"& Hugo and Columbia Pictures are actually quite fateful, they have collaborated on "Yihai Xiongfeng" and "Seattle Sleepless", both of which have achieved great success, and they are both small and profitable, and what is even more rare is that the two works are continuous cooperation, which makes people feel the closeness between Hugo and Columbia Pictures.

It can be said that on the road to Hugo's strong rise, Columbia Pictures has played a very important role.

But apparently this is just speculation from the outside world, and in the eyes of Columbia Pictures, Hugo is just an actor, and they just had two wonderful collaborations, nothing more. Compared to the huge number of films under Columbia Pictures, Hugo's two works are not too special.

Therefore, Columbia Pictures did not take Hugo to heart, or that Hugo was not the "special" one. This is not unusual, because it is a choice and a decision that every studio makes, every single one. Only a fledgling company like DreamWorks will take the initiative to extend an olive branch to some actors, because they need to rely on favors to make up for their lack of funds and resources. Other than that, all other companies are businessmen, so they are naturally doing business.

So, the unexpected happened.

First of all, the showdown between "Farewell to Lovers" and "Schindler's List" was originally just an ordinary showdown of awards season works, but the result was exaggerated by the media, as if they were enemies who did not share the sky.

is also the showdown between "Life and Death" and "Wolf", which was originally just a very ordinary schedule for the summer file, but after being wantonly exaggerated by the media, it attracted countless attention, but Columbia Pictures was full of confidence in "Wolf", thinking that this kind of hype could stimulate the box office, so it presented a laissez-faire attitude. As a result, everyone knew that the "wolf" had a crushing defeat and the "speed of life and death" had a big victory, which made Colombia's situation immediately delicate.

Logically speaking, one is an actor and the other is a film company, they do not have a deep hatred for each other, it is originally a cooperation of interests, unless it is a personal grudge between the actor and the manager, everything else is just a normal competition for the work, it is not worth mentioning at all, and this kind of competition is staged almost every day in Hollywood.

But the rivalry between Hugo and Columbia Pictures has been turned sour by the media, especially since the competition between Hugo and Universal Pictures was originally the focus, because there was a personal vendetta between Universal's new helmsman, Ron Meyer, and Hugo, but now all the attention has shifted to Columbia Pictures.

Columbia Pictures' president, Mark Canton, is adamant that there must be a shadow of Lang behind all this media hype.

That's when Mark arranged a meeting with Hugo at the World Cup final, not so much for the original sound of "this killer is not too cold", but in the hope of easing the relationship with Hugo. After all, the matter of a movie soundtrack does not need the president to go out in person, just contact the agent Henry who is glorious to death.

After that, Columbia Pictures tried to work with Hugo again several times, but unfortunately it didn't work, and Hugo chose "Before Sunrise", a script he wrote himself, which made Mark really embarrassed. Now that "Before Sunrise" has come out at Sundance and has earned a lot of acclaim, it's a great opportunity for Columbia Pictures, which is determined to ease relations, and Mark doesn't want to miss it.

So it's no surprise that Columbia Pictures is the most sincere of the four contenders.

"What are the conditions at Columbia Pictures?" Hugo didn't hesitate for long, all thoughts just flashed in his mind, and he asked directly.

Rick didn't expect Hugo to ask so simply to ask, and was stunned, and when he noticed Hugo's gaze, he said, "Uh, they ...... They submitted several release proposals, all of which were perfect, and the promotional plans were all different, so you can see that they put a lot of thought into it, and the movie has only been in Park City for five days, and they have such a thoughtful idea, which I think is appropriate. Uh......"

Rick paused again and sorted out his thoughts, "I think one of the plans is more impressive, first according to the convention, the first screening will be carried out in about 200 art theaters, and then gradually expanded, reaching 500 after three weeks, as for the pace of expansion after that, it depends on the box office table of the first three weeks." The pre-promotion of the film is mainly based on the theme of 'love', and the questions about various aspects of love - that is, some of the things discussed in the film - are raised separately, which triggers discussion and attracts the audience to the cinema to watch. ”

This kind of program is obviously very targeted, and the target audience is very clear, that is, to target those literary and artistic youths. Perhaps in this way, it is difficult to make a huge breakthrough at the box office, but it is the most stable. Because the positioning of a film is often the most difficult thing, and it is also the most important first step to success.

Hugo understood at once and nodded slightly, "But they haven't thought about it, because the target audience of the movie is too small, they all enter the cinema in the first and second weeks, so the scale of the first two weeks of screenings is not appropriate." Either it's a little bigger and attracts a larger audience; Or a little smaller, so that word of mouth can spread for a longer time, two hundred theaters...... This familiarity is not up or down, it is too vague. ”

Hugo really didn't know much about the distribution, but he himself went through the process of going from the release to the expansion of several films, so he also knew a little bit about it.

Rick was quite surprised by Hugo's seriousness, and couldn't help but smile a little more on his face, in October last year, Hugo recommended a writer to him, although there is no news of the writer so far, but it was the first time Hugo joined the company's business operations; Now Hugo is also more interested in the release of "Before Sunrise", which is a good thing for Endeavour Elite Agency: the more successful Hugo's work is, the better the company's development.

"Yes, they have taken these situations into account, so they have listed several options, but they will need to develop different communication strategies, so it will take some time." Rick said simply, the shallow smile on his face made his words a little easier, "Columbia Pictures is really attentive this time. ”

Hugo nodded slightly, "If a qiē is suitable, then Columbia Pictures." "Rick is a professional, and Hugo believes he must be more knowledgeable than he is, not to mention that David will be the gatekeeper later.

Rick didn't expect Hugo to nod so quickly, it was only a few minutes before and after, "So, it's decided?" Rick asked suspiciously, and Hugo nodded assumedly, "You don't mind?" Rick asked subconsciously.

"Why should I mind?" On the contrary, Hugo was puzzled, and then he saw Rick's expression, and then he smiled with relief, but just as he was about to speak, he swallowed the words, and said with a slight frown, "Yes, why should I mind?" Then Hugo looked up at the rest of the room, "Do you all think I'll mind?" ”

As a result, Joseph and Samora looked at each other, and both raised their hands to show their innocence, while Charlize pouted, "None of us are you, don't let us guess what you think." One sentence made Hugo very helpless.

Even Hugo's friends think so, thinking that there is a gap between Hugo and Columbia Pictures, no wonder the outside media is boiling, and no wonder Columbia Pictures is so urgent.

In fact, Hugo forgot about it, in the second half of last year, Columbia Pictures repeatedly courted Hugo and submitted a lot of good scripts, some of which Rick and Joseph also really thought it was good, and Hugo rejected them all. So, it's no surprise that they would have such an idea.

Hugo smiled helplessly, "Guys, 'Before Sunrise' is the work that our entire crew has worked so hard to produce, I don't mind which company will release it, what I mind is whether they are attentive or not, otherwise our hard work will be wasted." Since Columbia Pictures is so sincere, isn't it a matter of course to hand it over to them? ”

But looking at everyone's uncertain expressions, Hugo really felt that he couldn't cry or laugh, "This is business, this is a transaction, I know, interests come first." I won't forget Columbia Pictures paying me my check. ”

Hugo's last self-deprecating remark made everyone burst into laughter.

Although I don't know the negotiation process, I was able to get Rick to say "sincere" words, which shows how hard Columbia Pictures has worked this time, so it is not surprising to get this result now. What's more, there is no hatred between Hugo and Columbia Pictures, and if Columbia Pictures has an excellent script in the future, Hugo will naturally not resist working with them again.

Regardless of Hugo's thoughts, at least in Mark Canton's opinion, this time Columbia's efforts have finally paid off. Who knows if "Before Sunrise" will be the next "vulgar"? Even if it isn't, who knows if Hugo's next work will create another "vulgar" miracle?

"By the way, didn't you say there are four companies? Who else but Columbia Pictures? Hugo asked curiously.

"I thought you weren't curious." Now that the matter was settled, and Hugo was showing his enthusiasm for the company's affairs, Rick was clearly in a good mood right now, chuckling and saying, "The other three companies are Twentieth Century Fox, Nelsoertai and a fledgling independent film company called ......" Rick paused for a moment, "Summit Entertainment." EAI), yes, that's the name. ”

Summit Entertainment?.