Chapter 591: Viking Little Hero

At Embassy Pictures, more than a dozen viewers gathered in the filming room, and the screening of an animated feature film has come to an end.

Shrek and his friends worked together to defeat the fairy godmother and her son Prince Charming, successfully married Princess Fiona, threw down the super light bulb and gave birth to a big winner, as well as a super killer who sells cute spoofs. Cats in boots, go on their honeymoon together...

The trial meeting ended, and because of the limited number of people in the drawing room, there was sparse applause.

"How is it?" Garcia Rodriguez asked Thomas in a low voice, "How is it better than the first one?"

Thomas told the truth: "As far as I feel, the quality of the film is slightly inferior to that of the first film, but this is a sequel, and it is estimated that the commercial performance is higher than that of the first film."

Garcia said slowly: "It's almost as I thought."

After saying this, he turned his head and looked back, and Jeff Kasenberg of DreamWorks Animation Studios was standing next to Ronan and seemed to be discussing the film.

Jeff Katzenberg glanced at the person next to Ronan and remembered that it seemed to be the head of the 20th Century Fox Animation Studio. I don’t remember what it was called. For him, an animated film producer , The other party is just the younger of the younger generation.

He smiled and asked, "Ronan, is this okay?"

What Ronan said was praise: "Excellent. Especially the parody style of famous movies is full of fun. Except for the "Shrek" series, this form has never appeared in previous cartoons, even in other forms. In the film, there is absolutely no such focus, which is refreshing for everyone."

Jeff Katzenberg said with pride: "DreamWorks Animation Studio has found a suitable style and is on the right path of development."

Ronan also agreed with his statement: "The animated feature films of DreamWorks Animation Studios will get better and better."

Although DreamWorks Animation Studio is not as good as Pixar Studios, it produces mixed feature films, but overall it has developed quite well.

He introduced to Jeff Katzenberg: "This is Chris Leonard, the head of Shahai Entertainment Animation Studio."

Chris Leonard smiled and said hello: "Hello, Mr. Katzenberg."

"Hello." Jeff Katzenberg and Chris Leonard shook hands gently.

He didn't quite understand why Ronan could take this infamous animator seriously?

Embassy Pictures was originally the most suitable partner for DreamWorks Animation Studios, and Ronan was also his most valued partner. It was not until the establishment of the Shahai Entertainment Animation Studio that he realized that Ronan did not necessarily regard DreamWorks Animation Studios as the primary one. Partner.

Nowadays, there are many animation producers in Hollywood, Pixar Studios is the well-deserved industry leader, and then other companies, this sand sea entertainment animation studio, if it really develops, it will inevitably become a strong competitor of DreamWorks Animation Studio.

Sitting in the current position, you must consider the company, otherwise it is better to retire and step down.

I hope Spielberg can build a distribution channel for DreamWorks in the next few years.

Although at a certain time in the past, he was very unhappy with David Geffen and Spielberg, but if the conditions are right, he does not mind letting the distribution rights of DreamWorks Animation Studio return to DreamWorks.

In any case, both belong to the same company.

Jeff Katzenberg casually greeted Ronan with a few words, and then turned to Ronan, saying: "The schedule is set for the second weekend of May. Can it be released globally?"

Ronan is confident: "There is no problem. This is not the first time that Embassy Pictures has released a movie globally. "Shrek 2" will appear in theaters in more than 30 countries and regions simultaneously on the second weekend of May. among."

This is the sequel to the super hit movie. It naturally has a strong fan base. You don't need to wait for the North American box office to break out and be released overseas. Global synchronization can also effectively avoid box office losses caused by piracy.

Even in a market with extremely strict copyright management in North America, it is difficult to avoid the emergence of piracy. There are an endless stream of ghostly sneak shots in theaters. Now it is the Internet age. As long as the gun version appears on the Internet, it can be The speed of imagination spread all over the world.

Jeff Katzenberg is confident in the distribution capabilities of Embassy Pictures, but has some doubts about the schedule: "It will be released on the second weekend of May, Ronan, is this schedule a bit tight?"

Ronan said, "This schedule is not bad."

"The first weekend was the premiere of Universal Pictures' Van Helsing." Jerefu Katzenberg was somewhat worried: "The following weekend was Warner Bros' super epic "Troy", although "Shrek 2 "The audience of "is different from these two films, but will it be affected if it is sandwiched between two top giants?"

The production cost of "Van Helsing" is as high as 160 million US dollars. "Troy" is an exaggerated production budget of 175 million US dollars. The production cost of "Shrek 2" is 75 million US dollars. Compared with these two films The difference is not a little bit.

Ronan said calmly: "Every summer, the schedule is very crowded. There are heavyweight films released every weekend. The successful film will still be successful without much impact, and we can't find a more suitable one. The schedule is up."

Choosing this schedule was originally selected by Ronan specially instructed by Embassy Pictures. Looking at the entire May and June, is there a better schedule than this?

The front is a super street product, the back one is not much better although it is not on the street.

Brad Pitt also used "Troy" to prove that his commercial appeal is really not that strong.

Jeff Katzenberg thought for a while and said, "Well, you are an expert in this area, so I won't express any opinions."

Ronan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Jerefer, the results of this sequel should be better than the first."

"I hope so." Jeff Katzenberg didn't stay too much, and said: "The company has something to do. I will leave first and get together again when I have time."

At the end of the preview, Ronan briefly asked the Embassy Pictures and the theater company to coordinate theaters, and left the Embassy Pictures.

Online distribution, the number of theaters directly determines the box office.

Not only "Shrek 2" which was released on the second weekend of May, Embassy Pictures will also release "Resident Evil 2" in early April. They need to win as many theaters and screens as possible from the theaters.

Ronan’s request is very clear. The number of theaters in North America for "Shrek 2" must reach about 4,000, and even if "Resident Evil 2" is an R-rated film, the number of premiere theaters must exceed 3,000.

Of course, the embassy film industry can win as many theaters as possible.

Chris Leonard went out of Embassy Pictures with Ronan and went on Ronan's Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Ronan asked, "Can "Despicable Me" be completed this year?"

Chris Reynard promised: "There will be an internal preview before the end of the year."

"DreamWorks Animation Studios will not cooperate with Embassy Pictures for too long." Ronan saw very clearly: "After the five-year period, the cooperation between the two parties may end, so the business of animation feature films still depends on us. itself."

Regarding Pixar's studio plan, he didn't need to talk to Chris Renard.

And unlike DreamWorks Animation Studios, if Pixar’s players want to continue to open up, Pixar Studios must retain a certain degree of independence.

Chris Leonard said: "I understand that as long as "Despicable Me" goes well, we will launch the "Minions" animated movie."

Ronan nodded. He also had some thoughts about the situation of Jeff Katzenberg and the DreamWorks Animation Studio. Especially this year and many years, Jeff Katzenberg seldom met with him again. Al-Smith and Tom Cruise are walking together, and the previous golf fours have gradually become an iron triangle.

There are many reasons for it, it is not difficult for him to understand.

This time, using the opportunity of Artisan Pictures to promote the comprehensive cooperation between Embassy Pictures and DreamWorks Animation Studios in the next five years, it can also be said to be a win-win situation.

Outside of the Big Six companies, there is now no distributor stronger than Relativity Entertainment, and the distribution commission given by Embassy Pictures is much lower than the Big Six.

As for Jeff Katzenberg and the three of them drifting away, Ronan has no complaints or complaints. Jeff Katzenberg represents not only himself, but also the entire DreamWorks Animation Studio. Involving dozens of shareholders and hundreds of employees, Jeff Kasenberg must be responsible for them.

Business has always been complicated, and business competition will not affect personal relationships. It can only be said that it is very rare.

The shopping mall is like a battlefield, and Jeremy Katzenberg obviously made his own choice Ronan closed his eyes and thought for a while, and said: "Chris, last year British children’s writer Grecia- Cowell published an adventure book."

This was seen from the information Connie had collected. He didn’t think much about the idea of ​​playing it, but during this time he gradually made up his mind: "The title of the book is "Little Viking Hero: How to Tame Your Dragon". Roughly telling the story of a Viking boy who became a Viking warrior through training his dragon. I think it is very suitable to be adapted into an animated film. You can take the time to watch it."

Chris Leonard said, "I'll buy one when I turn around."

Ronan nodded and said, "After reading it, if you think it is possible, you can directly contact Robert Lee of the head office and ask him to come forward and buy the relevant copyright."

"Okay." Chris Leonard responded.

Ronan sent Chris Leonard back to Shahai Entertainment and asked the driver David to rush to the newly renamed Theory of Relativity Building. Christopher Nolan, who completed "Batman: Hour of War", has begun the preparatory work for the new movie project , The two agreed to meet today a few days ago.