Chapter 214: Undercurrents

At Universal Studios Burbank.

Tomorrow is Halloween, and the park will host a week-long Halloween event. Therefore, even though it's a Monday during the day, this 200-acre comprehensive film and entertainment complex is still bustling with activity.

Inside an office building in the northern administrative district of the park, Lou Wasserman, chairman of MCA, Universal's parent company, and CEO Sid Sheinberg are sitting by the window of an office on the fifth floor.

Lou Wasserman, 75 this year, has a lean face and wears large, tea-colored reading glasses. This elder, who was once joked by the media as the prototype for the alien ET, has controlled MCA for thirty years, transforming it from a talent agency to a comprehensive media group.

Sid Sheinberg, just over fifty, was the one who discovered Spielberg and has been a Hollywood stalwart for over a decade under MCA's leadership.

As they occasionally glanced at the vaguely visible crowds in the tour area, the two Hollywood moguls discussed the movie "Scream," currently being screened by Danerys Entertainment.

Sid Sheinberg handed Lou Wasserman a report he had read several times, saying, "This is a report made by the marketing department this morning. Danerys Entertainment's operation of 'Scream' can completely serve as a textbook example of distribution. The accurate market positioning towards teenagers, precise advertising placements on public television's youth programs, MTV, and youth magazines, along with carpet marketing in major cities nationwide. Most importantly, the efficient execution by Danerys Entertainment's distribution team has contributed to the box office success of 'Scream'."

Lou Wasserman, flipping through the report, asked, "Can we do something similar with John Carpenter's 'In the Mouth of Madness'?"

"In the Mouth of Madness," a sci-fi thriller set to be released by Universal this Friday, was directed by John Carpenter, the horror mastermind behind the "Halloween" series.

Sid Sheinberg shook his head regretfully, "Carpenter's new film is quite mediocre in quality and was produced on a budget of only 4 million dollars. It's not worth a massive promotion."

Lou Wasserman glanced at Sid Sheinberg, "Wasn't the production budget of 'Scream' not too high either?"

Sid Sheinberg could only laugh dryly.

According to the report in Wasserman's hands, Danerys Entertainment's distribution budget for "Scream" included a copy cost of 1.3 million dollars for 1755 screens, plus substantial advertising placements across various platforms and promotional tours by the creative team, conservatively estimated to be over 7 million dollars.

With the film's box office success, Danerys Entertainment will definitely continue to increase the marketing budget, possibly even exceeding the film's 10 million dollar production cost.

Would Universal dare to do the same? Perhaps, but first, they would need a film of comparable quality to "Scream."

For example, in roadshows, the young and attractive cast of "Scream" could naturally connect with the teenage audience, while John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness" is a brotherly film with a black and white lead duo, both over thirty and not very famous. They might be acceptable on the big screen, but face-to-face interactions would hardly arouse much interest among the audience.

As Wasserman remained expressionless, Sid Sheinberg, after a moment of silence, still asked, "Lou, what happened with the MPAA last time? Why was there no follow-up?"

Lou Wasserman paused his flipping, briefly recounted what MPAA chairman Jack Valenti had relayed to him, and concluded by shaking his head, "He's a very crazy young man, willing to follow the rules yet despises them, knows restraint but is not without means. More importantly, he's only 20 this year, an advantage none of us have. Sid, if we manage to sell MCA in the next few years, I'm probably going to retire. I don't want to provoke trouble that won't let me enjoy my old age."

Sid Sheinberg, still somewhat unwilling to give up, said, "Lou, are we just going to let Danerys Entertainment continue to grow?"

Lou Wasserman looked keenly at Sid Sheinberg, non-committally, "If you want to try something, you can see."

Sid Sheinberg hesitated, "Gene from distribution told me something this morning. Ron McMillan, the producer of 'Scream,' had some entanglements with one of the actresses in the film. McMillan promised her a significant role but failed to deliver."

Breaking promises in Hollywood is hardly a newsworthy offense.

Upon hearing this, Lou Wasserman slightly frowned, "Sid, how old is that girl?"

Sid Sheinberg uncertainly, "She should be in her twenties."

"A twenty-something girl, unless you offer a very generous deal, do you think she'd be willing to ruin her career to fight against Danerys Entertainment?" Lou Wasserman looked at Sid Sheinberg, not waiting for his answer, further inquired, "Or if Danerys Entertainment discovers it was you behind this, do you think they couldn't find similar reasons to attack Universal?"

The previous "Scream" rating incident was merely a whim by some elders to intimidate the younger generation, which almost escalated into a major controversy.

Lou Wasserman still felt somewhat frightened by the words that young man had Jack Valenti relay to him. As one gets older, there's a tendency towards conservatism and stability; he did not wish to initiate a battle with Hollywood's new and old powers without any chance of winning.

As for Sid Sheinberg's suggestion, it was nothing short of a bad idea.

In Hollywood, few could claim they were entirely clean in matters of sex. If you attack others with sex scandals, retaliation is almost certain.

Most importantly, by doing this, Universal wouldn't gain much.

In the end, interests are the fundamental factor driving competition and confrontation.

The aftermath of the Hollywood screenwriters' strike led to an almost blank Halloween season. "Scream" took advantage of the situation, and its soaring box office, though enviable, did not compete directly with the Big Seven.

Without sufficient interest driving them, engaging in such petty tactics is simply not worth the loss.

Sid Sheinberg, observing Lou Wasserman's expressions, quickly dismissed the idea.

Despite being MCA's second-in-command for over a decade, he knew the company's power was firmly in Wasserman's hands. If his actions triggered a conflict, Wasserman, not wanting to drag the entire MCA into it, would definitely scapegoat him.

While Lou Wasserman and Sid Sheinberg discussed "Scream," at Paramount Pictures, Paramount's president Sidney Ganis had just finished lunch with Wes Craven.

Compared to Sid Sheinberg's underhanded tactics, Sidney Ganis was much more practical.

With the summer hits "American Trip" and "Crocodile Dundee II," Paramount's film business was thriving this year, and Sidney Ganis had no intention of confronting Danerys Entertainment.

Wes Craven's self-written and directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series brought the then-obscure New Line Cinema into prominence. In recent years, he produced the blockbuster horror films "Final Destination" and "Scream," although Simon West's influence was significant, Craven had certainly become a Hollywood director worth courting.

Although they didn't reach a cooperation agreement during lunch, Sidney Ganis learned that Craven hadn't agreed on a sequel with Danerys Entertainment, meaning Paramount still had a chance to woo him.

After sending off Wes Craven, Sidney Ganis turned to his assistant and asked, "Did you get in touch with the screenwriter of 'Scream,' Bruce Joel Rubin?"

The assistant nodded, "I've arranged a meeting for you tomorrow at 10 a.m."

Nodding, Sidney Ganis was about to head to his office when he added, "Compile a file on the key creators of Danerys Entertainment's films at the end of the year for me."

Similar to Warner and Paramount, many in Los Angeles today discussed issues related to Danerys Entertainment.

Before, Danerys Entertainment's films always relied on other companies' distribution networks. "Scream's" success firmly established Danerys Entertainment's position as a top second-tier film company, just below the Big Seven.

Hence, some tried to woo, some sought to hinder, some plotted to poach, while others could only express envy.

Unknowingly, Hollywood had formed an undercurrent around Danerys Entertainment, and where this current would ultimately lead, no one knew.

After the weekend came Halloween, the holiday atmosphere boosted the weekday box office, significantly higher than usual.

Thus, after its first week of screening, "Scream's" final box office reached 20.71 million dollars.

Driven by "Scream," the North American box office surged from 32.67 million dollars the previous week to 47.36 million dollars between October 28 and November 3. "Scream" alone accounted for 43% of the total, leaving the other 16 movies to share the remaining 57%.

On the weekly box office chart, "Scream's" 20.71 million dollars dwarfed the second-place "Halloween 4," which only made 5.23 million dollars.

Jodie Foster's critically acclaimed "The Accused," despite a strong performance, fell to 3.69 million dollars in its third week, ranking third.

Fox's "Alien Nation" continued its sharp decline, earning just 2.92 million dollars this week, ranking fourth.

The biopic "Gorillas in the Mist" starring Sigourney Weaver and the romantic comedy "Big" starring Tom Hanks ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

Warner Bros.' "Fletch Lives," like its opening day performance, ranked seventh, with a pitiful opening week box office of only 1.63 million dollars. With the release of several new films the following week, this movie, with a production cost comparable to "Scream" but no impact, will completely fade from media and audience attention.

November 4, Friday.

Compared to last week's quiet, this Friday saw the release of four new films.

However, except for Danerys Entertainment's limited screening of "Mulan" on 22 screens in North America, the other three were not major releases from big film companies.

Paramount's "Rattle and Hum," a music documentary about the U2 band, John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness," and Diane Keaton's "Good Mother" distributed by Universal and Disney, respectively, had low expectations from their distributors.

Therefore, none of the four new films posed any threat to "Scream."

Simon and Janet spent Halloween in New York and returned to Santa Monica on Friday morning.

In Danerys Entertainment's headquarters, in a large conference room on Friday afternoon, Simon, along with Amy Pascal, Robert Agre, Robert Lem, and other executives, listened to Nancy Brill, the newly hired head of the consumer products department, present her plans for the department.

Nancy Brill, coming from the renowned toy company Hasbro, looked in her thirties, with a delicate face typical of French women, her blonde hair pinned up, wearing a black professional suit, appearing very competent.

Danerys Entertainment currently had few projects suitable for developing movie merchandise. Most of "Run Lola Run's" merchandise had already been sold, and the rights to several films like "Pulp Fiction" remained with companies like Orion.

Now, Danerys Entertainment's main projects for merchandise development were its popular reality shows and the recently successful "Scream." A bit further down the line, the most valuable would likely be next year's "Batman."

Danerys Entertainment had already made significant profits from box office and broadcasting of its film projects. To avoid overexploiting the rights, Simon was very cautious about the consumer products department, not eager to chase profits. Nancy Brill's main task for the next year or two was to build a team, cultivate the department, and expand channels.

"Finally, regarding video games, the crash caused by Atari's downfall is over. In recent years, with the rise of Japanese video game manufacturers, the industry is rapidly recovering. Danerys Entertainment's early 'Run Lola Run' and the recent 'Scream' are very suitable for video game development, and I believe we will have more similar rights in the future. Learning from Atari's collapse, I think Danerys Entertainment should primarily outsource these rights, similar to our film projects, to professional development teams. Danerys Entertainment could invest in game studios but should avoid overly interfering with the production of specific projects."

After presenting her vision and several successful industry examples via PPT, Nancy Brill stopped and looked towards Simon, waiting for the boss's questions.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT