Kensington Garden Street is one of the most intimate neighbourhoods in London, and although Elizabeth, who is far away in Los Angeles, calls in the evening to gossip about the cause and effect of Eric's throwing Princess Diana out of the door, the matter will only spread in a small circle and will not cause any waves. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Perhaps calming down, Diana did not do anything out of the ordinary afterwards, but silently flew to Eastern Europe to continue her mine ban career. The only thing that appeared in the media was the news that the Princess of Wales suddenly fell out of love. While some tabloids inevitably published suggestive articles, the most influential gossip newspapers were largely vague about the reasons for Diana's breakup, and the incident had little impact on Eric.

Simon Fuller called the next day and agreed that Firefly would buy 19 Entertainment, which he had founded.

Although it has been established for 12 years, 19 Entertainment has few valuable assets, and some of the singers who have signed one after another have ended up quietly failing, Eric has no expectations for this company, he only values Simon Fuller's creativity and experience in the record industry.

After a brief evaluation of 19 Entertainment by Firefly UK, Eric offered $3 million, of which $1 million was used to acquire the entire equity of 19 Entertainment, and the other $2 million was used as start-up capital to build the Spice Girls, and at the same time, Eric gave Simon Fuller a five-year cumulative 10% company option in the contract.

Knowing that he didn't have room to bargain with Eric, Simon Fuller didn't dwell on these details, not to mention that he was very happy with the 10% option award.

Although nominally affiliated with Firefly Records, a subsidiary of Firefly Group, because Firefly Records does not have much business in the UK or even Europe, 19 Entertainment was merged into Firefly Records, which is almost equivalent to the European branch of Firefly Records. As long as it can get the full support of the Firefly Group, 19 Entertainment will definitely grow rapidly, and when the time comes, the 10% option will also increase into a very considerable wealth.

Given the sheer size of the Firefly Group, the $3 million acquisition seems a little too much to mention.

But when the news of the deal was announced, and it was learned that Eric was behind the scenes, the entire European record industry turned its attention to the originally unknown 19 Entertainment, and no one would believe that Firefly's record business in Europe would be just a small fight, and some mainstream media also discussed the purpose of Firefly or Eric's move. Simon Fuller even found himself suddenly becoming a celebrity in the industry, and those old record company bigwigs who used to ignore him at all called in person to find out the news, and there was an endless stream of people who came to the door to seek cooperation.

Seriously, the plan to acquire 19 Entertainment and create a combination of spice girls is indeed just a small fight in Eric's spare time, but most people obviously don't think so, especially when "Casino Royale" is still storming the global box office, even not mentioning his huge wealth, making two billion-dollar blockbusters at the global box office, and now his influence in the entertainment industry has reached an unprecedented height. Not only did Katzenberg personally call to ask Eric about his detailed plans, but Barry Weiss, president of Firefly Records, wanted to come to the UK in person, but Eric stopped him.

After two days of preliminary discussions with Simon Fuller to create a hot girl group, 19 Entertainment soon announced in The Times that girls between the ages of 18 and 23 were openly recruited to form a girl group.

Unlike Firefly's acquisition of 19 Entertainment, whose influence is limited to the professional field, the recruitment notice on The Times immediately made countless girls who are looking forward to fame excited, in just three days, 19 Entertainment has received more than 1,000 resumes, and some record companies even want to stuff their newcomers directly into this group, and for a while, the entire British entertainment industry is boiling.

San Francisco, USA.

Jeff Klebel, vice president of Firefly Electronics' supply chain construction and product production, who was transferred from Nokia from Nokia three months ago, felt someone pat him on his face, straightened up suddenly, and found that he had fallen asleep on his desk at some point.

Today is July 10th, the day when the planned Fireflyer player is officially available for sale.

In order to make sure that nothing goes wrong, Jeff Kleber has been staying in the factory almost every inch in the last few days. A week ago, he had just flown back from Malaysia, and in addition to the two product assembly plants in the United States, Firefly Electronics also started the construction of a larger Fireflyer factory with a monthly production capacity of 500,000 units in Southeast Asia, but the factory there will take at least three months to put into production, and the production capacity will also need a slow ramp-up process.

Rubbing his face in a daze, Jeff Klebel could see the two people standing in front of him, Victor McNairy and Bill Olsen, and Victor McNairy smiled and handed over a breakfast.

After a few months of getting along, the three of them have become very acquainted, and Jeff Klebel is not polite, tearing open the bag and biting the sandwich, swallowing it indiscriminately, then he raised his wrist contentedly, looked at his watch, and said, "It's already a quarter past eight." ”

"Yes," said Victor McNelli, nodding, pulling up two chairs with Bill Olsen and sitting down, "We came here at seven o'clock, and we didn't wake you up when we saw that you were sleeping soundly." ”

"Oh, then you've been to the assembly shop already," Jeff Kleber said, biting down on his sandwich again, "It was a terrible night, a rig robot malfunctioned, and it was fixed at four in the morning." I must talk to Epson's Hamada about this today, and if he can't give me a satisfactory answer, they won't want the 100 equipment robots order from Malaysia. ”

Victor McNelly and Bill Olson were a little envious when they saw the young man in his early thirties and eat a few bites of sandwiches.

When they first met Jeff Klebel three months ago, they were both skeptical that this energetic but somewhat out-of-the-box young man would be up to the job of managing Firefly's electronics supply chain and product production, but now they don't have any scruples. Under the management of Jeff Klebel, in just three months, Firefly Electronics' component supply chain and product production line have undergone a radical transformation.

Bill Olsen listened to Jeff Klebel's complaints and smiled, "Jeff, that's not what we need to focus on today. ”

"Of course," Jeff Kleibel nodded, "Amazon opens for pre-sale at ten o'clock, and there is still an hour and forty minutes left." ”

Although it has been decided to open for purchase from today, it will definitely take some time for Fireflyer's physical channels to be distributed.

In this case, Amazon's online store sales data is undoubtedly a very good way to test the actual market demand of Fireflyer after three months of hunger marketing. As a result, Amazon will open the pre-sale of Fireflyer at 10 a.m. West Coast time today, and Amazon will arrange shipments within the next 7 to 15 days after users place orders online.

Victor McNairy saw Jeff Klebel's relaxed face and said, "Aren't you nervous at all?"

"Why be nervous, besides, you two don't seem to be too nervous," Jeff Kleber looked at the two with a smile and said, "In the first half of the year alone, PC sales in North America reached 14.3 million units, and PC sales for the whole of this year are likely to be close to 30 million units. According to this standard, the potential sales of Fireflye can also reach at least 30 million, which is equivalent to 2.5 million units per month. Even if the factory in Malaysia is put into operation, our production capacity will only reach 1 million units per month, which is simply not enough to meet the North American market, not to mention the larger overseas market. ”

Victor McNairy watched Jeff Klebel gobble down his breakfast, got up and said, "Okay, in that case, let's go out for a walk, it's nice outside." ”

"Of course, I just want to read today's newspaper," said Jeff Klebeer, "Speaking of which, today is Friday, and last week's box office data should be out, guess what our boss's movie will be this week?"

Bill Olsen laughed, "Unfortunately, I've already seen it, don't guess, it's ......"

Jeff Kleber immediately held up a finger: "Stop, don't tell me, I'll see for myself." ”

"Haha. ”

The three of them laughed and left Jeff Klebel's office together, heading out.

Los Angeles, Santa Monica.

In the restaurant, Amy Pascal's husband, Bernard Weinlawb, looked at The Hollywood Reporter in his hand and shook his head: "It's incredible, it's incredible, it's only 34%, which is lower than all analysts predicted, and according to this trend, the North American box office may even exceed $350 million." ”

Amy Pascal sat on the other side of the table, also with a newspaper spread out beside her.

In the second week of its release, "Casino Royale" fell at the box office lower than many people thought, and finally only 34%, and collected another $77.55 million, and the cumulative box office has reached $195 million. Affected by "Casino Royale", "Ice Age", which was originally predicted to reach $60 million in the first week, ended up at $57.23 million in the first week.

Another new film, "Jedi Men 2", was even more affected, with a first-week box office of only $23.15 million, a full $12 million less than New Line Pictures' initial first-week forecast of $35 million, and the film did not even get the third place in the weekly box office list, but fell behind "Finding Nemo" in the fourth week of release.

As for "Batman and Robin," which was released a week before Casino Royale, it has now become a nightmare for Warner Bros.

Due to poor word-of-mouth, after "Batman and Robin" received $59.47 million in the first week, the box office fell by 65% in the second week, collecting only $20.81 million. But this is not over, the industry originally thought that the box office decline of "Batman and Robin" in the third week would begin to narrow, but due to the impact of "Casino Royale", the box office decline of "Batman and Robin" in the third week still plunged to 61%, and the box office in a single week was only a pitiful $8.11 million.

In three weeks after its release, although the cumulative box office of "Batman and Robin" reached 88.39 million US dollars, according to the current decline, if the box office is cut in half again next week, the box office will be less than 4 million US dollars in a single week, and the final box office will only stay at about 95 million US dollars.

With a total investment of $125 million in "Batman and Robin", coupled with a $50 million publicity budget comparable to "Casino Royale", even if the global box office exceeds 200 million in the end, Warner Bros. can only recover about $90 million in box office shares. The film's reputation has completely collapsed, and the income from videotapes and TV rights in the later stage will also be greatly reduced. All told, Warner's direct loss on the project could be $80 million, but that's not the most important thing. The more serious consequence is that the Batman brand is completely smashed this time, and it will be difficult for Warner to restart this superhero series without ten or eight years.

Looking at the box office statistics in the newspapers and thinking about these things, Amy Pascal responded: "So, what did you say last week, the continuous impact of bad movies will instead stimulate the market's hunger for high-scoring commercial films." You're really right, and many people now feel a little incredible. ”

Bernard Weinlabb nodded and said, "So, the next 007 should be launched immediately, right?"

Hearing her husband mention this, Amy Pascal paused to touch the jam on the bread and smiled bitterly, "I'm afraid it's not that easy." ”

"Yes," Bernard Wainlaub laughed, "according to Williams's character, he will definitely not continue to shoot the next 007, and you want to find a director who can take over the series, but it will take a lot of work." Williams has set up such a good situation, and it would be a shame if the lack of directorial ability in the next sequel caused the series to be frustrated. ”

"It's not about the director," Amy Pascal said, shaking her head, "and the problem is Brosnan." ”

"About the salary?"

Amy Pascal nodded and said, "This matter is very troublesome right now. You should know Mr. and Mrs. Smith, right?"

"Of course. ”

Amy Pascal explains: "Before Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Pierce was barely a second-tier actor. In order to participate in the mainstream blockbuster "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", he signed a three-film package contract with Columbia Pictures at that time, stipulating that the salary of each film should not increase by more than 50%. In "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Pierce was paid $3 million. Subsequently, under Eric's promotion, in order for Pierce to play Bond, the option contract was transferred to MGM. Because "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" did very well at the box office, in "GoldenEye", Pierce's salary, although slightly relaxed, was only $5 million. Next up is this "Casino Royale", and his salary is $7 million. ”

Listening to his wife's account, Bernard Wainlabb also understood. According to the salary standard of Hollywood stars, after "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Pierce Brosnan should be worth $10 million. However, due to contract restrictions, he received a low salary for two films in a row. Now, the global box office of "Casino Royale" is directly reaching one billion, pushing the 007 series to an unprecedented glory, and Brosnan has just completed the original three contracts, although everyone knows that the huge success of "Casino Royale" is basically due to Eric, but this does not prevent Brosnan from opening his mouth on the salary of the next sequel.

Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Bernard Wainlaub couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then how much does he want this time?"

Amy Pascal said: "$20 million plus 20% of the global box office dividend. ”

There are all kinds of box office sharing rules signed between Hollywood superstars and studios, and Bernard Wainlaub is also a little confused, and continues to ask: "What about the specific rules?"

"$20 million is simple, 20% of the global box office dividend, which is 20% of the profit left over from the company's global box office share minus production and distribution costs. If we follow the global standard of $1 billion for "Casino Royale", we get a box office share of about $400 million, minus the total cost of $165 million, and the profit is $235 million, and Pierce wants to take a 20% cut of this part of the profit. ”

Bernard Weinlabb made a simple calculation, and couldn't help but gasp: "If the next sequel can still reach the level of "Casino Royale", it will be almost 70 million US dollars, tsk, he really dares to speak." ”

Amy Pascal also smiled a little helplessly and said: "According to the storyline of the Agent Cinematic Universe planned by the company, the lower part 007 is still a big hit in the entire series, and even if the box office does not reach 1 billion worldwide, it is not much worse. ”

Bernard Weinlab: "And what are you going to do?"

Amy Pascal shrugged and said, "Continue to negotiate, such a high salary is definitely impossible." The rules set by Eric at the beginning, if you want to share, the fixed salary cannot exceed 10 million US dollars, and it is said that the "Spider-Man" contract signed by Cameron and the Fireflies did not break this limit, and MGM must have followed suit. It depends on whether Pierce will choose to take 20 million or $10 million directly, after all, even if it is a share, we will never give him 20%. And we're not without leverage. ”

"Oh, what is it?"

Amy Pascal said: "Pierce's original packaging contract with Columbia Pictures was three films, and similarly, the 007 contract with MGM was also three, although there is no limit to the salary of the last film, but he can't take on other films without completing the film contract." If there is a stalemate, it will not be good for everyone. ”

Bernard Weinlabb added: "But even so, after the next one, the Secret Service Cinematic Universe should not be over yet, right?"

"yes," Amy Pascal said, remembering Eric's memo from last month, "we've been discussing this issue lately, and there must be a solution." (To be continued.) )