hunt hollywood

For a terminal cancer patient, because the immune system is too fragile, the cancer itself is often not fatal, and complications are the most dangerous.

Two days later, after emergency surgery, Steve Ross' family announced that Ross' condition had stabilized again.

However, those who are familiar with the insider know that Steve Ross is still in a coma, and it is very likely that he will not be able to survive this difficulty.

The news inevitably got out, and Time Warner's stock price fell again.

As a result, the high-level coup d'état, Rose's critical illness, and the turmoil that lasted for a week, cumulatively, still caused Time Warner's stock price to fall by 16%, and its market value fell from $173 billion at the beginning of the incident to $145 billion. In just one week, the market value evaporated $28 billion.

This time, everyone stopped making noise.

In just one week, it brought investors a book advantage of 28 billion U.S. dollars. If you count it, everyone may have to leave.

Moreover, with Ross dying, the fuss was completely unnecessary.

Time Warner executives also realized that the most important thing at this time is to prevent the company from continuing to fall into turmoil.

However, when it comes to further distribution of power, the factions of all parties have once again fallen into a stalemate.

The culprit behind the recent series of incidents was Gerald Levine, who immediately dared not confront each other in public, but the Ross faction also strongly invited Gerald Levine to take responsibility in private.

To put it simply, it is to give up his original plan to be the heir to the position of Ross.

Gerald Levine launched it ahead of time, because he didn't want to wait any longer to avoid complications, and he would not voluntarily back down at this time.Of course, everyone is very concerned about the market value and stock price. However, if Time Warner cannot be in charge, this company will not matter to him.

Chapter 513 A Tyrannosaurus Rex (Revised)

Time Warner headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York.

The time is July 12th.

In the conference room, the board of directors, core management and important shareholders of Time Warner Group gathered together, and the dispute has lasted for a whole afternoon.

When Terry Semel objected to Gerald Levin's demands to take over Time Warner immediately, Levin pointed the finger at Semel.

"About DC, Terry, this is definitely one of the biggest mistakes made by the film department. We could have had the entire DC movie universe, because of your personal stupidity, the rights to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were all taken away by Daenerys The entertainment is in our hands, and we don't even have the initiative to get involved in the production."

Terry Semel is the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures, which has no direct jurisdiction over DC Comics.

Thinking about it seriously, sharing the DC movie universe with Daenerys Entertainment, except for Superman who was bought by the other party at a high price in advance, everything else was decided by Ross, the head of the group himself.However, it is impossible for Terry Semel to shift the responsibility to Steve Ross at this time. At this juncture, attacking Ross's prestige is tantamount to weakening them, Ross' direct line executives, to take over the power of Time Warner possibility.

"Jayle, I totally disagree with your point of view. DC has been established for more than half a century. If the DC movie universe is so easy to create, why has no one had similar ideas in the past few decades? So, with Daenerys Entertainment in Collaboration on the DC Movie Universe project was one of the smartest decisions our film division made, and it was never a mistake. In recent years, the DC Movie Universe project has contributed nearly half of Warner Bros. movie industry's profits."

Gerald Levine didn't back down, staring at Terry Semel and said, "But we could have gotten more, couldn't we?"

Terry Semel met Levin's gaze and said with a cold expression: "If you plan to mess around, I have nothing to say."

"Everyone should know if I've been messing around," Gerald Levin said, scanning for a week, then turned his gaze to Semel again, and said, "If we say that we lost the three superheroes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman The copyright of the hero is justifiable, but what did you do next? If I remember correctly, in the original plan, the DC movie universe should have a production rhythm of two films a year, and now? It is completely Simon Wei You guys do what Stroh says. And, in order to cater to Daenerys entertainment, you also deliberately suppress the development of other superhero movies. If I were in control of the movie department, I would never let this happen. Not only In this way, after the success of the DC movie universe, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, etc., these projects can actually start preparations, and the copyrights are completely in our hands. As a result, you have done nothing about it.”

After Gerald Levine's words, many people in the conference room couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Simon readjusted the development rhythm of the DC movie universe at the beginning, delaying the original development plan of two movies a year to three movies a year or even one movie a year. Steve Ross himself disagreed at the time.

It was only because Daenerys Entertainment had too much initiative in the DC movie universe plan, coupled with Simon's own strength, that things were finalized.

At this time, Gerald Levin suddenly brought up the old story again, and also talked about a large number of other DC projects whose copyrights were completely in the hands of Time Warner but could not be developed.

Terry Semel noticed the expressions of the people around him, his mind moved slightly, and he said to Gerald Levin: "I think you should understand that excessive copyright exploitation will only cause the audience to quickly become bored, Gere. Moreover, the DC movie universe project involves our contract with Daenerys Entertainment, and I don't think that just a few words from you will make Simon Westeros back down."

"The distribution rights of the four series of the five major superhero movies that have been developed are in our hands." Gerald Levin obviously considered this matter seriously, and immediately said: "If Daenerys Entertainment does not want these projects Being thrown into an unpopular schedule, if they want to get a timely share settlement, they must make concessions."

Big studios delaying the box office share of independent film companies and other things are actually like falsely reporting distribution costs. It is a long-standing practice in Hollywood. This practice is often used as a "weapon" by film giants to suppress competitors.

The five major superhero movie series involved in the DC movie universe, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg, except for the "Wonder Woman" series which is distributed by Daenerys Entertainment, other projects have distribution work Warner Bros. Pictures is in charge.

If you want the neck of Ka Daenerys Entertainment, Warner can indeed adopt methods such as "giving garbage schedules", "using Hollywood accounts to falsely report the budget", and "delaying the settlement of box office and other channel revenue sharing".

But, will this make Simon Westeros compromise?

Almost immediately, Terry Semel had the Bodyguard soundtrack event in mind the previous two years.

Because Alistar Records, which was responsible for the release of the original soundtrack of "Bodyguard", tried to swallow up the record revenue, Daenerys Entertainment directly stopped the release of the original soundtrack, completely disregarding the sudden removal of a record that was expected to reach tens of millions of sales. potentially huge losses.

Of course, the interests involved in the DC movie universe far exceed the original soundtrack of "Bodyguard". However, based on Terry Semel's understanding of Simon, he feels that if Warner dares to play tricks on the DC movie universe project, it is likely to still Daenerys Entertainment will usher in the strongest counterattack.

Terry Semel's thought just now was to guide Gerald Levine to say what he just said.

Now that the goal has been achieved, he is too lazy to talk too much nonsense with the other party.

Anyway, today's meeting is destined to have no results.

Gerald Levine saw that Terry Semel no longer contradicted himself, but he did not stop there, and continued: "As long as everyone agrees that I will take care of this company, I will immediately start entertainment with Daenerys." The film department may rely heavily on the DC movie universe, and so does Daenerys Entertainment. And, even if the worst happens and the two sides are temporarily stalemate, what we lose is only the three of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. It’s just a superhero. Without these three superheroes, DC can still develop superheroes such as Flash, Cyborg, and Green Lantern.”

In the conference room, Robert Daly, another executive from the Warner Department who belongs to the same camp as Terry Semel, couldn't stand it anymore, and mocked: "Gerald, you don't even know what losing the Big Three means to DC. what."

Gerald Levine was suddenly interrupted, and said with some displeasure: "Of course I understand, I'm just saying that Time Warner can have more initiative and share more benefits in this matter, instead of being always subject to A brat who is only in his twenties hinders him."

After a whole afternoon of unresolved quarrels among Time Warner executives in the meeting room of the east coast headquarters, today is Daenerys Entertainment's other blockbuster film "Jurassic Park" at the end of the year on the west coast of the United States. 's premiere.

Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In the afternoon on the west coast, a large number of movie fans had already gathered near the Chinese Theater. Daenerys Entertainment was not stingy in announcing "Jurassic Park", and a long red carpet was spread outside the theater.

At six o'clock, guests began to appear one after another.

Fans on both sides of the road called Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro, Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and other stars again and again.

When the time was close to seven o'clock, Steven Spielberg, Sam Neill, Renee Russell and other main creators of "Jurassic Park" appeared, which once again caused commotion and screams from movie fans.

The red carpet ceremony is over, and the film premiere officially begins.

In addition to a large number of celebrity guests and media reporters, hundreds of lucky fans were invited to watch this special effects dinosaur blockbuster tonight.

While many people in this city spent an ordinary night as usual, the audience in the Chinese Theater experienced a wonderful visual journey lasting two hours.

Even though the DC movie universe project in recent years has made many audiences feel the great charm of movie CG special effects, however, when ancient creatures that used to only exist in books or imagination appear on the big screen, everyone still feels the same. Very shocking.

The next day was Thursday. Out of confidence in "Jurassic Park", Daenerys Entertainment lifted the ban on media reviews one day before the film's release as usual.

"The Hollywood Reporter" praised "Jurassic Park" as "a 'monster' movie among monster movies, and the film once again makes people appreciate the powerful charm of film technology."

The "Los Angeles Times" also praised "Spielberg has once again created a monster movie milestone after "Jaws", and the resurrected dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" are shocking, awe-inspiring, and exciting'.

In addition to "Hollywood Reporter" and "Los Angeles Times", other mainstream media such as "Variety Show", "New York Times" and "Washington Post" almost all gave "Jurassic Park" unanimous praise. The comprehensive media score reached 9.3 points.

After several months of intensive publicity by Daenerys Entertainment, the word-of-mouth has been confirmed at this time, and the audience's expectations for "Jurassic Park" have also reached the highest.

On the same day, with the flood of news about Jurassic Park in the media, another piece of news appeared in the "New York Times" that attracted Hollywood's close attention.

The news headline was "Time Warner May Renegotiate DC Movie Universe Contract With Daenerys."

The article begins with the customary 'insider source' breaking news, telling that Time Warner Vice Chairman Gerald Levine said at yesterday's high-level meeting that Time Warner is working with Daenerys on the DC movie universe. He has been too passive in the past, and when he takes over the company, Levin will re-negotiate with Daenerys Entertainment about the cooperation of the DC movie universe.

Moreover, if Daenerys Entertainment does not agree to make sufficient concessions, Time Warner would rather shelve the development of the "Superman", "Batman" and "Wonder Woman" triumvirate projects, throw Daenerys Entertainment aside, and use its own There are superhero copyrights to create a DC movie universe exclusive to Time Warner.

As of the summer release of "Wonder Woman", the DC movie universe has only released four films, but only these four films have created a total revenue of more than 100 billion US dollars in box office, video tapes, peripheral products and other channels.It is conceivable that the full implementation of the entire plan will bring huge benefits to the two companies.

Therefore, the article in the "New York Times" almost immediately ignited public opinion. A large number of media reporters called the executives of the two companies to find out more inside information. This incident expresses strong concern.

Facing the sudden article in the New York Times, the influx of inquiries from the media, and of course the downward fluctuation of Time Warner's stock price after the opening of the day, Gerald Levin could only try his best to explain that he was not stranded The intention of the Big Three project, and accused the New York Times of misinterpreting its own remarks.

However, this is tantamount to acknowledging the fact that the other party intends to re-negotiate with Daenerys Entertainment.

On the other hand, Igret Portal published a personal response from Daenerys Entertainment CEO Amy Pascal on the headline that morning. Pascal said that he did not know the details of the matter, but Daenerys Entertainment Regret the comments made by Gerald Levine trying to sabotage the good working relationship between the two companies.

However, under this very official response on Igret's portal, there is another piece of news that is next to it, about the latest video sales data of the "Spider-Man" animated film in the first half of the year.

This 4D superhero animation movie was released during Easter in April. As of December, the global sales of videotapes have exceeded 2 million boxes.

As long as you are not a fool, you will be able to realize Daenerys' attitude of entertainment when you see these two pieces of news next to each other.

Daenerys Entertainment isn't afraid of falling out with Time Warner.

Without the DC movie universe, Daenerys Entertainment can develop the Marvel movie universe in a blink of an eye.

However, without the Big Three of DC superheroes, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, can the DC movie universe still be called the DC movie universe?

Because of the sudden article in the New York Times, the day was destined to be very lively.

After Ygret Portal responded, some other online media on the same network platform also expressed their views on this matter.

Many media feel that Daenerys' entertainment bluff is more likely.

Just looking at the huge profits of the previous DC movie universe projects, as long as Simon Westeros has a little sense, he shouldn't fall out with Warner.

The DC movie universe is very important to Warner, and it is also true for Daenerys Entertainment.

After all, who can guarantee that launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be as successful as the DC Cinematic Universe?

Moreover, the DC movie universe is undoubtedly the long-term series with the lowest risk and the most stable return under Daenerys Entertainment. Apart from this plan, Daenerys Entertainment has no other similar heavyweight super blockbusters.

There are only two kinds of movies in Hollywood, DC movie universe movies and other movies. This statement is not just talk.

Although Daenerys Entertainment has had no shortage of blockbuster movies in recent years, none of them have had a revenue that can reach the DC Movie Universe project.Even the "Home Alone" series is far from enough to compete with the DC movie universe films.

Amidst the discussions outside, on Friday, December 12, "Jurassic Park" officially entered the North American theaters with an opening scale of 18 screens.

Chapter 514 A Tyrannosaurus Rex (2) (Revision)

On December 12, when the first week of Christmas stalls opened, the box office of the past week was also officially released.

12月11日到12月17日这一周，单周票房冠军依旧被《小鬼当家2》夺得，上映第四周，《小鬼当家2》继续斩获1239万美元。

The sequel to the phenomenal children's comedy has grossed $1 million in its one-month run.

Considering that the weekly box office base is still over 2 million U.S. dollars, "Home Alone 5000" can at least earn no less than 1.7 U.S. dollars in the future, and the total box office in North America is expected to be between 2 million and [-] million U.S. dollars.

Without "Jurassic Park," "Home Alone 2" would definitely be the hottest movie in this year-end schedule that spans Thanksgiving and Christmas.

However, this can only be if.

While the potential dispute between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner Group over the DC movie universe is rapidly fermenting in the media, the box office data of "Jurassic Park" has also begun to attract attention.

On December 12th, in addition to "Jurassic Park", there is another fantasy comedy "Toy" starring Robin Williams in North America, with a screen scale of 18 yuan.The film tells the story of two heirs to a toy factory who use toys to compete for control.

Compared with the comprehensive media score of 9.3 points for "Jurassic Park" after the premiere, the word-of-mouth of Robin Williams' new film here can only be described as horrible, and the comprehensive media score is only a poor 3.2 points.

In a high-end apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Ever since his speech at the meeting on Wednesday was exposed, Gerald Levine has been in a certain state of anxiety. The feedback from the movie viewing after the opening of "Jurassic Park" yesterday made Levine even more anxious. The irritability in my heart increased a bit.

Not surprisingly, it will be difficult for Steve Ross to survive this Christmas. If he had known this earlier, he would not be too eager to seize power.

It's a pity that things have already happened, and it's too late to regret.

Now we can only hope that there will be no surprises in Time Warner's power transfer process.

Moreover, the biggest variable lies in a certain young man.

Of course, Gerald Levine is aware of the importance of the DC movie universe to Time Warner. The speech at the last meeting was just a language strategy to squeeze Ross's power. At least, deep down in his heart, he didn't really entertain Daenerys. With the intention of renegotiating, once the DC movie universe plan is destroyed, even if he has successfully become the CEO of Time Warner, he is likely to be kicked out.

It's just that I didn't expect that someone would directly reveal this matter.

Gerald Levine was almost certain that Terry Semel had done it.

However, it is impossible for him to attack the opponent because of this.

First of all, he really said those words exposed in the media. Even if they are misinterpreted, most of the facts cannot be refuted.

Secondly, there is no evidence. Even if the other party breaks the rules and lacks evidence, he can't do anything to Terry Semel.

Daenerys Entertainment's reaction to this incident did not seem to be so violent, but Gerald Levine was still uneasy.

The key is the young man's silence.

Although calling Simon Westeros a brat at Wednesday's meeting, a brat with a $650 billion net worth knows what it means.

Gerald Levin even remembered the "Bodyguard" original soundtrack incident, so he understood that the young man who seemed to always give people a lack of aggressiveness would often leave no room for attack once he launched it.

It's hard to say what might happen if the other party meddles in a time-warner power struggle because of his remarks at Wednesday's meeting.

The reason why Steve Ross has been able to sit firmly at the head of Time Warner for a long time is largely due to the support of a large number of top Hollywood filmmakers. During the most difficult years of Warner Bros. in the 80s, the board of directors also initiated a lawsuit against Ross. As a result, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand and a large number of Hollywood bigwigs made a unified voice in the media, expressing their support for Ross, which finally led to the dismissal There is nothing left to do.

Simon Westero's influence in Hollywood at this time is definitely far beyond Spielberg and others.

Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner Group have a very close relationship because of the cooperation in the DC movie universe and other projects.

Even though Levine is recognized as the successor of Time Warner's chairman by most people, there are not no competitors within the company. Although Terry Semel and Robert Daly have slightly less qualifications than him, if someone supports him, he will be the chairman of Time Warner. The position of chairman of Warner is actually a pass.

In the past few days, Levin wanted to take the initiative to probe into the other party's mind more than once, but he couldn't let go of his reserve and pride as an executive of a media group.