hunt hollywood

However, in Simon's view, this is also somewhat inappropriate for Johnston Holdings.

Thinking of this, Simon said to Janet: "If you can't win control, I actually don't recommend continuing this investment. Speaking of which, once the share of iron ore controlled by Johnston Holdings is too large, it is large enough to control the iron ore. The price of ore may be subject to strict anti-monopoly investigation.”

Janet said: "You mean, you should wait for other companies, like Hollywood's Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner Group?"

Simon nodded with a smile: "Yes."

Janet thought for a while, and then said: "However, the share we control now is not that big, not even a quarter."

"But it has surpassed Vale, Rio Tinto, BHP, etc., hasn't it?"

Janet shrugged.

Simon still had a smile on his face and said, "Well, let's go to Australia for vacation together in a while, and Ray and I will have a serious talk."

Hearing about the vacation, Janet immediately stopped paying attention to the family business, and her eyes sparkled: "When exactly?"

"In August, after Verizon goes public, we will start immediately."

"That's what you said, don't go back."

"of course not."

"Then I'll start making arrangements soon."

After finalizing the plan in this way, the breakfast continued, and Simon still couldn't help thinking about what just happened.

Brazil's largest iron ore company, Vale, is one of the world's three largest iron ore suppliers in memory. If possible, Simon certainly hopes that Johnston Holdings can eat it.Relying on the Westeros system, the Johnston family has also expanded rapidly in recent years.

It's just that many things are always too late.

If one day in the future, Johnston Holdings Group owns considerable shares in all major iron ore supply companies in the world, once there are signs of international iron ore price manipulation, the goal will be too obvious.

It must be trouble for the Johnston family.

And, the Westeros system behind it.

What's more, in order to solve their own worries about resources, the Japanese have been operating all over the world for a long time. The former Vale, which seemed to be the largest iron ore company in Brazil, was actually controlled by the Japanese chaebol.Even if the current mainstream Western public opinion tends to suppress Japan, it is not easy to win this piece of fat that the other side has been operating for a long time from the Japanese.

If you only get a small amount of shares, it is better not to.

In addition, Simon still hopes that Johnston Holdings can focus on China and diversify around the mining field that it is more familiar with.

It just so happens that next year is also an opportunity.

In 1997, the Asian financial crisis will drive the world economy into another trough, and will also cause a reshuffle of the global steel industry chain.

All in all, in the basic iron ore field, the former three-legged confrontation is actually very good.

No one can have all the benefits.

Compared with unrestrained expansion in a single industry field, diversification is more able to resist potential risks.

In fact, just like Hollywood, if it is only involved in film production, it is difficult for a large studio to develop and grow, and may even fall into the brink of bankruptcy at any time due to the failure of one or two projects. Only by forming a huge and diversified industrial cluster around the entire media and entertainment industry, Just like Daenerys Entertainment at this time, so that it can stand out from the crowd.

Simon also never thought about letting Johnston Holdings get involved in fields such as electronics and food that he is not familiar with, but only related to the extension of the steel industry, such as transportation, smelting, etc., if it is intensively cultivated, it can also form a huge industrial cluster. And it can also be like Daenerys Entertainment, as long as they control enough resources, other iron ore suppliers, even if they do not participate in the shares, still need to bow to the Johnston Group.

Now that Daenerys Entertainment has achieved this in Hollywood, with the current size of the Westeros system, it is not impossible for the mining industry to achieve this.

After breakfast, this Saturday did not rest at home.

Lots of work scheduled today.

When Simon arrived at Daenerys Studios at nine o'clock, the first thing he saw was the first-day box office data of "007: Specter".

On the first day of filming, counting the morning and evening shows, "007: Spectre" earned $1863 million on the first day. According to such opening results, this is also a super blockbuster at the beginning of the secret agent movie universe. It will be between 5000 million and 6000 million U.S. dollars, and the first seven days are expected to be 8000 million to 9000 million U.S. dollars.

Better than Mission: Impossible 2.

After all, the background of this IPO is here.Moreover, on the basis of the production cost of 7500 million U.S. dollars, the publicity and distribution investment of "007 Spectre" reached 5000 million U.S. dollars, in order to open up the situation in one fell swoop.Based on the box office results of 8000 million to 9000 million in the first week, the total North American box office of the film is expected to hit 3 million U.S. dollars. 007 has always been the biggest overseas, and the global revenue may be around 7 million to 8 million U.S. dollars.

A good start.

"Spectre" was a big success. As long as the domestic box office of "Charlie's Angels" at the end of the year can break into the 007 million box office club, the spy movie universe project can be carried out smoothly.

Chapter 964 Counterattack on Hollywood

Disney CEO Sandy Litwater and President Bill Michanik wait together in a VIP lounge at Los Angeles International Airport.

Watching Litwater hang up a phone call, Bill Michanik asked: "Simon must have said no, right?"

"Those things just happened a few days ago. How could Simon attend the party to welcome the Frenchman?" Sandy Litwater smiled indifferently, put away his mobile phone, took a sip of a cup of coffee next to him, and said, "Anyway , we just need to do what we need to do, just like when Peter Guberra entertained Akio Morita with a bunch of stars and made the Japanese happy."

Bill Michanik crossed his legs, with a little regret and self-deprecation: "It's a pity that we are not treated as well as Cooper and Peters."

"At least in a short period of time, the donkey will not step on the same spot twice, we just didn't have a good time," Sandy Litwater shrugged and smiled, looking at the airport runway outside the glass window of the VIP room, suddenly Then said: "Have you been in contact with Michael recently?"

Michael, of course, is the former boss of the two, Michael Eisner.

Bill Michanik didn't hide it either, nodded and said: "We had breakfast together a few days ago. Michael's LinkedIn workplace social networking site is doing very well, and he also tried to see if I am interested in working together."

Sandy Litwater heard Michanik say this, and felt a little disappointed that Eisner hadn't contacted him.

But also quickly relieved.

Litwat himself was a lawyer and was once the head of Disney's legal department. Although he managed the business he was in charge of in an orderly manner during his tenure, he didn't have much to show for it, and he also has a good understanding of the current emerging Internet industry. not familiar with.

What's more, Litwat also knew that Michael Eisner had hired Frank Wells, the former president of Disney who retired from Disney, as a board member and legal counsel of LinkedIn.Frank Wells was also a lawyer, and was Sandy Litwater's direct supervisor before retiring. Now that he had this helper, Eisner would certainly not think about him again.

Bill Michanik was different.

The former head of Disney's home entertainment department successfully operated a series of videotape releases of Disney's old animation films in the 80s, not only created a sales miracle, but also directly provided a large amount of funds for Disney's development in the 80s, and promoted The rapid rise of Disney's stock price.

All in all, Michanik is a practical talent who is very good at business development and marketing. If he transfers to LinkedIn, he is very hopeful to help Eisner improve the business model of this workplace social networking site.A sustainable business model is a problem that many Internet companies at this stage urgently need to solve.

Thinking of this, Sandy Litwater asked again: "Then how did you reply to Michael?"

Michanik shook his head and said, "I refuse."

Litwat was a little surprised: "Why, I think this is a good opportunity?"

"The Internet industry is so crazy right now, I can't understand it," Michanik said honestly, "Besides, I think this bubble wave will last for another year at most. If you go to LinkedIn, maybe you haven't started the business yet. We have to face the crisis of underestimation in the market after the bubble burst. In comparison, staying in Hollywood is more stable.”

Sandy Litwater half-joked: "You're probably missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars that way."

Michanik shook his head and said: "Whether it's Wall Street or Hollywood, many people are desperately trying to squeeze into Silicon Valley. How many people can really make a fortune? These people don't even think about it. Once the Internet bubble bursts, they can easily return Is it the original field? Moreover, in my opinion, the monopoly structure of the Internet industry has taken shape, and the Westeros system occupies most of the interests. It's only going to get less and less."

Litwat thought about Michanik's words for a while, and he had to nod, but he couldn't help but said, "I heard that LinkedIn is already preparing for an IPO?"

"Yeah, it will probably be listed early next year. Michael and I have revealed that LinkedIn's IPO valuation may be around 5 million US dollars. Compared with the initial investment of the website, this is a considerable figure. The gap between the new technology giants is still too far. This is the reason why I don’t go. If I choose to join at the beginning, I can get some more stocks in this IPO. If I change jobs now, I can only get some future options. I know better that once the bubble bursts, those options are worthless."

In fact, I was also thinking about whether to use the savings of these years to go to Silicon Valley to try my hand at it. After listening to Michanik’s analysis, Litwat rubbed the coffee cup in his hand, somewhat depressed, and gave up some thoughts in his heart.

After all, both of them have reached middle age.

Can't afford to toss.

Now they are in charge of Disney together. Even under the strict control of Vivendi, there is not much room for display. After all, they are the seven heads of Hollywood. Not bad either.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, an assistant came to inform, and the two got up, and brought a few entourages to an apron inside the airport for private jets to take off and land.

Jean-Marie Messier, the new chairman and CEO of Vivendi Group, and his party came from France today.

Jean-Marie Messier has just recently taken over from the former head of the Vivendi Group, Guy Dejovani, who has been in charge of the Vivendi Group for 20 years. This old-fashioned corporate giant with a market value of more than 300 billion US dollars has a history of more than [-] years.

Previously, Vivendi was mainly engaged in water, transportation, energy and other fields. When Marie Messier was the president, he began to enter the media field. Vivendi’s acquisition of Disney was a project that Marie Messier personally promoted. , Relying on the qualifications accumulated in this acquisition, Messier defeated other competitors in one fell swoop and became the new head of Vivendi.

Having just completed the handover of duties last week, Messier couldn't wait to arrange this trip to North America.

Even though Disney's current performance is a bit tepid, after all, the time is short, and this transaction is far from being labeled as a failure. At present, the global media and entertainment industry is growing at a high speed. For Messier, who has transformed into a media and entertainment giant, this is just the beginning.

After getting off the plane, Jean-Marie Messier, who came to Hollywood with a mighty group of subordinates, did not go to the hotel to rest, but rushed directly to the Disney headquarters in Burbank.

A large conference room at Disney headquarters.

Sandy Litwater sat on one side with a group of Disney executives, looking at the executives of Vivendi's France [-] TV station on the other side of the conference table, the famous French Gaumont film team, and the famous French director Lu in Hollywood. Ke Besson and others felt a little strange in their hearts.

Is the Frenchman trying to counterattack Hollywood?

Let Marie Messier also look vigorous and resolute. Everyone sits down, introduces each other briefly, and then gets straight to the point, saying that he will personally promote Disney to create a number of blockbuster projects to compete with other Hollywood film companies. , At the same time, in order to share risks, Disney will also strengthen cooperation with major French media and entertainment companies.

After asking Sandy Litwater about the progress of the "Terminator" copyright negotiation and expressing his affirmation, Jean-Marie Messier announced on the spot that he will cooperate with the French Gaumont Films to jointly develop the French director Luc Besson's preparation for many years. The sci-fi blockbuster "The Fifth Element" series.

Messier also personally introduced that this is a sci-fi series with a complete world view created by Luc Besson since he was a teenager. He has completed the complete idea of ​​the trilogy and may develop into a series similar to the DC movie universe in the future. The Fifth Element Cinematic Universe series.

Sandy Litwater and others did not express dissatisfaction with the sudden attack that the Frenchman did not notify in advance.

It's just that I can't help complaining in my heart.

Another movie universe, doesn't the movie universe need money?

Moreover, attracting a large number of French filmmakers to cooperate with Disney has made Disney's top management even less optimistic. It is no wonder that the French film style can adapt to Hollywood.

Just like Luc Besson, although "Blue Sea and Blue Sky" created a miracle at the box office of French movies, the director, at least for now, has not shown much ability to make Hollywood-style movies. "The Killer Is Not So Cold" only had a good reputation in North America, but it failed at the box office.

The meeting was held all afternoon in such a hurry, and in the next two days, Marie Messier personally finalized several projects, and at the same time stepped in to sign the contract on "Terminator 3". On the third day after arriving in Los Angeles, Marie Messier Messier hosted a grand press conference at the Disney headquarters in Burbank, publicly announcing Disney's new phase of film development plans led by the two major projects of "Terminator 3" and "The Fifth Element".

Today is Friday, June 6st.

The past box office week in North America has just ended. Originally, the topic of "Spectre" was hot, but I didn't expect to be suddenly attracted by Disney's big move.

However, this did not conceal the edge of "007 Spectre".

In the box office week from June 6th to June 14th, "6: Spectre", which opened for the first week, only in the North American market, with a screen size of 20 yuan, it raked in a box office of 007 million US dollars, even if the inflation factor is calculated. , This is also the highest first-week box office result of the 3346 series since its inception.

Although the total production and publicity budget of "007 Spectre" reached 1.25 million U.S. dollars, from the current point of view, only local theater distribution can make MGM achieve good profits, and overseas and follow-up can even make the production Fang earns a lot of money.

计算通胀的情况下，007系列此前折合票房最高的是1965年出品的《007之霹雳弹》，当年全球票房为1.4亿美元，相当于1996年的7.2亿美元。从《007之幽灵党》的首周本土和海外数据来看，这部最新007大电影很可能打破当年《007之霹雳弹》计算通胀后创造的票房纪录，成为系列开创以来最赚钱的一部007电影。

Affected by "007: Spectre", the box office of other films in the same period has dropped sharply.

No.2 "Mission: Impossible 2", the box office fell by 51% in the third week of its release, and it was directly cut in half, earning 2798 million US dollars.However, in three weeks, the cumulative box office of this TV drama adaptation blockbuster, which is also a spy theme, has reached 1 million U.S. dollars.

Because "Spectre" is so strong, except for the No.007 "Mission: Impossible 2" which has kept a box office volume of more than 2 million US dollars, all other films this week have been knocked down to less than [-] million US dollars.

No.3's "Dragon Heart" fell by 53% in the second week, and only received 793 million US dollars, with a total of 2476 million US dollars in two weeks.

Even "Romeo and Juliet", which has been performing well as a dark horse since its opening, had a 36% box office drop in the box office just over the past week, the first time the drop exceeded 30%, leaving only $676 million in the box office in a single week , ranking list No.4.

Speaking of which, this is also a sign that the box office potential of "Romeo and Juliet" is starting to run out.

After all, it has been six weeks since it was released, including the box office of US$676 million in the past week. This low-cost romance film with a production cost of only US$1500 million has successfully surpassed 1 million in box office, successfully entering the ranks of the 643 million box office club. The total box office in North America reached [-] million US dollars.

No.5 is "The Mummy", which fell by 46% in a single week and earned 638 million US dollars.In its five weeks in theaters, the fantasy-adventure blockbuster co-produced by Fox and Daenerys has grossed $1 million.

In addition to the top five, the box office of other films that were still in theaters during the same period was even less than 500 million US dollars.

On July 6, a new box office week opened.

According to the ups and downs rules of this summer file, the three main new films this week are not too heavy.

The first is "Police Empire" produced by Daenerys Entertainment's Gaomen Pictures. Delayed until this year's summer release, the production cost was only US$1000 million, and the number of opening screens was 1697.

Then, Disney's 2D animated film "Notre Dame Hunchback", which was adapted from the cartoon "Notre Dame de Paris", opened with 1297 screens.

Compared with "Police Empire", it is not worth mentioning.

Because of the rise of 3D animated films, 2D animated films have become less and less expected by the audience in recent years. Although "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" has a world-class super big IP base like "Notre Dame de Paris", in fact, such a film is biased towards adults. The subject matter is very unfriendly to audiences of all ages, especially the key children audiences for animated films.

Disney also mentioned the topic of revitalizing animated films in the grand press conference held on Friday, but unfortunately, due to various factors, almost no one is optimistic about Disney's ability to do this.

Finally, there is a "Broken Lock Rage".

This is a film adapted from real events, telling the story of a black slave uprising on a slave ship before the American Civil War and finally gaining freedom. The film is directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by DreamWorks. Paramount is responsible for distributing the film, which cost $4000 million to produce.

Compared with movies such as "Jurassic Park", "ET Aliens" and even "Schindler's List", "Broken Lock" is almost unknown in Spielberg's list of works. Not many people know about this movie.

Like "Schindler's List", "Broken Tide" is also a project that Spielberg has been preparing for since the 80s, and it was not produced until the establishment of DreamWorks.

And, thanks to the success of Schindler's List.

As a cooperative project between DreamWorks and Paramount, if it weren't for "Schindler's List" that made investors see that such heavy themes can also get a good box office, even Spielberg is unlikely to get it. invest.

However, Paramount has clearly regretted it.

Compared with "Police Empire" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", the number of opening screens of "Unlocked Rage" is only 1019, and the number of screens exceeds [-]. This is obviously because of Spielberg's face.

Moreover, unlike "Schindler's List", which everyone was cautious about for fear of offending, the political correctness of the United States in the 90s has not yet reached extreme levels. For a movie that needs word-of-mouth to prop up its box office, such public opinion feedback is obviously unsatisfactory.

Chapter 965 Intention