In the conference room of the Fox Tower in Century City, the 20th Century Fox's monthly regular meeting has come to an end. These big figures who have a pivotal position in Hollywood, after discussing film projects one by one, turned the topic to Lucasfilm.
"I have scheduled a sample preview of "Life and Death" tomorrow morning.
The director of the distribution department, Townsend Rothman, is the person in charge of contacting Lucasfilm and the person who advocated the introduction of the film. "George himself will participate in the trial meeting. This is our opportunity. I suggest that I am right to the " The importance of "Life and Death" further strives for George's favor and allows him to restart the Star Wars series as soon as possible."
"Rosie..."
CEO Jeff Giannopoulos, who was sitting at the top of the conference table, said to his secretary, "Throw off the schedule tomorrow morning and I will personally receive George."
The person opposite Townsend Rothman is Tim Fisher. The relationship between the two is like sitting positions. Tim Fisher's brows have been frowning, although he didn't care about it before, but After hearing the name "Speed of Life and Death" one after another, some recollections gradually came up. He opened the file in front of him, quickly browsed the relevant information at a glance, and finally remembered the script he threw to the assistant casually.
The outcast of caa actually got investment and directed his own script?
Tim Fisher frowned tightly. As a person who had rejected this script, he never hoped that Twentieth Century Fox would sign this movie, but the company has a request for the Star Wars series that is of great interest. For Lucasfilm, speaking out against it is undoubtedly very stupid.
After thinking about it for a moment, he tapped on the table lightly, attracting everyone's attention, "Jeff, there is a situation you pay attention to. Duke Rosenberg, the director of "Life and Death", was terminated by CAA last year. , We now have close cooperation with caa, caa just packaged and produced "Alien 3" for us, and also helped us grab the right to adapt "Interview with the Vampire" from the competition of Warner Bros. Caa and Fox will soon have A new packaging cooperation. Will this affect the good cooperation between Fox and caa? We should consider..."
George Lucas is an important partner, and the weight of caa is not light. Jeff Giannopoulos, as the ceo, must be measured. He considered it for about half a minute. "Let's look at the sample first. If the quality of the film is too bad , Directly push to the video tape market. If the quality of the film is guaranteed, then arrange a trial screening and observe the market's reaction."
"Today's meeting ends here." He declared the meeting adjourned.
No one disputed the decision of Jeff Gianopoulos. This is the most normal practice. If the film cannot generate revenue, Fox will naturally not invest resources; if the film can generate revenue, they will not struggle with the profit.
This has made Tim Fisher very satisfied. Is the work of a newcomer worthy of Fox's investment? In his opinion, even if Fox saw the film signed on behalf of George Lucas, he would arrange a week tour of the theater in several remote theaters and then directly push it to the video tape market.
Back in his office, he also made a special call with Martin Bob, the giant of caa.
""Life and Death"? Duke?"
Martin Bob's voice on the phone clearly told him that the other party didn't remember such a small person at all. After a long pause, Martin Bob over there remembered, "That ineffective boy from the Rosenberg family? Care about him, just a small role!"
It's really just a small character! Tim Fisher temporarily put this matter aside, there is no need to waste too much energy on such a small person, and you will know the result by going to the demo tomorrow to see the sample.
...
When he walked into the Fox Building again, Duke enjoyed a completely different treatment. Several high-level members of Fox in the 20th century waited in the lobby early. Of course, these people would not wait for him, but walk in the front. George Lucas, he can't attract the attention of Fox management.
Even when shaking hands with Duke, some of Fox's managers are routine.
No one pays attention to it, and Duke will not be stupid enough to say anything. He understands that he is not the protagonist of the preview. Together with the staff with the sample, he silently follows George Lucas and Robin Grande. , Took the elevator straight to the top floor of the Fox Building, and entered a not too big drawing room.
"Hello, George..."
Duke met the person who greeted Lucas to shake hands. It was Jeff Giannopoulos, the CEO of 20th Century Fox. When George Lucas introduced him, the other party just nodded to this side.
It was probably because of George Lucas' personal visit. Many senior officials of Twentieth Century Fox participated in the preview. Duke could vaguely recognize the ceo Jeff Gianopoulos and the director of distribution, Townsend Roseman. , Tim Fisher, who has dealt with, and some strange faces, should be Fox's film selection staff.
These people will determine the release and treatment of "Speed of Life"!
Different announcements will bring about completely different market responses. If 20th Century Fox does not invest the corresponding resources in "Life and Death", the film will only have a street in the theater. Although Duke is a newcomer in Hollywood, it has not yet Stupid enough to think that the movie is exciting enough to sell well.
If you want Fox to invest resources, you have to let them see the selling points of the film and let them see the possible profit prospects. For the profit-seeking business company, even if the name of George Lucas, there is no profit. more convincing.
Fortunately, the selling point of "Speed of Life" is very, very obvious.
Sitting in the back row near the left corner, Duke was patiently observing and waiting. Twentieth Century Fox is one of the largest companies in Hollywood. Professionals must be far above the pass line. He pulled George · Lucas's tiger skin as a banner can also minimize the inevitable contempt for newcomers' works in these people's hearts.
Accompanied by Lucas, Townsend Rothman suppressed his impatience. This impatience is certainly not for George Lucas, but for the movie he will try.
Frankly speaking, he advocated Twentieth Century Fox's release of "Life and Death", more from a strategic perspective. As the director of the distribution department, Townsend Rothman wanted to promote the restart of Star Wars so that he could have capital in the next year. The husband competed for the position of CEO after leaving office, and he was also a smart man. From the film that Lucasfilm strongly recommended at the beginning, he smelled some unusual breaths.
Then, he let people investigate it a little bit, and the matter was clear at a glance. The director of the film is the son of Leah Rosenberg, who has experienced Hollywood in the 70s. Who doesn't know that these two are very close.
Townsend Rothman also came to the conclusion in his heart that this is just a work by a young man like Sophia Coppola who wants to be in power by relationship.
Such people and works are not uncommon in Hollywood, and they often don't have much value at all, but he still urged Fox to sign a distribution contract. The reason is simple. He wants to have a better relationship with George Lucas. You must know the current position. The ceo is about to step down. If he can promote the restart of Star Wars, he is definitely the most powerful contender for this position.
Although his eyes were fixed on the big screen in the pull studio, most of Townsend Rothman's energy was still placed on George Lucas, but when the film was opened, this situation immediately changed.
He has watched countless movies, but he has never seen a movie with such a fast pace and such a strong sense of urgency. From the moment when the security of the building fell, he felt that his heart seemed to be picked up. The film was super short. The continuous and rapid switching of the shots brings the rare freshness of Hollywood films in recent years!
In particular, the scene quickly changes between the police, criminals, and elevator passengers, continuously placing their emotions and demeanor on the screen. Although it can be guessed that the passengers will be rescued in the end, they are still worried about their fate.
The opening scene of less than twenty minutes completely changed Townsend Rothman's view of "Life and Death". The film far exceeded his highest expectations...
This is an a-level commercial film! This idea came out strongly in his mind.
Camelot Singer sits in the back row of Townsend Rothman. He is one of the film selection experts of Twentieth Century Fox. He has a certain say in the distribution films that the company wants to introduce. He is a true professional. Not only do you have to watch a large number of new films every year, and select those worthy of release to recommend to the company, but you must also keep abreast of the market dynamics instead of criticizing like professional film critics. He needs to analyze what kind of films the market needs most. .
At the beginning, he thought that this was a feast of favors, a work directed by a newcomer under the age of 22, is it worth mobilizing the top players in the industry?
Therefore, he and the other two colleagues who have the same knowledge have been talking in low voices about the latest developments in Hollywood, and have no interest in the movies shown.
It wasn't until the screeching sound of the elevator sliding down on the screen that they cast a slight attention. Their eyes were immediately glued to the screen, and they could no longer leave.
The film can easily mobilize people's emotions from the beginning. The tense and dense drum soundtrack, the crazy to extreme car chase and collision, and the massive explosion that covers the entire screen are all the effects that top commercial films have.
"Have potential?" Camelot Singh asked his companion.
He used a questioning tone, which contained confirmation.
"with potential!"
The voices of the two colleagues were not loud, but extremely positive.
"This is not an action movie in the traditional sense." The person on the left can't help feeling, "This dazzling and thrilling scene is simply frightening."
"And..." the person on the right also said, "The explosions, chasing cars, and collision shots that appear in it seem to be new shooting methods, which are all fresh and exciting!"
"How did he do it! This seems to be taken from inside an explosion and a car accident."
Turning his head, Camelot Singh looked at the calm young man sitting in the corner, and his inspiration came out, "Will he put expensive wireless high-speed cameras inside the scene of explosions and car accidents? It's crazy. !"