Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 616 The Seven Greats can only be the Seven Greats

Beverly Hills, Wilshire Grand Hotel.

Aaron, accompanied by Christiana Yerry, attended a business cocktail party and ran into Edgar Bronfman Jr., the chairman of the Seagram Group, who looked rather grumpy!
"Mr. Bronfman, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

Aaron greeted him with a smile.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. forced a smile. "It's nothing, it's just that 'The End of the World,' which just came out, isn't getting good reviews!"

MGM's horror-action blockbuster "The End of the World," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, opened with $2000 million in its first weekend.
However, the reviews are overwhelmingly negative and pessimistic, so the expectations for "Devil's End" are definitely going to be very low.

"At least, MGM had one decent James Bond film this year, 'The World Is Not Enough'!"

Aaron took a sip of his drink and offered words of comfort.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. shook his head. "Not even as good as a low-budget drama like 'American Beauty' that DreamWorks released?"

American Beauty, a low-budget drama film produced by DreamWorks with an investment of $1500 million, stars Kevin Spacey and is directed by young British director Sam Mendes, and is also the latter's first feature film.
The film tells the story of a middle-class couple who are estranged and lead a dull and boring life. Later, the husband becomes infatuated with his daughter's high school classmate and decides to take a gamble to start a new life. Meanwhile, the wife, who is eager to make a name for herself, also has an affair.

American Beauty has been in theaters for almost two months and has grossed over $7000 million at the North American box office, but the film has received extremely high praise and a lot of positive reviews!
USA Today: "American Beauty is a cinematic marvel, a dazzling and beautifully executed drama that brings together the best cast of the year and marks the stunning screen debut of British theater director Sam Mendes."

The New York Times: "The film presents a genuine and more compelling sense of empathy as these characters struggle viciously and comically to escape the slump of the middle class."

DreamWorks also released a high-end horror film, The Haunting of Hill House, during the summer, with a budget of $8000 million;
The results were decent, with $9000 million in North American box office and $8000 million overseas, totaling $1.7 million worldwide!
Of course, based on the current trend, the box office of "American Beauty" will definitely be more than this. With the upcoming awards ceremony, the box office of "American Beauty" will surely see a surge.
DreamWorks had the success of "Saving Private Ryan" and the animated feature film "The Prince of Egypt" last year, and this year they have amazed Hollywood with "American Beauty".

In comparison, MGM's productions seem less appealing!
Aaron glanced at the other man and understood Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s thoughts. He was furious that MGM was almost inferior to DreamWorks.

"DreamWorks' 'American Beauty' is indeed very good, even with such fierce competition in Hollywood this year."

"American Beauty will definitely have a place here too!"

The competition this year is fierce, as evidenced by the movies released, including blockbuster films such as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, Toy Story 2, Austin Powers: The Secret Service, The Blair Witch Project, Tarzan, Rush Hour 2, and The World Is Not Enough.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. raised an eyebrow. "I've come to understand the Hollywood model over the past few years. It's really unique."

Seagram acquired MGM and last year took over PolyGram, giving it a strong foothold in both the film and music industries.
However, as an outsider, Seagram encountered a situation similar to that of Sony and Panasonic. Seagram was just a liquor company and had nothing to do with the entertainment industry, so there was no integration of resources in the industry.

Aaron suddenly asked, "Mr. Bronfman, what do you think the future of DreamWorks will be like?"

Edgar Bronfman Jr. glanced sideways, "Film production has Steven Spielberg, animation and studio management has Jeffrey Katzenberg, and the music industry has David Geffen;"

"External investors are full of confidence, and DreamWorks' arrival is alarming!"

Aaron smiled. "When DreamWorks was first established, the three founders were ambitious, adopting a model of large-scale investment, massive publicity, and big-budget films that intimidated Hollywood. Unfortunately, Hollywood already had seven major film studios, leading to fierce competition and oversupply. DreamWorks, with its massive investments, lacked sufficient funds and had no choice but to partner with the seven major studios."

"Mr. Bronfman knows best how much MGM spent building its international distribution channels; the Big Seven can only be the Big Seven!"

As he spoke, Aaron glanced at the glamorous celebrities not far away, "For DreamWorks to break through, it either needs massive financial backing, or Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg can replicate Dawn's success."

Do you think it's possible?

Hollywood will never have another Aaron Anderson!
"Also, have you heard a fable?"

Edgar Bronfman Jr. was taken aback. "What fable?"

"On a mountain in China, there lived a temple, where a young monk resided. Every day, the young monk carried his own water to drink."

"After some time, another monk came to the temple, so the two monks could carry water together."

"Later, a third monk arrived, but no one was there to fetch or carry water, so the three monks had no water to drink!"

Aaron patted Edgar Bronfman Jr. on the shoulder as he spoke, “Look, doesn’t DreamWorks look like three monks?”

After saying that, Aaron left, leaving Edgar Bronfman looking thoughtful.

Meanwhile, Amy Pascal, the new president of Columbia Pictures, was having a pleasant conversation with Dawn Steele.

"Amy, I remember Aaron invited you to join Dawn back then!"

Dawn Steele smiled. Back then, Amy Pascal was an assistant to Joe Ross, president of 20th Century Fox.

Amy Pascal took a sip of her drink and couldn't help but sigh, "That was a long time ago. Aaron Anderson back then is now the number one star in Hollywood!"

Dawn Steele nodded. "Aaron's importance to Dawn's current achievements is self-evident."

"However, now that you're in charge of Colombia, the burden on your shoulders is probably very heavy!"

Columbia Pictures remains in dire straits, and Sony appointed Amy Pascal in an effort to change the situation.

Amy Pascal, however, was nonchalant: "Sony has undergone changes in recent years, but it's still not enough..."

(End of this chapter)