In order to stagger the schedule, the release of the cartoon "Toy Story" was postponed by another month, and the happy summer vacation was the beginning of the children's enjoyment of the holiday leisure, but Hong Kong in Asia was clouded again, and a war without gunpowder between international travel funds and the Hong Kong SAR government officially kicked off. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Taking advantage of the turmoil in the U.S. stock market and the continuous decline in the yen exchange rate, international speculators launched a new round of attacks on Hong Kong, and the Hang Seng Index once fell to more than 3,000 points. Buying Hong Kong stocks aggressively again. However, this time the international travel capital was surging, and the bottom did not hinder their determination to snipe the Hong Kong dollar, and Hong Kong stocks began to fall deeply after a slight rise. Faced with this situation, the Hong Kong SAR Government began to fight back, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority used the Exchange Fund to enter the stock market and futures markets. Absorbing the Hong Kong dollar sold by international speculators, the foreign exchange market stabilized at the level of 7 Hong Kong dollars to 1 US dollar.

The government's intervention drove the stock market higher, and a month later, international speculators lost a lot. Unable to repeat the attempt to use Hong Kong as a "super cash machine", international speculators suffered a crushing defeat in Russia at the same time as the defeat in Hong Kong. The Central Bank of Russia announced the depreciation of the ruble at the end of the month. All this caused the Russian stock market and foreign exchange market to fall sharply, triggering a financial crisis and even an economic and political crisis. Abrupt change in Russian policy. This has greatly discouraged international speculators who have invested huge sums of money in the Russian stock market.

In contrast, it won again in the Hong Kong stock market, and in just one month, the return on investment more than doubled. After the Hong Kong stock market stabilized, funds began to withdraw step by step, and this capital war at the end of the century finally came to an end.

When Lin Mu returned to the United States from Hong Kong, the film "Warcraft: Phantom of the Dragon" had already ended its release, and the film grossed 100 million dollars worldwide, surpassing "Sister Age Park" at the box office. So far, the top five in the global box office list are all films invested and filmed by Lin Mu after taking over Paramount. Paramount, the old movie giant, has once again regained the feeling of dominating Hollywood at the beginning of the knife century.

The popularity of the film "Warcraft: Phantom of the Dragon" has also led to the increase in sales of the Warcraft series of games, and for the Hollywood film industry, this film has set off a wave of oriental culture in Hollywood, and the value of the film's heroine Li Jiaxin has skyrocketed, and Cheng Long and Li Lianjie have become household names in the Western world.

The release of two big-budget films in quick succession has greatly stimulated several other Hollywood studios. The strong rise of Paramount has posed a great threat to several other film companies in the film market in the past two years. It's almost a Paramount movie that stands out. The current situation in Hollywood is somewhat similar to the pattern of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period. Although neither Paramount nor Lin Mu had the ambition to dominate the world like Emperor Qin, other film companies felt a lot of pressure in the face of the increasingly powerful Paramount.

Naturally, among the various Hollywood studios, there are two different options: "joint vertical" and "continuous horizontal". The Big Three, led by Warner, Sony, and Disney, have joined forces. Take advantage of cooperation to confront Paramount. And DreamWorks has formed a close interest relationship with Paramount because of the woods, so it firmly stands in Paramount's camp. Of course, this pattern is only the benefit of some cooperative relations, in Hollywood, several major film giants have formed a very tacit benign competition model, especially the interests of the intricate and incompatible kind of pattern will not appear in Hollywood.

Of course, there are some companies that choose to wait and see outside the two camps, and Universal is one of them. But sandwiched between the two camps, Universal's life is not easy, I wanted to rely on Spielberg's dinosaur army to win back a city in the film market for a few years, but Paramount launched a heavyweight work like "Titanic", the filming cost of the film "The Lost World" is more than half of "Titanic", but the income is only half of "Titanic", and the biggest winner is still Paramount.

Not only Paramount, but DreamWorks has also recently launched the musical film "Youth Musical", which is a small production with frequent action, and has to shoot a TV series of the same type at the same time as the filming. The animation film produced by Pierce Studio, which has been produced for three years, is ready to go, and Pierce has announced new animation production plans. In particular, Spielberg's attitude towards Universal after the filming of "The Lost World" and his increasingly cold intention to cooperate made Universal's senior management feel uneasy.

So no one would be surprised that Mark appeared in Lin Mu's office at this time. After some trade-offs, Universal finally chose to go to Paramount's side. While Universal is unlikely to form a strong alliance of interests with Paramount like DreamWorks, that doesn't prevent the two companies from working together in the short term. Mark also brought a gift to Lin Mu this time to show the sincerity of Universal's cooperation with Paramount.

The gift is a script, a movie that Universal hopes to work with Paramount this time to be precise. This script is no stranger to Lin Mu, this adventure film called "Indiana Jones without Indiana Jones" tells a mysterious adventure story that takes place in Egypt with the resurrection of the mummy as the main storyline.

Mummy-themed films have been around in Hollywood since the time of the Blade, when the famous Universal producer James Jax came up with the idea of remaking the classic horror film of that year, and Universal Pictures agreed to fund the filming. But the premise is that the production cost must be controlled in the US dollar range, because Universal only wants to make a low-budget horror film. Jakes enlists Cliff Buck as the director, and the latter comes up with a rather violent version that revolves around an art museum director who tries to bring the mummy back to life.

Jakes thinks that Buck's footage is dark, sexy, and mysterious, and that it is bound to make a pretty good low-budget horror film. Surprisingly, after several meetings, Buck and Universal gradually lost interest in working together, and the two sides eventually parted ways.

The next person to be introduced was George Romero. He wanted to make the film a "Night of the Living Dead"-style zombie film, but both Jakes and the producers felt that the high scale of scare was not in line with the original intention of the filming, but would widen the distance between the audience and the audience. Dan Yichot is the next director, his version takes place and now, focusing on reincarnation and love stories, his idea is very close to the version that Lin Mu sees now, but Universal is only willing to invest in persuasion, so Dante is turned away.

Until that year, Stephen Sommos called Universal and wanted to adopt the style of Raiders of the Lost Ark and make the mummy the protagonist's antagonist. Sommers watched "The Mummy" at the age of 8, and he hopes that the remake will be even more magnificent. In an effort to direct the film, he also submitted a multi-page outline to Universal. Universal has suffered years of setbacks. I started to adjust my strategy and hope to remake some of the successful works since the 90s. Universal executives appreciated Sommers' idea, but were concerned about Sommers' proposed $100 million shooting cost budget. The company was still a little unacceptable, which made Universal think of working with other films.

"We thought Stephen's idea was interesting, and the film was more of an intense action thriller with horror elements, but it also had the style of an Errol Flynn grand theft film." Here's what Mark had to say about the film.

"Stephen's idea is very good, and Universal can actually consider his proposal!" Lin Mu is purely a pound, an old friend suggested.

"It's not that Universal itself is completely independent in the production of this film, but the board of directors hopes to take advantage of this opportunity to establish a long-term friendly partnership with Paramount." Speaking of this, Mark looked at Lin Mu with some embarrassment, "I know that in the cooperation of "Pirates of the Caribbean", some of Universal's actions have disappointed you, but you also have to believe in the sincerity of Universal's cooperation with Paramount this time." ”

"Sincerity?" Lin Mu looked at Mark suspiciously, at least he hadn't seen any specific indication yet.

"Universal is willing to give up the copyright of this film, but Paramount also has to guarantee that if the film shoots a sequel, Universal has the right to invest in the production of the film first!" Mark finally made his own offer.

This condition follows the framework of Lin Mu's cooperation during the filming of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, but this time Universal took the initiative to propose it, and the script was in Universal's hands, which is not so much a cooperation as a voluntary overture from Universal to Paramount.

Bad practice Gongji does seem to be full of sincerity. A best-selling film rights investment and profit sharing, Mark's offer made Lin Mu a little difficult to refuse, although he knew that the film only had a box office of 10 million US dollars in the end, but this did not prevent it from becoming a successful commercial film. There are many movies that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Hollywood. But if you have to use films like "Jurassic Park" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" as a reference standard. Few films are considered successful. In fact, as long as the final box office of the film can reach more than 4 times the production cost, it is a masterpiece that can bring huge profits to the film company.

Despite the previous unpleasant experience with Universal, Paramount's board of directors had no reason to refuse such a one-time collaboration. The entire filming and relaxation production will be led by Paramount, and what director Stephen Sommos did not expect is. After Universal gave the idea of "The Mummy" to Paramount, his carefully prepared script and shooting plan were immediately rejected by Paramount.

Stephen Sommos felt that he was being teased, and he found Mark in an emotional way.

Mark was also surprised by such a move by Paramount. After calming Stephen Sommos, he immediately got in touch with Lin Mu by phone.

"I heard Paramount dismissed Stephen Sommos's script and filming plans?" Mark's tone seemed a little anxious, especially when he heard Lin Mu's nonchalant reply from the other end of the phone, which made him feel even more uneasy. It's not that he cares about Stephen Sommos's feelings, but he's worried that Paramount's actions will affect the relationship that the two companies have built up so hard.

Lin Mu told Mark that he knew about it, and that it was his own decision.

"Why are you doing this?" Mark asked sharply, "You know this is undermining the trust between us that is already shaky!" ”

Lin Mu on the other end of the phone felt a little inexplicable, he did reject Stephen and Sommos's plan, but how could this be related to the destruction of the cooperation between the two sides, he felt that there might be some misunderstanding. "Mark, I think you should ask Stephen Sommos about the situation first."

"You asked me to ask him, but he's in my office right now, and he's very unhappy with your actions." Mark said with a sneer.

"You wait, where did you say Stephen Sommos was in you?" Lin Mu interrupted Mark without hesitation, he pondered for a moment, and then thought of a possibility, "You ask Stephen a Sommos." Didn't he see Paramount's reply to him? ”

"Reply? Didn't your reply negate his script and Jige? Mark felt that Lin Mu was knowingly asking, but when the sarcastic words were spoken, he realized his stupidity if Paramount's reply was just a refusal. So why did Lin Mu bother talking to him so much here. "Forgive my impulsiveness, you mean Paramount gave Stephen Sommers a reply while rejecting his script and filming plans?"

"You better ask this question to Mr. Stephen Sommos next to you! If he still doesn't know why I rejected his plan, then I should really consider other directors! Lin Mu hung up the phone after saying this, in order to explain this boring question, he had wasted a lot of time, he had already guessed the ins and outs of the matter, so he felt that there was no need to make any explanation.

Mark reluctantly put down the phone, and then looked at Stephen and Somos with a blank face angrily, "Paramount also gave you a reply?" ”

Seeing Mark's unkind face, Stephen Sommos knew that he must have touched the nail in the woods, but when he asked so, it reminded Stephen Sommos, and in his impression, there was a large letter returned along with the script and the book, but he was angry after being refused, "I didn't realize that the documents in that letter were the most important things."

Mark looked at Stephen and Sommos speechlessly. How did he meet such an oolong director, no wonder Lin Mu's attitude was so blunt, he didn't even understand the true intentions of others, so he ran to himself to complain, he was really miserable by this guy this time.

"You'd better go back and take a good look at Paramount's reply to you!" Mark directly ordered the eviction.

Still confused, Stephen Sommos returned to his apartment and opened the letter sent by Paramount, only to realize that he had almost lost a great opportunity because of his carelessness. In a reply to Stephen Sommos. Lin Mu didn't completely dismiss his idea, and Paramount gave him two options for Stephen and Sommos's plan.

The first option is to reduce the budget cost while keeping the original script without concubines. Because the measurement of the forest is according to the idea proposed by Stephen Sommers. The cost of the film should have been under $100 million, and in his memory, Universal only paid $80 million for the film, and the $100 million that Stephen Sommos is now proposing is obviously a bit of a sky-high asking price.

Of course, this can't be completely blamed on Stephen Sommos, tracing back to the source, this matter has a lot to do with the woods. These blockbuster films launched by Paramount one after another have had a great impact on Hollywood. For film companies, this effect is to constantly increase their investment in their own films, thereby increasing the weight of their films. For the director, it is to propose a big production plan. This can make it easier to attract the attention of investors. And Stephen Sommos's mistake is that the shooting plan he proposed, whether in terms of plot arrangement or shooting ideas, could not support a budget of 100 million US dollars.

Of course, this is not the only option that Paramount has for Stephen Sommos, and it is clear that this second option is more tempting for Stephen Sommers. In fact, when Lin Mu saw the script written by Stephen Sommos, he had this feeling that the author's own ideas and creativity were not fully reflected in the script.

And in Lin Mu's view, the story about the mummy can be excavated more than just such a little thing reflected in the script. The mystery of ancient Egyptian culture, the cursed pyramids, and the mysterious burial place of the pharaohs are all fascinating topics, and they are also the materials that can be deeply excavated in this type of film. Especially in the creation of atmosphere, the film does not do enough to show the surprise and excitement of adventure, especially the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere in the pyramid is not too much expressed in the film.

Lin Mu's second choice for Stephen Sommos is to let him revise the script, on the basis of the original plot, add more novel elements that can attract the audience, and Lin Mu also put forward very specific modification suggestions for the plot set by Stephen Sommos, obviously Lin Mu hopes to adapt this work into a compact and thrilling adventure movie with a fascinating plot.

Of course, this kind of behavior of asking the original author to revise the script is based on the promise of increasing the cost of filming. Lin Mu directly told Stephen Sommos in his reply that as long as he can get a script that satisfies him, then Paramount is willing to pay any possible cost for such a script, which is equivalent to telling Stephen Sommos directly, as long as you let go of your hands and feet to write, and finally your idea has achievable value, then Paramount is willing to pay for this movie.

Stephen Sommos accepted Paramount's second suggestion, consulted a large amount of material on Egyptian mummies and delved deeper into the history of Egypt under the Pharaohs. Two pounds, and a week later, his own carefully crafted script was put on Lin Mu's desk. Lin Mu was very satisfied with the results of Stephen Sommers's revision, and he fulfilled his promise to give the film a production budget of 300 million US dollars.

Now that they have chosen to work with Paramount, Universal has no objection to investing another 15 million, although when Universal first proposed the idea, the cost they could accept was only $10 million, but now it is not what it used to be. The world is not so much thinking about it now. Since Lin Mu is willing to support Stephen Sommers' new shooting idea with an extra 15 million, the best option for Universal is to support such an idea.

After experiencing several teachings, the top management of Universal has understood a truth, Lin Mu's choice is always right. Paramount's directors understood this one step ahead of them. So what greeted Paramount was one success after another.

In terms of the selection of the leading actor, Lin Mu gave Stephen Sommos full autonomy, and he only made one request, and the prerequisite for several leading actors to appear in this film is to participate in the filming of at least one sequel film. This news made Stephen Sommers overjoyed, and before the film started shooting, Lin Mu already had the idea of shooting a sequel, which means that he himself is very optimistic about the prospects of this movie.

With such a judgment, Stephen Sommers is very bold in the selection of the male and female protagonists. He used Brandon Fisher, a big man who had a good performance in last year's "Tarzan of the Forest" but was not well known, and Rachel Fisher, a British actor who also performed well in the film "Stealing Incense".

Stephen Sommos gives such a combination. It was not unexpected by the woods. In fact, Lin Mu will relax Stephen Sommers' casting freedom at the beginning, because he doesn't want Brandon and Fisher and Rachel to lose this important opportunity because of themselves. He knew the film would be a turning point in their careers.