American fame and fortune

In today's North American film market, for a film that has been widely released and failed to start, if it wants to buck the trend and make a comeback, it not only needs a huge reputation, but also good luck.

The difficulty of making a comeback in "The Lone Ranger" is undoubtedly beyond the level of hell.

To a certain extent, this film is like Johnny Depp. It has a certain appeal under certain circumstances. Once it is removed from the specific environment, it can only be described as "bad".

The film failed at the box office on the first day, and Depp was criticized by everyone. The media couldn't wait to knock him into the dust for the sake of news effect.

In addition to the recent series of situations, even River Phoenix, who died in Depp's bar in 1993, was dragged out by the media to talk about the incident, claiming that the owner of the bar, Depp, gave River Phoenix too many drugs, which led to the subsequent tragedy. occur.

When things are going smoothly and huge commercial value is being created, a star is surrounded by good people and good deeds.

Even drug abuse and alcoholism can be touted by the media as fighting against alcohol and drug addiction.

And stars who are falling rapidly will find that they are surrounded by villains and bad guys, and even the smallest problems can be magnified by the media.

Johnny Depp still has the support of a large number of fans, but he has lost popularity due to continuous media reports.

These are directly reflected in "The Lone Ranger".

On the second day of the film's release, which was Saturday, the single-day box office dropped significantly, taking in only $6.58 million.

Three days after its opening weekend in North America, "The Lone Ranger" unexpectedly took the top spot on the North American box office list, but its total box office was only US$18.55 million.

This box office figure shocked the entire Hollywood.

It’s so miserable!

If this continues, who will dare to build a super-giant project worth more than 200 million US dollars in the future?

But there are also many people who enjoy it because the losers are the outsiders who go to Hollywood and kill people with money.

Who wouldn't like to see the crazy Ellison family misfortune?

Subsequently, Cinemascore announced the reputation of the theater audience, with an average score of C, which is the same as "Transcendence", and predicts that the North American box office will be around US$40 million.

…………

Burbank, Davis Studio.

In Martin's office, Nicholson sat on the sofa, smiling with wrinkles on his face and said: "Our Depp war plan, which has been going on for more than half a year, has finally achieved major results!"

"Guys!" Martin poured three glasses of champagne and handed them to Nicholson and Leonardo one by one: "We have to drink for this!"

The three toasted to celebrate.

Leonardo put down his glass and said: "In the past, I always felt sad when I saw the failure of films starring other superstars. Why do I only feel happy when I see this situation now?"

He slapped his forehead and found the reason: "You two bastards must have misled me and turned me from a good person into a complete bastard!"

"Are you a good person?" Martin revealed his old background: "As early as 1998, James Cameron said, Leo, you are an out-and-out bastard!"

Nicholson nodded: "I remember this and can prove it."

Leonardo was not embarrassed at all by being exposed, so he quickly changed the subject and asked: "Is the cost of "The Lone Ranger" prohibitively high?"

Martin knows this very clearly: "Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures purchased the rights from Disney Pictures and spent $80 million plus confidential post-production royalties. My studio originally participated in the competition. "

Nicholson was dissatisfied with him for secretly changing the concept and said: "You are digging a hole to add to the fire and raise the price of the copyright."

Martin smiled, and there was no need to deny it in front of his best friends, and added: "I don't know what Megan Ellison is thinking. It may have something to do with her wanting to shoot this subject into the so-called new "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. Annapurna Pictures did not include the copyright transfer fee into the production cost."

Leonardo smiled and patted the armrest of the sofa: "This is really good news."

Martin continued: "The original production budget of "The Lone Ranger" was US$200 million. Due to Depp's various works, it was finally increased to US$250 million. The film's publicity and marketing was jointly produced by Annapurna and Warner Pictures. It was done with a budget of US$150 million, and Annapurna is said to have funded half of it.”

Nicholson understood immediately when he heard it: "I didn't know how the first film would turn out, but Megan Ellison invested in the series operation. This kind of confidence is really not something ordinary people can have."

Leonardo told the truth: "Because she has a father with a net worth of 30 billion US dollars, and his father is also famous for being confident and arrogant."

Martin took the champagne, poured it for Leonardo and Nicholson, and said: "While filming in Death Valley National Park, Megan Ellison was extremely dissatisfied with Depp, and the conflict between the two was extremely sharp, but For the sake of the commercial future of the film, I can only endure it."

Leonardo said: "How many times you have endured it before, how terrifying it will be when it breaks out."

"Even if Megan Ellison doesn't explode, we will provoke her to explode!" Nicholson looked grim and said coldly: "This bastard Depp dared to plan a car accident. Doesn't he know that Martin is protected by me? ?”

He slapped the arm of the sofa: "Fuck Depp, we're going to do something special this time until he can't take care of himself!"

Martin raised his hands in agreement: "I have planned two plans here, and one is carried out by Musk from Silicon Valley. He has already fallen in love with Depp's wife Amber Heard!"

"This guy has such a strong taste!" Leonardo interjected: "Aren't you afraid of being dragged into his bed?"

Nicholson looked Martin up and down and said, "I thought you were going to take action personally, but I didn't expect someone to rush ahead."

Leonardo frowned: "You, a person who specializes in robbing others' wives, didn't even take action. It's unscientific!"

Martin was angry: "Because I am a mathematician and can solve math problems..."

Leonardo's face changed greatly: "I was wrong, it's all my fault! Martin Davis is an upright man, he chases women upright, and he also steals other people's wives!"

Martin slapped his middle finger directly into Leonardo's face.

Nicholson said: "We're talking about how to screw people, can you two be more serious?"

Martin and Leonardo stop messing around.

Nicholson asked Martin: "What's next?"

Martin said: "Find an opportunity to provoke Megan Ellison in person, let her pour out all her accumulated dissatisfaction and anger towards Depp, and let Depp fully experience the anger of a billionaire princess."

He picked up the glass, took a sip of champagne, and said: "Musk will instigate Amber Heard to divorce Depp. According to the information he has, Depp, the famous love brain, has not divorced Amber Heard." Sign any prenuptial agreement…”

Nicholson patted his leg and said angrily: "If I had known, I should have let Lorraine hook up with Depp."

Martin and Leonardo were completely speechless about their charlatan boss.

Nicholson said: "Depp still has a large fortune, and Amber can share part of it if she gets divorced."

"More than that." Martin suddenly laughed: "Musk, the bastard, also enjoyed the game we planned and prepared to make Amber Heard a victim of domestic violence."

Nicholson nodded: "This is exactly the result we want." He praised: "Sure enough, the bastard you know is as bastard as you."

Leonardo suddenly laughed: "The treatment Depp enjoys is so high. The three of us are staring at him, Megan Ellison is staring at him, and Tesla's Musk is also staring at him. He should come to express his gratitude for this honor."

"You can call Depp," Martin said.

"Who's going to stimulate Megan Ellison?" For such an interesting thing, Nicholson was of course proactive: "I'd better do it, I'm experienced..."

Martin finally created today's situation, and of course he wanted to feel good about it: "Meghan Ellison took the project away from me, and the best effect is if I personally take action."

Leonardo didn't want to miss it: "A few years ago, Megan Ellison asked me for an autograph and a photo, saying that she was a fan of mine. If I, the idol, turned back, the effect would be better."

The three of them couldn't argue for a while, and they all wanted to go up and have a good time.

This opportunity is so rare.

As the boss of the bastard trio, Nicholson made the final decision: "In this way, the three of us will go together and decide who will go based on the situation. This is fair and reasonable, and even those who don't go can still watch the show directly from the side. "

Leonardo agreed: "Good idea."

"That's it." Martin thought for a moment and then said: "Our task now is to figure out Megan Ellison's movements as soon as possible and know where she will appear."

Nicholson is the most popular: "Leave it to me."

…………

Annapurna Pictures, Office of the President.

Megan Ellison sat in the boss's chair without making any movement for more than half an hour.

On the desk in front of her lay the latest data report of "The Lone Ranger".

The North American box office grossed US$18.55 million over the three-day opening weekend, which seems to have a terrifying effect that makes Megan Ellison afraid to look directly at it.

After investing so much, giving so much, and being so confident in the project and the film, but in exchange for such a result, who would be willing to accept it? Who else can accept it calmly?

Even though she is the daughter of madman Larry Ellison, even though she has a billionaire father, such a tragic failure still makes Megan Ellison's heart bleed.

The previous film "Transcendence" failed, and Meghan could tolerate it. After all, who has never failed in starting a business?

But this "The Lone Ranger" failed again, and Megan couldn't understand it.

The production budget is as high as US$250 million, which is fully funded.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has been a well-known gold medal producer in Hollywood for more than 20 years. "Black Hawk Down", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "National Treasure", etc. all prove his ability and vision.

Director Gore Verbinski has outstanding abilities and has just directed the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

The leading actor Johnny Depp is a first-line star with great appeal in Hollywood.

These people have just created the glory of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Coupled with the fact that she is an extremely capable investor, she has all the ingredients for success.

But the film failed, and it failed miserably!