Three days later, the first weekend box office results were released.

"Bonnie and Frank" ranked third in the same period with a box office of $8.5 million.

The second place is the comedy film "The Birdcage" starring Robin Williams, which was released in March, with a weekend box office of 9.2 million.

There is no doubt that the first place is "First Level of Fear", with a weekend box office of 9.8 million.

Martin Lawrence's "A Thin Line between Love and Hate" only earned 3 million, and the theater chain will definitely reduce the number of screens. In view of its 8 million production cost, plus publicity and distribution expenses, losses are a foregone conclusion.

The rise of "Birdcage" against the market may be related to the poor performance of the same type of comedy "A Thin Line of Love and Hate". The audience would rather watch a gay man falling in love than a mentally ill gangster director and star.

's movie.

Bai Quinn knew that the box office of "Bonnie and Frank" would start to drop sharply next week. After all, it was a low-budget movie, and the quality of the movie was not great. The best part was in the promotional video, and the bonus period of event marketing had passed.

Because of the novel shooting technique of high-speed slow motion and long lens action scenes, and Wes Anderson's bold use of colors, "Bonnie and Frank" has a good reputation among film critics. Cinema Score's survey score is B, which does not rule out some

The audience will be influenced by the movie reviews and enter the theater, but it will certainly not be able to suppress the accelerated decline of the box office. The final box office should be between 25 million and 30 million US dollars.

Harvey's Miramax will make a lot of money. As for how much bonus can be given to the creative team, it can only depend on Harvey's mood.

Movies run by Miramax have always won awards during award season, but their box office revenue has been mediocre. Perhaps this "Bonnie and Frank" will become Miramax's most profitable movie in 1996.

From now on, Harvey will be able to brag on various occasions about how he was so discerning that he beat the crowd at the Sundance Film Festival for $3 million to snag this film.

For the team at Widmark Imaging, "Bonnie and Frank" is a thing of the past.

Gerald, who accidentally broke his leg, took the initiative to resign. After being introduced, Chris recruited a professional manager in Los Angeles.

This man's name is Joe Drake. He is over forty years old. Although his hair is thin, he is still a tall and handsome old white man. He has experience in the production and distribution of movies and TV series. He is familiar with various Hollywood brands and has no shortage of connections.

.

With a core of professionals, several original Wedmark Imaging employees who were willing to move to Los Angeles, and newly recruited Los Angeles natives, Wedmark Imaging has moved its base to Los Angeles.

Laura Duvall is still in charge of the finances. William's role is more like a housekeeper, and on the set, he is an executive producer who worries about every detail.

Said officially joined Wedmark Image, but because he had to take care of the 122nd Street Blockbuster he invested in and continue his studies at the New York University School of Art, he could only stay on the East Coast. His current job is to perfect Bai Quinn.

The script of "Infernal Affairs" that gives the framework.

Joe Drake was given considerable autonomy to proactively find suitable projects to bring back to Wedmark Imaging's "review board" for discussion.

Currently, Joe Drake's business scope is comedy or horror movies with an investment of less than five million US dollars. Widmark Pictures' positioning is more commercial and does not operate literary films.

Chris's focus is on distribution channels, and he seizes every opportunity to expand his connections in Hollywood.

Recently, at various ceremonies and receptions in Hollywood, you can always see a young Italian with meticulously combed hair, big eyes and a big nose, a shy smile, and often accompanied by a beautiful chestnut-haired girlfriend who is much taller than him.

young man.

Many people know that this young man is the little fool who produced "Bonnie and Frank" with a small reputation, but sold it to Harvey at a low price.

But they just like to make friends with such fools, and maybe they can make a lot of money from fools like Harvey.

The initial work of "The Legend of Evil" is also in full swing. The casting work is basically completed. According to the schedules of several leading actors, William will break down the shooting plan and allocate corresponding resources...

Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind.

Miramax's final investment of three million US dollars still has not been deposited into the condominium account!

"I have solved the funding problem! Construction must start tomorrow!"

At the meeting of the "review committee" which is the core of Widmark's image, Chris slapped the table and said.

William was overjoyed when he heard this and started work on time, so he no longer had to coordinate the schedule.

The problem of funds is mainly because Chris is running around. As a shareholder, Bai Quinn can't help even if he wants to help. Not to mention that his money has been invested in buying a house. He doesn't have much funds on hand, only about 200,000, and

As the tax season approached, in order not to pay taxes, he bought Motorola stock. He bought it at a price of 42 US dollars per share. It is currently fluctuating around 46 US dollars, so it doesn't make much sense to take it out.

Besides, he didn’t know how Chris made money. He wasn’t involved in the family business, and Chris wouldn’t take the initiative to tell him. He only knew that Chris took Furio back to New York three days ago.

It solved the funding gap of "The Bad Guys" and prepared funds for the new projects that Joe Drake found.

Of course, all the money has to be repaid, and the brothers must ensure that every film project makes money.

The project that Joe Drake found is a black comedy-style horror film. The original work is a novel "American Psycho" published in 1991. The protagonist is a well-dressed investment manager who works on Wall Street during the day, but turns into a perverted serial killer at night.

Killer weirdos.

This novel aroused heated discussion as soon as it was released, and the copyright was purchased by producer Edward Passman.

At first he wanted to invite Stuart Gordon to direct and Johnny Depp to star, but the project failed to take shape.

Director David Cronenberg replaced Gordon and offered Brad Pitt the role, but the project still never got off the ground.

Until recently, Joe Drake heard that Edward Passman was in financial crisis and was preparing to sell the copyright in his hands. He thought it was an opportunity. After contacting Edward, he estimated that he could purchase the copyright of the novel within two hundred thousand dollars.

, and Joe Drake also convinced the original author of the novel that Widmark Imaging was very sincere in making his work into a movie.

The question now is whether Wedmark Imaging's "review committee" is willing to move forward with the project.

After solving the first issue, Chris started a new agenda: "Everyone should have finished reading the novel "American Psycho". Let's vote by a show of hands whether to buy the copyright of this novel and start the project."

"If you agree, please raise your hands."

Chris looked around the conference room. Only Laura and Joe Drake raised their hands.

"If you object, please raise your hands."

This time there are still only two people, William and Neil Meek, the lawyer representing the family foundation.

Only he and Bai Quinn did not express their stance.

Seeing Chris looking at him, lawyer Neil Meek explained: "I don't understand movies, and I shouldn't express my opinion at will, but I think there must be something wrong with this project being stranded twice in the preparation period. Dre

The production budget given by Mr. Ke is three to five million US dollars, which is too much, and we should not take risks with so much money."

After all, Nick Meeker represents the largest investor in Wedmark Image. His opinions carry a lot of weight, and he is worried that his boss will be affected by it. Joe Drake hurriedly explained: "The first failure of this project was the director's concept.

Problem, he insisted that the film should be made in black and white to reflect the satire and speculation of the novel. In the end, it was shelved because he could not reach an agreement with the producer.

The second time was due to Edward Passman's financial problems. His investors believed that according to the description in the original book, the film would not even be able to apply for an R rating after it was produced. The minimum would be NC-17, and it might not even be able to get the MPAA.

The project was terminated only after receiving the grade rating.

Oh, and Brad Pitt is unwilling to expose his body, which is also a big reason.

I think it's just a matter of finding the right director to take this project forward, and I already have the right person and will be arranging for her to meet with you soon, Mr. Moriarty.

In addition, as long as the violence and sexual descriptions are restrained and the cannibal plot is deleted, the rating will not be a problem. We should start acquiring the copyright as soon as possible while the influence of the novel is still there. The topicality of this novel can also be

Open up our reputation in the industry..."

Chris looked at Bai Quinn, who had never expressed his stance.

The latter closed the book in front of him and said: "I like this book very much. On the one hand, I like the personality setting of two different characters in one body. On the other hand, this book has a profound view on the capitalist society built by money.

The description is really spot on.

In this society, everyone is sick, everyone is only interested in profit, and they are indifferent to everything around them. It is not the protagonist who is mentally ill, but the whole society!"

"So you agreed?" Chris asked.

"I agree to purchase the copyright of the novel, but how to operate the movie requires detailed planning," Bai Quinn said.

"Okay, Joe, go ahead and contact us about the copyright purchase. We still need to judge based on your detailed plan whether to continue the operation... That's it for today."

The others left, and brothers Chris and Bai Quinn were left alone.

Chris asked: "QB, how was the meeting with New Line Cinema yesterday?"

Bai Quinn shook his head, "There is a lot of controversy between the two parties. I guess this matter will be shelved."

Then Bai Quinn briefly talked about the "tripartite talks" formed by Jack Cheng, New Line Cinema and him.

Two people came from New Line Cinema, Michael DeLuca, the vice president in charge of film production, and Brett Ratner, a young director.

Although director Brett Ratner showed a little fanboy side of Jack and repeatedly expressed that he liked Jack's movies very much and hoped to work with him, Michael DeLuca, who really had the weight to speak, rejected Jack outright.

successful proposal.

New Line Cinema only gave Jack Cheng and Bai Quinn two options: either, like "The Red Zone," Hong Kong Island Production Company will finish filming the film, and New Line Cinema will fund the purchase of North American distribution rights.

Either Jack Cheng and his martial arts instructor team join New Line Cinema's project, and New Line is willing to offer Jack Cheng a salary of US$5 million for the film, and if the box office reaches a certain amount, they will also pay box office bonuses.

"Red Zone" sold for five million US dollars, but that was Jiahe's income, and it is unknown how much went into Jack Cheng's pocket.

But if it is a project that Jack Cheng joins New Line, regardless of the box office, the five million will fall into his own hands.

It would be a lie to say that he is not moved, but no matter how unethical a person is, he cannot betray his teammates on the spot. Even if no one from Jiahe is present at the negotiation site, Jack Cheng cannot accept this plan. The gap between it and Jack Cheng's expectation is too big, but he is the only one

It is impossible for the entire Hong Kong Island film industry to integrate into the international community if only one person joins.

After all, Jack Cheng's status in the Hong Kong film industry has now reached its peak, and the "biweekly 10%" have all touched the ceiling. The small Hong Kong Island has no room for them to go further, and they must go out!

Not only should we go out ourselves, but it is best to bring the entire industry out, learn the world's advanced technologies and concepts, and come back to feed back Hong Kong Island.

However, the Hollywood companies that have the resources do not give them this opportunity. New Line Cinema only needs Jack to succeed. Several other film companies that can handle both production and distribution have little interest in Eastern kung fu films. The three actors in "Red Zone"

A box office of tens of millions is not enough to prove that this type of movie can be accepted by American audiences. They are still waiting to see...

At this point, the negotiation has collapsed. New Line Cinema, which is in a strong position, has already given options. It depends on how Jack Cheng, who is in a weak position, chooses.
To be continued...