Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 548 The Decline of Musicals
Since the news broke that Universal was going to film "Spider-Man", it has been generating a lot of buzz. With the completion of the set construction in Los Angeles, the $1.2 million superhero blockbuster has officially started filming.

Directed by Sam Raimi, the film stars British actor James McAvoy and South African actress Charlize Theron.

After Charlize Theron lost her role in Girls Interrupted, Aaron casually cast her as the female lead in Spider-Man!

"The filming period for Spider-Man is expected to be 24 to 26 weeks, and the post-production is also complex. We will start special effects production as soon as possible."

On the way out of the Universal Studios soundstage, Christina Yerry reported to Aaron.

"Yes, there's enough time for the summer movie season in 2000," Aaron said, not worried about missing the deadline.

"X-Men will also be released on schedule in the summer of 2001."

“Don’t worry, Marvel Studios is already working hard on X-Men, there won’t be any problems,” Christina Yerry patted Aaron’s hand.

"The problem now is that the poor reception of 'Batman & Robin' has lowered many people's expectations for superhero movies."

We need to resolve this issue as soon as possible!

Christina Yerry rarely acts anymore, focusing her energy on Victoria's Secret Angels and Dawn Film Management.

"Have expectations lowered?" Aaron sighed casually. "When the Spider-Man trailer comes out, I think it will capture the audience's attention."

"After all, he's Spider-Man, a comic book superhero second only to Batman and Superman, and one of the symbols of American spirit!"

"Too……"

The following day, the musical film "Chicago," produced by Dawn Universal, held a grand premiere at the Universal Studios Hollywood Grand Theatre.
Director Rob Marshall, along with the film's main cast including Jennifer Connelly, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and John Travolta, all graced the red carpet!
In fact, for Hollywood today, musicals have declined and are no longer as glorious as they once were;

While there may be some musical film enthusiasts, the main audience is becoming increasingly younger, and their acceptance of musical films is decreasing.

In recent years, the most successful adaptation has to be the musical "Evita" which was released two years ago, starring Madonna Ciccone and Antonio Banderas;

Evita not only received five Oscar nominations, but also grossed $140 million worldwide!

Aaron also attended the premiere of the movie "Chicago" at the Universal Studios theater, a movie he quite liked.

In the theater lobby, as the lights dimmed and the movie began, Aaron sat with Donna Langley, president of Crescent Moon Pictures, a subsidiary of Dawn Globe.
"The Italian film *Life Is Beautiful* did quite well, grossing $57 million. Now we're starting to look forward to another Italian film, *The Legend of 1900*."

"However, The Legend of 1900 received much lower international acclaim and box office returns than Life Is Beautiful."

Judging from Donna Langley's tone, she seemed to feel a little regretful, since Crescent Moon only owned the North American distribution rights to "Life Is Beautiful";
"Life Is Beautiful" grossed $230 million worldwide, while "The Legend of 1900" is scheduled for release in North America next year.

"That's already pretty good, $5700 million, that's a lot for an Italian film!"

Does "The Pianist on the Sea" aspire to the success of "Life Is Beautiful"?

That's clearly impossible; the reviews in Italy speak for themselves—the two films are vastly different. Aaron, however, was quite satisfied. "By the way, doesn't Ang Lee, the Chinese-American director who's been collaborating with Crescent Moon Pictures, have any films released this year?"

Donna Langley shook her head. "No, there was a film called *The Ice Storm* released late last year, but it didn't perform as expected, only grossing a little over $800 million worldwide."

"However, this year we also invested in another war drama film he directed, 'Ride with the Devil,' which has been completed and will be released next year."

New Moon Pictures and Ang Lee have been collaborating since "Sense and Sensibility," and it's been a very pleasant experience. Ang Lee's works are mostly art films, which are competitive in terms of awards.

The investment cost is not high, and even if there is a loss, it will be within the acceptable range. Besides, the first collaboration, "Sense and Sensibility," was a resounding success!
"It's not a big problem. Ang Lee's works are still very popular with film critics, and he doesn't have the scandals and controversies that Woody Allen has."

"In terms of commercial influence, Woody Allen is also incomparable."

Indeed, in Aaron's mind, Ang Lee is somewhat similar to Woody Allen, except that Ang Lee achieved success later in life and has fewer works.

Donna Langley nodded. "Recently, it seems Ang Lee wants to make a Chinese-language martial arts film, which would be a Sino-US co-production!"

"A Chinese martial arts film?" Aaron thought for a moment. If it was Ang Lee, it should be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

"Chinese culture is worth investing in; it still has some appeal. Ang Lee's abilities are trustworthy."

"At that time, we can have Dawn Global International Pictures co-produce it, and New Moon Pictures handle the North American distribution!"

……

As the screening of "Chicago" came to an end, the theater erupted in prolonged applause.

Donna Langley, standing nearby, remarked, "Rob Marshall used exaggeration and dark humor to express the film's theme of people resorting to any means to pursue fame and fortune."

"The entire film is full of satire, thoroughly mocking the restless mentality represented by Chicago in the 20s. Chicago is truly a fantastic film!"

Aaron just smiled and said, "Let's wait until next week for the official release. A good movie still needs to be recognized by the audience."

For Aaron, movies are first and foremost a commodity, and only secondly an art form. Commercial success is what Aaron values ​​most!

While the cast and crew of "Chicago" were interacting with the audience, Aaron had already walked out of the Universal Studios theater.

At that moment, Brad Gray went straight to Aaron's side. "I just received a message from Westinghouse Electric that they will accept offers from other companies for CBS Television Group by April 30th next year!"

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "Heh, so this is another one of those 'highest bidder wins' tricks?"

"It doesn't matter. Just finish the evaluation report on CBS Television Group as soon as possible. Look at the gap between Paramount and Universal now. What makes Viacom think it can compete with Dawn?"

However, Aaron should also pay attention to the opinions of Washington, which are also very important. Since Viacom has also expressed interest in CBS, Aaron should also keep an eye on Sumner Redstone!

(End of this chapter)