Chapter 91 89 "Frozen" Starts

Chapter 91: Frozen is launched

China, the Oscars are over, but the discussion about Hero has just begun.

People in the Chinese entertainment industry expressed their comfort for Hero.

Lu Chuan: "In fact, it doesn't matter whether it wins or not. The award is related to the operation behind the scenes, especially the commercial award like the Oscar. The media may have been too optimistic before, thinking that the theme of peace in Hero fits the current events, and thus placed high hopes on it, but the same is true for Germany's Capernaum."

Zhou Xiaowen: "Winning an award is a matter of luck, especially foreign awards, which are very accidental. I once participated in a film festival in Spain as a judge. Shortly after the movie was screened, the judge on my left snored faintly, while the chairman of the selection committee snored loudly. As a result, this Spanish movie actually won the grand prize."

"Of course, the Oscars will definitely be much better. After all, its judges are members of the Oscars, but in short, a movie wins an award by chance. It doesn't matter if it wins an award. Don't worry too much about winning an award. "

Wang Xingdong: "Entering the Oscars is like conquering a mountain. Although there is only one person who can pull the flag in the end, it is a success to be able to conquer the foot of the mountain."

"There are so many movies in the world. It is quite good that "Hero" can be nominated for an Oscar. There are too few Chinese movies that can go abroad. I admire Director Zhang very much. He can show Chinese culture and language to the world through a movie. Whether he wins an award or not, Zhang Yimou is already a hero.

The complete opposite of the people in the circle is the general public. Almost all of them are scolding the movie for its confusing plot and that it deserves not to win an award.

And everyone can see that Zhang Yimou's heart is extremely eager for an Oscar. Besides, what kind of hero is he if he doesn't win an award.

The Chinese public in 2003 was far less thoughtful than those 20 years ago. After the awakening, the theory of victory and defeat and the theory of gold medals are still the mainstream.

Especially after Ang Lee won the award for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" on the island, everyone had high hopes for Zhang Yimou. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, and the greater the disappointment, the more fierce the criticism.

Unlike the unanimous abuse in China, Hollywood is much more lively, and the entertainment section is almost dominated by the Oscars.

Adrien Brody won the championship in one battle and kissed Halle Berry passionately.

"The Pianist" became the biggest winner, winning the best actor, best director and best picture in one fell swoop.

Nicole Kidman finally won the queen and made anti-war remarks.

Eric Cooper performed a heroic rescue on the red carpet and took a photo with Nicole Kidman at Vanity Fair. The handsome man and beautiful woman are like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in those days.

The reporter also interviewed Tom Cruise specifically, and the other party congratulated his ex-wife on the award Congratulations, and also expressed gratitude for Eric's behavior.

"The Lord of the Rings" won technical awards and a bunch of nominations, and Peter Jackson directly revealed dirty jokes in an interview.

"Chicago" lost the game, winning four technical awards and a best supporting actress, but lost the best picture award.

Before the Oscars, there were only two strong contenders for the best picture: "Chicago" and "The Pianist".

And very abruptly, the sexual assault case of Polanski, which had been silent for many years, was re-heated, and a large number of media began to report his black material. Even if the victim of that year said that he would not pursue it, and art should be separated from character, it was of no avail.

It goes without saying where this means of throwing dirty water came from. Everyone in the circle knows that it was Harvey Weinstein, because this scene is too similar to the situation faced by "Saving Private Ryan" that year.

At the 71st Oscars, "Saving Private Ryan" was the favorite to win the award. Also shortly before the Oscars were about to be held, the media broke a lot of black material, such as veterans criticizing the war scenes for being too fake, and the movie ignoring the sacrificed soldiers, etc.

The result was that Shakespeare in Love was a big surprise, and Gwyneth Paltrow was banned from the screen.

This time the method failed, and the media gave an analysis of the reasons and insider reports.

First, the impact of the US-Iraq war was huge, and the whole world was paying attention to this war. The anti-war theme of The Pianist finally defeated the public relations behind Chicago.

Secondly, Chicago was attacked. Analysts originally predicted that the box office of Chicago would exceed at least 300 million US dollars, and the screening time would at least last until after the Oscars.

But the sudden entry of Sharknado and Saw caused the box office of Chicago to be cut in half.

The original screening time was forced to be taken off the screen more than a month in advance, even though Miramax negotiated with the theaters many times and the Weinstein brothers personally persuaded them.

Theaters have to consider profits. When the profits are too low, not to mention the Weinstein brothers, Disney's face is not easy to use.

The early withdrawal of the film naturally led to a further reduction in influence. There are more than 6,000 judges on the Oscars jury, and they are located all over the world. Not all of them are convinced by Harvey Weinstein.

How would the jury who couldn't see the film choose? Of course, "The Pianist" has the upper hand.

Anyway, the failure of "Chicago" has added to the hatred between MGM and the Weinstein brothers.

In Beverly Hills, a black car stopped on the side of the road, and Charles got out of the car with his intern brother Tony.

Both of them were carrying filming equipment, and their profession was self-evident. They were reporters from the Los Angeles Times, and they came here specifically to stake out Nicole Kidman.

As an experienced entertainment reporter, Charles looked around and pointed to a place and said, "Go there, this is a good location, everything that happens at the gate will not escape our eyes."

The younger brother Tony moved the equipment over obediently, but when he got closer, he discovered that there was a camera hidden behind the tree.

"Boy! What are you doing? That's my place!"

Not far away, West, who is also an entertainment reporter, ran over while eating a burger.

The younger brother Tony looked back, and Charles immediately came up to negotiate: "Brother, I am Charles Wesson from the Los Angeles Times. If you are in this industry, you should have heard of my name. Nicole Kidman is my old client. Here It’s my fixed position, you stepped on the line!”

West finished the hamburger in several bites and stood in front of the machine without giving in: "Don't do this, I don't know anything about Charles Wesson. I only know that I came to this position first. If you want it, You should have been earlier.

"Young man, I don't like your tone. It seems that you are a newcomer and do not understand the rules of this industry. But if you want to develop your career, you'd better follow my advice."

"What! Are you threatening me? Nicole Kidman's photos are worth more than $300 now. If you want, give me the money or get out of my place!"

"Boy, do you want to fight?"

"Old guy, it's you who are looking for trouble. If you want to take action, I will beat you until you can't find anything!"

The two sides quarreled at each other for several minutes, getting more and more angry, waiting for the other side to make the first move and then blackmail them severely.

But journalists are not smart. It is okay to curse, but it is absolutely not okay to strike first.

At this moment, younger brother Tony pointed at the door and shouted: "Come out! Come out!"

The two of them got into the mood instantly, picked up the machine and started shooting wildly.

"Tony, drive quickly and catch up with her!"

"Okay, but didn't you say that Nicole Kidman's car is a Rolls-Royce? Why is a Lamborghini coming out?"

"Don't worry about it, none of these big stars have a bunch of luxury cars."

"Right."

Seeing Charles chasing the Lamborghini further and further away, West, who was alone and lagging behind, couldn't help but feel annoyed. He was still too young and couldn't do this job alone. Unfortunately, it was too late to catch up now.

He sighed, and just as he was thinking about whether to stay here or stay with other celebrities, he saw a Rolls-Royce drive out of the gate.

West was stunned for a moment, then looked at the direction in which the Lamborghini left, feeling suddenly ecstatic.

"Hahahaha I'm going to post it, I'm going to post it, this message is worth at least $2,000."

Turning the steering wheel and pressing the accelerator to the bottom, West quickly followed the Rolls-Royce.

After talking to Spielberg that night, things were basically settled.

Then the relevant departments of MGM and DreamWorks began to connect, draft the specific details of the contract, and then go through the legal department to ensure that there would be no traps that would be detrimental to both parties.

Time came to Thursday morning, and Eric received a call from Spielberg. In the morning, the three giants of DreamWorks would come to MGM together to complete the final step of the process.

At 9:30 in the morning, a Buick commercial vehicle parked in front of the MGM building.

Stepping out of the car were Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

The three of them have different positions at DreamWorks. For example, Spielberg is best at live-action movies.

Jeffrey Katzenberg served as the executive director of Disney. He focused on animated films and was known as an animation wizard. He single-handedly led the production of well-known works such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin".

David Geffen focuses on music. The rapid rise of famous bands or musicians such as the Eagles, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Guns N' Roses is inseparable from him.

The full English name of DreamWorks in 2003 is Dreamworks SKG, S stands for Spielberg, K stands for Katzenberg, and G stands for Geffen.

Seeing the three of them, the hostess and Volvo, who had been waiting in front of the building for a long time, came out to greet them and guided them into the conference room.

In order to show respect, both Cooper and his son attended today's signing ceremony. With the arrival of the Big Three, the two sides completed the meeting and shook hands.

Just like a state visit, things have been settled privately, and signing is just a matter of process.

In just half an hour, when the names of several people fell down one after another, the law in black and white took effect, and MGM and DreamWorks Animation officially formed a strategic partnership.

The two parties signed a contract to produce five animated feature films, with DreamWorks retaining 10% of the investment share for each film.

If DreamWorks does not participate in the investment, it will be fully owned by MGM, and DreamWorks will only play a production role.

This partnership is not that DreamWorks will sell its animation department to MGM, but it will put MGM's projects at the highest priority, and other work can still be taken on, but the premise is that it does not affect MGM. s project.

"Jeffrey, regarding the "Frozen" project, the character design has been basically completed, but the script and scene design will still take some time. You can carry out pre-production, and then MGM will provide a complete script. Make it easier to get started with DreamWorks.”

Katzenberg nodded slightly, then suggested: "Steven has already told me that this movie is adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" and made into a full 3D model. This is no problem, DreamWorks can do it. "

"But I also have a suggestion, that is, I hope DreamWorks can participate in the creation process of the script. There is no other meaning. After all, we will also invest 10%. We all hope to make the first work well."

Katzenberg said it in a rather tactful way, but Eric could understand what the other party was worried about.

He said with a smile: "Jeffrey, you don't have to be like this. I like to speak directly so that we can communicate better."

"I understand what you mean. You are worried that MGM will not be able to get rid of the old habits and old patterns of the past like Disney, right?"

"Yes, among the animated films of MGM in recent years, only "Pink Panther" is relatively outstanding, but it also imitates the way of "Tom and Jerry" and "Druby."

"But I can tell you very clearly that this is not the era of Kerkorian. Young people will use young thinking to tell a story of the past. "Frozen" will only follow the trend and will not go backwards."

Why did Eric say that? Because Disney's operations in the animation field in recent years have contributed a living negative example to the entire industry.

Since the rise of DreamWorks and Pixar, especially the birth of "Toy Story", the first 3D animated feature film, the entire industry has ushered in a major reshuffle, officially entering the 3D era from the 2D era.

But what did Disney do?

Yes, it went against the tide, not only still refusing to use 3D, but also saying that the animated characters made with computer special effects were pitiful.

At the same time, Disney still used the old storytelling methods from decades ago, but the audience was no longer the same as before.

The new generation of audiences simply didn't buy into the princes and princesses, the family affairs, and the trend was not just about using a few new stalks and saying a few buzzwords.

So "Cinderella 2" was a big flop, and "Treasure Planet" was also a big flop. Disney was like an old man, trying to learn the new stalks of young people.

He thought it was very fashionable, but young people thought it was neither fish nor fowl. If you don't flop, who will?

DreamWorks was naturally worried that MGM would not be able to change its thinking, and the release of the movie would be like dragging itself down.

The two sides talked until noon, and then had lunch in the MGM cafeteria. If they hadn't seen the big and small bosses there, they would definitely rush up to Spielberg to ask for an autograph and take a photo.

"Steven, try this, you'll love this dish." Eric pointed to the sweet and sour pork tenderloin and said.

Since he came here, he has specially sent people to Chinatown to invite a chef in his 50s to come here, with a high salary of 20,000 US dollars, specializing in Chinese cuisine.

And it is not the American version of Chinese cuisine. He is used to the taste of the other side of the strait, and he really can't like the American version.

When the chef first came, MGM employees saw that the boss liked it, so they were naturally eager to try it. However, they were used to the American version and were not used to authentic Chinese cuisine.

But as time went by, a few months later, the chef became more and more popular and successfully changed everyone's taste.

Now his food output is twice or even three times that of when he first came, but the high salary of 20,000 US dollars still makes this middle-aged man happy.

After lunch, Cooper and his son sent the three giants of DreamWorks out.

As a result, just after walking out of the door and taking a few steps, a large number of reporters rushed out from the corners, flowers, trees, and trash cans around them and surrounded them.

Just when everyone thought that the reporters were going to ask about the cooperation between MGM and DreamWorks and take the opportunity to advertise "Frozen".

The paparazzi have already put the microphone in Eric's face, almost in his mouth.

"Mr. Cooper, are you dating Nicole Kidman?"

My colleague's wife was diagnosed with cancer, so he took a vacation. Now I am the only one in the office. I am much busier than before, but I will still update as usual. Generally speaking, I will update once on weekdays and twice on weekends, and I will update more depending on the situation.