hollywood melon man

While busy preparing his new film, Gilbert Jr. also paid attention to the other films he produced.

Following the good performance of "The Avengers" last year, Marvel Studios started shooting two films this year, namely "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2: The Dark World".

"Iron Man 3" is scheduled to be released in mid-May during next summer's movie season, two weeks ahead of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" directed by Peter Jackson.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" is also the final work of the "Hobbit" series, but Disney will definitely not give up such a huge IP as the "Lord of the Rings" series.

After discussing with Gilbert Jr., Robert Egger planned to cooperate with Xigua Video on the streaming platform to shoot the stories before the main series of "The Lord of the Rings" and broadcast them in the form of a series.

Xigua Video has also begun preparing for its first streaming self-produced drama "House of Cards".

Originally, Gilbert Jr. was going to direct two episodes, but he didn't have the time, so he invited David Fincher to direct.

After reading the script, David Fincher was very interested and agreed to direct the first three episodes.

The production of American TV series is different from that of TV series in other parts of the world. An American TV series usually has many directors, each of whom is responsible for directing one or two episodes.

Unlike movies, the screenwriter of American TV series is usually very important. Because so many directors have different styles, how to ensure the smoothness and coherence of the story depends on the work of the screenwriter.

However, "House of Cards" has a solid original novel, plus the script was personally reviewed by Gilbert Jr., so it is still very worth looking forward to.

Kevin Spacey also joined the series at the strong invitation of Gilbert Jr., playing Francis Underwood.

The drama is currently under production and is expected to be released to the audience in the fall.

"House of Cards" is also related to whether Xigua Video's paid drama channel can be established, but Gilbert Jr. is still very confident. In the past, Netflix relied on this drama to establish its own paid drama channel.

It’s a bit like "House of Cards" has made a good start. A series of exciting dramas can be served up, and then some homemade online movies can be made.

It can be said that a new carrier has emerged that can influence the entertainment model of Hollywood and even the world.

Robert Iger also talked with Gilbert Jr. about the impact of streaming media on Hollywood and the film industry, and the two exchanged many views.

Robert Egger is a man with a keen sense of smell. He immediately realized that the streaming platform would become a revolution in the film industry just as sound replaced silence and color replaced black and white before.

However, all previous changes occurred in movie theaters, while streaming platforms have completely eliminated theater companies.

This means that cinema chains can no longer participate in the screening process and get a share of the profits. It also means that producers and distributors can take charge of everything from production to sales and earn the most profits.

Gilbert believes that it is still a long way to go to replace cinema chains, because cinema chains are also making various technological innovations, such as IMAX, 3D, Dolby sound and other technologies.

For audiences with extremely high requirements and experience for watching movies, going to the cinema is still the best choice to enjoy movies.

Unless new technology emerges one day to replace theaters, theaters will remain the mainstream way of movie screenings for a long time to come.

Only those movies with low investment, low cost and not enough to be shown in theaters will be tried on streaming platforms.

In addition, Cantaloupe Studios has also entered the production of "Fast and Furious 6". This series has been going on for almost ten years, and it is unexpected that it has reached the sixth installment, and it seems to be getting better and better.

It also invested in a crime thriller "Now You See Me", the scale of the investment was not large, but the subject matter was very novel.

Little Gilbert was a robber. He would get involved in any successful movie he heard of, no matter if there was a chance. He had to make money anyway, so why couldn't I make it?

Another project was "Interstellar", which was given to Nolan by Gilbert Jr. After seeing Anne Hathaway's performance in "Gravity", Nolan felt that she was very suitable for this movie.

So Anne Hathaway took on the film and became the first confirmed actor of "Interstellar".

After Matthew McConaughey agreed to join, "Interstellar" was officially launched.

Currently, Nolan is looking for someone to find a piece of land in Canada. He wants to plant a large piece of corn field to make a movie. Maybe after the movie is finished, the corn can be recycled and sold for money.

In view of the current deep ties between Disney and Cantaloupe Studios, Robert Iger also discussed with Gilbert Jr. that in the future, the promotion of film projects should start from Disney.

Cantaloupe Studios became a personal studio dedicated to serving Gilbert Jr., while directors contracted by Cantaloupe Studios, such as Nolan and James Wan, all signed with Disney.

Gilbert Jr. understood what Robert Iger meant. Although Cantaloupe Studios nominally belonged to Disney, it was actually independently operated in terms of business.

Except for the distribution work on several film projects, Disney has basically no say in the rest of the work and has no sense of participation.

And from Disney's perspective, splitting up and dispersing Cantaloupe Studios' film-making capabilities is definitely better than having only one company dominate.

If Gilbert Jr. wasn't a major shareholder in Disney, Robert Iger's actions would certainly make him unhappy.

But Gilbert Jr. is now a major shareholder of Disney. The company is my family. I have to consider the development of the company. From the perspective of a business operator, splitting it up is a good option.

"But there are so many executives at Cantaloupe Studios, you have to arrange for them to work at Disney," said Gilbert Jr.

"This is natural."

Robert Iger assured: "The expansion of the group is very much in need of talent, I think they have all proved their abilities, right?"

Once the general direction is determined, the rest will be easy.

Cameron Diaz, the director of Cantaloupe Studios, became the vice president of Disney. She told Gilbert Jr. that she wanted to be a white-collar elite, and then gradually reduced the number of films she took.

Now he has completed the transition from white-collar to gold-collar. It can be said that as long as Gilbert Jr. is willing, he can push Cameron Diaz to the position of president of Disney, replacing Robert Iger.

Compared to those Hollywood actresses who have become big stars, Cameron Diaz has a broader space for this step.

Because a star is just a star after all, but the president of a large media group can decide the life or death of a star.

Of course, it is now widely rumored that Gilbert Jr. is the local emperor of Disney, and the president and others are just puppets.

This is not wrong. In terms of the live-action film business, Disney can be said to be entirely supported by Gilbert Jr.

After the split is completed, studio directors such as Nolan and James Wan will either sign contracts with Disney or set up their own studio and production company to continue working with Disney.

Outside analysts said that this was a move by Disney to prevent Gilbert Jr. from becoming too big. (End of this chapter)