Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 533 Future Rival

Aaron's beloved Spider-Man film went to great lengths in casting the lead actor, focusing on young British and American actors.

After various interviews and auditions, the final choice, with Aaron's approval, was British newcomer actor James McAvoy.

James McAvoy, 19 years old, has appeared in a British TV series and two movies, undoubtedly a newcomer!
Spider-Man is scheduled to start filming next year and be released the year after. James McAvoy's audition went very well, and his age is also a perfect fit.

Universal's remake of "The Mummy" was a huge success, grossing $1.5 million in North America and $2.6 million overseas, for a total of $4.1 million worldwide.
The Mummy 2 is also in the works, with the budget increased from $7500 million to $9500 million!
Meanwhile, DreamWorks' first animated feature film, Ants, was released, with a mediocre opening weekend gross of $1700 million.
The reviews were mixed, and in terms of commercial success and critical acclaim, it clearly couldn't compare to Dawn's "A Bug's Life" or Disney's "Mulan".

At the Sunset Marques Hotel in West Hollywood, Aaron and Jeffrey Katzenberg had lunch together. "Saving Private Ryan is doing very well. It has grossed over $1.8 million in North America and over $2 million overseas!"

Saving Private Ryan was certainly a good start for DreamWorks, but Jeffrey Katzenberg shook his head, saying, "Universal is really impressive; their summer films were so memorable."

"Needless to say, 'The Mummy' and 'Notting Hill' were both blockbuster hits, and 'The Truman Show' also achieved a remarkable box office of $1.2 million in North America and $2.6 million worldwide!"

And that's not all. The disaster blockbuster "Armageddon," which is still showing in theaters, has already grossed $1.9 million in North America and over $3 million overseas.
If it weren't for the phenomenal performance of "Titanic," "Armageddon" would definitely have been this year's box office champion.

Of course, while Jeffrey Katzenberg manages DreamWorks, his primary focus is DreamWorks Animation.
"Antz" cost $1.05 million to produce. Although it is not a traditional 2D hand-drawn animation, it was more expensive than Pixar's pure 3D work "A Bug's Life". This result obviously could not satisfy him.

"Actually, this year has been quite good for DreamWorks; both 'Deep Impact' and 'Saving Private Ryan' achieved remarkable results."

"DreamWorks Animation is now on track, and its future competitiveness should not be underestimated!"

Aaron's attitude toward DreamWorks is actually somewhat contradictory; he doesn't want talents like Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to be recruited by other major studios.

However, DreamWorks' large investments in film projects are also a bad trend.

Jeffrey Katzenberg smiled and said, "As you probably know, *Antz* used some 3D rendering technology; it was part of my experiment."

“Back then, I was quite optimistic about Pixar’s 3D technology. If it weren’t for you, Pixar might still be a partner of Disney now.”

However, the upcoming film "The Prince of Egypt," scheduled for release at the end of the year, is still a traditional 2D hand-drawn animation.

Compared to Roy Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg is much more open to 3D animation, and DreamWorks Animation is also moving towards 3D technology.

"With the experiment of 'Antz,' will DreamWorks' future animated films mainly be 3D?"

In fact, Pixar's recent releases of Toy Story and A Bug's Life have already shown the potential of 3D computer animation.
Jeffrey Katzenberg has been preparing for DreamWorks for many years, and he is definitely going to explore 3D technology.

“Aaron, it’s inevitable!” Jeffrey Katzenberg’s eyes burned with ambition.

Disney's animated films expanded into Disneyland, which was a huge success. Following the success of Pixar, Dawn is now vigorously developing Universal Studios theme parks.
DreamWorks could also leverage DreamWorks Animation to expand its movie-themed parks, developing DreamWorks into an international entertainment group like Disney!
Aaron took a sip of wine. "It seems DreamWorks will be a formidable rival from now on."

Despite saying that, I didn't really care much about DreamWorks, mainly because the three founders were too cunning!

Steven Spielberg made a considerable profit from filming "Saving Private Ryan" for his DreamWorks subsidiary, Amblin Entertainment.

DreamWorks spent investors' and banks' money, leaving behind debt, and the profits were divided among the three. Blockbusters like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Deep Impact" don't come every year.

After all, DreamWorks doesn't have Aaron Anderson!

In the evening, director Ridley Scott arrived at Aaron Dawn's office to lobby for a film project about the Colosseum in ancient Rome.

"Gladiator?" Aaron was somewhat surprised after reading the script. No wonder Ridley Scott had personally come to persuade him.

After all, Aaron has never been a fan of war films and historical films about cold weapons; these outdated ancient Roman elements are unlikely to appeal to modern audiences.

"This is a script that producer Douglas Vick commissioned to adapt last year. We've discussed it, and we'll be portraying the protagonist as a warrior who leads the audience on an emotional journey through ancient Rome!"

Ridley Scott has always been interested in epic films, and after seeing Gladiator, he felt it was the perfect fit and he had to direct it.

Aaron smiled. "Directing this film will be a very challenging job. Not only will you need the ability to handle spectacular and grand scenes, but you will also need to be proficient in the political elements of the characters and story, and you must not let the background of the film overshadow the main content!"

Of course, these things are no challenge for the renowned Ridley Scott. Although it can't compare to the grand scale of The Lord of the Rings series, Gladiator has a stronger storyline.

"Go and make the preparations! A budget of $1 million is something Universal can afford!"

Aaron didn't refuse him, after all, the movie was quite successful;

Even if Universal doesn't invest, I believe other film companies will take over.

Ridley Scott nodded. He and Dawn had already collaborated on two films, "The Mask of Zorro" and "The Gas Chamber," so they had a good relationship.

After Ridley Scott left, Aaron leaned against the table, deep in thought.

This year, Dawn also has a musical film, "Chicago," which will be released during the Christmas season. It is Aaron's most anticipated work next!
(End of this chapter)