Chapter 591： No amount of loss is acceptable

"The media has begun to ridicule our schedule for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. If we don't release it according to the established schedule, it will definitely give people a signal of lack of confidence in the quality of the film, which is the most dangerous. Mr. & Mrs. Smith's label as a bad movie, then it really loses."

"I agree with Rhett's words, but on the announcement, is the initial investment of 15 million yuan too much? I think it will be 7 or 8 million to test the water first to see if the situation is safe."

"According to the current situation, it is very difficult to attract the attention of the audience without making the topic hot and overshadowing the news of the screening of "Goblet of Fire" and "Monster in the Lake." Oh, director Ryman, this is just a discussion... ."

In front of Lyman, it is a bit too much to say that "Monster in the Lake" should be restricted.

However, Lehman doesn't mind. "Monster in the Lake" has indeed come to the end of its screening. Even if Paramount is still worried about ups and downs, Lehman has concluded from the latest market statistics that the upper limit of the movie is 300 million in North America. It is impossible to go any further.

So, what does it matter if you deal with it or not?

Anyway, the total number of movies in North America has now reached 27.76 million, and the remaining one or two million has two or three weeks of show time. Even if it is reduced to only 300 in order to let the screen go, the attendance rate has dropped to 20%. , Under the general trend, breaking 300 million is still not a problem.

Then, in order to ensure the interests of "Mrs. Smith", even if one or two million box office is sacrificed, as long as the total amount is still profitable, it doesn't matter, the limit is limited.

After more than an hour of chaotic discussion, Shirley Lansing pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked Lyman, "Mr. Rust, what do you think?"

"I'm very confident in the movie, and that's what I said, the guarantee is 300 million in the world."

A supervisor laughed: "Yes, director Ryman never lacked confidence."

Shirley Lansing thought for a while, and she felt that even if there were not 300 million, and there were 250 million in the world, it would be good to be able to make money from the box office and then make money offline.

Moreover, what is to be done now is not to discuss right and wrong, or to postpone the screening.

After all, Paramount and Firefly are partners in the "Mrs. & Mrs. Smith" project, and they are all in the same boat.

Will it really win 300 million in the "Magic Kingdom of Narnia" competition?

Shirley Lansing thought.

However, she felt that with Paramount's channel as the strong backing of the movie, there was nothing she dared to fight.

"Immediately prepare $20 million to build momentum for "Mrs. & Mrs. Smith"."

"Don't talk about risk reduction. If we lose, we can't accept any loss. Instead of this, it is better to expect the movie to really harvest the market smoothly."

"Next, let's unify the external caliber and spare no effort to hype the two leading actors, saying that the two Bonds fell in love with the same woman because of their drama. What kind of charm does Catherine Zeta-Jones have? Tell their agent, let The two cooperate, as long as they are ambiguous in public." - Sean Connery also collaborated with Catherine in "The Trap", which was also a scandal at the time.

Well, it is undeniable that the people who eat melons all over the world love to watch scandals. What is a love affair with a play or a cuckold is always something they like to hear, even if it will always be clarified afterwards. Well, just friends who appreciate each other.

But don't tell me, this trick will always work.

Lyman listened, how does it feel to be a copy of the publicity of Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but the two really had an affair. After the exposure, they were scolded by many passers-by and audiences, and finally they were inexplicably whitewashed and turned into blessing fans.

Zizi, good trick.

Shirley Lansing is still talking. Now that she has a decision, she doesn't like to repeatedly hinder her.

"Immediately preview the two versions of the film and contact Fox TV and NBC to broadcast them in batches. We have only one goal in the near future, that is, the publicity of "Mrs & Mrs. Smith" will let mainstream audiences know that there will be a film like this on the 9th. ."

......

Inside Paramount Pictures, there was awe.

Shirley Lansing's series of moves is basically to fight with a few movies.

Regardless of the previous discussion, once it is determined, no one will refute it.

Each department performs its own duties and takes action one after another.

Perhaps everyone also understands that the pressure from the board of directors has given this executive a chance to let it go, in an attempt to use his record to continue to save his position and supreme authority in Paramount.

Anyway, the resources have been invested, and the direction of the momentum has been determined. Either a loss or a profit, there is no third way to go.

A little reassuring is that if it weren't for the pressure of the schedule, the company's executives would feel that "Mrs. Smith" was a commercial masterpiece.

On the 9th, it was finally time to face the test.

On this day, the red carpet is enchanting and the lights are shining.

In the middle, apart from the moderator's cooperation with Katherine, there was nothing worth talking about in the recent media discussions.

The premieres are all very cookie-cutter, all to gain attention and continue to build momentum.

However, the only thing that made director Tony Gilroy a little embarrassed was that all the actors or studio executives who came to join the film recognized Lyman and applauded after the film.

Obviously, these people do not believe that the relatively mature commercial comedy "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" will be made by a director who has never made achievements. At most, it is a filming machine.

Although, the latter conclusion seems to be correct, the script and shooting ideas Lehman have participated in the formulation, and Tony did execute according to the plan.

But when I really saw this scene, it would be a lie to say that it is not bitter.

After all, he had also put in a lot of hard work, and as a result, he didn't even have the chance to be recognized. Tony sighed to himself.

However, this path was chosen by himself, and he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

......

After the premiere, Lyman also walked up to Tony in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry."

Tony warmed his heart and pretended to smile nonchalantly: "It's okay, I'll prove it to them later."

"Yes, as long as the movie is successful, there will be opportunities to continue directing." Seeing that Tony can think about it, Lehman also said comfortably.

Being surrounded by a group of people to celebrate and socialize just now made him feel boring.

Tony had been cooperating with the promotion some time ago, and now he asked: "How many screens did Paramount promise to provide the movie?"

"Rest assured, there will be no less than 2,700. They will concentrate their resources to promote the film, which is related to their own interests."

Tony's eyes lit up, and it was not so unacceptable to suddenly feel left out.

Flattery is available in Hollywood anytime, as long as the movie does well at the box office.

......

In front of the ticket window of a movie theater in downtown New York.

There were long queues of people celebrating Christmas.

Watching movies together will always be a reserved item for many American families.

"Any proper comedy movies lately?" asked a paternal audience member.

The conductor replied, "I think one would be suitable. Here, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which just came out today."

The questioner followed the conductor's line of sight to the movie poster, which showed Katherine with her back against a pistol held in a holster, looking more like an action movie than a comedy.

But the genres that are actually marked on the posters have comedic elements.

In this regard, there is never a falsehood.

As a result, the man happily bought three movie tickets for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and walked into the theater with his wife and children.

Among the three, only the child sitting in the center was having a good time with popcorn, and there was a lot of noise in the screening room, and there were laughing and slapstick sounds from time to time.

Soon, the movie begins.

As soon as he appeared, it was the trivial matters of the family.

A middle-aged man ran to see a doctor, saying that his life was too peaceful, he was out of breath, and felt that his marriage was like a grave.

The bland opening passed quickly, and after that, the couple began to be attacked by the killer inexplicably, and the two looked different during the handling.

With the development of the plot the identities of the two are exposed.

And because of the new tasks they received, they wanted to assassinate each other.

The pride of the Smiths as veteran killers and their observance of professional ethics have escalated the assassination operation, and life has produced new passions.

Watching the once honest and reliable mask is torn off, the two people get along more interesting.

It was noisy, and the weapons were slammed, and the appearance of blowing up the house was also a joke.

The part of being honest with each other even made the audience unable to stop——

"Your cooking is really unpalatable."

"The curtains you bought are ugly."

"Actually, I was married once."

"I didn't graduate from MIT either..."

For a time, there was laughter in the theater.