Disney isn't in a very good situation, the best performing company in Hollywood today is Warner Bros., and Disney is going to be even worse in the coming years, until Michael Eisner leaves and that smiling Mickey Mouse comes to power, which really makes a difference.

It's not that Michael Eisner is incompetent, but after nearly two decades in office, Michael Eisner's hard-line style has made the infighting at Disney's top management more and more intense.

In any company, endless internal friction is the most terrible.

The rise to power of Robert Iger changed this situation and opened the era of Baby Di.

By the way, "Pearl Harbor" seems to be a collaboration between Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, so this film shouldn't live up to expectations, right?

Thinking of this, Ronan had a bit of a headache, the negotiations for the heroine of "Tales of the Night" had not been going well, and Charlize Theron took Sony Columbia's "Desperate Situation" and turned down the invitation of Shahai Entertainment.

Angelina Jolie is not easy to fool, and her salary has always been high.

The $7 million salary of "Legend of the Night" is also in line with Angelina Jolie's worth, the problem is that Ronan wants to make a series, and the first film is so high, when it comes time to shoot a sequel, won't Angelina Jolie want to go to heaven?

The set had to keep costs under control, as dark gothic was the quintessential niche franchise, and even the big-name ghost Tim Burton couldn't change that.

As for Kate Beckinsale, she is still holding on to her identity as a first-line big-movie heroine.

Ronan decided to wait, after all, the series had only just started working, and there was still a long way to go before filming began.

For the remainder of January, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" expanded to nearly 2,500 theaters, but the weekend box office began to fall, earning $10.46 million in the second weekend and $8.68 million in the third.

The film's North American box office broke the $100 million mark in one fell swoop!

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is also the first Chinese-language film ever to grossing over 100 million in North America.

It also makes "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" the first foreign-language film in American cinema history to surpass $100 million at the box office, a previous record held by Robert Bernini's "Life is Beautiful," which ultimately grossed $57.6 million.

The weakness of foreign films in the North American market can be seen.

At the same time, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has been released in Latin America, Australia and Europe, as for the box office, you can guess it by looking at the happy appearance of Ang Lee and Xu Ligong every day.

Films that do well at the North American box office are too easy to have a ripple effect in other markets.

After all, this is the largest film market in the world.

At the same time, the British Academy Film Awards, commonly known as the British Oscars, announced the list of nominees, and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" received eight nominations.

As we all know, many members of the British Film Academy, as well as members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy Film Awards are also very valuable.

But it is not without bad news, the Producers Union and the Directors Guild have announced the list of winners.

Since the Producers League did not set up an award for Best Foreign Language Film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" could only compete for Best Film, and foreign language films were ultimately not competitive enough, and the winner was "Gladiator".

Steven Soderbergh won the Best Director award from the Directors Guild.

The two major awards of the Oscars have overlapped with the Producers Alliance and the Directors Guild by more than 90% over the years.

After all, most of the Oscar judges are members of major trade unions.

Correspondingly, all the energy of Embassy Pictures was focused on the public relations of the best foreign language film, and even Ang Lee and Xu Ligong dispelled the unrealistic illusions hidden in their hearts.

Best Foreign Language Film is the one with the least competition and the most likely to get it.

The North American box office of $110.6 million, in exchange for the previous Oscars, Ronan must carefully consider the side effects of the box office, sometimes the high box office in the Oscars will become a burden, because the high box office means that the popular film cannot show a unique artistic taste.

But this year, Ronan feels that the high box office is a good thing, even if it can't be a help, it won't drag the film down to the awards.

"Gladiator", which was released at the beginning of last year, grossed $187.7 million in North America, "Never Compromise" starring Julia Roberts grossed $125.59 million in North America, and "Drug Network" directed by Steven Soderbergh has also grossed more than 100 million in North America.

These three films are the big winners of this year's Oscars in Ronan's memory.

Therefore, the box office should be able to help.

To some extent, the Oscars' review criteria are similar to those of a certain big scissors in the East, except for the premise of political correctness, other standards are erratic.

Ronan also did one thing, let the people in the Oriental Office contact the media over there to properly promote "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", to focus on Relativity Entertainment and Embassy Pictures.

It doesn't cost much money, first get acquainted, and after the film market expands, fans over there discuss the Oscars, and some people ask how Chinese films get the Oscars, and the first thing to think of is Embassy Pictures and Relativity Entertainment.

The brand effect of the movie is very effective, and the later Marvel Dafa and Di Baobao brands are quite successful.

Of course, the movie is too bad, and the publicity and distribution are not good, and no brand can save it.

However, the quality of the film is basically guaranteed, and the brand effect will further drive the market revenue.

Even if there is controversy, it is a good thing.

Ronan still remembers that in his previous life, Marvel's casting of "Captain Marvel" caused a stir on the Internet on the other side of the Pacific, and the name of the square-faced menstrual aunt resounded in the comment area of every related news, but there was never a shortage of people who stood up to defend the casting of Disney and Marvel.

I'm afraid that the official is also happy to see this situation, and it is also some form of unreleased heat.

Later, Ronan has a series of plans, even including hiring local critics to post news promoting Relativity Entertainment.

Given the sensitive relationship between the two sides of the ocean, he will, of course, pay great attention.

In early February, the 73rd Oscar nomination luncheon was held at the Regent Hotel in Beverly Hills, and Ronan didn't go because the big picture was decided.

The nominee's luncheon was still going on, and news reached Ronan's side.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was one of the big winners of the luncheon, winning Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Editing, a total of eleven Oscar nominations.

The Oscar plan drawn up by Ronan and Embassy Pictures was a big win.

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations, the public relations work of the embassy film industry was all carried out secretly, and those who were easy to be noticed stopped directly.

The film school has a clear rule that after the Oscar nominations are announced, no more public relations will be allowed to the judges.

Ronan's strategy is very clear, it is enough to guarantee that he can win the best foreign language film, and it doesn't matter if he can win other awards.

Those technical awards do not have a big impact on the film.

Eleven Oscar nominations once again put "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in the spotlight of the media and the public.

Even the New York Times featured a prominent opinion piece: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was a history-making Oriental film that included Oriental names eleven times in the Oscar nominations. The mesmerizing scenery and dazzling fights allowed Americans to see the charm of oriental martial arts!

Even Time magazine contacted Ang Lee, and after the film won the best foreign language film, Ang Lee appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

Naturally, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which was nominated for 11 Oscars, exploded again, returning to more than $10 million that weekend and still bringing in nearly $8 million the following weekend.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is slowly approaching $140 million at the North American box office, and it looks like it will reach $150 million before the Oscars at the end of next month.

The whole Embassy Pictures was cheering, and the company's films were box office hits, which meant a lot of bonuses.

And everyone had a sense of convincing about Ronan.

If you buy a foreign language film from the Cannes Film Festival and come back, it can sell hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office in North America.

Ronan received a newspaper from the Embassy's Oriental Office of Pictures.

"One of the advantages of working in Los Angeles is that you can meet friends from all over the world and exchange cultural exchanges with each other, and finally the Oriental martial arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won 11 Oscar nominations thanks to the efforts of the distributor Relativity Entertainment Group's Embassy Pictures, and it was released in American theaters, I couldn't miss it. ”

This news soft release is still written in the first person, and in Ronan's eyes, it is quite contemporary.

"It's better to experience it yourself than to talk about it on paper, otherwise another day a foreigner will ask, isn't that embarrassing? So I got up early on the weekend to catch the first movie. Because according to friends in Los Angeles: I went to the queue to buy tickets at noon, and I waited in line for a long time to buy tickets only for the evening. ”

Sure enough, the early bird got the worm and bought the ticket without much effort. But I muttered to myself in my heart: My friend really loves to brag, obviously there are few people, and it makes me get up early on the weekend. ”

However, the audience came in one after another, and the movie theater was already full before the screening, and when the movie began, the four words "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" were displayed on the big screen, and all of them were pronounced in Chinese, and there was an inexplicable feeling in my heart. ”

When the camera appeared on the cornices and the light work of the dragonflies dotting the water, I suddenly heard the exclamation of the foreigner next to me. Sneak a glance at him, probably dumbfounded! Then the beautiful swordsmanship, the unique bamboo forest chase, and the clean editing are all breathtaking. Director Ang Lee combines the art of martial arts with chivalrous tenderness to present it to audiences around the world. At the end of the movie, the audience immediately burst into warm applause, which is really the glory of the Chinese. ”

"After watching the movie, when I came to the theater, the crowd of people in the queue had gone around to the other end of the sidewalk, so much that there was no end in sight, and I finally believed that what my friend said was true, and even foreigners were crazy. ”

"Thanks to Relativity Entertainment and Embassy Pictures, I can witness the prosperity of oriental culture in a foreign country......"