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In the end, that left only MCA, the parent company of Universal Pictures.

If it was Nancy herself, she would choose MCA without hesitation.

In addition to movies, MCA's businesses in TV, music and theme parks can all form a strong complement to Daenerys Entertainment.Moreover, the aging MCA chairman Lou Wassalman is not as resistant to outside acquisitions as Martin Davis.

The next afternoon.

Because it was Saturday night, and there was a celebration party for "Batman: Begins", Daenerys Entertainment executives, big and small, came to Malibu to check the movie theater they will be staying in in the middle of this year. City area.

This mountainside land, five kilometers into the Malibu area from California Highway [-], is not what it used to be compared to the original barren slope.

After a year of construction, the main buildings in the three areas from top to bottom in the studio have been completed.

There are five three-to-five-story office buildings of different sizes in the uppermost administrative area. Different from the old-school small buildings and bungalow buildings in traditional movie theaters, these five well-proportioned office buildings are all designed in the style of high glass curtain walls. The styles are different, and the simplicity reveals a stylish and modern design aesthetic.

In addition to offices, the five buildings also include restaurants, cafes, gyms and other employee activity and leisure areas.

The most conspicuous on the second floor are three two-story factory-style office LOFT buildings with a length of 150 meters and a width of 30 meters. The appearance of the LOFT is a combination of red brick walls, tempered glass and black steel beams, and the ceiling also adopts a loft-style roof design. , It seems full of literary style.

The LOFT mode of office buildings in this era has not yet emerged.

Therefore, after Simon drew the draft drawings himself, many people were amazed, and the effect after the completion of the building was also very good.

The three office LOFTs will accommodate creative departments such as Pixar Animation, Daenerys Special Effects, Blizzard Studios and the West Coast team of Marvel Entertainment.

The current teams of Pixar are not large in size, but even considering future expansion factors, the theoretical 9000-square-meter interior space of each office LOFT is enough to accommodate 500 to 1000 people.

In addition to the three office LOFT buildings, a circular glass-steel-style large-scale event center was built on the second floor, covering an area of ​​2500 square meters. It can be used for multiple purposes such as film screenings, evening parties and conferences.

On the bottom floor of the studio are six studios of different sizes and a large post-production center.

Of course, these are only the main buildings in the studio.

In addition to only five office buildings on the top floor, there are other buildings such as restaurants, shops, warehouses and dormitories on the second and third floors.

However, the total area of ​​the film city park reaches 50 hectares, and the land occupied by all these buildings is actually not that large.

Because of the popularity of cars in the United States and the lack of public transportation in Los Angeles, it is not counted as land for greening and spare land. The largest area in the studio is actually the parking lot.The three-story park from top to bottom has a total of six large and small parking lots, which can accommodate 3000 cars when fully loaded.

After walking around the studio, other people were still visiting. Amy, Nancy, and Jennifer came to the guardrail of the parking lot near the cliff on the second floor.

Leaning on the railing, with a cliff of more than ten meters under her feet, and the blue scene of sea and sky in the distance, Nan Xi took a deep breath enjoying it, and pointed curiously at the gradually formed shell in the distance at Cape Dumei Manor Looking at the building, she asked Jennifer, "When will it be built there? It looks so beautiful?"

Simon is not in Los Angeles, so the female assistant has to take on the multiple roles of assistant and housekeeper.

Following Nancy's gaze, Jennifer said, "It won't be until next year at the earliest. The interior decoration is very troublesome, and many things have to be customized."

Nancy leaned forward enviously, and said sourly: "To build such a conspicuous villa, someone will definitely say that BOSS is extravagant. Hearst has been criticized for many years."

The founder of the Hearst Group, William Randolph Hearst, spent most of his life building the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, which has been criticized by many people as a luxury until many years later.

Jennifer argued: "Simon just built a house he likes, which is not as luxurious as Hearst."

Nancy nodded solemnly, but said with ridicule in her tone, "Yes, yes, whatever Simon does is right."

Jennifer blushed slightly, and planned to ignore Nancy.

Nancy withdrew her gaze, turned around and looked at several office lofts in the park on the second floor, and said to Amy: "I would rather work in these loft-like buildings, which are much better than the office buildings above. I I think it can stimulate the creativity of employees more.”

"So these three buildings are for Pixar and the others," Amy said, "However, if you really want to bring your own department to work here, you can. These LOFT buildings now have a lot of spare space. You can use 3 The second floor of No. LOFT."

"Then it's settled. I will take the time to discuss the decoration plan with the designer."

Nancy nodded immediately. She didn't care about the potential status difference between the administrative area on the first floor and the office area on the second floor. The most important thing was her own comfort, not to mention that no one dared to underestimate the move of the consumer goods department to the second floor.

Having said that, Nancy looked at the empty surroundings, recalled what happened yesterday, and asked Amy tentatively: "Our office buildings in Santa Monica and Burbank are rented, and they will be returned after moving here." That's fine. But, Amy, this place is empty enough, what if we have a second studio park?"

The three people beside the railing were extremely smart. Hearing what Nancy said, Jennifer immediately looked over suspiciously.

Nancy noticed Jennifer's eyes, and couldn't help teasing: "Really, even Jenny knows, and I still have to be kept secret."

As the closest person to Simon in the company and has a relationship with James, Jennifer naturally knew about Daenerys Entertainment's plan to acquire MCA.Although Simon is in Australia recently, he has been discussing this matter with James and Amy, and sometimes needs a female assistant to help pass the message.

Amy smiled and said, "Then pretend you don't know. You are just the president of the consumer goods department. You really want to take my position."

"Maybe." Nancy bared her small white teeth as a threat, and asked, "So, what should we do with the two parks?"

Amy said: "We have a lot of high-quality copyrights in our hands now. Employees from another park moved here, and this side is full. The space vacated over there can expand some superhero attractions and add a horror film community. Ah, something like that, it can enhance the attraction of the theme park to tourists.”

Speaking of which, Simon and Amy discussed the acquisition of MCA after it was proposed.

Universal Studios in Burbank covers an area of ​​212 hectares, and Daenerys Studios in Malibu also has 50 hectares.If MCA is bought, Daenerys Entertainment will own a studio that is much larger than the combined area of ​​the existing studios of other Hollywood studios.

However, this question did not bother Simon.

A large part of the reason why Simon bought MCA was for the company's theme park business.

Movie theme parks are promising in the next 30 to [-] years.

As long as the acquisition of MCA can be successfully completed, Simon will increase investment in theme parks and build more attractions in Universal Studios to attract tourists. The film and television production business there can just be transferred to Malibu.

What's more, MGM at its peak had as many as six filming bases in Los Angeles. Even if it didn't reach the heights of MGM in the era of big studios, Simon is confident that the future development of Daenerys Entertainment will be enough to digest the two. In the movie city park.

When Nancy heard what Amy said, she immediately understood, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "It's really a good idea."

Amy warned: "Remember to keep it secret, the news will spread, don't talk about grabbing my position, Simon will definitely fire you."

"Of course I understand."

The three girls were chatting, and Robert Rem, Ella Deutschman, and Robert Iger, who flew over from the east coast in the morning, walked over together.

It's already evening.

The celebration party of "Batman: Beginning of War" was held at Simon's mansion on the hillside of Palisades at seven o'clock in the evening. Everyone said hello. Amy and Jennifer rushed to Palisades to check the party preparations. Others People leave separately for a while.

The party that Daenerys entertained was undoubtedly the most popular gathering in Hollywood in the past two years, especially in recent months.

The 10-film plan for the second half of last year is still going on. With the box office hit of "Batman: Begins", the upcoming DC movie universe plan will undoubtedly represent more opportunities for Hollywood filmmakers to become famous in one fell swoop.

With the birth of the first film in North America whose local box office is expected to exceed 4 million US dollars, Adam Baldwin, the actor of "Batman: Beginning of War", who was not even considered third-tier, has been promoted to the ranks of first-tier superstars. Valerie, who plays Catwoman · Golino has also gained a firm foothold in Hollywood.

The reputation of the film's supporting actors, Willem Dafoe, Tommy Lee Jones and Anthony Hopkins, etc. have all increased significantly.

It is conceivable that even if other films in the DC movie universe in the next few years can only reach half the commercial height of "Batman: Beginning of War", this plan is enough to become a powerful star-making machine, for countless Hollywood filmmakers who are eager to get ahead For everyone, this is the dream opportunity.

Therefore, in order to get the invitation to the celebration party tonight, many people tried their best.

The party size originally planned to be 200 people was eventually expanded to more than 500 people because of the irresistible favor of all parties.

The party started at seven o'clock in the evening, but just after six o'clock, celebrities gathered in this mansion in Palisades. After hearing the news, a large number of paparazzi almost blocked the mountain road, and Amy had to send security Personnel maintain traffic outside the mansion.

As soon as the sky darkened, the mansion began to be full of flashy scenes of feasting and feasting. Men and women in beautiful costumes shuttled around the mansion, looking for every opportunity that might make them rise to the sky.

The brightest young man that many people expected did not appear, so Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner executives who attended the party, as well as other bigwigs in Hollywood, became the most closely watched objects at the party.

However, the reason why a circle is a circle is that some people clearly feel that they are within reach, but they can't break into it no matter what.

The main villa in the mansion was not fully opened this time.

At the entrance of the stairs leading to the second floor of the villa, two bodyguards stood with their arms crossed, blocking guests who wanted to go upstairs and get close to those big shots with various excuses from time to time.

In the study on the second floor, there were only Amy and Jonathan Friedman at this time.

Amy leaned on the edge of the desk, folded her arms, looked at Jonathan Friedman next to the bookshelf with a serious expression, and said, "Joe, we have to make this matter very clear today, Adam and Valle Li's contract, as well as everyone else's contract, is absolutely impossible to modify. The DC movie universe is a very huge project. If every movie sells well, the actors feel that they don't get enough and ask to modify the contract. Then, there is no way to proceed with this plan.”

About what kind of boss brings out what kind of employees, Jonathan Friedman felt that Amy was obviously full of Simon's breath when he said this: "Amy, even if the salary cannot be changed, other aspects, such as this This involves the portrait rights of the actors. I think Adam and Valerie should have the right to get an appropriate share from the toys that use their own images. Also, the contract for They are too restrictive to appear in other films during the contract period."

"Joe, I remember very clearly that the corresponding licensing terms for derivative products are stipulated in the contract. Moreover, what we make are not the figures of the actors themselves, but the figures of the movie characters they represent. After all, they are just a carrier .As for the restrictions on their participation in other films, this is to ensure that they can fulfill their contracts smoothly."

When Amy said this, she paused, and continued: "Joe, if you need, I can find the list of the last few candidates for the role of Batman. You can see what state they are now, and what kind of coffee is Adam? Without this role, Adam would still be a small person who is not even considered a third-line actor, and maybe he would only be such a small person for the rest of his life. Batman gave him everything. Simon and I mentioned that he never expected to be His popular actors will be grateful to himself. He is a person who doesn't believe in people's hearts. He only hopes that those people can fulfill the agreements he signed. Moreover, if Adam's five contracts are completed, he can take away the salary The total is 3030 million US dollars, with an average of more than 600 million per film. This is already a first-line star level. Daenerys Entertainment did not treat him badly. With the popularity brought by Batman, Adam can also participate in other movies and take various roles. Advertisement, that's enough to make him very well paid, and everybody else. So, Joe, I hope this is the only thing we'll ever talk about like this."

Jonathan Friedman nodded quickly after a brief silence, showing a gentle smile and said: "Well, Amy, you know, we brokers always have to obey the wishes of our clients."

Amy still had dissatisfaction on her face, and said: "You can let them know how much Christopher Reeve got when he played "Superman". The first "Superman" sold 3 million US dollars worldwide. The salary in the second "Superman" was only 50 US dollars, and the third film barely rose to 100 million US dollars. Joe, if we did not sign the contract in advance, with the current box office results of "Batman: Beginning of War", they You can pay as much as you want for the sequel, 2000 million, 3000 million, or directly participate in the box office share. Whether we accept it or not, this is their right. But since the contract is signed, it must be abided by .”

Since Amy has such an attitude, Jonathan knew that this matter could not have any results, and it might be worse to talk to Simon directly, so he said: "Amy, I will tell them."

Seeing that Jonathan was about to leave, Amy stopped him again and asked, "Joe, I need a name. Who proposed to modify the contract?"

Jonathan smiled bitterly: "Amy, is this okay to stop here? I owe you a favor."

Amy and Jonathan looked at each other for a moment, nodded slightly, and said: "Joe, I hope you remind them to abide by the contract, and we will have more opportunities to cooperate in the future. Otherwise, you know Simon's temper, if someone hinders the DC movie universe plan Pushing forward, they won't have any more foothold in Hollywood."

In the living room downstairs of the villa, Adam Baldwin, who was surrounded by stars and chatted happily with some guests, saw Jonathan appearing, and immediately walked up with a questioning look in his eyes.

Adam Baldwin's agent, Matthew Stewart, also joined in.

Jonathan glanced up the stairs subconsciously, but didn't find Amy, so he took Baldwin and the others to a corner of the backyard and communicated with them in a low voice.

Among the main actors of "Batman", the one who has the most confidence to try to renegotiate the contract with Daenerys Entertainment is undoubtedly Adam Baldwin, the actor who plays Bruce Wayne. Amy has clearly guessed this from the words just now One point, a name at the end, just wanted confirmation from Jonathan.

The favor owed by Jonathan can be regarded as blocking many things for Adam Baldwin.

However, Amy didn't intend to forget about the upstairs of the villa.

Leaving the study, Amy came to another living room on the second floor, where Nancy, Jennifer, Valerie Golino, Sandra Bullock and other ladies gathered here. Several sofas in the room and on the terrace Occupied by women.

Greeting everyone, Amy called out her assistant, Vanessa Lind, and stood in the outer corridor and ordered: "You can check tomorrow, which scripts Meg Ryan has read recently, and which scripts are she talking to?" The crew contacted, who is going to cooperate with, I will see the result next Monday."

Vanessa didn't ask much, nodded and said, "Okay."

"Also," Amy said again: "You tell the finance department tomorrow that the "Batman: Beginning of War" creative team reward plan that is being drawn up is cancelled, so there is no need to count it."

Vanessa was a little surprised this time, and asked uncertainly, "Cancel?"

"Yes," Amy said: "In addition, you have tried to spread the news in the past few days, because someone wants to break the contract and re-sign the agreement, and all the extra rewards in the plan will be cancelled."

Vanessa understood, nodded, and asked tentatively, "Amy, you really don't want to cancel it?"

2000 million US dollars, if it is canceled because of some people's small actions, the creative team of "Batman: Beginning of War" will probably hate some people to death.

Just don't know who is going to renegotiate the agreement.

Amy glared at her assistant: "Why do you ask so many questions, just do your own thing well."

Vanessa shrank her neck and said, "Okay, I see."

第325章 杀鸡儆猴（修）

After consecutive holidays, the working life of the North American public is gradually getting back on track.

For Hollywood, the first full box office week of 1990 also passed quietly.This week, "Batman: Begins to War" is still the focus of everyone's attention.

From January 1th to January 5th, the third week of its release, the weekly box office of "Batman: Beginnings of War" experienced a significant drop, with a drop of 1% compared to last week.

However, because of the box office base of more than 8000 million US dollars in the previous week, although "Batman: Beginning of War" fell by 33% this week, the box office revenue was still as high as 5951 million US dollars.

In three weeks, the groundbreaking superhero film quickly crossed the $2 million mark, reaching $2 million.

In the light of "Batman: Begins", all other movies in the same period seem to be worthless.

Because the film received as much media attention as the box office, during this period of time, many news related to this film became the focus of media hype.

The first is naturally the DC superhero universe plan that was born with "Batman: Beginning of War".

According to various sources, Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures will jointly develop a number of superhero film projects such as DC's Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in the next few years, and will integrate all of them through a complete story line. The films are connected in series to form a large-scale DC superhero movie universe movie series.

After the news was officially released, not only comic fans and movie fans were excited, but also a large number of media began to try their best to dig out more information about the DC movie universe plan. The high-level executives of Time Warner and Daenerys have become the pursuit of reporters these days object.

While closely following the progress of the negotiations between the two companies on the implementation details of the DC movie universe plan, another topical gossip spread quickly after the "Batman: Begins War" celebration party last Saturday.

At the beginning of the "Batman: Beginning of War" project, Adam Baldwin, Valerie Golino and other leading actors all signed long-term film contracts with Daenerys Entertainment. This is no secret to the outside world. At the beginning, many people questioned whether it was necessary for Daenerys Entertainment to do so.

As the box office of the film exploded, some of the main creators who were rumored to have signed long-term contracts became dissatisfied with the salary they received and hoped to renegotiate the agreement.

In order to express its dissatisfaction with this behavior, Daenerys Entertainment directly canceled the extra cash reward plan originally planned to give all crew members of "Batman: Beginning of War" a total of tens of millions of dollars.

This rumor was simply too topical, it involved a huge amount of money, and it was enough to attract the attention of the public, so it was quickly hyped up.

The first thing the media talked about was how much money Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner could get from the release of Batman: Begins.

The domestic box office quickly reached $2.3 million in three weeks, and the North American box office of "Batman: Begins" has no problem reaching $4 million, and overseas is next.

Batman can be said to be one of the cultural symbols of Americans. Although it has a very wide popularity worldwide, overseas audiences will not have the deep feelings that Americans have accumulated over half a century.Before the film was released, some industry media judged that the film's overseas box office would definitely not exceed the local box office.

However, things developed beyond everyone's expectations.

This phenomenon-level superhero movie created by Simon Westeros is really full of groundbreaking, with a series of breathtaking film techniques and action design applications, even if Batman is replaced by other characters, It can definitely be described as 'amazing', which is enough to ensure that there will be no cultural barriers to overseas audiences.

Therefore, the media is now generally optimistic that the overseas box office scale of "Batman: Beginning of War" is at least equal to that of its home country.

Based on the global box office of 8 million U.S. dollars, the producer and distributor can probably recover 3.5 million U.S. dollars in box office revenue. According to the leaked distribution agreement information, Daenerys Entertainment should be about 2.5 million U.S. dollars.

According to the release progress of a movie in recent years, the money will probably be recovered within the next year.