Chapter 1224： playboy

On Monday, July 3, 2006, last week's box office statistics came out.

In the North American box office chart, "Pirates Alliance 3: The End of the World" earned $23.5 million in a single week, ranking third in the weekly box office list, and the North American box office has accumulated $420 million!

Last week's overseas market also achieved a box office of 54 million US dollars, pushing the overseas box office to 600 million US dollars!

So far, the first blockbuster film to break $1 billion at the box office in this summer has appeared - "Pirates Alliance 3: The End of the World"!

This is another phenomenon-level commercial masterpiece with a box office of 1 billion US dollars after 19 months after the release of "Spider-Man 3" in 2004!

Gore Wibbins, the director of "Pirates Alliance 3", has also become the second big director after Dunn to have two films with a box office of more than 1 billion US dollars.

However, is he really a great director?

I'm afraid people in the industry don't think so.

After Nolan finished filming Daredevil, and Zach Snyder finished filming Ghost Rider, they became popular in Hollywood immediately, and major studios threw olive branches and wanted to poach.

However, he was indifferent and chose to continue to cooperate with New Universal.

But Gore Wibbins is different. The first commercial blockbuster he directed was "Pirates 2: Coffin of Souls", which earned $460 million at the North American box office and $1.08 billion at the global box office, achieving an amazing achievement that attracted worldwide attention. .

However, industry insiders did not give him a high opinion.

His success is not derived from personal strength, but from the super creative "Pirates League" and the interesting performances of Johnny Depp, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway.

This is completely incomparable to Nolan and Zach Snyder's self-promotion in the movies.

Don't look at the fact that Gore Verbbins has now made two movies with a global box office of more than 1 billion US dollars, but it is the movies that are popular, not his director.

In contrast, although "Daredevil 2" was released a month earlier than "Pirates Alliance 3", the global box office was 960 million US dollars, and it has not been able to break the 1 billion US dollar mark, but Nolan's reputation is too high!

He is almost the most prestigious commercial director in the Hollywood industry after Spielberg, Dunn Walker and James Cameron!

Daredevil 2 is an absolute phenomenon, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the best superhero movie ever made.

Nolan has played both business and word of mouth to the extreme, and the film has his own distinctive characteristics, which is the strength of a top director.

It stands to reason that this period in early July is a hot period of the summer period, and there should be many new films released together.

But at the beginning of July this year, it was a little strange and a little deserted.

Major studios are avoiding this stage, such as Universal Pictures' Threesome, Twentieth Century Fox's Little Miss Sunshine, Assassin in Love, Warner's Don't Mess with the Ants, Paramount's "World Trade Center"...all avoided this time period and chose to postpone the release.

Why?

Very simple, on July 7, a box office aircraft carrier drove over!

The Avengers, the final film of the first phase of Marvel Studios directed by Dunn Walker, will be officially released on July 7!

This is a giant aircraft carrier. Once it drives away, it will set off huge waves. The waves are so big that they will overturn many innocent fishing boats around them.

Before the release of "Avengers", Dunn took New Universal's executive team to Wall Street, met with several investors, and confirmed some proposals for listing.

The new global listing will issue 200 million new shares. Although the current issue price has not been officially determined, it is certain that the new global IPO will be the largest IPO in history! The total funding is likely to exceed $30 billion!

The scale is so large that even Nasdaq can't handle it, so it can only be run by the New York Stock Exchange.

Well-known managers and listing experts from almost all of Wall Street are involved.

There is no doubt that the listing of New Global will be the first prosperous era on Wall Street this year!

After the meeting, Dunn accepted the invitation, went to Illinois, and called on his new love, Kat Dennings.

This is not a formal occasion.

It was Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, who invited Dunn to come over...for a chat.

After Tang En went, he realized that this dashing old man, who always wore pajamas, actually had serious business.

"This is a reality show produced by my company. It's very good." Hugh Hefner is almost 80 years old, but he has a strong body and a bright smile.

What is especially exaggerated is that Dunn also has a Kate Dennings with him, and Hugh Hefner with three bunny girls!

That's right, they're all hot **** girls with bunny ears and miniskirts.

With that look of being unrestrained and indulgent, even Tang En should give a big admiration.

sharp!

Dunn kept his head down and tried not to look at the three bunny girls who were very revealing. The main reason was that they weren't really pretty, and even their bodies weren't necessarily hotter than Kate Dennings next to him.

Hugh Hefner is getting old. When choosing a girl, he just needs to be young enough.

"What reality show?"

"The Girl Next Door, haven't you seen it?"

Dunn shook his head, "No."

This is the site of a press conference. Playboy will announce to the outside world that the third season of its reality show "The Girl Next Door" will be produced.

Naturally, Tang En would not appear at the front desk, and would not even let outsiders know that he had been there.

Hugh Hefner didn't force it, invited him to take a seat in the backstage lounge, and said, "It's a shame you haven't seen it. Hawley, you tell him."

The bunny girl beside him smiled and said: "This reality show... is actually a bit like the style of "The Hilton Family". "The Hilton Family" is about the living conditions of the Hilton family, and the biggest selling point is the Hilton sisters. "Neighborhood" "Home Girl" is about the life of Mr. Hefner, and the most important thing to watch is his enviable way of life."

Dunn blinked a few times, somewhat startled.

An enviable lifestyle?

Isn't it?

Does this old man want to show his romantic life to audiences across the United States through a reality show?

Is this for showing off? Or out to make money?

Rich people can't wait to keep their private life strictly protected, for fear of being known by others. How good is this Hugh Hefner, want to make a reality show and advertise it? Global promotion?

Hugh Hefner said: "It's actually very simple. Every season of "The Girl Next Door", I will find three hot and pretty **** girls to live in my mansion and accompany me. Life. This TV show is to record the flirting and **** life in our daily life."

Dunn was almost dizzy.

Kat Dennings next to her also opened her mouth, looking inconceivable.

Too scary, right?

Tang En swallowed his saliva vigorously and said, "Hugh, that... I know it might not be appropriate to say that, but I still want to say that your age... doesn't seem to be suitable for this kind of work anymore, right?"

Hugh Hefner deeply disagreed, "I have slept with thousands of women, and they still love me. This is the charm of my life. I am 80 years old, but 80 years old is only the middle of another person. Years, as long as the spirit is not old, youth and vitality will never leave the human body.”

As he said that, he opened his arms and surrounded the three bunny girls beside him, all leaning on his arms tenderly, and continued: "Accompanied by these three girlfriends, he feels more comfortable than he was fifteen years ago. young!"

Dunn was a little speechless.

There is also an eye-opening feeling.

Isn't he coming here today to see such a big scene with his own eyes?

Sure enough, Jiang is still old and spicy!

Compared with Hugh Hefner, Dunn feels that he still has a long way to go.

There is still a long way to go, and we must continue to work hard!

Hugh Hefner seemed unfinished and continued: "Do you know what the theme of "The Girl Next Door" is? It's about a guy over 80 who eats one or two small pills a day, holds three or four beauties in his arms, and shuttles celebrities. Enjoy the leisure life as you like. This show will arouse young people's impulse to fall in love, which is a good thing and an incentive for young people. Today's young people...don't know how to fight and struggle at all! Many people spend the first half of their lives chasing fame and fortune, and the second half of their lives claiming to hate fame and fortune, and I am unwilling to exchange my life with anyone."

Even Dunn couldn't stand these words.

Your struggle goal, your struggle direction... is it a woman?

This is too low-level fun.

Tang En shook his head and didn't want to continue the topic, and instead said, "So you invited me over today?"

"Two things!"

Hugh Hefner patted the girl next to him on the waist, motioning them to leave.

Dunn was interested and let Kat Dennings leave.

After the show, Hugh Hefner said: "'The Girl Next Door' is a very good TV show, better than any reality show I've ever seen. Compared to 'The Girl Next Door', 'American Idol' is It's like a child playing a house. Unfortunately, in the first two seasons of "The Girl Next Door", I chose the wrong TV station to cooperate with, and the influence and popularity were not developed. "

Dunn understood as soon as he heard it.

This guy is trying to rely on Xin Universal's TV channel!

Although the USA TV network has been sold, New Universal still has the thriving Starz channel and the Discovery Channel in more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

These are trump cards.

"No, I'm afraid it's very difficult to do. Although Starz is a professional cable TV station, the scale of "The Girl Next Door" is... still too big, and it does not meet the TV station's operating strategy. Not to mention Discovery Channel, this It's a popular channel, and the standards are very strict." Dunn didn't think too much, and immediately refused.

"The Girl Next Door"?

Listen to Hugh Hefner's introductions, it looks like an idiot reality show with stupid content. And it's also produced by Playboy. Do they understand film and television entertainment?

Want to cooperate?

impossible!

Hugh Hefner didn't seem to be surprised by Dunn's answer, he pondered for a moment, and said, "You don't have to rush to reply to this matter, you can go back and think about it. I invited you over today, in fact, I wanted to talk to you about it. You said another thing, a big thing."

"what?"

"What do you think of Playboy?"

"Very good." Dunn smiled, "I believe that every man is a loyal fan of Playboy."

There is no doubt that Playboy is the most influential men's magazine in the world, with more than 100,000 daily visits to its website.

Its brand influence is ranked among the top 500 global brands all year round.

Hugh Hefner shook his head and said, "No, I'm not talking about the magazine, but the company."

Dunn frowned and gave him a deep look.

Of course, he knows that Playboy is a company with diversified operations. It has multiple publications, including movies, TV and other businesses, as well as food, sports, clothing, sunglasses, bags, underwear and other fashion industries, and even games. industry.

For example, the game "Playboy: Mansion" is based on the reality show "The Girl Next Door", which describes the mansion life of the hero and a group of girls.

Seeing Dunn's silence, Hugh Hefner said bluntly, "Are you willing to buy this company?"

"Bought Playboy?"

Tang En was at a loss to laugh or cry.

how is this possible?

He runs a serious business!

Although Playboy's reputation is big and its brand value is high, its actual value is very low.

If New Universal acquired Playboy, wouldn't it be a fishy soup?

Hugh Hefner said: "Ten years ago, after I retired, I left the company to my daughter. But she doesn't seem to have any talent for this. The company's stock price continues to fall, and the annual performance report is losing money. On the fringes. At this rate, in a few years, she will destroy the company."

Dunn shook his head, "No, this is not in line with New Universal's strategic direction."

"Why?" Hugh Hefner doesn't think so. "In my opinion, New Universal's diversification is exactly the same as that of Playboy. Doing TV shows, you have Universal TV; doing games, you have Blizzard. UU Reading Even you have websites like Netflix and Facebook, which can further promote Playboy and deepen its influence. Playboy is in my hands, if it is worth $500 million, it can be in your hands, It could be worth $5 billion!"

This is not true.

but unattractive.

Let sites like Netflix and Facebook promote Playboy?

What are you doing?

Do you old fellow understand the Internet?

Before Dunn could speak, Hugh Hefner spoke again, "Of course, excluding the magazine Playboy."

"What's the meaning?"

Tang En was slightly startled.

Hugh Hefner said: "The magazine "Playboy" I want to leave to the descendants of the family is a way to make money. It cannot be sold. However, other assets of the group can be sold."

Dunn was immediately angry.

No sincerity!

The biggest brand asset of the Playboy Group is Playboy magazine. Now you say that the magazine is not sold, but other assets? Is this worth a fart?

Take me as a scapegoat?

"This is not in our plan. And you know, New Universal is planning to go public, so I don't have more energy to distract from other things." Dunn maintained the most basic respect and politely refused.

Opposite this old-fashioned playboy, except that there are enough women, he is really not convincing.