Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 150 Issuance Negotiations
Mirren has been sleeping very restlessly recently, because due to Judy's curiosity, they both go to Horror Pumpkin Head every day to follow the latest developments of the Jigsaw Killer.

Moreover, it is visible to the naked eye that more and more people are discussing this matter around him.

From the initial discussion in a small circle, to now many ordinary college student forums are also discussing this matter. Even if Mirren doesn't want to hear it, information about the Jigsaw Killer will enter his ears from all aspects.

Even in the video store where he often goes, the owner Duval and the two talk show brothers, one tall and one short, all know the name of the Jigsaw Killer.

But a more convenient name would be "Jigsaw".

The reason why it spread so quickly is mainly because the words Jigsaw wrote on his website resonated with a wide range of people. Many young people are in a rebellious period and believe that the entire world is wrong and backward. Many people are not worthy of enjoying the life they have, just as Jigsaw said.

They believe that Jigsaw embarked on the path of crime just to punish these people who do not value life. This typical personal heroism is simply exciting.

So the pursuit started, and many people in the forum even established a brand new religion, "Jigsaw Cult", and regarded the cross mechanism as the so-called "sacred artifact".

Aiming to express one's cynicism and determination to change the world.

Mirren thinks this is unreasonable, but anything can happen in America, and pursuing serial murderers is nothing new. The reason why Jigsaw stands out is mainly due to the video of unknown origin and his My mysterious and unknowable identity.

I have to admit that these weird torture instruments in the movie are indeed full of whimsy. Although the executions are also very bloody, don't horror film lovers just like the pleasure of brains splattering?

In these seven days, James Wan's attitude has changed from observing peers at the beginning to learning from teachers. After filming every day, he would ask Tang De a lot of questions, and when Tang De answered them, he would take out his notebook and memorize them and turn them into his own knowledge.

When the sound of the jigsaw in the movie came from the tape for the first time, Polk raised his eyebrows and felt it was a bit fresh. In previous slasher movies, the killer was often a taciturn figure, only responsible for holding the knife. Chainsawing people, there aren’t many moments to speak.

Then the movie advanced to the first unlucky guy who was killed by a torture device. Polk's eyelids twitched and his mouth felt a little dry.

So when everyone sat down in the office, James Wan immediately handed the CD to the other party.

The murderer in this movie is full of expressiveness and various opinions that deviate from a normal person's perspective, especially the recording he left behind, which sounds quite reasonable.

Tang De and Wen Ziren were sitting nearby. They had watched the film many times, so when it was played, they paid more attention to other people's reactions.

This allowed James Wan to see his decisiveness again, and also made him more happy that his movie was sold to him instead of someone else.

The movie has officially been completed, because the movie is really easy to shoot, and there are no difficulties. The original movie only took 18 days. Even if they increased the budget and adopted a more refined shooting method, it only took seven more days to shoot. .

Because he found that whether it was the lens or the picture, what Tang De knew was far beyond his imagination.

But while this bizarre urban serial murder legend continues to spread across the United States, Tang De, the shaper of the movie, and James Wan, the father of Jigsaw, are sitting in the MGM studio, Intended to discuss a publishing contract with them.

This forced him to admire his peers and try to imitate Tang De's skills on the set.

Of course, it was difficult, and he had to admit that he needed to practice more.

Only when the box office comes out will he truly settle down.

But it's too early to talk about this now. They currently need to convince MGM's distribution department to sign the distribution rights of this film, and then successfully release it and win the box office.

"Come on, let's watch this horror movie." Polk, the boss of the distribution department, crossed his legs and found a comfortable sitting position on the sofa. Then he and his subordinates watched the movie called "Saw" movie.

Even without watching the entire film, Polk can be sure that this film will definitely be a hit because it is a completely new type of horror film. Although I don’t know how well people will accept it, I think it should be worth over 10 million box office. No problem.

After the filming of the movie was completed, Tang De also officially signed a director contract with James Wan for the sequel. Yes, Tang De decided to shoot the sequel before the movie was released.

This is really a weird punishment. It can kill the victim directly, but it gives them hope and lets them work hard to break free from this prison.

No one knows where Jigsaw came from or how many people he killed.

But from the comments on the website, you can tell that this may not be the first time that Jigsaw has used torture instruments to punish others. Maybe there are other videos of his punishment on the Internet, but no one has discovered them.

So in the second half, Polk was thinking about signing the contract and arranging the film. After the movie was played, he immediately looked at Tang De and the two.

“Let’s talk distribution.”

"Say." Tang De put his hands on his knees, waiting for Polk's answer.

"I think this film should be released during the Halloween period, which is the most suitable time for horror movies to be released, and the competition for summer movies this year is very fierce. If "Saw" is released in the summer movie, there will be no way to secure a large-scale film schedule. "

Indeed, as Polk said, this year's summer blockbusters are packed with movies.

There was the hit sequel "X-Men 2" before, followed by visual effects blockbusters and comedies such as Universal's "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Incredibles", as well as Disney's "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

These films are all aiming for a box office of 100 million yuan, and the competition for film arrangement in theaters has become fierce early.

Hollywood's film schedules have always given priority to profit. It is simply hellish to fight against these blockbusters and grab enough theaters for screening. So Polk suggested that Donde give up the idea of ​​a summer release and wait for the Halloween release.

Since Halloween is the off-season, theaters have a very ample film schedule. Coupled with the festive atmosphere, even horror films can get a good number of screens.

"There is no doubt about our distribution strength at MGM. If this film is handed over to us, I can promise to obtain the number of screenings for a large-scale public release."

What Polk calls a broad release is one of the many levels of Hollywood exhibitions.

They classify the number of theaters in which movies are screened from low to high: spot screening, general screening, large-scale public screening, large-scale public screening and super large-scale public screening.

These levels correspond to different numbers of theaters. As Polk said, large-scale public screenings represent 2500-3000 theaters.

That's a really great number of screenings for a horror movie, ensuring that most potential audiences can find a theater showing the movie close to their neighborhood.

"What about the share ratio?" Tang De asked the core question. The common share ratio is 4:4:2, which is the share between producers, theaters, and distributors. But Tang De didn't know that companies like MGM , will it be satisfied with the sharing ratio of 2?

After hearing this question, Polk suddenly smiled.

Thirty minutes later, James Wan got into the car and looked at Tang De in the front row and couldn't help complaining: "MGM is so stupid, they actually asked for a 30% share ratio... They clearly don't need their publicity at all. "

Tang De shrugged and asked Tom to drive away and said: "This is the greed of these big Hollywood companies. After all, we are just a little-known small company, and the movie is not well-known. If you want to get 3000 yuan in one go, For screens, we have to sign a % sharing agreement. Or we can choose a % sharing agreement, but we have to start step by step from the point of view."

"Then what should we do next?" It is already May. If the release date of the movie is not determined as soon as possible, it will be very detrimental to the scheduling and promotion of the movie.

"I've asked Carl and the others to take the film to other distribution companies, and we'll take the next step when they come back."

Of course Tang De will not put his eggs in one basket, MGM is just one of the alternatives.

But the next day, the news brought back by Karl and others highlighted MGM.

Because other companies are more greedy and promise a lower number of screens to Tang De, there is no intention of any reduction in the share.

As for the fact that they don’t need to pay for publicity, their comment on this is: “Do you really know how to publicize it?”

"Do you have any experience in film promotion?"

"If your announcement drags down the movie box office, do you have to take responsibility?"

"SHXT!" In the office, Carl couldn't help but curse a few times. He went to Universal and received the worst treatment. The distribution department sent them away with only one small employee.

"Now it seems that MGM has the best treatment. Don, what do you think?" Jimmy looked helpless. He didn't expect that after the film was produced, distribution would become a problem.

If you think about those screenwriters who are not recognized for their talents, as well as various small independent production companies, you can imagine their living conditions in Hollywood.

To use an appropriate sentence to describe it is: If you don’t write, others will write; if you don’t take pictures, others will take pictures.

This is the naked current situation in Hollywood. Previously, Tang De only participated in the production of the movie and not in the distribution, so he was not aware of the various twists and turns involved.

But the negotiations over the past few days have made him understand clearly what it means to be a knife and a fish.

Without your own publishing company, you will eventually be constrained by others.

However, distribution capabilities are not that simple to establish. The major distribution companies in Hollywood have gone through various fights and mergers to become what they are today. It is simply a fantasy for Norton Eyes to compete with them in a short period of time.

So the most important thing right now is to find a reliable distributor and secure the film's release schedule.

Seeing that Tang De didn't speak, Jimmy looked at Karl, who was sipping tea next to him, and then at Kane and James Wan not far away, curled his lips, and fell into silence.

However, more than ten seconds later, Tang De suddenly clapped his hands vigorously, as if he had figured out something.

"What's wrong, Tang, do you have an idea?" Everyone turned their attention to Tang De. In their hearts, Tang De can always think of the most suitable idea. To be honest, this kind of confidence is a bit blind, but it is also accumulated bit by bit. of.

Looking at everyone's gaze, Tang De said: "Actually, we have another choice."

"What choice?" Wen Ziren asked doubtfully.

"Do you know the largest independent production company in Hollywood? They release a large number of horror films every year. It should be said that in terms of experience in releasing horror films, even the major companies in Hollywood cannot match it."

Carl heard about indies and horror movies and it dawned on him: "You mean the company that distributes Blair Witch, Lionsgate?"

(End of this chapter)