Hollywood Hunter

Samsung Entertainment headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

This is the afternoon of February 2nd.

Arrived yesterday, after some routine work and entertainment, I was approached by Miss Li of Samsung again today. Come here in the afternoon to watch the samples of two movies that Simon gave ideas last year. My sassy girlfriend and my wife are boss.

In a screening room in the office building of Samsung Entertainment Headquarters, Li Fuzhen chased away the others in a very savage way, except himself and Simon. Even the operation of the screening samples was carried out by Miss Li through the walkie-talkie. Because it was still a sample, it was only completed in January, and the rough cut version has not been completed yet.

After watching a clip of my sassy girlfriend again, and signaling to the operating room to pause, Ms. Li leaned towards the man beside her, and asked hesitantly, "Does anyone really like this type of girl?"

Simon joked: "Aren't you?"

"I'm not." Miss Li shook her head, looked at the man beside her, and suddenly added: "If you can marry me, I will be very virtuous."

Simon had put his arm around the waist of the girl beside him, but when he heard this, he gently pinched her: "Wake up, it's dawn."

Her Royal Highness the Princess was immediately annoyed, glared at someone, and counterattacked and hammered him on the shoulder: "How can you be so bad?"

Simon was confident: "If I were a good man, I wouldn't be sitting here with you now."

Li Fuzhen was speechless for a moment, and after a little self-reflection, he felt a little guilty. Could it be that he is also a bad woman, or else why would he pester a married man?

So I took the initiative to change the subject, and pulled back to the film again: "I mean, maybe the audience will like my wife who is a big boss, which is a contrast, but my sassy girlfriend, well, women's rights are still very prosperous in South Korea. However, relying mainly on female audiences, how much money can’t be sold?”

Simon thought for a moment and said, "The real core of this movie has nothing to do with the brutality of girls. You have also seen that after boys and girls fall in love, girls will use their brutality to protect their boyfriends."

Miss Li still didn't understand: "Huh?"

Simon can only be more straightforward: "Well, probably, I think you Koreans should need a warm embrace to soothe your wounded soul in recent years. In addition, when people are hurt, they are often the most likely to think of their mothers. This girl represents a special kind of motherhood, and it is the kind of strong motherhood that is difficult to protect."

After listening to Simon's words, Li Fuzhen widened his eyes slightly, with a small expression of 'you are not talking nonsense, are you?'.

Seeing her expression, Simon shrugged: "Actually, film and television entertainment is very realistic, just like Hollywood. During World War II, Gone with the Wind became a memory of a generation, and then genre classics such as Casablanca were born. In the 1970s and 1980s , The film reflecting on the Vietnam War was very popular, so Field Platoon won the Oscar for Best Picture. At the same time, because of the hedonism of the Beat Generation, it also created a phenomenon-level movie like Grease. Then in the 1990s, the Cold War ended and the world entered In a new era, Americans are actually a little confused, so Forrest Gump helped them regain the American spirit, so it is very popular.”

Miss Li couldn't help but nodded this time, but she caught one point accurately: "Simon, you just said, 'they'?"

Simon was stunned for a moment before he realized that this girl was so sensitive. However, his reaction was certainly not slow. He reached out and grabbed the chin of the girl next to him, leaned forward and kissed her. After letting go, he smiled and said, "Of course it is." They, a powerful man like me, don't need any spiritual comfort."

Miss Li was attacked suddenly, actually, before she got into the mood, the hateful man was over, um, if only you could stop torturing people like this in bed.

After thinking about it viciously, Miss Li said, "Maybe you are right about Hollywood, but it's far-fetched that you can touch the wounded hearts of Koreans with these two small films. We don't do that." Fragile."

Simon didn't argue: "Maybe."

Her Royal Highness is still a bit reluctant: "Besides, you, you have a lot of responsibility for what we have been like in recent years. If you big capitalists hadn't attacked the Asian financial system, there would have been no such incident in 1997." disaster."

Simon smiled and replied: "There is a saying in Asia that flies will not look for eggs without cracks, is that true?"

Li Fuzhen was speechless immediately.

Whoever invented this common saying should really be beaten to death.

Unwilling to admit defeat, he continued, "Anyway, you must be the mastermind behind the scenes, and I'm finding more and more that the capital of the Westeros system is everywhere in South Korea."

As I said that, I immediately thought of the current company.

Because of the two projects the man mentioned last year, Li Fuzhen was able to personally intervene in Samsung Entertainment, and then, first of all, he paid attention to the equity structure of Samsung Entertainment. Nominally, the largest shareholder of Samsung Entertainment is Samsung Life Insurance Company controlled by the Samsung family, which holds 30% of the shares. However, the other 70% of the shares seem to come from all over the world. Several companies can determine that Miss Li is enough to confirm one thing, and the other equity is basically controlled by the man next to him.

That is to say, the other party actually holds 70% of the shares.

Then there is the company itself, even if Li Fuzhen himself wanted to get involved last year, it was only after a lot of tugging and finally getting the man's personal approval that he got some small permissions. Before that, it was almost impossible to get in. Nominally belonging to a company under the Samsung Group, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of the Li family of Samsung actually needs permission from others to pay attention.

This is so depressing.

And Miss Li is currently in charge of the entertainment complex project in Jeju Island.

Even if it was still because of the man, the final result of the negotiation, Samsung's Li family still got 30% of the shares, and the other 70% was still in the hands of the Westeros system. And that's without counting the casino business, which is at the heart of the entertainment complex. Even, if the two parties break up in the future and suddenly no longer open casinos in this project, it is conceivable how bleak this project will be in the future without the casino business that can only support popularity.

The only thing that made Miss Li gratified was that, at least, the man around her gave her the control of the entertainment complex with confidence.

It's just that, when I think about it occasionally, I feel wrong.

How does it look like, I became a strong man working for others? !

Even without the arrogance and arrogance of some other Korean chaebol families, Miss Li was once very proud of her family's status in Korea, but since this man appeared, she suddenly found that everything in the past seemed to be a little bit different. collapse.

This is the big capitalist.

Damn American capitalists.

After watching the sample films of two films that will be released one after another this year, Simon took advantage of the opportunity to learn about the operation status of Samsung Entertainment.

Mainly the joint security area in the summer file.

Speaking of this, even if it is Miss Li, even if she does not have the management authority over Samsung Entertainment, she still feels a little guilty.

This movie, which may be slightly lower than the cost of Spy, but also reached 11 billion won, ended up with 6.27 million viewers, which is nearly 2 million less than Spy’s 8.09 million. It is phenomenal, and it ranked first and second in the previous box office in South Korea last year, but the gap is still obvious.

In addition, on the side of Life and Death Spy Change, after the release last year, the results of follow-up channel operations have been released. Including overseas copyright sales, video tape channels and TV broadcasting, after excluding costs, the cumulative income outside of local theaters reached 7.3 billion won, including The previous box office distribution and government subsidies, minus all costs, by the end of 1999, the profit had reached 2.8 billion won, which was equivalent to 2.15 million US dollars based on the exchange rate at that time.

$2.15 million may not be a big deal in Hollywood, but in South Korea, the profit of 2.8 billion won is already a considerable profit compared to the total cost of production and publicity of 16 billion won. It is only a one-year operating cycle, and in the next one or two years, the Spy Change of Life and Death will continue to make a lot of money.

Let’s talk about the Joint Security Area. It was released in the summer of last year, and it was not released until October. Although South Korea does not have a mandatory window period like the West, as of 1999, after the operation, the various peripheral channels have only earned 3.2 billion won after excluding costs. The overall income is still the same. It is in a state of loss of 1.6 billion won.

Even if it is sure to be able to recover costs and achieve profitability this year, it is still far from life and death.

Not to mention that it hasn't been released yet, but with the publicity and several documentaries that have already been released, the Mingliang Sea Battle has already won the attention of the whole society. Some media have even predicted that this movie will likely create a movie with tens of millions of viewers. viewing records.

Never, never, let's talk about it after it is released, but even if it only reaches the level of life and death, the joint security area will undoubtedly be at the bottom.

Even Ms. Li herself understands that the significance of the three films to the Korean film market is not even mainly about making profits, but about activating the film market and activating Koreans' attention to Korean domestic films. However, the film produced under the name of Samsung Entertainment The achievements of the Joint Security Area are still a bit embarrassing.

When Simon intervened in the affairs here, he also felt a certain guilty conscience in Samsung Entertainment, including Miss Li.

Of course not consolation.

Only when you know your shame can you be brave. Anyway, as long as you don't bow to know your shame like the neighbor next door.

The evening happened to be the premiere of Ming Liang Naval Battle.

The film follows the rhythm of Hollywood releases. The production will start on February 4th, Friday, New Year's Eve. Today is Wednesday, the premiere ceremony, and tomorrow the word-of-mouth ban will be lifted on a large scale.

Since Simon is here, of course he is invited.

He didn't refuse, but he didn't show up in public, and quietly took Li Fuzhen to watch the audience together.

I have to say that compared to the huge amount of money invested in South Korea, the effect is really good, and it is difficult to make the blood of the Koreans excited.

Simon just couldn't help complaining.

According to historical records, in this battle, the Japanese army killed or injured dozens of people, and the Korean army drowned seven or eight people. Well, compare the time and go back two hundred years, and the mighty Poyang Lake water battle where the mighty 800,000 troops assembled, even the neighboring villages fought here. None of them count.

But, in China, it is probably difficult to think of filming a Poyang Lake water battle.

The history is too long, too much magnificence, too much grandeur, but it is hard to care about it.

Just like Korea's continuous application for various historical heritages from China, most people's attitudes are just ridicule, but no matter whether they are up or down, few people really want to do something.

After watching the premiere and attending the sideshow party, Simon finally just took away from the party a heroine who was still personally selected by him.

Li Shenjing, a famous girl, plays a boat girl who is very helpful to the plot in the film. This is somewhat similar to another role she played in history. In the original timeline, this actress has another stage name. It's called Xu Qing, and it starred in a Korean movie that was often pushed by various indescribable websites in the era of Internet 1.0, Drifting Desire Room.

Simon liked the girl's stubborn and nervous temperament very much.

Of course, Miss Li didn't like it very much, so she could only comfort herself that night. Anyway, there was only one this time.

The next morning, she was still acting like a baby, hoping that Simon would stay. After all, it was the Korean Lunar New Year soon, and she still hoped that Simon could visit her house as a guest.

That's what Simon came for and could only refuse.

In the morning, depart for China.

This is the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

And, coincidentally, there is still no Chinese New Year's Eve this year, and tomorrow's 29th is New Year's Eve.

Like South Korea, at the end of the Lunar New Year, the film industry in China, which continues to recover, is also very lively during this time.

First of all, I have to talk about the two small production films released by Jinshu on December 31, 1999 under the gimmick of "New Millennium, New Generation", Wormhole produced by Huanzhu Film and Television and Tongtianpu produced by Jinshu Headquarters.

In the first week of the filming, the unexpected big sales of both films directly recovered the cost, which attracted countless people's attention.

On the second day after Simon came to China, the fifth week of screenings of the two films also came to an end. After all, it is a matter of course to get the extension permission after 30 days.

First of all, it is the wormhole. As of the week from January 28 to February 3, this comedy movie that uses time as a gimmick continued to earn 7 million yuan, and the cumulative box office has successfully exceeded 100 million yuan, reaching 103 million yuan.

It's just a pity that it belongs to the film that opened on the last day of the previous year, otherwise, it would definitely be able to hit the gimmick of the first box office breaking film in 2000.

With the success of the wormhole, Jinshu hesitated to let the film director Jing Xing take charge of the investigation of Chinatown, and there is no obstacle. I just want to make sure that I need to send a few reliable producers together. Assistance, after all, talent belongs to talent, and filmmakers cannot lack talent, but similarly, experience is also crucial in this industry.

Otherwise, it is useless to have ideas but not know how to realize certain ideas and record them on film.

Then there is the Tongtian Spectrum.

At the beginning, it lagged behind Wormhole by a large amount in the first week. Similarly, as of the last week, even if it also got the extension, the film’s revenue was only 5 million yuan, and the cumulative box office was 78 million yuan.

There is little hope of breaking through 100 million.

Of course, for a small film with a production cost of only 5 million RMB, there is absolutely nothing dissatisfied with the current results, and some are just some small regrets. After all, if the debut work can exceed 100 million yuan, it will also be quite a dazzling growth for the director's resume.

Similarly, even if it does not exceed 100 million yuan, there is no objection to the fact that the Mongolian director directed Huapi.

Speaking of which, the box office of the two films was still above 10 million a week ago, and they were postponed this week, but they were quickly cut in half. In addition to the inevitable spread of pirated copies, there is another reason, that is, China’s 2000 Lunar New Year file has already been released. officially opened.

This again has to mention a small comparison.

In South Korea, based on the release time of Mingliang Sea Battle, the Lunar New Year film will start on February 4th, which is the day of New Year's Eve. This actually fits with China 20 years later.

As for China, even though the Golden Week system was officially implemented in the second half of last year, and there will be a seven-day long holiday after New Year's Eve, the New Year's stalls of major film companies are still used to opening before the New Year.

Well, even with the intervention of Simon, the big butterfly, it has not been a few years since China's Lunar New Year festival was formed.

Simon just felt that this trajectory confirmed something again.

From gdp to birth rate to even small details such as Lunar New Year movie schedules, or that sentence, history is always surprisingly similar. I just don’t know if China’s per capita gdp has successfully exceeded 10,000 US dollars in 20 years, and then, in another 20 years, will China’s social structure become another South Korea.

From Simon's current standpoint, frankly speaking, very frankly speaking, I still have a little expectation when I think about it.

After all, it is a paradise for capital.

Back to the current Lunar New Year file.

The reason why the two old films have shrunk rapidly is because China's Lunar New Year file officially opened on January 28, the same Friday, the 21st of the twelfth lunar month, and the following weekend is still a small year.

During the same period, five films were screened together, but only two stood out. One was Jinshu's new film directed by Feng Kuo, which was a complete failure, and the other was a warm New Year comedy called Ruyi produced by China Film.

The result this time was also surprising.

In the same week that just passed, China Film Group's Ruyi defeated Jinshu's crushingly, and took the first place in the Lunar New Year stall. Tsk, looking at it this way, it really fits a certain name.

First of all, wishful.

Just looking at the name will inevitably make people more inclined. and. This time, China Film Group has obviously put a lot of thought into it. The film tells about a pair of young men and women named "Ruyi". They are busy with work and have no intention of life-long affairs. , and finally came together, a happy story of getting married.

Two families are also well represented.

The man is from the Northeast, so it is conceivable that yes, it is Uncle Heitu who plays the father. The woman is from Tianjin, so it is not difficult to guess that her parents are Uncle Feng. In addition, there are all kinds of guest appearances by familiar faces in the Spring Festival Gala these years, such as Chen Xiaoer who has not been banned in this time and space and probably will not be banned in this time and space, such as the old lady who chooses to show up when his health is not good.

Such a strong lineup, coupled with the story is also very distracting, it is only the first week of release, if

Yiyi won a box office of 41 million yuan, which completely surprised China Film.

Because the cost of the film is only 20 million. After all, all the big names have given China Film the face, and it is impossible to get too much. Moreover, because Jin Shu has been too strong in recent years, China Film has not had much expectations for the film. With a box office of 50 million, it is enough to recover the cost and submit a good answer sheet at the end of this year.

Who would have thought that the first week was 41 million.

You know, there is still the seven-day Golden Week of the Spring Festival, and after that, until the Lantern Festival, the film market will not cool down.

So, with such an opening, how much will the total box office go?

When Simon arrived in Suzhou, he had already heard the gossip from Chen Qing. After the three-day box office of the first weekend was released, China Film was already thinking about making a sequel, which is advancing with the times. However, most of the 20 million yuan cost was recovered in the first week.

Then there was the flat defeat of Feng Pants.

After the previous films, even though Dakuan Li is still the leading actor this time, Unknowingly, Uncle Ge will probably not have the glory he once had this time. Even if there are still all kinds of Feng's humor, the plot of the film is somewhat positive and tends to point out the current problems, which is not pleasing enough.

The cost of 30 million is 50% higher than that of China Film Ruyi. In the first week from January 28 to February 3, the box office in the first seven days was only 23 million.

Of course, although the word "only" is not appropriate, after all, the other three cannon fodder films in the same period did not even get 10 million box office in the first week. With a box office of 60 to 70 million, this will undoubtedly become Feng Pants' worst film after playing the Lunar New Year show.

Not to mention, just a month ago, only two new films by two newcomers came from behind.

Simon learned from Chen Qing that during this period of time, Director Feng Da actually had a lot of opinions on the fact that he did not have any part in the four heavyweight new projects. What big directors have to consider is how to ensure their status in the film and television industry.

Simon was just a little curious, wondering if the big names would show up this time.

In Director Feng's Lunar New Year series in the early stage, the big names are definitely the existence that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Party A and Party B.

In short, if it doesn't appear, Simon will definitely push it with his own hands, so that it will appear. After all, the series of divine prophecies issued from the perspective of neuropathy among the big names can really be called eternal classics.

Even, Simon is already thinking about making an American version after considering the Chinese side.

As for introducing the original version into Hollywood, that’s fine, the idea is very good, but obviously it’s best to do as the Romans do, let the bad boys help the group out, combined with American culture, it’s definitely a billion-dollar club work.