Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 63 Two Strong Men
"Steven Soderbergh and David Lynch have both won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for two consecutive years with American independent films!"

Michael Kuhn smiled and clinked glasses with Aaron. The main funding for David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" came from PolyGram.

“Independent films seem to have great potential!”

Aaron's expression was calm. "Is PolyGram planning to add some independent film projects?"

"There are still many independent filmmakers in Hollywood, and you can give full play to your talents."

Michael Kuhn took a sip of his wine and said, "The investment in a film is basically hundreds of millions of dollars, which needs to be carefully considered;"

"Few people can invest in and develop the work of a new director as quickly as you do!"

Aaron knew that the other party was talking about "Boyz n the Hood", a crime movie about the black community. After all, the director John Singleton was just a black college graduate.

Aaron smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do. Several Hollywood agencies are raising their prices too much these days. Famous directors are expensive."

"James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola made $2 million for films like Terminator 3: Judgment Day and The Godfather Part III."

"Some other directors who have released good works also ask for more than $300 million, and the more famous ones directly ask for $500 million!"

"Although new directors are cheap, the risks are too high," Michael Kuhn dared not do the same as Aaron.

Carlock's investment in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was indeed quite generous, and the budget of over $1 million was also a record-breaking one;

Arnold Schwarzenegger's salary is directly equivalent to a Gulfstream IV business jet, which costs more than 1200 million US dollars!
Carlock's boss, Mario Casar, is a typical example of generosity.

"By the way, Aaron, do you know the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen?"

Michael Kuhn inquired.

"The Coen brothers, they established themselves firmly in the independent film world a few years ago with their debut film, 'Blood Simple,' and won the 1st Film Independent Spirit Award and the 2nd Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize.

“After that, they released ‘Raising Arizona,’ and it looks like there’s a ‘Miller’s Crossing’ coming out this year;”

"The Coen brothers' works are all black thrillers, full of suspense and strong personal style!"

The Coen brothers are, after all, representatives of the American independent film industry, so Aaron is certainly familiar with them.

Michael Kuhn smiled and said, "This time, PolyGram invested $900 million to let the Coen brothers shoot the thriller "Barton Fink";"

"The co-distributor in North America is 20th Century Fox!"

Aaron smiled, "Why isn't PolyGram working with Heritage Entertainment or Samuel Gwen Films?"

By cooperating with these independent distributors, PolyGram has greater bargaining power.

Michael Kuhn looked at Aaron, "PolyGram acquired a 49% stake in Studio Pictures in the UK;"

"We actually also want to own our own film production company in Hollywood. I'm very optimistic about your Dawn Pictures!"

I treated you as my partner, but you're thinking of acquiring me?

"Michael, Dawn Pictures only wants to maintain its independence. I understand that PolyGram and Studio Pictures have formed a third-party film distribution company, Manifesto Film Sales;"

"Studio Pictures is responsible for production, Manifesto Pictures is responsible for sales, and they are backed by the PolyGram Group. European art films are different from Hollywood commercial films;" "It's not as easy as it seems to get into Hollywood."

PolyGram was originally owned 50/50 by Philips of the Netherlands and Siemens of Germany;
However, three years ago, Siemens withdrew from PolyGram, and now Philips Group is the sole controlling shareholder of PolyGram!
Isn’t the fastest way to enter Hollywood like Sony directly acquiring Columbia TriStar?

Relying on investing in a few low-cost independent films, isn't that nonsense?
Michael Kuhn shrugged. "Unlike Philips and Sony, we never thought of going this big!"

"Okay, if there's a chance in the future, we can still cooperate..."

Disney headquarters in Burbank.

Michael Eisner was sitting on the sofa in his office when group president Frank Wells walked in.

"Hollywood Pictures' first production, 'Little Devil', will be released next month. It's just a low-budget horror comedy!"

Hollywood Pictures is an adult film production company established by Michael Eisner under Buena Vista Distribution last year.
With the success of Touchstone Pictures, Michael Eisner decided to set up Hollywood Pictures to compete with Touchstone internally.

"My concern is not about the film, but about Amblin Pictures, the studio I'm working with."

Amblin Films was founded by Steven Spielberg and his assistants Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
As the current top director in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg only directs movies for Universal and Warner Bros. Other film companies are eyeing Spielberg, and Disney is no exception!
Working with Amblin is just the beginning.

Frank Wells certainly understood, and then he continued, "Dick Tracy only grossed $2400 million in just two weeks after its release, and its reputation was also very poor;"

"The media predicts that by the time it's released, Dick Tracy's North American box office will only be $5000 million."

Michael Eisner nodded. "When will the filming of 'The Rocketeer,' the comic book adaptation, start?"

"Jeffrey has scheduled filming to start in August. He seems very optimistic about this movie!"

Frank Wells responded.

Because of the hit performance of this year's "Pretty Woman", Jeffrey Katzenberg, who discovered this movie, has become very popular at Disney;
In contrast, "Dick Tracy", which was directed by Michael Eisner, encountered many problems. Not only was the production cost high, but before its release, the director and actor Warren Beatty was involved in a sensational scandal, and Disney also helped him with public relations.

But the result is still disappointing. Not to mention half of the box office of "Pretty Woman", it is estimated that it can't even reach a quarter of it!

Frank Wells sighed inwardly. Both Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg were highly capable people, but they both had a strong desire for control and power.

Now, Jeffrey Katzenberg's popularity was skyrocketing, much to Michael Eisner's displeasure.

"For the Rocketeer project, have you discussed increasing the budget?"

Michael Eisner asked again.

"Yes, the producer submitted a report, hoping to increase the budget from $2500 million to $3500 million so that there will be more big scenes;"

"However, Jeffrey is still considering it. He said he will decide after seeing how the film turns out!"

Michael Eisner looked up at Frank Wells and said, "The most important thing for us about The Rocketeer is that it can promote peripheral products and toys;"

"It's worthwhile to increase the budget by $1000 million by carefully designing the characters and props."

Frank Wells was stunned for a moment, then nodded. He was going to discuss it with Jeffrey Katzenberg.
As the lubricant between the two strong men, Frank Wells needs to maintain their harmony!

(End of this chapter)