Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 668 The Scandal Suppressed

In July, the Nasdaq continued to decline, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Hollywood mogul Aaron Anderson had sold off all his shares in technology companies such as AOL, Yahoo, Cisco, Lucent, and Dell in the first half of the year.

Subsequently, Aaron gave an interview to Newsweek in Los Angeles, expressing his concerns about the US tech bubble:
Instead, they believe Warren Buffett's view on the tech bubble is correct and agree with it, and call for "the market to gradually return to rationality!"

At this time, the market also began to revalue technology stocks, and the stock prices of technology companies with poor profitability and unclear business models were quickly hit hard.
Internet companies that rely on hype but lack actual performance are the first to be affected!

“Ha, it’s finally starting,” Aaron thought, Burbank, Los Angeles, at Dawn headquarters, as if he could already see the stock prices of those internet companies plummeting.

Meanwhile, Ridley Scott's epic war film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, was released.
The film, which cost $1.03 million to produce and $2800 million to market, grossed $3500 million in its opening weekend.

Various newspapers also gave their own reviews, some good and some bad, but the grand war scenes and epic tragic story made it impossible for viewers to stop watching!

The Hollywood Reporter: "Gladiator is an immortal film, visually stunning, technically amazing, and emotionally compelling."

The Arizona Republic: "This new film features spectacular fight scenes amidst dazzling visuals, a familiar story of honor and betrayal, courage and cowardice, and is the perfect vehicle for the old-fashioned fun of clashing swords!"

Premiere: "Overall, it's a nostalgic pleasure to see another gladiator movie. All the computer animation technology is amazing, but this Gladiator movie doesn't have any innovative ideas."

Entertainment Weekly: "Gladiator has excellent production and performances, but it's not profound, popular, or great enough—the film is sad, serious, and beautiful, but ultimately it's meaningless!"

However, Russell Crowe, the male lead of "Gladiator," has been embroiled in scandal this year. At the beginning of the year, while filming Warner Bros.' new film "Proof of Life," he had an affair with his co-star Meg Ryan.

The two were photographed dating in Sydney, kissing intimately in a coffee shop. One was a married woman, and the other had a girlfriend, so rumors immediately spread like wildfire.

Aaron frowned. "Now that Gladiator is out, the scandals surrounding Russell Crowe are flooding the internet again."

"This will not only affect the release of 'Gladiator,' but Russell Crowe is also preparing to play John Nash, the male lead in 'A Beautiful Mind,' and cannot afford to be embroiled in scandal."

He glanced at Brad Gray beside him and said, "Get him under control. Also, remind Russell Crowe to control his temper in front of reporters!"

Russell Crowe has a fiery temper and is easily provoked. Although he was involved in a scandal with Meg Ryan, the pressure was mainly on the woman, since she was a married woman.

Moreover, when the rumors surfaced, Russell Crowe immediately announced that he and his girlfriend had broken up and that he was single. But this guy's temper is really infuriating.

"Don't worry, Russell Crowe isn't under too much pressure. The paparazzi are mainly after America's sweetheart – Meg Ryan."

"After all, it's quite sensational that America's sweetheart, who has always been known for her harmonious and loving marriage, would cheat on her husband!"

Brad Grey wasn't worried; given Dawn's current status, suppressing such rumors would be easy.
Russell Crowe is now a key figure in Dawn's branding efforts, with "Gladiator" generating a lot of buzz, and he's also set to star in Ron Howard's new biopic, "A Beautiful Mind."

Aaron nodded. "Russell Crowe's acting is indeed quite good, much better than Mel Gibson!" Russell Crowe is now undoubtedly Australia's most representative male actor.

Mel Gibson's war epic The Patriot, which was released a week earlier than Gladiator, only grossed $3100 million on its opening weekend and accumulated only $6500 million in 10 days.
Moreover, overall, Sony's $1.1 million Civil War epic, The Patriot, certainly didn't receive the same critical acclaim as Gladiator!

Russell Crowe is currently on the rise, and after "Gladiator" is released, he will definitely become a global sensation;
Mel Gibson has great charisma and immeasurable commercial value, but he is much more expensive than Russell Crowe is now. Russell Crowe's salary will definitely see a big increase next year.

"By the way, I heard that Sony is going to release a sci-fi CG movie next year called 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within,' which is based on the game of the same name?"

Brad Gray nodded. "That's right. Square Enix is ​​investing, and it's a co-production with Sony Columbia."

"It cost a total of $1.37 million and took four years to produce. The director was Hironobu Sakaguchi, the game's developer!"

From the original Final Fantasy to last year's Final Fantasy VIII, Square Enix and Hironobu Sakaguchi have faced too many successes, and now they're not satisfied with just the gaming industry?

Want to become a real film director?
"Ha, a fully CG movie, this guy really has confidence in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within!"

Aaron's expression remained calm. This level of investment was no small sum for a game company.

Last year, Sony released the anthropomorphic animal film *Stuart Little*, which was quite successful, and a sequel, *Stuart Little 2*, is currently in production.

"They also want to get a share of the family market!"

Brad Gray could understand; Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within could be seen as an experiment by Sony, since Square Enix was the main investor.

Seeing that Disney, Universal, Pixar, and DreamWorks are all reaping huge profits in the family animation market, Sony also has its own ideas.

With a budget of $1.33 million, "Stuart Little" earned $1.4 million in North America and $3 million worldwide, so it definitely made money.

After all, the revenue from merchandise for this kind of family-oriented film is definitely not to be underestimated. Even if it doesn't make money at the box office, the videotape and DVD market can make up for it, and there will definitely be profits in the consumer goods market!
Aaron smiled slightly, "Not only Sony, but also Fox Animation. Fox Animation has already released two animated feature films."

"Not long ago, Fox Animation's first 3D animated feature film, Titans Aesthetics, also performed quite poorly, opening with less than $1000 million!"

Fox Animation released its first 2D animated film in 1997, which had little impact. Its second animated film, released last year, did not even make it to theaters and was instead released directly as a video product.
But this Titans AE is different; it's a masterpiece from Fox Animation!
Brad Gray thought for a moment and then reminded him, "Twentieth Century Fox Animation also collaborates with an animation studio called Blue Sky Studios, commissioning them to develop 3D computer-animated feature films."

"Blue Sky Studios was founded in the late 1980s, and its development is similar to that of Pixar. At last year's Academy Awards, Blue Sky Studios' 7-minute animated short film 'Bunny the Bunny' won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film!"

The development path is indeed the same as Pixar's, and then they partnered with 20th Century Fox? Just like when Pixar was preparing to partner with Disney, but Dawn snatched the deal away.

(End of this chapter)