hollywood entertainment mogul

The New Year traditions in Sardinia, Italy, are somewhat similar to those in China.

On New Year's Day, when night falls, adults and children will flock to the liveliest neighborhoods in the city, set off firecrackers, and surround tall lamp posts, fountains, sculptures, or other landmarks, singing and dancing, and having fun as they please.

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It is said that this tradition was passed down from ancient Rome.

Because Sardinia is located in the northwest of the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Spain, France, and Italy. In ancient times, this kind of place was called a strategic location and a battleground for military strategists.

In more than 200 BC, this place was a province of ancient Rome. It was later ruled by the Carthaginians, Germans, and Spaniards for hundreds of years, with frequent wars.

Every New Year, people sing, dance, set off firecrackers, or smash pots and pans, which is meant to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters.

There is also an open fire in the fireplace for three days before and after the New Year, day and night. The implication is almost to wish for prosperity and prosperity in the coming year.

Duca spent the New Year with Monica and her family, and unexpectedly found the New Year flavor, human touch, and complicated emotions that she had not experienced for a long time. She drank a few more drinks.

The next day, a large-scale performance was held in the ancient square of the old city of Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. The first performance was the Battle of Sardinia.

Ancient Roman Youth Legion VS Spanish Royal Heavy Infantry, five hundred actors wearing Roman legionary armor, holding shields, forming a square formation, fighting against the Spanish heavy infantry square, here are also five hundred people.

A thousand people shouted, ran, and danced in the square. The scene was so spectacular that even those sitting on the sidelines would be excited.

In the second scene, two teams of masked knights performed equestrian performances in the field, imitating ancient cavalry battles. The galloping horses, the rough roars of the soldiers, and the cheers of more than 30,000 spectators on the sidelines were very spectacular.

The third scene was a religious blessing ceremony, which was very grand.

"Honey, are you excited?"

Monica laughed loudly.

"Yes, it's very lively."

Duca nodded and smiled.

"Haha, I told you that this place is very lively, but you still don't want to come."

Monica held his arm and shouted loudly to the circular bleachers. Her voice was already hoarse, her cheeks were rosy, and she didn't look like a goddess at all.

Duka smiled softly and roared a few times, and the male god's baggage was shattered on the floor.

A celebrity party was also held in the city hall in the evening, and he and Monica were also invited to attend.

There were many celebrities vacationing in Sardinia during the New Year, but not many of them held hands and attended the reception openly like him and Monica.

Because the activities of many celebrities here are not visible to the public, such as the Spanish princess and her new love, the Prince of Monaco and his new love, etc.

These people regard Sardinia as a dating back garden, attracting a lot of paparazzi and bringing a lot of attention.

Duca and Monica were also affected. They were photographed several times while traveling on a yacht, so they had no choice but to stay on their own coastline.

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After celebrating the New Year in Sardinia, Duca and Monica took the opportunity to return home to Los Angeles and start a new job.

January is the awards season in Hollywood, and LV Pictures only released one movie last year.

Although "Mexican" did well at the box office, the movie did not meet the aesthetics of the Golden Globe Foreign Correspondents Association and the Oscar Academy judges, so LV did not need to worry about public relations awards this year.

There is no need to go to the Sundance Film Festival, which I have participated in twice. Last year, several films produced by LV Pictures were large-scale investments and were commercial in nature, which did not meet the selection criteria of the independent film festival.

The main work of LV Pictures in the new year is still in film production. Currently, "Immoral Deal", "The Age of Innocence" and "Black and White" have been filmed and are in the early stages of promotion and release, waiting for release.

Due to good conditions on the part of Columbia Pictures, all three films were distributed by them, "Immoral Deal" in April, "Black and White" in May, and "The Age of Innocence" in September.

"The Age of Innocence" is a joint investment and production by LV Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Colombia wanted to use this film to compete for next year's Oscars, so it was delayed for several months.

In addition to these three movies, filming of the literary film "Escape from Las Vegas" starring Nicolas Cage and Sharon Stone has also been completed and is in post-production.

If the quality of the movie is average, LV will arrange its release in advance and recoup the cost earlier. If the movie is of good quality, it will release it in the second half of the year to compete for next year's Oscars.

Quentin Quentin's "Pulp Fiction" is currently being filmed and is expected to be completed in March or April, with a release date yet to be determined.

There is also "Sleepless in Seattle" directed by Nora Ephron, which is being filmed in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles. The release date has not yet been determined.

The above six movies were investment projects finalized in 1992, with a total investment of more than 90 million US dollars. To make back the money, the total box office of these movies must be at least 200 million.

This investment looks very risky.

Late last year, the "Hollywood Reporter" wrote a relevant report on this.

The reason for the report is that LV Pictures only released one movie last year. Many people in the industry originally wanted to see if LV Pictures would have any dark horses at the box office at the end of the year, but the result was that there was none.

The "Hollywood Reporter" commented on LV Pictures' investment last year in its report, which included six movies and an investment of nearly 100 million.

In the field of independent production, investing in making movies is more like gambling.

Legend has it that the reason why those filmmakers put the movie city in Los Angeles was not only because of the abundant light and long sunshine hours, but also because Los Angeles is close to Mexico. If the movie box office failed, they would have time to run to Mexico to avoid debts.

Therefore, in order to share risks, many film companies often attract other companies or other investors to participate in the project.

Most of the movies produced by LV Pictures are exclusively produced.

This method of operation is too risky. Even New Line and Miramask dare not do it, but LV Pictures did it.

The media's evaluation of Duca, the behind-the-scenes boss, is that he is wealthy and aggressive. They also mention his achievements in the Olympic Games, implying that he is an amateur.

The Hollywood Reporter commented in the end that after LV Pictures expanded its production, it would be difficult for its films to maintain the previous high standards. This also made it difficult for LV Pictures' films to become box office dark horses.

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He also said that this year is a critical year for LV Pictures, or a year that determines the fate of LV Pictures.

If these six movies perform well at the box office, LV Pictures' influence in Hollywood will inevitably increase. Otherwise, LV Pictures will get a bad result.

In addition to last year's six films, there are two other tentative projects scheduled for this year: "Cowgirl Blues" directed by Van Sant and "Days of Love" directed by Edward Zwick.

The previous part is currently casting, and the investment is expected to be around 8 million.

For the second part, director Edward Zwick and Jim Harrison are refining the script in the early stages of filming.

It is said that director Edward Zwick received this script 17 years ago but has never found an investor. This time it was selected by LV Pictures. Director Edward Zwick was surprised and became more attentive to this project.

The film is set during the prohibition period in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s, and follows the historical changes of a father and son in a western family.

This is a historical drama, a western, with elements of war and love, and the plot is relatively complex.

The complex plot means high investment and risks, which is one of the reasons why Director Edward has been unable to find investors for a long time.

In addition to these two films, Duca is also looking for new movie scripts, especially those in franchises that are very profitable.

It's just that most of the good scripts are in the script libraries of the seven major film companies. The scripts he can choose are all the ones that the big companies don't like and have slipped through the net. It's not easy to find a good ready-made script.

"Boss, why don't we delay the new project until the six movies are released? We invested more than 100 million last year and this year and have not recovered the cost. It is too risky to continue investing in new projects.

Our company has only been established for three years and has insufficient foundation and insufficient ability to deal with risks. I suggest that it is more appropriate to slow down."

Waltermini said hesitantly.

Duka put down the newspaper in his hand and pondered for a moment,

"Walter, your considerations are reasonable. We should postpone the third project for a few months and wait until the movie is released."

"good!"

Walter Mini nodded and left the office with the documents.

Duca continued to read the newspaper in his hand. This was the Los Angeles Times, which summarized the box office performance of North American movies last year.

Last year's box office champion was Disney Animation's "Aladdin", with a North American box office of 217 million US dollars and a global box office of 5.04, firmly ranking first in the business.

The second place is "Home Alone 2", with a global box office of 358 million. Fox Pictures made more than 400 million US dollars with the first two parts of this series, which is eye-catching.

The third place is "Batman Returns" directed by Tim Burton, with an investment of 80 million, a global ticket price of 266 million, and a double success in word-of-mouth and box office.

This is the second Batman movie directed by Tim Burton. In 1989, he directed "Batman" with an investment of 35 million and a global revenue of 410 million US dollars.

Duca is very coveted for this kind of big IP and superhero character, but he doesn't have the chance to take it now.

The fourth to ninth are "Lethal Weapon 3", "Righteous Heroes", "Sisters Are Crazy", "Bodyguard", "Anti-Ghost" and "Pink" respectively.

LV Pictures' "Mexico" ranked tenth, with a North American box office of 102 million US dollars and a global box office of 118 million US dollars.

This is the second time that a film under LV Pictures has entered the top ten in the annual box office rankings of North American movies. Last year's "Basic Instinct" had a North American box office of 124 million and a global box office of 360 million, ranking 6th.

There has been a slight decline this year, but among all independent production companies, LV Pictures is the only one to have been on the list for two consecutive years.

A total of 337 movies were released in North America last year, and there were only 11 movies with a box office of over 100 million in North America.

These 337 movies have a total box office of 6.2 billion, and not many of them make much money on average. This shows how competitive the Hollywood movie market is.

But last year's total box office revenue increased by 16% compared with the previous year, which is good news for the majority of filmmakers.

Dongdongdong~

"Mr. boss, are you busy?"

Monica held the folder at the door and smiled.

"Come in, beauty, I'm the only one in the office."

Duca waved.

"rogue!"

Monica closed the door and sat at the desk.

Duca smiled and poured her a cup of hot coffee. The weather in Los Angeles in January was still below 20 degrees Celsius, and she needed to wear a jacket when going outside in the morning and evening.

Monica is wearing a women's casual suit and trousers today, and her figure is plumper than last year.

"Dear, I heard that you are looking for a new script?"

Monica took a sip of coffee and asked.

"Is this a new script you found?"

Duca pointed to the folder on the table.

"No, the production department has a meeting at noon. Everyone feels that the company has too many projects and the risks are too high. They hope to slow down and wait for the movie to be released before developing a new script. I am here to be a lobbyist, how about it?"

Monica smiled slightly.

Duka smiled and said, "It seems that everyone knows me very well and knows that you are my weakness. Now that you have spoken, how could I not agree? I accept your suggestion."

"Really? Changing your mind so easily?"

Monica blinked her eyelashes, a little doubtful.

"Of course, it's you who came to persuade me, how could I not accept it?

In addition, I just thought about it. I invested nearly 100 million in the movie last year, which is already the majority of the funds in my account. I have other uses for the remaining funds, so I will wait for the movie to make back the investment before developing new projects.

.”

"As long as you understand, it's not easy to make a good movie. There are many people in the industry waiting to watch the excitement. We should be careful."

Monica said.

"That makes sense."

Duca nodded seriously.

Whatever is good in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. LV Pictures is unique in the independent film industry, and it is difficult not to be remembered.

Just like Carlock Pictures, they have made four movies with over 100 million box office in recent years, making more profits than MGM. However, they lack the foundation. Once there is a problem with the movie, the company will not be able to survive.

Compared to Carlock, LV Pictures' fundamentals are worse. No matter in terms of capital, management, or experience, they can't compare, so we should be careful.

Likewise, he was serious when he said that he would invest the remaining funds in other areas.

On September 16 last year, England encountered Black Wednesday. The pound depreciated sharply and the Bank of England lost more than 20 billion pounds.

After four or five months of correction, the exchange rate of the British pound against the mark and the U.S. dollar has returned to the original level, with 1 British pound exchanged for 2.13 U.S. dollars.

The 107.4 million pounds in Duca's hands can be converted into more than 200 million U.S. dollars through foreign exchange. Counting the initial cost of 60 million U.S. dollars, he has 270 million in hand.

Including the two bars, card games, and the Andromeda Brokerage Company's share, the total was close to 10 million US dollars, and a 16 million dollar loan was settled.

He also has more than 260 million US dollars on hand.

He still needs to discuss with Lauren how to invest the money and try to spend it all as soon as possible.

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