Chapter Eight Hundred and First Bring It

Katzenberg and Frank Wells and other high-level executives are difficult to approve of Eric's plan to sell "The Matrix", but they also have to admit that in the current situation, getting rid of this project and choosing to cash out in advance is also a solution. Program.

Now that the boss has made up his mind, Katzenberg began to discuss the best solution, saying: "Then, I will release the news tomorrow, at least to divert the attention of the media and the public."

Frank Wells also said: "This is also a good way to deal with it. If you can't find a suitable bidder until the end, then it's better not to sell or not to sell."

Frank Wells was obviously still a little unwilling, and Eric didn't want to appear too stubborn, so he nodded in agreement.

A few more details were discussed, and everyone ended the topic.

Katzenberg added: "Eric, Cameron will be able to come up with the director's cut of "Titanic" at the end of the month. I have seen some samples, and this version may be more than three hours long. Mellon has talked about wanting him to squeeze the set down to 150 minutes, but Cameron insists you see the dailies for yourself before deciding."

Katzenberg's tone was full of helplessness. Obviously, the confrontation between the two was not as light as he said at this time.

Eric thought about it, the shooting cycle of "Casino Royale" was five months in total. According to the schedule, the next stop of the crew will go to the Czech Republic, and the shooting time is two weeks. Subsequent Italian shoots will run for a month. The crew will eventually shoot in the UK for the last two months, and at the same time do some post-production work at the famous Pinewood Studios in London, UK.

After thinking for a moment, Eric turned his head and asked Kelly beside him, "What is the date of this year's Venice Film Festival?"

Kelly said: "August 28."

Eric nodded and said to the conference phone: "I don't know if it's too late, if possible, let "Titanic" participate in this year's Venice Film Festival. The opening film, and besides, I happen to be in Italy next month, and I asked Jim to bring the demo to Europe ahead of time, so I can see it first.”

Katzenberg said, "Okay, Eric, we'll do our best."

The work efficiency of the Firefly Group is still very high. The next day, the "Los Angeles Times" appeared on the news that Firefly might sell the production rights of "The Matrix".

Later, Katzenberg, who was surrounded by reporters at the gate of the Firefly Group headquarters, personally proved the news.

For a time, from the media to the fans, they were all in a state of being in a circle of not knowing what happened.

Several other major Hollywood film companies were even more surprised. They did make a lot of small moves in this incident. These people just wanted to cause some trouble for Firefly on this project. No one thought that Firefly would disagree with each other. Just pick it up.

Moreover, from the very beginning this time, Firefly has prepared a public relations plan for Yulun.

But after the news was released, fans immediately boiled over, and under the guidance of the media, they turned their attention to several other major Hollywood producers, and Burbank Warner headquarters, Universal Studios, etc., which are not too far from the Firefly headquarters. Immediately, the shadows of movie fans who were originally squatting outside the Firefly headquarters appeared at the office, and they asked the executives of the two film companies to buy the production rights of "The Matrix".

Of course, some media questioned that Firefly did this to divert attention, and some fans also suspected that Firefly was confounding the public, and actually did not intend to give up the production rights of the sequel to "The Matrix".

After all, can you imagine something like Warner selling Batman or Universal selling The Mummy?

However, these doubts are difficult to persist for too long under the public statement of Firefly's executives.

Although I was very surprised, the response speed of other major Hollywood studios was definitely much faster than the media and the public. On the day the news came out, there were countless calls to the top executives of Firefly and Eric who was far away in the Bahamas to find out the truth.

In the Bahamas, the crew took a three-day break, and some of the staff had begun to rush to Prague, the Czech capital, ahead of schedule. Eric will also be flying off with the last group of people this afternoon.

At this time, in the study room of the villa where Eric lived in Paradise Island, he was receiving a call from Bill Gates, and he could not count the number of calls it had made in two days.

"Yes, Bill, of course this is true." Although there were various competitions in private, the two sides did not tear their faces and maintained a superficial harmony. Eric's tone became very warm: "However, if Amberlin is interested in this project, you may want to talk to Jeffrey, I've been too busy lately to take care of this."

There is no doubt that Bill Gates, or the Amberlin studio where Microsoft worked with Spielberg and others, was interested in the project "The Matrix".

From the contract signed by Amberlin Pictures and Paramount a few months ago, everyone can roughly guess each other's ambitions.

The contract of eight films in three years is definitely not too much for a latecomer aspiring to become a big studio, but it is too little. Any of the major Hollywood studios, including the now revived MGM, produces more than eight a year.

Since Microsoft is ambitious, Amberlin Pictures will definitely produce more than eight films in three years. Then, for these extra films, Amberlin Pictures must have the intention to expand its own distribution channels.

However, although Amberlin Pictures has Spielberg, it does not mean that every film he directs will be strongly sought after by the theater chain dealers, not to mention that Spielberg has been able to It is said to be relatively low-yield. After taking over the operation of the brand-new Amberlin Films, it may be good to be able to direct one film in three years.

Under this circumstance, Amberlin Films is eager to have a movie project that can be strongly attractive to the theater chain dealers. Using the influence of such a project, Amberlin Films can also quickly cooperate with the theater chain dealers. The distribution network will be rolled out.

Therefore, the sequel to "The Matrix", a project with a very guaranteed box office and influence, is undoubtedly the dream of Amberlin Pictures.

Bill Gates on the other side of the phone said something.

Eric just shook his head and said, "Bill, it's really impossible for me to give you a random offer. This requires everyone to sit down and have a good discussion. However, you never have to doubt that as long as Amberlin's bid is right, we will definitely sell it. , um... 250 million, huh, Bill, although I don't want to talk about it now, but if you only offer such a price, I don't think there is any need for the two of us to talk anymore."

Eric was chatting with Bill Gates, the study door knocked a few times, Kelly pushed open the door, and in addition to her, Miranda Kerr's slightly flattering face also appeared outside the door.

Eric waved to the girl, and Miranda walked in, but Kelly didn't follow, just closed the study door again.

Seeing that Eric was on the phone with someone, Miranda's mood relaxed a little. She walked hesitantly to the desk, her eyes wandered from side to side, and looked at the sofa on the left, but she didn't dare to take the initiative to sit there. Little Hand, like a mistaken elementary school student, stood there obediently, looking at Eric pitifully.

Eric looked up at the girl, smiled, and held the mouse while talking to Bill Gates while holding down the mouse to operate the computer on the desktop a few times.

The printer next to it hummed quickly.

Miranda squinted her eyes and looked carefully, until the buzzing stopped, and she could roughly see the contents of the A4 paper, which were credit card payment receipts.

Obviously, it was the Citi black card in his hand.

Shrinking her neck, she looked at Eric with some worry, but the girl's mind couldn't help but reflect the experience of the past month.

At the beginning, Miranda brought a black card from Eric in a coquettish manner. In fact, Miranda had no other thoughts in her mind. She just accidentally heard that this kind of credit card is of high level and even unlimited overdrafts. She asked for it out of curiosity. Eric begged.

Miranda thought to herself that she was a very smart person. Even if she later checked the eight-digit balance on this credit card at the bank, the girl did not show too much excitement, because she knew that the money was not hers, and she could neither. Don't dare to splurge.

However, what happened next was still beyond her imagination.

It turned out that such a Citi Black Card represents definitely not just the balance of tens of millions of dollars in the account, but a symbol of social power.

Because of this black card, her experience in the past month can almost be described as "responding to requests".

From the moment of the Bahamas, because of this black card, she has been enjoying the most meticulous care, the VIP lounge at the airport, the 24-hour luxury car and driver in Miami, the personal butler of the top hotels in Orlando, and the Chanel monopoly Personal service by the store manager.

Even when she was in Orlando, because she caught a cold, she called out at midnight, and within half an hour, a medical helicopter took her to the top hospital in Orlando in person.

From childhood to adulthood, even her own parents have never been so meticulous to her.

Miranda has thought many times that, perhaps, even the life of a princess of a country is nothing more than that.

Although she is precocious, she is still just a little girl after all, and these extremely satisfying vanities quickly make her lost in it. After playing around in Miami and Orlando, she is still not satisfied. The girl flew again under the advice of travel advisor. I went to New York and attended a sorority meeting for children from wealthy families in the Upper East Side. Although I didn't know her identity, because of that black card, those originally proud Upper East Side boys and girls were very attentive to her.

In the end, Miranda didn't dare to look at the credit card statement anymore. She only occasionally felt that this kind of princess life, even if it lasted for a month, was enough.

So, a month has just passed, and I am really happy and sad.

Waking up in a top suite at the New York Hilton, the lobby manager handed her a non-stop ticket to the Bahamas.

Eric chatted with Bill Gates for more than ten minutes and finally hung up.

Putting down the microphone, Eric looked up at the girl who was bowing her head and tiptoes, and pointed to the credit card bill on the printer next to her: "Bring it here, I'll take a look."

Miranda walked over nervously, sorted out a few pages, moved it to Eric's side, handed it to him, thought about it, and tried to rub it up, but saw Eric pointing He pointed to where she had just stood.

"Ruined!"

With a sigh in her heart, Miranda obediently stood back again, but she still took the initiative: "Eric, I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Eric looked at the long bill in his hand.

Luxury car rental, private driver, medical helicopter, continental breakfast, Prada limited-edition girl Kun bag, Carlton Hotel, Dior dress...

Shaking his head from time to time, tsk tsk praise a few words.

In the end, the monthly bill reached $110,000.

At the income level of the United States, a middle-class family with both husband and wife working, does not necessarily have an annual income of 110,000 US dollars.

Eric looked up at the pitiful Miranda. Is this really just a Lolita? No matter how you look at it, it looks like an out of control Persian cat, which is still very expensive.

Eric suddenly remembered what he had seen on the Internet in his previous life, a cat owner installed a gprs recorder on his pet, so the next morning, he saw a series of jaw-dropping travel routes of his cat.

"Hey, what did I say?" After a while, Eric finally asked.

"No, don't spend a fortune, just go back to Los Angeles after playing for a while," Miranda whispered submissively.

Eric put down the bill in his hand: "What about now?"

"Eric, I was wrong, can you forgive me?"

Of course, Eric doesn't mind the money Miranda spends. With his current wealth, Miranda keeps spending at the current speed. Spending a hundred years will not have much impact on him. It's just that the girl's performance Really lost some sense.

Without saying anything, Eric reached out to the girl: "Bring it."

Miranda was stunned, and suddenly realized that Eric was asking her for the black card.

Thinking of the experience during this time, and the scene of being beaten back to her original shape like Cinderella once she lost this black card, Miranda subconsciously took a step back.

However, she quickly realized that Eric wanted to get this card back, which she couldn't resist at all.

After hesitating, Miranda begged carefully: "Eric, I, I promise not to spend any money indiscriminately in the future, you, will you let me keep this card?"

Eric watched the girl's appearance. He had the experience of two lives, how could he not understand the girl's thoughts.

Terrible vanity.