Chapter 549： Lucasfilm

Starting from the beginning of December, Pretone Pictures and Shahai Entertainment and Embassy Pictures have initiated tripartite negotiations to discuss the production and distribution of the two projects "The Da Vinci Code" and "Mamma Mia".

Ronan only paid a little attention, and the specific work was delegated to people from the two companies.

"Lost in Tokyo" continues to be screened in North America, and the number of theaters on screen has increased to 30. The box office of the second movie on the weekend was close to 1.5 million US dollars, still maintaining a high operating level of more than 40,000 US dollars in a single theater.

This is the only award-winning film of Embassy Pictures this year, and all award-winning resources are used on it.

The production budget of "Lost in Tokyo" is only 4 million U.S. dollars, but the publicity and distribution budget is as high as 7 million U.S. dollars. Even the embassy film industry can continue to invest in additional investment as appropriate.

The operation of award-winning films and commercial films is essentially the same. On the basis of ensuring a certain quality of the films, the final fight is still capital investment.

During the screening stage, the audience who saw "Lost in Tokyo" was relatively limited, and the reputation of the film was exceptionally strong.

IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes have long been lifted.

The former is now scored by thousands of users, and "Lost in Tokyo" averages 8.3 points.

The latter is a reflection of the intuitive comments of film critics. The filmmakers have a great influence during the awards season, and most film critics appreciate the literary tune of "Lost in Tokyo".

Rotten Tomatoes collected more than 80 film reviews including the film when it participated in the Cannes Film Festival. The index is not only marked as fresh, but the freshness is as high as 97%!

More than professional film critics are buying "Lost in Tokyo".

The media is also well received.

"Lost in Tokyo" as a classic romance film has both the humor that makes people laugh, and the tenderness that makes people feel more intimate. Like all love stories that are memorable and memorable, it has a bitter sweetness and beauty. And moving into people’s hearts."

-"Los Angeles Times"

The atmosphere and observation part of "Lost in Tokyo" is longer than the storytelling part. But you won't mind: Sophia Coppola quietly maintains a depressed tone, and there won't be a second movie like this unless genetics intervenes.

-"The Hollywood Reporter"

In fact, for some people, such as Ronan, after watching this film, they feel that Sofia Coppola seems to have said something, and it seems that he has not said anything.

"This is a film that directly reflects the director's emotions."

At the pull conference jointly organized by Embassy Pictures and Sofia Coppola, Ronan said to his friend Tom Cruise: "Even works that represent Sofia's personal emotions."

Just watched the film, Tom Cruise also had a similar experience: "She has a good grasp and emotional control is in place."

Ronan nodded: "Yes."

Tom Cruise lowered his voice slightly, and said: "How strong beliefs and tenaciousness are necessary for men and women who have feelings to share a bed to avoid sex."

Ronan asked, "Can you do it?"

Tom Cruise did not answer, and asked, "Can you?"

Ronan told the truth: "It depends on whether that woman looks pretty."

Tom Cruise shook his fingers at him: "Ronan, your will and faith are not good."

Ronan pointed to Tom Cruise: "Tom, it's very impolite to say no to a man."

Tom Cruise couldn't help laughing.

Ronan stopped joking with him, looked at Sophia Coppola, who was surrounded by the crowd in the banquet hall, and said: "Remember, all the votes in his hand are for "Lost Tokyo"."

"Don't worry." Tom Cruise said directly: "I will mobilize my side to vote for you as much as possible."

He also looked to Sofia Coppola and said, "I don't know if I have a chance to stand on the Oscar stage."

With the last defeat in the Olympics, Tom Cruise's mind to hit the best actor Oscar has also faded a lot.

Ronan said, "When you have gray hair and wrinkles, you can definitely win an Oscar for Best Actor, Golden Man."

Tom Cruise retracted his gaze and glanced at Ronan: "Can you help but hit me?"

"This is not a blow." Ronan spread his hands out: "Tom, this is telling the truth. You represent an era in Hollywood. From the mid-1980s to the present, you have been one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood. Waiting for you When you get old, Oscars will definitely give you a supreme award."

Tom Cruise is not stupid. Just after thinking about it, he knew that the possibility was not only there, but also very big. He shook his head and said, "Retirement consolation prize for the elderly."

Oscar also has qualifications, and later Sandra Bullock, etc., can be said to be typical in this regard.

Ronan lowered his voice slightly: "Tom, do you remember a project I mentioned to you? I said it with you and Will last time."

"The gangster movie you were talking about?" Tom Cruise asked.

"That's right." Ronan nodded slowly, and said: "Will is busy with the promotion of "Rivals of the People". When this is over, I invite you to go to my side to watch the preview and the script together.

The two screenwriters have returned from Boston and are combining the two film scripts of "Infernal Affairs" that have already been screened. According to the gangster culture in the United States, they are adapting a fully Americanized script to complete the first draft before Christmas.

Ronan has made up his mind. The two most important protagonists have invited Tom Cruise and Will Smith to play.

Tom Cruise nodded: "Yes, you can call me then."

Ronan saw George Lucas coming out of the crowd not far away, pointed to his side, and said, "I'm going to have a chat with George Lucas."

George Lucas has a big beard and a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Compared with Ronan the last time he saw him, he is much fatter.

"Hi, George." Ronan walked over and greeted him actively: "It's been a long time."

George Lucas shook hands with Ronan and joked: "Yeah, I will forget you for a long time."

Ronan knows how to approach: "You will not forget, we are alumni of the USC Film School."

"If you don't tell me, I really don't remember." George Lucas smiled slightly: "So you also graduated from the USC Film School."

Ronan smiled and said, "Unfortunately, I dropped out of school before finishing."

George Lucas said naturally: "You already know the way of paper. Reading it on is a waste of time. It's better to practice it."

Ronan changed the topic: "Will the third part of "Star Wars Prequel" be released next year?"

"It will be 2005." George Lucas appropriately revealed a little information: "Now post-production has just begun."

Ronan seemed to be a fan of Star Wars: "Lord Black will appear, right?"

George Lucas is very cautious: "This is the secret of the film, I can't tell you now."

Ronan deliberately pretended to look like he couldn't wait: "This is too cruel for a fan."

Looking at Ronan, George Lucas didn't think it was a fake, and asked: "Ronan, do you like Star Wars very much?"

Ronan did not answer, and asked, "How many people in the United States don't like Star Wars?" He deliberately said, "George, will you still shoot the third part? If you continue to shoot, we can cooperate. I have no other meaning. It’s just a fan’s idea to participate in the production of Star Wars on the ground."

"This will be the end." George Lucas has said it many times, and there is no need to hide it: "After "Revenge of the Sith", Star Wars has all ended from a movie perspective."

Ronan sighed, "It's a pity."

George Lucas didn't feel that way: "Any movie has an end, and I'm older and I can't keep up with energy."

Ronan just got familiar with George Lucas and left some good impressions. He didn't rush to say what to do, but calmly said: "I agree with this, and then classic movies. And the character, there is also the day to say goodbye to the audience."

George Lucas couldn't help laughing: "Maybe I will restart this series when there are new advances in film technology."

Ronan also smiled: "I'm waiting for that day."

To some extent, the Star Wars series in the United States is a bit like a Journey to the West in the East, which has long evolved into a cultural phenomenon.

From the film industry alone, Star Wars is definitely the number one IP in Hollywood.

Ronan could hear that George Lucas has no plans to retire or transfer Lucasfilm for the time being, at least not yet.

At the point of George Lucas, it is difficult to force him to do anything unless he volunteers.

Ronan knows that many things can't be rushed, otherwise it will be counterproductive.

In fact, he has already done some understanding of "Star Wars" and Lucasfilm. The latter is similar to a group company. In addition to Lucasfilm, the production company, there is also the world's No. One of the movie special effects company Industrial Light and Magic, and many subsidiaries named after Skywalker animation, soundtrack, the company's total value should be more than 3 billion US dollars today.

However, with the exception of Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm, those other subsidiaries can be classified as bad assets strictly speaking.

The greatest value of the entire Lucasfilm industry lies in two places, one is Industrial Light and Magic, and the other is Star Wars.

However, the copyright of Star Wars is divided. The shooting copyright of the film and various peripheral copyrights are in the hands of Lucasfilm. The first part of "Star Wars", which is the film copyright of "New Hope", belongs to that year. The issuer is owned by Twentieth Century Fox.

At the end of the 1970s, George Lucas transferred the copyright of the film to Twentieth Century Fox at a low price in order to be released and released in order to be ridiculed by various critics in the screening of "New Hope." In the twentieth century, Fox didn't want to see it at all, and didn't want to spend any more money. George Lucas retained the filming copyright and all peripheral copyrights.

Later, as everyone knows, "Star Wars" staged a slight counterattack.