Although special effects movies have been on the rise in recent years, according to Fox's internal survey report, the development prospects of the special effects industry are not optimistic. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoBecause of the increase in special effects movies, the number of special effects studios in Hollywood has been surging since the end of 98, and the industry is seriously competitive.

As a result, the prices of special effects companies have been suppressed, and profits have become very low.

Special effects companies, on the other hand, calculate revenue based on the number of shots, and do not count rework and other expenses. And whether to return to work or not is up to the film company to decide, so that the squeeze on profits will be more serious.

Only those companies that rely on large factories to survive and have a deep foundation can afford to raise such studios. For example, Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic, James Cameron's Light Storm, and Digital Domain.

To put it simply, the special effects industry has become the manufacturing part of the film industry, and we all know how to deal with the expensive, low-profit, and labor-wasting work of "manufacturing" in the end - outsourcing.

Therefore, 20th Century Fox actually had the intention of selling special effects departments such as Blue Sky Studios after the earnings conference in early 99, and instead focused on the more profitable production department and peripheral development.

And they originally planned to sell Blue Sky Studios to another well-known special effects company in the industry - rhythm special effects studio (successively participated in the production of "X-Men", "The Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter", "The Hunger Games", "Life of Pi" and other films).

Now that the fire lion has come to the door, it can be said that he is sleepy and has come to deliver a pillow.

Bill Mokanic thought about it for a moment, "And how many offers are you going to make?"

"I think it's better for our teams to discuss the specific details, after all, this kind of thing still needs to be discussed in detail. Sid didn't give a direct number.

Bill Mokanik nodded, this kind of intra-Hollywood deal will definitely go through an inherent bargain. Even Bill Mokanik wouldn't have set a definite number right now.

After talking about business, Sid and Bill Mokanic exchanged a few words, and when they were about to leave, Bill Mokanic suddenly remembered something, "Sid, I remember you bought Marvel Entertainment last year, right?"

"Not bad. Sid raised his eyebrows, he bought the Marvel Comics thing. In Hollywood, it's no secret. But after the disastrous "Batman and Robin" in '97, many industry media and business weeklies regarded comic book movies as a flood of beasts.

Under the influence of this trend, many people regard Sid's acquisition of Marvel Comics as his youthful and vigorous "willful behavior".

Although the total purchase price of up to 300 million US dollars is not known to the outside world, according to analysis, the capricious move of more than 200 million US dollars in acquisition and debt is a blow to any other medium-sized film company, even if it is a dream factory where the big three gather.

However, under the three-dimensional operation of the Fire Lion Group, the profit model of Fire Lion Pictures, Fire Lion TV Station, and Fire Lion Records, which is linked and exploded layer by layer, has made Fire Lion Group reach a point where its peers are envious, jealous and hateful, both in terms of revenue and profit margin.

So the acquisition of Marvel Comics, this Sid's "willful move", did not cause any real losses. But it also makes many business people describe Sid's character as a young and vigorous doll CEO, with outstanding talent advantages and youthful character shortcomings.

"What, what do you mean?" asked Sid, puzzled.

"We at Fox have the rights to a Marvel character, and New Line Pictures originally wanted to buy it, but recently they didn't have enough money to prepare for "The Lord of the Rings", so I wanted to ask you if you were interested. Bill Mokanik explained, touching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, which character? It won't be the X-Men. Sid asked quippedly.

"Haha, of course not. Bill Mokanik laughed heartily.

"X-Men", as the summer product of 20th Century Fox next year, has already made a detailed plan, and now the script is in full swing.

No matter how generous 20th Century Fox is, it is impossible to send away the gold mountain they dug up from Marvel.

"It's Iron Man Tony Stark. Bill Mokanic's words made Sid's hand shake violently, and the folder in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

"What's wrong?" asked Bill Mokanic, curiously.

"Alas, yesterday's Oscar was too crazy, and today he hasn't been in good spirits. Sid's face turned, and he immediately changed to a wry expression and explained, "It really makes you laugh." ”

"No, where are the words. Sid, you have to take care of yourself, too. When Bill Mokanik heard Sid's explanation, it dawned on him.

Seeing that he had succeeded in concealing the real reason for his excitement, Sid hid his clenched fist behind his back.

Mother、F―！！

Iron Man!

As the opening character of the second big plan, the loss of Iron Man has always been an unspeakable pain in Sid's heart.

After buying Marvel, Sid was originally happy and wanted to take a good inventory of the superheroes in his hands. As a result, it turned to the time of the first character, Iron Man.

Stan Lee says that it has been sold.

At that time, Sid was so angry that he almost flipped the table.

But Seon lost his horse, and now Fox took the initiative to send it to the door, this Bill Mokanic is simply a model representative of the good guy card.

"Iron Man? I've never heard of it. Sid shook his head, a "dazed" expression.

"Well, compared to Spider-Man and the X-Men, Iron Man is indeed not famous. Bill Mokanik shrugged.

"Well, what do you think about packaging the rights to this character with Blue Sky Studios to negotiate?" asked Sid cleverly changing concepts.

"Huh. Bill Mokanic is also an old man, how could he be deceived by Sid's tricks, "Even so, we Fox will not discount." ”

"Fair-enough is fair enough. Sid said, spreading his hands.

"So?" asked Bill Mokanic, standing up.

"Happy working together!" Sid held out his hand, shaking Bill Mokanic firmly.

When Sid and Bill Mokanic walked out of the same conference room one after another, the news immediately spread throughout the venue, and the eyes of various companies spread the news.

A thin tall head with glasses leaned on his gold-wire glasses, "It seems that there is some kind of conspiracy, it seems that it is worth investigating." ”

"Boss, what are you talking about?" asked the assistant strangely.

"No, nothing. Jeffrey Katzenberg said with a strong smile.

――――――――――――――――――――

While Sid was battling wits with Fox CEO Bill Mokanic, the screening of "High School Musical" ended.

The theater dealers present gave a good evaluation of the film as a whole, with a simple and easy-to-understand plot, catchy music and dance, and although he is not well-known, he is quite an eye-catching young actor.

It can be said that this film has all the elements that meet the tastes of young people, although the plot is a little simple, but the music created by Max Martin, the "god", and the dance created by the genius of Anne Fletcher, are at a level that is better than the "historical" "Youth Musical".

Therefore, the original internal evaluation level was above B+, and it was not a problem for films of this level to be distributed in various theaters, but when they heard Sean's request, they were stunned.

"You want to release "Youth Musical" this summer?" asked a representative of a cinema chain with a bull's-eyed eye.

"Yes, this summer, in July and August. Sean nodded.

"It's already the end of March, and this year's summer movies have been booked as early as last year, and next year's summer movies are possible. Another representative of a Chinese merchant also said.

"Are you the first day of Hollywood? Several representatives of cinema operators asked angrily.

A group of people surrounded Sean to criticize and write, but he did not move to respond.

Behind a group of cinema operators, a dark-haired man looked at his peers in front of him with a smile, but he was not in a hurry to step forward. Instead, he sat down in a chair next to him and smoked a cigarette.

After a while, the filmmakers got tired of arguing and lowered their voices, but they didn't leave, but took their mobile phones to contact the bosses of each company to discuss countermeasures.

Just like movie stars and directors with box office appeal will be sought after by producers. Production companies that can produce best-selling movies one after another will also be sought after by theater operators.

What's more, from the perspective of the production lineup, director Sid is the youngest Oscar screenwriter in demand, the music is created by the music prodigy Max Martin, and the dance is also choreographed and designed by the industry's famous dancer Anne Fletcher. Such a lineup is simply the level of a golden partner for a youth song and dance film.

Although many people still feel that the plot of "Youth Singing and Dance" is too simple and straightforward, and some are worried about the acceptance of young audiences, they still haven't left.

After all, the scene of "Warm Corpse" in February swept away $100 million from North America within a month without being favored. As three consecutive films, Sid's new film has a North American box office of more than 50 million and a global box office of over 100 million.

Of course, no one wants to just give up.

But if you want to squeeze out the movies that are scheduled now, it means that you have to measure who is bigger and who is smaller in the revenue expectations of "Youth Musical" and other films.

Just as the House Merchant was on the phone, the dark-haired man walked up to Sean, "Hello. ”

"Hello, sir. Sean saw that the other party had an extraordinary temperament, and although his heart was full of joy, he still asked without humility or arrogance: "May I ask which theater are you from?"

The dark-haired man took out his business card from his pocket and handed it over, Sean took it and looked at it, his eyelids were jumping: "AMC Chairman - Gerry Lopez." ”

The boss of AMC, the largest cinema chain in the United States!?

As the world's most important cinema company, AMC has been a model of the industry that leads the trend of the times since modern times. As the first company to build a giant multiplex theater, AMC set off mergers and alliances that shook the industry in 95 years, making movie theaters "Wal-Mart".