Duke had a little free time to meet a stockbroker recommended by his mother on the weekend, and got a lot of information about the stock market and financial markets from him, hid in his apartment and studied it carefully, and found that in addition to General Electric, General Motors, Mobil Oil and other well-known companies, only Microsoft and Apple have a clear impression of emerging IT stocks.

Although Intel and others, for example, have been bombarded with advertisements and often deal with computers, Duke also knows that they are giants, but it is not clear where they will go in the future, and there are Microsoft and Apple, why choose others?

The purpose of his investment is very simple, which is to preserve and appreciate the value, and holding a lot of cash is definitely the stupidest way to invest.

Microsoft, that's the hot stock in North America right now, Duke thought about it, decided to give up for the time being, and then set his sights on Apple.

Of course, Duke would not be stupid enough to directly eat a large amount of Apple stock, he found an investigation consulting company, and briefly investigated the situation of Apple and Steve Jobs, so as not to make the situation not as vaguely remembered, and finally go bankrupt with Apple.

Within a few days, the investigative consulting company fed back enough information for him to make some judgments, Apple is now in a deep quagmire, it is said that it may go bankrupt and restructured at any time, and the stock price has plummeted, which is basically the kind that no one cares about.

Steve Jobs is hiding in San Francisco to run his Pixar studio, and his first animated feature film is halfway completed, telling the story of a group of toys......

Because there aren't many memories of North America outside of the movie, it's not enough for Duke to make a clear judgment, but just like investing in a movie, any investment comes with risks, and Apple is in a bad position right now, and it's a good time to buy stock at a low price.

Under the eyes of a stockbroker who looked like a fool, under Duke's strong demand, the three million dollars in his name became the corresponding Apple stock in only one week.

It's not that Duke doesn't want to invest more money, but he has no spare money, part of the overseas share has not yet arrived, and he has just returned Yan Zhan's overdue mother's loan, and he has to pay Nancy and others' commissions, and he also has to prepare enough money for the transfer of film rights in case Nancy may need to negotiate progress......

Not to mention the investment, Duke has always planned to buy a luxury house instead of renting an apartment for a long time, but it has not been solved because of financial problems.

According to Duke's idea, the mansion to be bought must be relatively spacious, and there must be enough cover around to avoid being peeping directly from the outside by the paparazzi, the Internet era is coming, and the director at that time will not hide behind the scenes like now, even if it is far less attractive than the star, it is also the target of many paparazzi.

A villa in Malibu or Santa Monica that occupies a canyon or a cliff alone is Duke's choice, but such a home doesn't have to be thought of for tens of millions of dollars.

But these can't be rushed, the road is always one step at a time, and now he is on the right path.

The post-production is still continuing, Duke is preparing for the release of "Independence Day", and the film that is closest to the release of Independence Day and has the highest investment is also preparing, this film invested by Castle Stone Pictures and distributed by Columbia Pictures, after several negotiations between the crew and the original author Stephen King, finally decided on the official title - "The Shawshank Redemption".

The film is scheduled to premiere on July 7 and be released on July 8, a week before the release of "Independence Day."

"Today's summer popcorn movies are becoming more and more dependent on the first-week box office."

In the conference room of Columbia Pictures, Jack Muschkry, the head of distribution, is explaining the situation of the competitors to the board, "Judging from the advertising clips that have been released, "Independence Day must be a standard commercial blockbuster, no one dares to underestimate Duke Rosenberg now, and his advertising clips and trailers are by no means the only essence of the film, judging by the style of "Life and Death" and "Death Island", "Independence Day" will be full of similar scenes as commercials." ”

"Then why did we choose to release it closer to Independence Day?"

The person who asked was Peter Peterson, an independent director of Sony Columbia, who seemed puzzled, "Can't we choose another weekend in the summer season?" ”

"We don't have a choice."

Mitch Schulhoff, the vice president of the company, stood up and motioned to the staff on the other side to turn on the projector, he pointed to the title of the film on it and the corresponding release date and said, "The summer file, even including the August schedule, every weekend there are films with an investment of no less than "The Shawshank Redemption" are released, originally we couldn't find a weekend without strong competitors, but Paramount took the initiative to adjust the release date of "Forrest Gump", and there was no film of the same magnitude released this weekend. ”

"One more point." Jack Muschkerry added, "The Shawshank Redemption and Independence Day have completely different genres, and the audience barely overlaps, even if 'Independence Day' is more popular than 'Death Island', it won't affect us much." ”

"Before the finalization, we held a special test screening for film critics."

The film was completed at the end of last year, and Colombia, not only the distributor but also some of the investment, is also eager to recoup the cost, "A total of 178 critics and journalists rated the film, with an average score of 9.8!" ”

After this sentence, everyone in the venue fell silent, these people understand that film critic ratings may not represent market acceptance, but since Jack Muschkle said it, it is definitely not a PR score, but a real number, such a high score, is it really from the hands of those film critics who have eyes on the top of their heads? The highly praised "The Godfather" didn't reach such a high professional rating, right?

"Roger Albert, Kenneth Turan, David Denby, Todd McCarthy all gave the film a 10 out in the preview screening!"

Jack Muschkle continued, "They promise that they will fully recommend this film when it is released! ”

Even if professional film critics do not represent the market, Colombia's top management also knows that these film critics can stand at the top, have a considerable number of supporters, and their appeal should not be underestimated, and if they are willing to recommend it fully, the prospects of the film will inevitably exceed Colombia's expectations.

"It's April,"

CEO David Yatnikov, who sat at the head of the conference table, said, "I will hold a theatrical test screening, and pay more attention to the news of "Independence Day". ”

As early as after "Forrest Gump" changed schedules, Duke saw the name of "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Prison Redemption", which preemptively occupied this weekend's schedule, although it was different from what he remembered, he guessed that it should be that masterpiece according to the production company.

If the competitor in the following week was "Forrest Gump", Duke would definitely be worried, and even a little nervous, but with this movie, he threw it directly to the back of his mind, and in theaters, "The Shawshank Redemption" is not qualified to compete with "Independence Day" at all!

However, Duke then thought of the other side, with such a film to compare in the same period, the professional reputation of "Independence Day" may hit a new low for him.

Film critics can influence some fans, which is a fact that Duke can't deny, and a film with a strong commercial element like "Independence Day" will definitely not please film critics.

Of course, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox can make public relations with film critics, but the subject matter of the film is decided, and if you want film critics to say good things, you have to come up with more resources than before......

"Jeff ......"

Sitting in his office in the Warner Building, Duke looked at Robinoff opposite, "I don't invite film critics for the preview screening, but only theater representatives, ordinary movie fans, and the media we can influence." ”

"Film critics?" Jeffrobinov frowned slightly.

You must know that before the release of Hollywood movies, it has long been a practice to invite film critics to watch them, and it is also a tacit understanding between the two related industries.

"Film critics will take PR." Duke thought for a moment and said, "But the top ones are still relatively fair. ”

He accentuated his tone on 'justice', which sounded like a mockery, "Jeff, you also know what the selling point of 'Independence Day' is, and if we want these people to applaud the film, we have to pay more, but I think it's better to increase advertising than to waste too many resources on these vampires." ”

Duke's point is also basic, some films that are very much in line with the critics' appetite, even if it costs a small amount, they will wave their flags because it will not affect their image.

And "Independence Day", a standard popular film, wants film critics who always show unique tastes and flaunt art to raise the flag, and they must come up with more real money.

Especially the top group of film critics, they are relatively the most fair, and often the most ruthless.

In Duke's view, throwing millions of dollars at these vampires would be better than advertising in primetime on the four major television networks, which may provoke a violent reaction from the critics' community, but those experiences have taught him that these reactions are not necessarily a bad thing.

"I'll think about it." Jeff Robinov didn't respond directly.

"That's good......" Duke stood up and prepared to say goodbye, if it weren't for the publicity effect of the film related to the box office, and the box office was directly related to his income, he didn't bother to say this.

"Duke, wait a minute."

Just as Duke was about to shake hands and say goodbye, Jeff Robinoff took out an invitation and handed it over, "April 4th is Warner's founding anniversary, and there's a celebration at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. ”

This is the most normal interpersonal interaction, and Duke has no intention of refusing, and then says, "I'll be on time." ”

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