ILM is just too big for Hollywood.

It can be said that the current Hollywood blockbusters are indispensable to cooperate directly or indirectly with Industrial Light and Magic. Even Weta Digital had to hire Dennis Mullen as its chief special effects consultant.

The acquisition of Lucasfilm is equivalent to the acquisition of Industrial Light & Magic. This will further deepen New Universal's role as a mainstay in Hollywood.

Of course, with great power comes great responsibility.

ILM is the special effects consultant for all of Hollywood.

For almost every Hollywood blockbuster, ILM provides talent consultants and contracts for most of the film's special effects. Of course, ILM only does the best clips, and most of the special effects work is outsourced to overseas special effects companies.

For example, a Korean special effects blockbuster "Monster of the Han River", which has been marketed to the United States recently, has been very popular, and is known as the rise of Korean special effects!

99% of the special effects of the film are completed by local special effects companies in South Korea, and only 1% are completed by special effects companies in the United States. Because there are Korean trainees studying at ILM, Cha Cha ILM also sent a young special effects artist to participate in part of the production.

In the process of promoting the film, all kinds of boasted that the level of special effects in South Korea is no less than that of Hollywood! The picture of "Monster of the Han River" will not be worse than those Hollywood blockbusters!

99% of the special effects are made by Koreans themselves, how amazing is that?

South Korea's nationalism is so strong that Hyundai cars are everywhere in South Korea, and there is no market for German and Japanese cars in South Korea. Why can't Koreans afford beef? This is, of course, an illusion. Koreans are very patriotic and only eat Korean yellow beef. The supply exceeds the demand, which makes the price of meat extremely expensive, and everyone has to save money to eat it. In fact, the price of imported beef is very low.

Because of such factors, "Monster of the Han River" will rise up to the strong national pride of the Korean people, as if the level of special effects in South Korea is really comparable to Hollywood.

In fact, the 1% is the core technology, the most critical part, and the remaining 99% is not technically difficult, and Hollywood is not rare at all. Even for Hollywood blockbusters, only the 1% is studied locally, and most of them are outsourced overseas.

After leaving ILM, the little secretary Ella Fisher excitedly said to Donne: "With ILM, do we have the means to sanction them?"

"Huh?"

"Hmph, we can target Warner, or Paramount and Disney, if they go against us again, they will let ILM not take their orders, and they will not be able to make special effects blockbusters!"

Ella Fisher had been following Donn to inspect ILM, and felt like she had discovered a big secret.

Don En couldn't help but laugh and said, "What do you think? How can it be so simple?"

Ella Fisher raised her head, a little strange, "Isn't it?"

"Of course not!" Donn shook his head and said, "The MPAA will submit a tax rebate to Congress for positional special effects blockbusters because Hollywood has reached a consensus on this point." The biggest beneficiary of the tax rebate policy is ILM, why do people help us so much? It is because ILM wants to promote the development of the special effects industry in Hollywood. ”

"Really?" said Ella Fisher, confused, and seemed to be a little confused.

Tang En paused for a moment and said solemnly: "The reason why Industrial Light and Magic is unique is because it can receive the most orders. If we set up our own obstacles, take the initiative to reduce the number of orders and reduce innovation, even if it is industrial light and magic, it is possible to be surpassed. At the end of the day, this is a highly volatile industry, and there is no capital to act arbitrarily. ”

……

Natalie's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and it will be about 7-8 weeks before she gives birth.

During this time, Don En was very restless, and after work, he mainly accompanied her.

Because Lucasfilm is about to be merged into New Universal, Donn has also made some pre-changes to the head of the film and entertainment department.

Nina Jacobson, the former head of Marvel Studios, will become the chairman and CEO of Down Pictures, and concurrently serve as the vice president of the film and television entertainment department, which can be regarded as a promotion.

The power of Marvel Studios naturally fell into the hands of Kevin Feige.

In addition, Catherine Kennedy, the head of Rose Pictures, is leaving to become the CEO of Lucasfilm. Her first job in Hollywood was as a secretary to George Lucas, and her film career was closely linked to Star Wars. She was the candidate for both Donn and George Lucas to take over Lucasfilm.

As for the CEO of Rose Pictures, it will be in charge of Donna Langeley, CEO of Universal Home Entertainment.

Plus the head of Universal Pictures, Amy Pascal......

The leaders of New Universal's three major film companies, Universal Pictures, Down Pictures, and Rose Pictures, will all be women!

In the situation of the tide of women's rights in Hollywood, New Globe is both a promoter and a practitioner.

Time entered May, and the box office of "Thor" came to 320 million US dollars, including 120 million US dollars at the North American box office and 200 million US dollars at the overseas box office. If nothing else, this will be Marvel Studios' lowest-grossing film.

It seems that the popularity of superheroes has slowed down.

Until Thursday, May 4th.

Another Marvel superhero blockbuster has appeared, and this is Daredevil 2: The Dark King of the Dark series!

In the Oscar broadcast, "Daredevil 2" grabbed a 30-second commercial space and played a trailer, and the dark colors and majestic background music almost became the most popular ABC commercial of the night.

At the Super Bowl, Marvel Studios also spent $3 million to buy a 45-second advertising space, and also gave away a trailer for "Daredevil 2"!

You know, New Universal has a number of blockbuster movies released this summer, "Cars", "Miami Vice", "Pirates 3", and even "The Avengers" directed by Donn Walker himself!

None of these films got the valuable Super Bowl advertising spots, and New Universal chose "Daredevil 2"!

This is a powerful build-up!

Although Daredevil is not famous, it has finally opened up its fame under this powerful publicity.

In particular, the trailer edited by Nolan himself is really magnificent and majestic, and Hans Zimmer's soundtrack softens the dazzling compactness of electronic music and the majestic spirit of symphony, which is really shocking.

Advance box office, $7.85 million!

Not too high.

But on May 5th, it was officially opened, and it really set off a carnival of the film market!

Friday, $67.2 million, Saturday $47.8 million, Sunday $43.9 million...... Counting the early screening, the opening weekend box office of "Daredevil 2" exceeded $150 million!

$150 million at the opening weekend!

This achievement alone directly shook the entire Hollywood.

It's as if they haven't felt this way in a long time.

Such a frenzied opening weekend box office...... This is completely the rhythm of a super blockbuster with a box office of $1 billion!

Daredevil?

My God!

Film critics and Hollywood insiders almost all of them were shocked when they saw such box office figures.

It's amazing!

Previously, "Spider-Man 1" and "Spider-Man 2" grossed more than $1 billion, which is the most beloved superhero in the United States, and there are many fans of comics.

In addition, it was Don who personally stepped out and won $1 billion at the box office, although he was amazed, he was not shocked.

But Daredevil is different.

Although Nolan's "Daredevil 1" is a good shot, critics and fans have high ratings, and even the highest-rated superhero movie in recent years is even higher than Donne's "Spider-Man 1" on IMDB.

But that can't hide Daredevil's congenital weakness, he's just an unknown superhero of the eighteenth line.

The fan effect is poor.

When I heard that Marvel Studios spent $200 million to shoot "Daredevil 2" at all costs, many people in the industry were even worried about it.

Unexpectedly, after the real box office data came out, everyone was surprised!

Not only is the box office eye-catching, but the film reviews are even more exaggerated!

One-sided praise!

"It's a comic book adaptation, but it's also a dark and highly complex drama! —Newsday

"In the compact action plot design, more angles and wider perspectives are used to shoot the audience, and the near-perfect picture will shock the audience, and if you are lucky enough to enjoy the IMAX version, you will definitely be more surprised and excited. Daredevil 2: The Dark King is also remarkable in that it tells the audience about a hero's growing up in the midst of his life and inner fears and nightmares. —The Hollywood Reporter.

"If you don't be a hero, you're better than a hero!" Nolan has created the best comic book movie in history!" - "Rolling Stone"

"He's not our hero, he's the king who walks in the night. This is Christopher Nolan's most transcendent work, and the perfect balance between art and technology, seriousness and entertainment in this film. —The New York Times

"Penelope Cruz, a Spanish actress, has created the most successful villain role in history. She's an offbeat superhero. I suddenly expect Marvel Studios to start the "Erica" project as soon as possible. —Los Angeles Times

……

At a time when all of Hollywood was shaken by the astonishing results of Daredevil 2, there was some confusion within Warner.

What to do with Batman 2?

Two years ago, "Daredevil 1" and "Batman 2" were released on the same schedule. As a result, "Daredevil 1" won word of mouth, and "Batman 2" won the box office.

This made Barry Meyer very happy, and confidently said that he would continue to maintain this advantage in the sequel!

Movie reviews and word-of-mouth are nothing.

The box office is the most important thing!

Besides, this is Batman! He is the number one superhero in the United States who is more popular than Spider-Man! Compared with Daredevil on the 18th line, is it still crushing?

So, Barry Meyer is full of confidence.

Don't look at the early stage of "Daredevil 2", the momentum is very strong, but "Batman 2" is not bad, Warner also bought the advertising space of the Super Bowl and put the trailer of "Batman 2".

Moreover, Barry Meyer also made a little trick in the arrangement of the schedule.

"Daredevil 2" was released on May 5, and "Batman 2" was scheduled for May 19, exactly two weeks later.

Typically, a movie makes half of the box office in the first two weeks of its release.

"Batman 2" is scheduled to be released on such a release schedule, and the intention is obvious, which is to cut off the tail of "Daredevil 2"!

But now there's trouble.

Daredevil 2 is so popular!

This is the same as when "Star Wars Prequel 1", "Spider-Man", and "Pirate League 2" were released! This is rushing for a billion dollars at the box office!

Such a popular movie, during the first two weeks of release, could not digest the heat of the market at all. Coupled with the unanimous applause of all the film critics, the IMDB website gave almost a perfect score!

Yes, full marks!

In the past, IMDB's all-time rating was topped by "The Godfather", and all other films were to be crowned with. It wasn't until Daredevil 2 came out that the IMDB website seemed to be in a system crash, and more than 1 million people rated it overnight, and most of them gave it a perfect score. pushed the score of "Daredevil 2" to 9.7 points, surpassing "The Godfather", the first in history!

Recently, New Universal seems to be shamelessly trying to take advantage of this and continue to build momentum for Daredevil 2.

Warners have heard some rumors here.

In terms of the perfection of films, "The Godfather" is a well-deserved historical first, and it is extremely famous! It is an essential teaching material for all film schools, including the director's shooting techniques, as well as the actors' acting skills, including soundtrack, color, editing, and other specialties.

Juxtaposing "Daredevil 2" and "The Godfather" to incite fans to discuss will undoubtedly further expand the influence of "Daredevil 2"!

It's a shameless move, but it works.

Nowadays, the Internet is becoming more and more developed, and there are more and more new media, and inciting fans to discuss is the most advantageous marketing method.

Now what?

Warner's side is sitting on pins and needles, especially several executives of DC Pictures, who are all embarrassed.

They're scared!

Daredevil 2 is too strong!

They also watched this Marvel blockbuster that started this year's hot summer season, and in all fairness, they were really shocked! They were really worried about "Batman 2".

These two movies are not at the same level at all!

"Batman 2" without the Nolan brothers is just a decent superhero film, and Batman continues to play the heroic image of Wei Guangzheng in the movie, fighting the villain, and then the happy ending.

But "Daredevil 2" is different, this is a real epic crime drama film!

Alan Horn has confirmed that he will leave after 2 months of contract expiration, but he is still the president of Warner Bros. after all, and he can't help but say: "It's better to adjust the schedule." As I said a long time ago, there's no need to fight with New Universal. Now that Marvel is strong and DC is weak, we have to find a way to develop ourselves first, rather than compete head-on with them. ”

Barry Meyer held back his anger and said: "How to adjust the schedule? June is "Pirates 3", and July is "The Avengers", which are all blockbusters that have been scheduled for a box office of $1 billion!"

Alan Horn said, "Go to the Christmas stall!"

"You!"

Barry Meyer almost died of anger.

A summer blockbuster promoted by Warner was forced to withdraw and go to the Christmas file to grab the market?

Do you want a face?

Don't forget, this is Batman!

"No!" Barry Meyer waved his hand, his face cold, "Daredevil 2 is very strong, but "Batman 2" is not bad! The schedule remains the same! "Batman 1" can beat "Daredevil 1", and "Batman 2" can also beat "Daredevil 2"!"