Heads Up Hollywood

"Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Man's Menace" has been fully screened in North America, and some overseas countries are still showing it. The North American box office is locked at 580 million US dollars, and the global box office is 1.15 billion US dollars.

However, Tang En wanted to get 15% of the box office dividend, which was unlikely in the short term.

Tom Rothman is waiting for him to go bankrupt. It is absolutely impossible to transfer the money to him at this time, and he will definitely find enough reasons to shirk it.

Tang En didn't care. He was looking forward to the confrontation between "Spider-Man" and "Titan A.E." and "Sixty Seconds". It must be... very interesting!

On March 26, the 72nd Oscar ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Tang En and Natalie appeared hand in hand. They were not trying to gain popularity by walking on the red carpet, but to win recognition at the Oscars and increase their qualifications.

Both of them are too young, which is the biggest obstacle to winning the award.

"How is it? Is the pressure still high?" Tang En was very concerned about her life at Harvard.

Natalie took Twain's arm and walked quickly through the red carpet area. She refused the interview and pursed her lips and said, "It's okay. I attended Matt's party a while ago and received a lot of encouragement."

"Matt?"

"Matt Damon, star of The Talented Ripley, should be able to see him in a moment."

"Nat?" Dunn stared at her cautiously.

Natalie said angrily: "What are you thinking? I'm different from you! Hmph!"

Tang En coughed lightly, "I'm just wondering, how did you know each other?"

"I didn't know each other before, but I met him when he invited me to his party." Natalie said lightly.

Tang En frowned, "Matt Damon? Nat, you don't mean it, I'm afraid he does!"

"If you do this again, I will ignore you?" Natalie rolled her eyes and said angrily, "He is my senior, and he also studied at Harvard."

"Really?" Dunn was a little surprised.

Natalie said: "He also introduced me to a senior, who gave me a lot of encouragement, and said that he would cooperate with me if he had the opportunity in the future."

"Who is it?"

"Darren, Darren Aronofsky, postmodernist director, have you seen "Pi"?"

Tang En was taken aback.

He hasn't watched "Pi", but he has seen "Black Swan"!

"Hey, what are you thinking?" Seeing him in a daze, Natalie waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Tang En grabbed her little hand and said with a smile: "I'm curious, you have established your own small circle so quickly, and you have met big actors and directors."

Natalie pursed her lips and snorted softly, "It's good to know, I can live a wonderful life without you!"

"Of course, my Nat is the best!"

Tang En complimented him, just in time to see Steven Spielberg walking in front of him.

He was not nominated for this year's Oscar, but as a candidate for the best director last year, he will present the award as usual.

"Twain, what a coincidence! Nat, you are beautiful again!"

Spielberg's eyes lit up, and he walked over first. The suspicion two years ago had already been resolved.

Natalie lifted her skirt gracefully, "You are getting younger and younger, Mr. Spielberg."

Tang En shook hands with him gently, and sighed: "It's a pity, my original idea was to invite you to direct "The Chronicles of Narnia", which is a classic masterpiece."

Spielberg waved his hand, "I can't find time. This year, there is a film to be made, a film to be produced, and a TV series to be produced. I'm too busy."

"TV drama?"

Tang En's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly thought of something.

Spielberg didn't notice his strangeness, so he didn't need to hide it, "Well, it's Tom's project. Because the funds are too large, DreamWorks was brought in."

Tang En was sure that the TV series Spielberg was talking about was the one he thought of!

"Can you talk about it in detail?"

Tang En was very interested, and Natalie stood beside him obediently.

Spielberg said: "Didn't I shoot "Saving Private Ryan", Tom... Tom Hanks, he received a biography of a veteran called "Band of Brothers". It was written by the 101st Airborne Division The experience of landing in Normandy. He approached me and wanted to cooperate with DreamWorks to make a TV series."

Tang En's eyes flickered, and he smiled and complimented, "It turned out to be Tom Hanks! Your second cooperation will definitely be a great success."

"I don't know if it will be successful or not. The investment cost of "Band of Brothers" is more than two "Saving Private Ryan"!" Spielberg sighed and shook his head repeatedly.

Natalie had already seen through Tang En's thoughts, and she was smart enough to find the point, "Mr. Spielberg, is there still a gap in funding?"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized that something was wrong. This was not a topic she should be involved in. She quickly showed the attitude of a little girl, pointed at Tang En, and said coquettishly, "You can find him, and spend all his money. Don't hook up with girls everywhere!"

Spielberg couldn't help but look at Tang En jokingly.

Tang En blushed with half-truth, "That's true. Steven, in fact, I have long wanted to find an opportunity to cooperate with you. Since "The Chronicles of Narnia" failed, "Band of Brothers" is also very good."

Spielberg thought he was being polite, and shook his head, "Dreamworks invested 50 million US dollars, Tom's production company contributed 20 million US dollars, and there is still a funding gap of 50 million. We plan to find a cable TV station to cooperate."

"Cable TV?"

"That's right, the United States can find HBO, the UK can find BBC, France can find CANAL+, and TV stations in European countries such as Spain and Germany can always raise 50 million U.S. dollars in funds."

Tang En's face changed solemnly, "Steven, with all due respect, this idea is not a good idea! This is a pre-sale of TV rights, which will lose a lot of future income."

With the quality of "Band of Brothers", the first round of screenings in North America will cost at least $30 million, and the second round will cost $8 million.

How much does it cost to sell TV rights to hundreds of countries and regions around the world?

This is the bulk of the income!

It's impossible to recover the cost of 120 million US dollars just relying on the DVD and video market, right?

Spielberg said bitterly: "No way, no one will invest 120 million US dollars in a TV series, and can only rely on such powerful TV stations as HBO and BBC. In order to be able to establish a project, pay more benefits, Inevitable."

Natalie said anxiously: "Look for Dun En! Mr. Spielberg, have you forgotten what I said?"

Tang En was holding Natalie's little hand, and his fingers were gently hooked in her palm.

This girlfriend is really great and smart!

"$50 million..."

Tang En pondered for a while, "Steven, you don't have to make things difficult, if you think highly of me, Tang En Pictures is willing to cooperate!"

"You?" Spielberg obviously couldn't believe it, his eyes widened, "Twain, you have to be clear, this is not a movie, it's a TV series!"

In this era, HBO, AMC and other cable TV stations have not yet transformed, and high-quality American dramas that burn money and produce large amounts of money have not yet appeared. Most American dramas are shoddy, with an average cost of only US$1.5 million per episode.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have joined hands to create a masterpiece with an investment of 120 million US dollars, which is no less shocking than Fox's investment in "Titanic".

Tang En's face was completely devoid of Spielberg's nervousness, and he chuckled lightly, "Everyone in the circle calls me a lunatic. Since I am a lunatic, I must do some crazy things, right? Besides, it's only 50 million yuan, which is better than me. Buying Marvel and investing in Spider-Man is a small bet, right?"

Spielberg took a deep breath. He had only heard about it before, but now that he has been in close contact with it, he has finally seen the madness of this young man.

But then again, wasn't Tang En's success also won because of his madness?

"50 million US dollars, this is not a small sum." Spielberg took a deep look at Dun En, "I heard... Dun En Pictures is in a debt crisis?"

Tang En laughed loudly, "What's the matter?"

Natalie continued to make amends, with an angry look, and said sarcastically: "Some big companies just like to bully others, bully the small with the big, full of evil, and talk nonsense!"

Spielberg was deeply moved by Natalie's words.

The survival of DreamWorks is becoming more and more difficult, which is related to the company's management and inseparable from the pressure of the general environment.

Spielberg empathizes with Tang En Pictures' current predicament.

"Well, I'll go back and discuss it with Tom."

It's not easy for Spielberg to make a hasty decision on such a big matter, but seeing his expression, he was very moved.

Cooperating with Tang En Pictures, the future income must be allocated according to the investment cost. Not only is Dreamworks not at a disadvantage, but it is in a dominant position, because Tang En Pictures does not have a distribution department.

If you cooperate with TV stations such as HBO and BBC, it is tantamount to admitting your godfather.

The tyranny of the TV station is much more exaggerated than that of the movie company.

Tang En shook hands with him again, with a sincere tone, "Steven, I am looking forward to our cooperation!"

"certainly!"

Spielberg patted Dunn on the shoulder, smiling.

...

After entering the auditorium, Natalie whispered in Tang En's ear, "Why are you so interested in that TV series?"

Tang En teased: "Build a network, make friends with Spielberg, won't you be able to be the heroine in his movie?"

"You think I'm stupid?"

Natalie glared at him, "You must be hiding something from me!"

"No?"

"No?" Natalie snorted softly, "I heard you're looking for the shooter to write a book?"

Tang En coughed lightly, "Okay, Nat, I admit, I'm really clumsy in front of you. It's just that my talent is astonishing, I'm afraid I'll scare you!"

"Pfft!"

Natalie couldn't help smiling, and gave him a charming look, "Just bragging! I'd like to see what books you can write!"

"By the way, didn't Reese go to the crew of "Legally Blonde"? How did you know I wrote a book?"

"Because I have a new insider." Natalie shook her head triumphantly.

Tang En opened his eyes wide in surprise, "Isra Fisher?"

The corner of Natalie's mouth twitched, "Who else can I use besides her?"

"Well, I'm completely convinced of you."

Tang En was a little dumbfounded.

But it's normal, even Stanford's talented Reese Witherspoon was coaxed by Natalie, willing to be her internal support, not to mention Isla Fisher.