Chapter 21 21 The Walking Dead Project Launched

Chapter 21 Project Establishment of The Walking Dead

After leaving AK Films, Eric got on a special car and headed to MGM. His status was different now. Driving by himself was a waste of time. He had to find a parking space and park his car. For people in high positions, wasting time was a waste of money.

Besides, hiring a driver could create a job, and the salary was not low. It was equivalent to supporting a family and benefiting the society. Why not do it?

Since the old boss of the previous dynasty had just been scolded and driven away, and most of the projects were directly killed, there was no one in the company who didn't know the new boss. When they saw him, they greeted him carefully, fearing that he would be angry and lose his job.

When he walked into the office, it had been cleaned up meticulously. Eric pressed the doorbell, and a few seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

A young man in his twenties walked in. His name was Chen Xing. He was the secretary that Eric found for himself. He was of Chinese descent.

Why not find a female secretary with a beautiful and sweet voice?

Nonsense! Eric wants someone who can work, not someone who can do it!

Can a female secretary do overtime as well as a male secretary? Secretaries often have to be on call at any time, and the work pressure is very high, which most people cannot bear.

Chinese Americans have always been synonymous with seriousness, and coupled with Eric's own reasons, he was naturally chosen. If he has potential and is willing to work hard, he may be promoted in the future, such as when developing the Chinese market.

"Boss!"

"Let Billy Geese come to see me."

"Okay!"

After a while, Chen Xing knocked on the door again and led Billy and others in.

"How is the investigation of the matter I mentioned?"

A woman wearing glasses immediately handed over an investigation report. Eric had some impression of her. He had seen her during the meeting. She seemed to be a middle-level cadre in the marketing department.

Billy said, "In the past three days, we have visited almost all physical stores in Los Angeles, and also consulted professional comic companies and publishers. We have found a total of 27 works related to zombies, including comics and novels."

"However, these works are not well-known, and some of them are even published by the authors at their own expense. I bought all these works. Are you interested in taking a look?"

Eric carefully looked at the research report and found that there was no comic version of "The Walking Dead". He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that the original work has not been released yet. For him, this is good news.

"Categorize the 27 works and send me those that involve survival in the end of the world and the struggle of human nature."

Soon, several novels were sent over, but there were no comics.

"According to your requirements, only these five books meet the requirements, but these five books only involve some struggles of human nature, and the main plot is still a cool article about killing zombies."

Eric opened a novel called "The King of the End of the World" and knew it had a certain flavor as soon as he saw the name.

It is 2002 now, and zombie works have little depth, and they don't discuss human nature as a selling point.

"Well done, keep an eye on George Martin next, and get the copyright of his novels as soon as possible, especially "A Song of Ice and Fire". No matter what method you use, you must get this one."

After receiving the praise, several people smiled immediately. MGM has been very nervous recently, and now they are finally relieved.

In the morning, Eric browsed through five novels roughly, and after confirming that there would be no copyright disputes, he was completely relieved.

After lunch, he directly called the manager of the production department to the office. Although this middle-aged man was also a talent recruited by his father, the other party knew very well who was the big and small king. He was just a senior worker, and the young man opposite him had the power of life and death. ₆₉ₛₕᵤₓ.cₒₘ

"Julio, take a look at this script outline, I am going to develop this project."

"The first part of "The Walking Dead"? The sequel has been ordered before filming?" Julio frowned slightly.

Seeing that Eric didn't say anything, he could only continue reading. The outline was not very long, but it just explained the background, characters and plot clearly.

After reading it, Julio pursed his lips and organized his words: "In terms of creativity alone, I think it is still very good, and the market prospects should be good, but there are also a few problems."

"Speak!"

"How many episodes do you plan to shoot in the first season? Although the outline only writes the story, I can foresee that the cost of shooting such a TV series will be very high. Makeup, props, group performances, venues, many scenes we can't even complete in the studio. If we go for real scenes, it will involve troublesome things such as blocking blocks, which will burn a lot of money."

"Although the prospects of this show are good, considering the production cost, I am worried that the profit margin may not be high."

Julio is a very experienced producer, but the more experienced you are, the more you consider, and the shooting cost is the top priority for the producer.

According to his experience, this kind of drama is undoubtedly a big production, otherwise the desolate feeling of the end of the world cannot be created. I am afraid that the cost of each episode will not be less than 1.5 million US dollars. If it is too little, the effect will not be achieved, and it will only be a dog-like thing.

So what he really thinks is not only that the profit margin is small, but also that he is worried about losing a lot. However, due to his status, he cannot say it too bluntly.

Eric had naturally anticipated Julio's concerns. Before crossing over, he had learned that the average production cost of a single episode of "The Walking Dead" was 2.75 million US dollars.

Even in that era, it was considered a very expensive drama. If it was in 2002, minus inflation, it would still be scary. If it were spread out, it would probably shock all the colleagues.

But its return rate is also amazingly high, with an average profit of $11 million per episode, which is more profitable than many movies.

"Don't worry about the cost. I plan to shoot 12 episodes in the first season, with an estimated investment of $40 million. I want to create an award-winning masterpiece."

The original "The Walking Dead" only had 6 episodes in the first season. That's because the cost is high and the future is uncertain. Even the richest investors dare not invest too much at once. 6 episodes per season is also the regular number of episodes for many high-investment American dramas.

But knowing that it will be a big hit, it's a bit petty to make another 6 episodes. Eric plans to directly integrate the content of the original first and second seasons.

However, he will greatly modify the emotional line of the second season. Those dragging emotional entanglements are really unnecessary, especially the love triangle between Rick, Luo Li and Sean. The audience will only feel disgusted and unhappy. When he was chasing the show, he wanted to kill Luo Li, the old woman!

One of the main reasons why The Walking Dead is getting worse and worse is that it tests human nature for the sake of testing human nature. It's not that the audience doesn't like the struggle of human nature, but in many cases, they don't even care about logic, and all they see at a glance are idiotic, which will only have the opposite effect.

So the struggle and test of human nature need to exist, but they must be deep enough and put on the key links to play the role of finishing touches.

At the same time, the proportion of zombie fighting scenes should be increased to constantly stimulate the audience's adrenaline and make The Walking Dead a work that is both exciting and profound. This is Eric's goal.

The budget for 12 episodes is 40 million US dollars, an average of at least 3.33 million per episode. Excluding inflation, it is at least 1 million higher than the original episode. The higher part is naturally the large number of zombie scenes and the use of more reliable screenwriters. Even if you spend money, you have to make a high-quality script.

Across the desk, Julio's heart skipped a beat and he opened his mouth to give some advice, but seeing Eric's high-spirited and ambitious look, he held back the words that were on his lips.

"I'm just an employee, why should I upset my boss? Besides, it may not be a bad thing to let this young boy fall."

Thinking this way, Julio nodded: "I understand. I will arrange the best producer to be in charge of this project. Do you have any requirements for the screenwriter and director?"

"The director should preferably be Frank Darabont or Neil Marshall. Of course, if you can invite John Carpenter, I will applaud you. You can find the screenwriter, but I will check the script."

Among the three directors Eric mentioned, John Carpenter needs no introduction. I believe everyone knows his name.

Frank Darabont was the director of the original first season of The Walking Dead. He also directed the masterpieces The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Eric likes his directing style very much. The zombies are more aggressive, and the sense of oppression and tension is stronger.

As for Neil Marshall, many people may not have heard of him. His works include Dark Invasion, The Shining Warrior, and Doomsday Invasion, etc., and American dramas such as Game of Thrones, Westworld, Black Sails, and Hannibal are all from his hands. He is very capable.

Ring

Suddenly, the phone rang, Eric waved his hand, and Julio left the office tactfully.

"Eric, this little beauty is a bit difficult to deal with. I suggest you come to Israel in person!"

Just received a notice that there will be a meeting in the evening. It seems that slacking off is not possible.

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