American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 137: He fell down on the first day.

Chapter 137 He fell down on the first day.

On March 4, 2005, Resident Evil: Apocalypse was officially released in North America.

It grossed $823 million on its opening day, ranking second on the daily chart.

The first is "The Pacifier," which grossed $859 million at the box office.

This is a movie starring Vin Diesel, the bald-headed Vin.

Like The Game Plan, they are also family-friendly comedies produced by Disney.

Furthermore, "Daddy's Day" was officially released on March 4th.

On the surface, the difference between "Revelation" and "Daddy's Day" is not that great. As long as they put in some effort, they should have the potential to rise from the ashes. However, the reaction of the North American market the next day was a huge surprise.

On Saturday, March 5, 2005, the second day of its release, Apocalypse experienced a drop in box office revenue in North America.

Compared to its opening day, Revelation's box office dropped 8.1% on its second day, grossing $756 million.

It ranks third on the daily chart.

The top spot still belongs to "Super Daddy," which grossed 1358 million in a single day.

The second was "Cool to the End," which was released on the same day as them and grossed 962 million yuan in a single day.

"Coolness Is the Best" is a film starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman, and is a sequel to "The Sopranos".

Although their opening day box office was not as high as "Apocalypse", their box office will rise on the second day!

After Apocalypse saw a revenue decline on Saturday, the day when box office revenue is most likely to increase, Sunday...

On March 6, 2005, the third day of its release, "Apocalypse" saw a sharp drop in box office revenue in North America.

Compared to the second day, Revelation's box office continued to decline by 37.3% on the third day, taking in $474 million.

Even though it remains third on the daily charts, its performance of only $2053 million over the first three days is truly disappointing.

This left Michael Barnason, Chris Columbus's longtime producer who had been stationed on the set of "The Goblet of Fire," looking quite helpless as he approached Isabella. And after Isabella learned that "Apocalypse" had been destroyed...

Her eyelids twitched.

Although Isabella knew that the Resident Evil IP wasn't great, she never dreamed that the box office of this IP's movies would keep declining. A debut that was already at its peak? What the hell!
"So what are your box office predictions for 'Apocalypse'?"

"The data provided by Warner is that North America has a maximum of 50 million, and globally it is a maximum of 110 million or 120 million."

Since Warner Bros. knew this was Isabella's work, they wouldn't cut corners on its distribution, nor would they dare to. Therefore, when Barnason stated that Warner Bros. thought *Apocalypse* would only gross a maximum of $1.2 million, $1.3 million was a figure they could never reach, even though *Apocalypse* had a budget of $4800 million.

In that case...

From a box office perspective, the "Apocalypse" project is a 100% loss.

"Then let's operate it for the long term."

"Selling DVDs."

"Anyway, this is what Warner does best."

Isabella sighed.

When she said that Warner Bros. was best at selling CDs, Barnason burst out laughing.

Because this statement is so correct that he simply cannot refute it.

But he didn't come here today to talk about operations, because profitability is the ultimate goal of business operations.

What he wanted to say was—

“Uh, Isa, actually, during the production of Revelation, the series producer Paul Anderson presented me with the idea for a third installment. Do you know anything about this?”

In Isabella's previous life, there were already six Resident Evil films, and the series was generally profitable. Therefore, even though Apocalypse was a flop, Isabella still considered making sequels. But now...

"Oh, Michael, I have a feeling you're... implying something?"

Isabella shook the glass in her hand.

The bright orange juice bubbled as she moved.

"That's right, because Warner Bros. advised you to stop making Resident Evil. They said that the reaction in the North American market proved that the Resident Evil IP didn't have many viewers in North America."

"Or perhaps, gamers are just too rational. They like something simply because they like that one thing, and they won't fall in love with everything related to it just because they like that one thing."

"Then, my suggestion is the same as Warner's, and..."

At this point, a hint of hesitation appeared on Barnason's face.

This situation piqued Isabella's curiosity. "And what?"

“Michael, did you hear something? If so, you can just say so, because I believe those things have nothing to do with you. Aren’t you always on the set of ‘Goblet of Fire’? We see each other every day.”

“Okay, here’s the thing, I’ve found out that Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich are trying to… set you up.”

Since Isabella had said so, Barnason didn't hesitate and said directly, "The two of them are dating, and it seems they're using Resident Evil as a platform to showcase their own brand..."

"What?"

Isabella frowned slightly, not understanding what Barnason was talking about.

Through Barnason's narration, a story of yearning for transformation unfolded before Isabella:
Milla Jovovich is a former model and is very famous in the fashion industry.

Last year, she was named the world's highest-paid model by Fox.

Since working won't make you successful, like many people who want to climb the social ladder, Milla Jovovich, after realizing that her fame in the modeling world had reached its peak, wanted to turn her fame into her own capital.

So in 2003, she and her friend Carmen Hawke founded a fashion brand, or rather, a runway-oriented accessible luxury brand, called Jovovich–Hawk.

Fashion, accessible luxury, luxury... these things...

Those who know, know.

This business doesn't sell clothes or jewelry; it sells the dream of people wanting to be superior to others.

Most people want to show off after they make money. They want to tell those around them that they are successful so that everyone will envy and admire them. But you can't stick checks, property deeds, and stocks on your forehead.

Therefore, embracing fashion and luxury brands that seem to be symbols of status is something they will definitely do.

Then, the problem arises.

Since fashion and luxury brands sell emotional value, the prestige a brand projects in the public eye directly determines its revenue. This is why many brands go to great lengths to find celebrity endorsements—they want to use celebrity connections to showcase their success. And this is also why many truly successful individuals don't rely on celebrity endorsements—when the whole world knows how successful they are, why would a brand that gains its status by piggybacking on someone else's popularity appear on their persona?
Do you want me to promote your products for free?
Impossible!

Therefore, when fashion and luxury brands spend their biggest annual expenditure on celebrity endorsements and engage in aggressive marketing, anyone wanting to build a brand only has two paths: either pour a fortune into hiring celebrities, or have resources where celebrities willingly endorse your brand to curry favor. And these two...

Milla Jovovich didn't have it either.

Before starting her fashion brand, Milla Jovovich thought that as long as she was fashionable enough, people would buy her products. But after she started, she discovered that the wealthy people who had once greeted her with smiles looked down on her.

She, Milla Jovovich, has absolutely no value in the fashion world.

This made her angry.

They want to break the deadlock.

After thinking it over, she suddenly realized that her status as a movie star might be something she could use.

She can bring her brand into the movies she acts in.

This way, you can gain more exposure for your brand.

Normally, this method is called implantation.

The brand owner has to pay the production company.

But she didn't want to give it.

Or rather, she not only didn't want to pay, she even wanted to use the excuse that the production crew needed costume designers to make the production crews of the projects she was involved in pay the salaries of her brand's design team. And the easiest production crew for her to manipulate was Resident Evil...

"Are you sure this is true?"

Isabella was shocked.

Are Milla Jovovich and Paul Anderson trying to take advantage of her?

“Isa, just as you said, I have no reason to lie to you.”

Barnason shrugged and said, "The reason they're so eager to start Resident Evil 3 right now is because their brand revenue is terrible, and they... have poured a lot of money into it."

"Okay, so what's your suggestion?"

"My suggestion is that if they're willing to pay for product placement, then we can start production on a third film if you really like the series. Otherwise, my opinion is the same as Warner Bros.'s: this series is dispensable. And..."

"We didn't pay any money when we acquired the copyright, did we?"

From a business perspective, movies are commodities; anything that doesn't make money is garbage. So when the profit model for "Resident Evil" is ambiguous, it's better to put your money in a bank deposit as a fixed deposit than to throw money into it, especially when others are eyeing your money.

And this...

"You should discuss this with Susie."

Isabella waved her hand and downed her juice in one gulp. "Then, my attitude is simple: I don't have much of a feeling about the Resident Evil project, but being cheated makes me very angry."

“Okay, I understand.” Barnason nodded.

Isabella has no emotional attachment to the Resident Evil IP.

Therefore, whether she exists or disappears, she won't care.

However, she was somewhat annoyed by being treated like a sucker.

Therefore, when she learned that Susie had simply thrown the Resident Evil project into the archives after communicating with Barnason, and was too lazy to negotiate with Paul Anderson and the others, she was immediately delighted.

Ok.

Barnason understood the little girl's hint.

When someone strives to climb upwards, it's because they want to gain something.

If life after hard work is no different from life before hard work, then...

What's the point of me even trying?
Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich became anxious when they learned that Beaver Pictures had shelved the Resident Evil series due to profitability issues.

Paul Anderson even called Michael Barnason directly—

"Michael, the failure of 'Revelation' was just an accident! The reason it didn't make a profit has a lot to do with Constantine. If Constantine hadn't frequently started and stopped projects, the cost of 'Revelation' wouldn't have soared to 4800 million!"

"So, if you're halting the sequel because of profitability issues, then... then... how about 3500 million? We can reduce the budget for the third film to 3500 million, about the same as the first one!"

"In this way, following the traditional trajectory of Resident Evil, the third installment will be profitable at the box office no matter what!"

"We only need one chance! Please give us another chance!"

The urgency on the other end of the phone made Barnason look up.

At this moment, he is still on the set of "The Goblet of Fire"... Well, that's obvious. His core job is to be Columbus's second-in-command. What else would he do but follow Columbus? And at this moment, the "Goblet of Fire" crew is filming the final scenes of "(Part 1)".

That was the manifestation of the Black Mark.

Because many of the charred sets in the storyboard can only be used once.

Anyone who disrupts the filming will have to commit seppuku as an apology.

But he didn't want to be the sinner.

and so……

Located on the outermost edge of the film crew, overseeing everything from an off-screen perspective, he said to the guy on the other end of the phone: "Paul, compared to the big studios, we are still very weak. Tens of millions of dollars in investment is a very difficult thing for us."

"After the failure of 'Revelation,' even if we wanted to make a third one, we would have to wait for the publisher to settle accounts with us. This process takes time, so please be patient."

"Don't worry, we'll contact you once we've recovered the full 4800 million we invested in 'Apocalypse.' We hope that you'll still be as passionate about the 'Resident Evil' project as you are now."

Only a complete idiot would tell the other party the real reasons when canceling a project. Therefore, when saying no to Resident Evil 3, Barnason's only reason was that the project's revenue was lower than expected.

And this...

"Michael! I don't believe Beaver Pictures can't come up with thirty-five million!"

Paul Anderson exclaimed excitedly, "This is Isabella's company!"

"Who in this industry doesn't know that Isabella is incredibly rich?"

"The Voice of China brought her hundreds of millions of dollars! The production cost of a Resident Evil movie is not even as high as the copyright revenue of The Voice of China in a developed country in a year!"

"So...please...would you like to talk to Isabella again?"

Although it felt great to be begged by someone, Barnason's expression turned cold.

Everyone in the circle knew he was working for Columbus, so if someone wanted to swindle money from Isabella when his boss's ally was Isabella, wouldn't that be tantamount to swindling his boss?
Gazing ahead, the harmonious film set prompted him to say seriously, "Paul, I only have two things to tell you."

"First, the copyright to Resident Evil is currently in the hands of Beaver, not you. So, if you want to take control, okay, you can buy the copyright and then you can do whatever you want."

"Secondly, I am only the producer of Resident Evil, not the general manager of Beaver Pictures. What are Beaver Pictures' development plans? I have no right to interfere or even ask about them. Therefore, if you really want to attract investment, you can go directly to the people at Beaver. And right now, the person in charge of film and television at Beaver is Susie Figgis."

You should have heard of this person.

At this point, Barnason hung up the phone.

He tossed it to his assistant and ignored the storms outside.

The sudden beeping sound made Paul Anderson on the other end of the phone look pained and frantically say 'Oh No'.

This situation prompted Milla Jovovich, who was listening nearby, to anxiously ask, "What do we do now?"

"Although we have several film projects in hand, this one is the most suitable for product placement!"

“If they really don’t want to do it, there’s nothing we can do…” Paul Anderson shook his head.

But before he could finish speaking, Milla Jovovich shrieked, "What about my company? It's been losing money for two years! You know that? Design! Fashion shows! Buying awards! All of that costs money!"

"Carmen wants to open an exhibition hall in Manhattan this year! Right next to Broadway!"

"Oh my God!"

"This one show alone costs over a million!"

"I can't afford such expenses!"

“Mira! I can’t help it! I can’t make the decision!” Paul Anderson’s temper flared up as well.

It's not like he let Mila start the fashion company, so... why is Mila yelling at him?

His shout made Mira's eyes widen. "Oh—Paul—I never thought you were this kind of person—"

Do you remember what you said when you proposed to me?

You said you would love me, tolerate me, and cherish me forever!

"But what now?"

"I just asked you to find a way to boost my brand's popularity, but I didn't expect you couldn't even do such a small thing."

"You have really disappointed me!"

Before she could finish speaking, Mira had already turned around.

The resolute departure left Paul Anderson completely bewildered. "Mira—what do you mean—"

Is this a small matter?

"Hey! Stop right there! I need you to explain yourself!"

The details of their argument remained unknown to outsiders.

And even if you knew...

I guess most people would just take the arguments between couples as a source of amusement.

No one mentions that Resident Evil has disappeared.

We won't mention beavers because they're not important.

Paul Anderson is not mentioned because people who lack self-awareness cannot survive in this industry.

They dare to engage in underhanded tactics because they're gambling that their actions won't be discovered.

Are you really going to let them publicly criticize Isabella?
Bernd Eisinger, the chairman of Constantine and producer of the first Resident Evil film, has already retired due to illness.

The underlying motives behind Resident Evil did indeed have some impact on Isabella's mood.

But soon, her unhappiness was dispelled by the surge of joy.

The first piece of good news is that preparations for the third season of "The Voice" have begun!
This means she can count her money in a cool way again!
The second piece of good news is that "The Voice" is also performing very well in markets outside of North America.
For example, in the UK, Hailey Bieber's true home turf, The Voice broke viewership records for variety shows.
However, that's not the main point. The main point is that the runner-up of the first season of The Voice UK is named Eli Goulding.

Yes, it's the same Lip Girl who sang "Love Me Like You Do".

The champion's name is Adele Adkins.

Yeah, you idiot.

When this news came out, Miss Beaver burst into laughter!
Because when a talent show can produce a god, then that talent show must be a god!
Given the current state of "The Voice of China," it can print money for at least twenty years!
That would be an astronomical figure!
However, after laughing twice, the little beaver started cosplaying as an old man again, sighing.

Due to limited resources and the fact that partner companies in markets other than North America are not as easy to deal with as Disney, Little Beaver does not have the right to sign contestants for The Voice in markets other than North America.

Therefore, she cannot sign with Sister Lip or Ah-Dai.

This made her feel a little regretful.

However, neither Sister Lip nor Ah-Dai were signed by outsiders.

Because when Vivian signed the contract last year, Warner would immediately try to partner with that company as soon as she had chosen one.

Yeah, Lips and Ah-Dai got signed by Warner, that's really...

"Barry, you owe me a billion dollars now."

Upon receiving the news, Isabella immediately called Barry Mayer.

Barry Mayer was completely bewildered by these words, but just as he was about to ask why, Beaver hung up the phone.

"Go ahead and guess!"

The little beaver 'fiercely' threw the phone away.

When April arrived, Susie brought Isabella her third and fourth pieces of good news.

The third piece of good news is that the lead actor for the play "Home of Music" has been selected.

The washed-up diva is portrayed by Idina Menzel, while the new star is played by Kat Dennings.

The former was a Broadway actress who had won a Tony Award. She had wanted to enter the film and television industry since 2000, but she had not succeeded.

It was precisely because she was a 'failure' that Susie invited her to star in 'Home of Music'.

However, this is only information from Susie's side; what about Isabella's memories...?

This is Elsa from Frozen.

Yes, the voice actress for Elsa and the singer of "Let It Go".

According to Susie's information, the latter was a newcomer in the industry who had appeared in American TV series such as "Sex and the City".

As for Isabella's memories...

That's Max from "2 Broke Girls".

Since both of them are famous, Isabella naturally has no objection to this casting result.

Then, the production cost of a single series is approximately US$100 million.

Because of the production team...

It’s quite expensive.

Isabella had no objection to this.

She's willing to invest heavily as long as the show is well-made, and she's not worried about sales.

The fourth piece of good news is that the "Hannah Montana" project can also be postponed.

In the series, the girl who has a double life is Elizabeth Olsen.

Yeah~
Scarlet Witch.

But after the casting results were announced...

Isabella was immediately shocked—

"Isn't she the Olsen sisters' sister? Susie, didn't you say you wanted to choose an ordinary person?"

“Yes, I did want to choose an amateur, but, Isa, didn’t you say that if we had someone we knew, we’d use someone we knew first? And then… Elizabeth Olsen was recommended by someone we knew…”

"Oh, so who recommended her?"

“Our Vice President, Chris Sanders.”

"Huh???" Beaver was dumbfounded.

Is there a connection between Elizabeth Olsen and the director of Lilo & Stitch?
How come she didn't know about this?

Susie continued, "Elizabeth Olsen has an older sister named Mary Olsen, who previously had a boyfriend named David Katzenberg, who is Jeffrey Katzenberg's son."

"The two met on the set of ABC, when the Olsen twins were filming Disney's 'The Parent Trap'."

"The two dated for a long time before officially breaking up last year."

“Since they fell in love on the set of Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s people at Disney naturally took care of them. And this time, after learning that we had a project here and that Chris Sanders was here, Mary called Chris and pushed her 16-year-old sister over.”

“I saw her audition and thought she was great, because Elizabeth studied music professionally. She signed with BMG in 1994 and could perfectly handle the singing in the play. She could even develop into a singer. And then there's her acting…”

“She has been taking acting classes all these years.”

"So, do you have someone in mind? If so, I can just apologize to her directly."

"Oh, no. Since you think she's good, then choose her. Uh... can you get her a management contract?"

Isabella had no objection to the casting of Susie.

She was shocked, purely because she didn't know that Olsen's sister had talked to Katzenberg's son for a long time.

When this complicated relationship came to light, Isabella was truly filled with mixed emotions!
Inbreeding in Hollywood...

Why do you feel like we're all family when you criticize her like this?

At once……

Well, that's pretty normal.

Everyone has selfish desires.

The continuous stream of good news put Isabella in a good mood.

However, according to the law of conservation of smiles, for every person who is happy, there is someone who is sad.