"Feelings? Let me think … It's not bad. I'm a fan of Al's movies. I think the part where he danced the tango and was scolded at the end was great! "On the TV, a young man wearing a baseball cap was talking excitedly to the camera.
"Thank you, thank you for your answer." After the reporter got the answer, he gestured to the cameraman. The camera then turned from the guy who still wanted to show his face on the screen to another young black man who walked out of the cinema. He had his girlfriend by his side.
"Hello, may I know your names?" the reporter asked first.
"Hmm … My name is Woody Ann Drew, and this is my girlfriend, Mia Harrison." The young black man seemed a little shy, but his girlfriend was very lively as she greeted the reporter. "Hello."
"Is the movie you just watched 'Know a Woman by Scent'?" The reporter continued to ask. After getting an affirmative answer, he immediately asked, "Can you tell me what you think of this movie? Why did you bring your girlfriend to watch this movie? "
"It's a great movie, especially when Al danced the tango. It was very captivating." The black girl called Mia answered first. The young black man thought carefully. "It's a very exciting movie, especially Al's speech at the end in the auditorium. It resonated with me. At that time, I and the people around us could not help but applaud. When I was in high school, I experienced something similar. Fortunately, I made the same choice as Charlie. The reason I came to watch this movie with Mia was because I was able to ask her out. It had something to do with that incident. "
"That sounds really good. Thank you for your answers." The reporter gave them a thumbs-up. Then he put the microphone to his mouth and looked at the camera. "Okay, George, now I have good news and bad news to report to you. The good news is that eighty percent of the audience who participated in the survey thought that 'Know a Woman by Scent' was very good. The bad news is that after investigating for so long, I'm tired and want to rest. So, let Billy turn the camera back to the studio."
"Thank you, Todd. Thank you for your on-site investigation." Following the host's voice, the picture on the TV returned to the studio. The host who was broadcasting the news smiled. "Obviously, everyone liked this movie from the bottom of their hearts. As the director and producer, Adriaan should be very proud. After all, for a long time, this movie that he had shelved was not looked upon favorably by people. He must have spent a lot of effort on it. Okay, that's all for today's program. See you next time. "
With a snap, the TV screen turned black. Claude put the remote control on the tea table and looked at Adrian, who was sitting on the other side, with a faint smile. "Are you very proud now, genius director?"
"Of course, why not?" Adrian shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "But now is not the time to be complacent. When 'Howard Manor' is released next month, I will surprise even more people."
"But, now is not the time to be proud. When 'Howard Manor' is released next month, I will surprise even more people." Claude said with a smile. He walked to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He then turned to Adrian and said, "You've surprised a lot of people. Do you want one?"
"No, not now." Adriaan shook his head as he flipped through the documents on the coffee table.
"Alright, give me a cup. Just treat it as a celebration." Claude poured another cup and placed it in front of him without any explanation.
"Celebration?" Adriaan looked up in surprise.
"Yeah, to celebrate your first movie's North American box office of over 100 million." Claude smiled and raised his glass.
Adriaan raised his eyebrows, then took the glass and smiled. "That's true."
Although the box office of "Pulp Fiction" had been tepid, it was quite long-lasting. It maintained a box office of two to three million dollars every week. It even became a little popular during Halloween, returning to the top ten of the North American box office with a box office of 2.6 million dollars. So, after 22 weeks of release, the movie finally earned more than 100 million dollars in North America! Because of the long run, the percentage of the profits that the cinemas received was much higher. But compared to the investment of the entire movie, which was about 10 million dollars, it wasn't much of a loss. Besides, now that the movie was about to be taken offline and the movie season was approaching, "Pulp Fiction" still maintained a box office of one to two million dollars every weekend. It was a miracle.
"The box office, reputation, and honor are all great. The Palme d 'Or at the Cannes Film Festival isn't something that can be won easily. I didn't realize it until two months after you won it," Claude said with a tinge of emotion.
"That's just a sweetener." Adriaan didn't seem to care. "For Americans, the Oscars are the most important thing. As for the Palme d 'Or … unless they really can't get anything from the Oscars and are eager to recover their declining popularity, directors and actors will only consider European film festivals. If they want to go further, they have to go back to Hollywood."
"That's surprising. You've been to all three major European film festivals, and yet you have such an opinion of them," Claude said jokingly.
"That's true. It's a paradise for low-budget films. They make self-serving movies in the name of 'art.' They don't care about the audience — the majority of the audience. If it can't be balanced, it's only a matter of time before it declines! "Adriaan's brows furrowed slightly, as if he had thought of something.
"Well, let's not talk about this. As long as' Howard Manor 'is released smoothly and meets expectations, my goal for this year will be more than half completed." He then waved his hand.
"Oscar?" Claude raised his eyebrows.
"That's right, Oscar." Adriaan smiled and made a gesture. "I told you."
"I have to sigh again, Eide." Claude sipped the whiskey in his hand. "The ideas that come out of your head are more than the sum of the past 20 years. As far as I know, the screenwriters of the film company have written a lot of scripts based on your ideas in the past few months, and it doesn't seem to be the ones you told me at the beginning."
"They're actually there, but they're just coming out now." Adriaan pointed to his head. "I just put my energy elsewhere before."
"Well, let's just say that." Claude didn't dwell on the topic. "Let's talk about the film company first. Frankly speaking, I think there are a little too many films that have been invested in and will be invested in."
"Is that your opinion, or?" Adriaan looked at him and made a gesture.
Claude was slightly stunned, and then laughed. "Why, Laffer said the same thing to you? Oh, of course, he's an excellent CEO. It's not surprising that he would have the same opinion as me. Although I don't know much about making movies, I know the market and the risks. Think about it, Eide, if … "
"Enough, Krau." Adriaan immediately reached out to stop him from speaking. After a few gestures and some deliberation, he sighed and said, "I know that I definitely can't convince you on this, but I want to ask, how many movies that I've invested in or produced haven't made a profit?"
"None." Claude only thought for a moment before giving the answer.
Adriaan didn't say anything else. He just spread his hands and looked at him.
"Can you guarantee that it will be the same in the future?" Claude raised his eyebrows and asked, "For example, that 'Schindler's List'."
"That's not necessarily the case. Besides, I told you that 'Schindler's List' can bring us more than just financial benefits," Adriaan retorted.
"But you were talking about financial benefits just now." Claude shook his finger and smiled.
Adriaan looked at him as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he spread his hands and said, "I can't be 100% sure, but I can be 80% sure. In this regard, I believe that my vision is much more accurate than yours, because what you need is to be in charge of the overall situation. Also, we all know that without the support of a huge library of high-quality films, it's difficult for a film company to expand. "
That's right, one of the reasons why the seven major companies were able to sit on the throne of Hollywood's giants was that they had a huge library of films. This was also why Adriaan wanted to take all the outstanding films of the 1990s.
"Besides, didn't you complain about having too much liquid capital? Why don't you invest in movies? "he continued.
"Okay, okay, you're always right." Claude gave up arguing with him.
Adriaan smiled and changed the topic. "Speaking of too much liquid capital, how about we buy another film company? Buy a film company that's bigger than Bosworth Pictures. Let me think, Miramax Pictures? Or New Line Pictures? "
"I want to ask, why do you suddenly want to buy a new film company?" Claude asked.
"Because of distribution." Adriaan raised his hands. "If there are two film companies in hand, many low-budget films can be produced by one company and distributed by the other. Just like a big company, the profits can be transferred from the left hand to the right hand. This will also help us establish our own distribution channel."
"Okay, this is indeed a good reason, but Eide, if you buy another film company, will your main focus be on Bosworth Pictures or the newly acquired film company?" Claude reminded.
Adriaan was stunned. He frowned and didn't speak again. After a few seconds, Claude said, "By the way, the two film companies you mentioned are currently negotiating with Disneyland and TBS respectively. According to intelligence, they are likely to be acquired by them respectively."
"You mean …" Adriaan's eyes lit up.
"According to previous contacts, ABC has negotiated with many companies. The one that is most interested in them is Disneyland, so I am inclined to acquire TBS." Claude explained a little.
"It sounds good." Adriaan, who understood what he meant, nodded. He vaguely felt that there was something that didn't match his memory, but it was difficult for him to remember.
