Made in Hollywood

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"David, since you're studying at the USC Film School."

In the office building on Whistle Street in Beverly Hills, Michael Ovitz looked at the young man sitting opposite and said, "Then you must understand that making a movie is never easy, it requires more than Funding, script and director, and a team that works well together, and only a successful team can make a successful movie.”

Speaking of which, Michael Ovitz increased his tone, "What I do best is to assemble a production team composed of successful people!"

"The artist management company will provide all film-related services for any investor." Martin Bob took over and said, "We packaged and produced "Godzilla," "Pearl Harbor," and "The Fast and the Furious." Both bring benefits to investors.”

Before David Ellison came, he knew enough about the artist management company, "You two, if you didn't have so many successful examples, I wouldn't sit here and talk to you about cooperation."

"I have money!" He straightened his back slightly, "but there is no suitable investment project."

When Michael Ovitz heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, "David, have you ever thought about setting up a film company by yourself, and then working with an artist management company on film projects, we will provide you with everything from preparation to production to distribution. The all-in-one service…”

"I had this plan for a long time." David Ellison raised his chin with one hand, "It's just that there is no suitable project. As long as the project is suitable, my agent will be registered in Delaware as quickly as possible. formalities."

"Project?" Michael Ovitz tapped on the table.

With the era of Hollywood studios over and companies becoming part of media conglomerates, the agency can no longer maintain the unconventional power of the 80s and 90s, let alone his artist management company. Even CAA, the largest brokerage company in Hollywood today, has an expanding market share, but its voice in front of film companies is constantly decreasing.

Agents don't like it, especially Michael Ovitz.

The six major film companies are too strong, which means that the benefits that brokerage companies can get from cooperation are diminishing. In cooperation with small companies in the second and third tiers, the brokerage company will undoubtedly have the initiative, but the most famous ones in the second tier have long been acquired by large groups, and the rest are simply not capable of producing large commercial productions that generate high profits.

To put it bluntly, brokerage companies are still commercial companies. Profit is the ultimate pursuit.

Michael Ovitz knew that to develop an artist management company into a top brokerage company, the support of huge profits was essential.

If you want to make a profit, you must have a project, and you want the project to be successful. It is necessary to ensure sufficient production funds.

Hollywood has never lacked projects and scripts, and the most lacking thing is people or companies that are willing to invest.

David Ellison, who is sitting across from him, is a man of good money no matter what.

Thinking of this, Michael? Ovitz can't help but play the spirit of twelve points. Take out the attitude that moved Spielberg to join C AA and deal with this young sponsor.

The two sides talked all morning. We had lunch together and talked for another afternoon. By the evening, some preliminary cooperation intentions had been verbally reached.

Then. Michael Ovitz picked out a few projects that he was very optimistic about and put them in front of David Ellison. All of them are well-known producers or screenwriters in the circle who have invested in the artist management company, and have passed through the company. The editorial review department and his own review are all first-level items.

David Ellison looked around, but no one was interested.

"do you have anything else?"

Hearing his question, Michael Ovitz frowned, "What type?"

"It's better to have planes," said David Ellison. "The more planes, the better. For every extra plane in the project, I put an extra amount of money into it."

"About the plane..."

Michael Ovitz thought about it for less than half a minute and said, "Well, David, as long as we reach a cooperation agreement, I will be responsible for finding you a good project on the aircraft, and if we can't find a suitable one, we can hire Several gold medal screenwriters created such a script."

"I like your proposal!"

David Ellison stood up and shook hands with Michael Ovitz. "Hopefully we can work together successfully."

"I hope so too."

Even if he is arrogant like David Ellison, he will not make a casual decision without slapping his forehead. This kind of future involves tens of millions of dollars or even more cooperation, and there will inevitably be detailed negotiations and consultations.

This super rich second generation has also completed the first step into Hollywood.

Duke also heard that the other party might cooperate with Michael Ovitz, but he didn't take it to heart. Maybe he won't have much influence on the world, but some people or things in Hollywood have changed.

For example, David Ellison's most successful investment was undoubtedly from the "Mission Impossible" series, but the biggest copyright owners of this series are Duke and Tom Cruise. Put a foot in it.

But with Michael Ovitz as a guide, David Ellison will undoubtedly take less detours.

After paying a little attention to the cooperation between David Ellison and Michael Ovitz, Duke left Los Angeles and flew to Paris. As the director and producer of the film, the actual inspection of the location is a must. The second time he came to France, he also brought art director Hannah Serena and photography director John Schwartzman.

The team, mainly composed of three Dukes, inspected possible locations such as Charles de Gaulle airport, the banks of the Seine, and minority communities in Paris in the following week. Hannah Serena and John Schwarz Zeman fully agreed with Duke, and with the exception of a few locations that had to be shot in Paris, the rest were shot at Warner Studios in Burbank.

The crowded urban areas of Paris and the high labor costs were practical issues that the crew had to consider.

After visiting Paris, Hannah Serena and John Schwartzman were the first to return to Los Angeles, while Duke flew to England to check the progress of the Harry Potter series.

Alfonso Cuaron made only one "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" before it was abandoned by Robin Grande and Harry Potter Studio, combining Joanna Rowling's Opinion, the crew finally chose David Yates, a British director, to direct the following works.

Although "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" won't be released until Christmas, filming has already begun on a new episode, and the series will enter a non-stop cycle of filming and release for the next few years, with Duke and Warner Bros will squeeze every drop of Harry Potter out of it.

As for the growth and learning of the young actors, the crew is walking in full accordance with the law, hiring special tutors and setting aside enough study time. In the end, will Emma Watson become a school master or a school scumbag , is not considered by investors such as Duke at all. After this series ends, the value of these people tends to zero infinitely.

These people want to transform successfully? That's a hundred times harder than Disney's child star transformation.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Duke and Warner, the Harry Potter franchise has made them and limited them, but overall, these little actors are lucky.

Without Hermione Granger, Emma Watson could have become famous, but with her scumbag acting skills, it is basically impossible to achieve the level that Hermione Granger brought her. .

"The agents of the young actors are ready to negotiate with us again."

In the studio's office, Robin Grande seemed to take the trouble to talk about it, "We just revised the contract with them, it's just a movie, and they found it again."

"Try to delay." Duke's attitude was clear, "Tell them appropriately that we have the determination and courage to change actors!"

Negotiations are a process of wrangling and compromise. Only after showing a strong attitude can favorable conditions be obtained.

These little actors aren't Joanna Rowling after all.

"Robin, you can appropriately increase their remuneration." Before leaving, Duke urged again, "Revenue sharing is the final bottom line, and it should be kept within the range of box office revenue sharing as much as possible."

The bulk of the revenue of this series comes from the surrounding area, the box office profit is not high, and there are many places where the box office can be manipulated.

After three days on the Southampton set, and separate talks with David Yates and Joanna Rowling, Duke, now the titular producer, left the Harry Potter set to meet in London Emma Thompson side.

The other party was the candidate introduced by ICM to play the role of the mother. Duke talked with her and chose to give up. This Oscar winner is not only a literary actress, but also the salary has not dropped to the level of a few years later. Duke It is impossible to invest millions of dollars in a small role like soy sauce.

The most important thing is that the multi-million-dollar remuneration does not bring the corresponding box office appeal, and he can't expect Emma Thompson's type of actor to have real market appeal.

Since the salary and type are not suitable, Duke will naturally choose to give up, and seeing the British actress is more for Nancy Josephson's sake.

Just this summer, the management of ICM also changed. Nancy, one of the biggest partners, officially became the CEO of ICM.

After Duke returned to Los Angeles, Nancy soon recommended another actress, who was quite successful and had been on par with Julia Roberts in the early 1990s, but the two have since gone into different directions. Orbit, Big Mouth Zhu is now the most representative actress in Hollywood, and it is no exaggeration to say that she is the first sister of Hollywood.

And the actress, starring in the films suffered a series of box office failures, especially in recent years, her status has declined seriously, not to mention the first-line status, and even rarely appeared in the mainstream film circle, and has gradually been forgotten. (To be continued ~^~)