I am optimistic about the superhero market. A movie wants to arouse the interest of movie fans before it is released. To achieve widespread attention and interest, there must be something that attracts them. And with the advancement of special effects and post-production, it is obviously possible to bring comic heroes who are topical enough to the big screen.

To produce this type of film, whether it is science fiction, action popcorn, or superhero, requires very large investment and production. Compared with constantly testing the market with small and large projects, large investment and large production can better guarantee the success rate. Therefore, to a certain extent, future movies will be more like a promotional film, and the focus of profit will be the benefits behind the success of the movie. "

Those present were all top figures in the industry, and more or less agreed with his point of view, and Warner Bros. has relied on this strategy to continue to succeed in recent years.

This does not refer only to Wayne's works. Warner Brothers' other successful works also follow the same path if analyzed carefully.

Steven Spielberg, who had been silent all this time, took a sip of wine and shook his head, sighing: "This trend is a disaster for small and medium-sized production companies. Before a movie is released, It’s a gamble where no one can guess the outcome. After big investment and big production become the mainstream, the failure of one movie can bankrupt small and medium-sized film companies several times!”

Among the filmmakers present, the good Jewish man was probably the one who felt the deepest feelings. When all the decisions of DreamWorks rest on his shoulders, you can understand the difficulty.

In the past two years, in the face of the success of Warner Bros., Hollywood's already high production costs have unknowingly adjusted upward again. Many people feel this way. In the first few years, US$80 million could still be considered a first-tier major production, but in the past two years, what is called first-tier investment has quietly exceeded 100 million.

Faced with huge pressure to recoup their capital, many small and medium-sized production companies simply choose not to wade into this muddy water and continue to make small profits by producing low-cost horror films.

Everyone knows that large investments and large productions mean huge profit margins, but if a project with an investment of 80 million or even hundreds of millions fails, it means that small and medium-sized production companies will become insolvent, and the only option is bankruptcy and liquidation. Walk.

"That's right." Ron Howard nodded in agreement and said with emotion: "Wayne, not all production companies are Warner Brothers. Among the six major production companies, Warner Brothers is also second to none in terms of risk resistance. That’s why I dare to make drastic and big investments.”

"So, I want to reduce the risks." Wayne shrugged, thinking of the common practice more than ten years later, and said: "Then the only way is joint production. In this model, multiple producers While companies share the risks, they also share the benefits, which is a good form of insurance.”

This is a model that has always existed, especially among the six giants. They invest together, bear risks, and then share the profits. There is both cooperation and competition among the six major companies. Cooperation always comes before competition. As production costs become higher and higher, similar situations will occur more frequently.

"No, the safest way is not this."

George Lucas greeted other alumni, walked over with a wine glass, faced the question that made everyone think, stretched out a finger, and shook it with a smile. "The safest way to make big investments and big productions is to have you participate in it. It's best if the screenwriter, director, and producer all work together. Well, of course, you must also be the initiator of the project."

"Hahaha, hey, I think George is right."

"George, believe me, you found the secret to Hollywood wealth! Hahaha."

Faced with everyone's ridicule and laughter, Wayne shrugged helplessly. The big directors around him were actually much older than him. Some of them were more than enough to be their own fathers, but it was only after actual chatting that they discovered that these Everyone maintains varying degrees of innocence.

But what he didn't know was that although the people around him were laughing, no one raised any objections. This obviously showed that they sincerely agreed with the father of Star Wars.

"George, no one can always succeed," Wayne handed the wine glass to Nina behind him, took out a cigarette and lit one, and said through the smoke he exhaled: "There are too many factors that can affect the success or failure of a film. Even now, I still approach every work like walking on thin ice.

Just like this "The Departed", I swear that the effort put into it is definitely no less than that of "Joker" in 1993, but it obviously has a much narrower audience. To be honest, every time I invest hundreds of millions and start shooting, I will be so stressed that I can’t sleep well, worrying that one day I will suddenly lose my market acumen and fall into a big mess. "These words he said came from the sincerity. Even if he knew that the success rate of the projects he produced was guaranteed, he would still be overwhelmed when an investment of hundreds of millions was carried on his shoulders.

No one can tell him whether a movie that will be a hit at the box office in the future will not be adapted to the current climate. When he changes the future elements in the movie, fans will be confused. In fact, he is also constantly working on it. Test, keep taking risks.

Don't look at Warner Bros. and he can wear a pair of pants now. That's because everyone from executives to shareholders can enjoy the huge profits he has created. Just think about what would happen if "Batman Begins" bombed the box office and cost Warner Bros. hundreds of millions of dollars.

At that time, Wayne will definitely have a large part of his privileges taken back. When the next movie with an investment of hundreds of millions continues to fail, let alone the privileges in project production, I am afraid that even he will be selectively given up. , those executives and shareholders who lost money will definitely want to throw him to Mexico to sell powder to make money.

So things have actually remained the same. The higher the status and privilege, the greater the risk and pressure. What has changed may be just some patience. Others may fail once and disappear in Hollywood, but he may be able to survive after failure. There is still a chance to turn around.

"Come on, Wayne, we're not these amateur film critics who are easy to fool."

Steven Spielberg raised his eyebrows, stretched out a finger, tapped his shoulder, and said: "Needless to say, the purpose of making "The Departed" is also considered in terms of the film's box office. Not to mention a failure, a gangster film with a production cost of only tens of millions of dollars has now earned nearly 400 million U.S. dollars at the box office. You call this a failure?!"

While everyone was talking and laughing, in a corner not far from them, there was a strong woman who looked like a black aunt, wearing a colorful dress, holding a wine glass and taking a sip from time to time. Her eyes never left Wayne, her eyes were filled with laughter. Shining with hesitation.

In fact, Naomi Watts, who was sitting alone, noticed this woman early on. She herself often sees women giving Wayne special looks. She understands that a billionaire with a net worth of over one billion, coupled with his status and power in the industry, as well as good appearance, it is difficult for women not to miss him. .

But as time went by, she gradually realized that something was wrong. This strong woman, who looked like a black aunt in the ghetto, whether in dress or figure, was obviously out of tune with this place. She wanted to attend the alumni gathering called by George Lucas. It's never easy.

What made her even more confused was the look in her eyes. The African-American woman's eyes didn't have the greediness of other actresses at all, but more like some kind of hesitation.

"Snapped!"

The Australian actress gave herself a hard slap on the forehead and suddenly remembered that she had indeed seen this woman, but too much time had passed and she didn't react at all.

"Julia?" Naomi Watts held the wine glass, took a few steps to the side of the black woman, and called out tentatively.

The African-American woman in front of her turned her head and was obviously stunned for a moment when she saw her. However, the Australian actress had already confirmed the identity of the other person, showed a warm and elegant smile, and greeted: "I didn't expect it was really you. ! My god! If Wayne knew that you were here today, he would be extremely happy."

At this time, Julia seemed a little at a loss. She didn't expect that this big star had only seen her once or twice and would still remember her appearance.

"Hello, Ms. Watts." Julia nodded, organizing her words while greeting her. "I saw on the news that you and Wayne are having a baby, congratulations."

"Thanks."

Naomi Watts remembers it very clearly. Wayne may have rarely mentioned it in the past two years, but in the past few years, he would always inadvertently mention that his biggest regret was that he could not edit the The senior with extremely high skills was roped into his team.

Later, the editing work of each of his films was taken over by Dawn, a senior commercial film editor, and gradually he no longer missed the senior sister who helped him and shared his work experience with him.

"Ms. Watts, help me tell Wayne that I would like to chat with him sometime." Julia took out a business card and stuffed it into Naomi Watts' hand, ignoring the Australian woman. Xing responded, turning around and walking towards the door of the screening classroom.