Austin Hogan looks bland, completely the head of a typical American middle-class family, with neat and neat short hair without fancy dress, just neatly combed with hair oil, with a modest white shirt and black suit, the clothes are not fashionable, the hem length covers the hips, and it looks slightly wide, more like the most popular style in the late nineties.

There are no clues of any elite people all over his body, and he can even appear in his mind his undisturbed life: his girlfriend who met in college, got married early after graduation, and now has a son and two daughters, starting from the accounting department of a cinema under AMC, after time precipitation, he became the manager of this cinema, showing enough service ability and management ability, although he does not have the courage to pioneer and innovate, but he is a candidate for business success, so under the right opportunity, Became the cinema general manager of AMC's Los Angeles office.

Lance was a little worried for a while, on the surface, such a person seems to be easier to deal with, but there is absolutely no weak person who can roll to this position in Hollywood. On the contrary, it is more difficult for people who seem ordinary to find loopholes, and even if they want to find a breakthrough, it is extremely difficult to find a breakthrough - it may be because of rigidity and stubbornness, it may be because of conservatism and timidity, it may be because of conformity.

With his thoughts spinning in his mind, Lance took the initiative to walk over to Austin, "So, to attend such a dinner party, you must be worried that the children won't be able to go to bed on time, right?" ”

Austin was stunned, and looked at Lance in some surprise, as if he was very surprised, Lance would actually put a large number of other people aside and come to talk to him, but the words of doubt were not said after all, but showed a smile, "Yes, they are always too naughty, and their mother may not be able to control all the situations alone." Especially that little monkey, who is only five years old this year, is so naughty that he pesters me every night to tell me stories. ”

"Two children?" Lance asked curiously.

"Oh, no, three. Two girls, one boy. Austin shook his head, and between the words he could hear his happiness, almost overflowing. What about you? ”

Lance's laughter spilled straight from the corners of his mouth, "I wish I had two children." Austin suddenly understood, and his smile brought a hint of apology, "At a dinner party like this, few people are willing to talk about children, so I thought ......" Lance waved his hand repeatedly, "No, no, I like children very much." They're a headache, like little devils, but more often than not," Lance paused for a moment to think about it, and said with a smile, "they're all angels, aren't they?" ”

This sentence caused Austin to nod his head again and again, his eyes full of appreciation, "Not long ago, I was about to repaint the exterior wall of my house, and Nathan, the little monkey in my house, tried to come and help, only to knock over a bucket of paint in less than three minutes. When I was about to get angry, he raised his head and looked at me innocently, but his face was like a cat, and the light blue paint smeared on his face, I didn't hold back for a while, I laughed directly, and the anger was unsuccessful. ”

Lance was amused by Austin's words, and sincerely, "I remember when I was a kid, I used to try to build a treehouse, and I ended up locking my brother in it, and I nailed all the planks to me. "The one who was locked up inside was poor Gawain, and in the end he waited for Theo to come back, and then the failed treehouse was demolished." My brother and I were both dumbfounded, neither of us knew what to do, haha, even now that I think about it, we still can't laugh. ”

"Brother?" Austin asked curiously.

Lance hesitated for a moment, but then said, "I have three older brothers. ”

"Wow, your parents are going to have a lot of headaches." Austin couldn't help but sigh. Lance did not deny it.

The two talked about children, and the atmosphere became very harmonious. Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and Austin still had a dad smile on his face, but he looked at Lance seriously, "Mr. Strello." But under Lance's gaze, Austin paused and changed his words again, "Lance, hehe, look, I'm still not used to it." Lance, I mean, you didn't come to me to talk to me about children. It's Oscar night, you're one of the spotlights tonight, and I'm just the general manager of AMC Cinemas in the Los Angeles area. ”

Austin may not be one of those big guys, but that doesn't mean he's stupid.

Lance chuckled, "I've been waiting for your question. This candid answer made Austin laugh too, "Tell me, is there anything I can help with?" Or is there anything we can work with? "Not only is he not stupid, but he's also quite smart.

"Chaos Pictures has just finished producing a film, and we want to distribute it ourselves." Lance didn't go around in circles, and directly said the answer.

Austin let out a breath and said lightly, "It's a simple matter, you can just send a representative from the distribution department to talk." To be able to cooperate with Chaos Pictures, all major theaters can't ask for it. ”

"Here's the problem, we don't have a distribution department." Lance didn't explain further, because Austin was an insider of the theater chain and could figure out all the corners at once. "However, we intend to set up a distribution department. This work is the first time to test the waters, and if the cooperation is pleasant, then we can discuss the issue of long-term cooperation; If that fails...... Let's put it this way, I would pray that there is no such possibility. ”

Austin chuckled twice, but then fell silent, and his mind spun around, "You should know that the release of a work also means that we can only handle it according to the specifications of an independent film. "The subtext is that the theater chain must take more profits.

"Of course." Lance shrugged, "But, the point is, future developments must also serve as a reference standard, right?" "If it's just a movie, as Austin said, the profit they lose will be huge, so Lance has to carry the Chaos Pictures brand and rely on the fame they have accumulated so far to win more initiative.

Austin didn't shirk and nodded as a matter of course, "That's for sure." "Although Chaos Pictures currently has only three works, it is worth mentioning that all three works have achieved profitability, and the return rate is very gratifying. AMC is not an art theater chain, and commercial interests are the only thing they consider. Therefore, the signboard of Chaos Pictures can indeed be considered.

"So, what exactly is Chaos Pictures' latest title? I've heard a lot before. It was originally a ridiculous word, but Austin said it quite rigidly, lacking a sense of humor. But the meaning was conveyed.

"'Sin City.'" Lance's answer made Austin nod his chin slightly, but without any superfluous expression, it was difficult to guess what Austin was really thinking now.

"'Sin City.'" Austin repeated the name, then looked at Lance seriously, "Actually, I'm more curious about how exactly you're going to shoot." This sentence is still unfazed, and I can't hear what Austin means, which really makes Lance fall into more passivity.

Having experienced Diorama Pictures, Lance clearly knows how major cinemas operate.

Even in the face of giants like Warner Bros. and Disney, theaters also have their own way of scheduling films, for example, there will definitely be fewer premiere venues for R-rated movies, and relatively speaking, it is easier to arrange premiere venues like Disney with a happy family, the former can reach 3,000 venues is already rare, and the latter 3,000 venues are just the starting line; For example, independent films with strong artistic styles, real Yàn films produced in Europe, and bloody and violent NC-17 films, even if they are fully released, the number of screening venues is bound to be less than 1,000; There is also a very important point that large chain cinema chains such as Royal Entertainment, AMC, and GM have competition and tacit understanding between them, and there are few huge deviations in the arrangement of screening venues.

For Sin City, it's certainly no different. However, the biggest disadvantage of "Sin City" is that if the distribution company has signed an agreement with the theater chain, then the agreement will have detailed corresponding terms, what situation it encounters, then how many venues should be arranged by the theater chain, and how many shows should be arranged, and when encountered, the theater chain can reduce the number of venues or shows independently. However, Chaos Pictures doesn't have any of these things.

In short, they don't have a guarantee.

"Sin City" is originally a work with a strong style, and the audience either likes it or abhors it. That's not good news for theaters, and they're not willing to gamble on the odds.

So, Lance intends to continue the way he has been successful in the first place - to take the lead!

"Maybe you can see it for yourself." Lance's answer made Austin stunned, generally speaking, when the theater chain formulates the number of screening venues and arranges the screening schedule, it will indeed send professionals to watch the movie once, and then formulate a corresponding plan according to the movie, but the premise is that the theater chain and the distribution company sign a cooperation agreement.

In a situation like Lance's, they need to watch a finished film before signing any kind of agreement before they can proceed to the next step of negotiations. But the subtext of Lance's sentence seems to be ...... "Now? Austin hesitantly asked his own question.

Lance shrugged as a matter of course, "Why not?" After saying that, Lance took the initiative to lead the way ahead, and Austin couldn't turn his brain for a while-here? In the Sunset Tower Hotel? Looking for a dailies? Could it be that Lance has moved all the projection equipment to the hotel? It can't be!

Looking up, Austin saw that Lance had stopped his steps and was waiting for him not far away, his confident smile always on his lips. Suddenly, he began to be curious. Austin adjusted his breathing and caught up with Lance. (To be continued.) )