Chapter 1887 1889 [Home Alone]

  Chapter 1889

  Sony's acquisition of Colombia caused an uproar in the United States.

   Basically, there is more opposition and less support.

  The media is also constantly exaggerating this matter, viewing it as Japan's cultural invasion of the United States, which has aroused the anger of more Americans.

   Still, business is business.

   No matter how loud their opposition is, Sony's acquisition of Columbia is a normal business practice, and it is difficult to stop it.

  Columbia Pictures held a board meeting two days later and unanimously approved Sony's merger. Twenty days later, Sony officially entered Columbia Pictures and became the owner of one of the six Hollywood giants.

  When Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, it also handed Xiang Nan an olive branch.

  It hoped that Xiang Nan could take charge of Columbia Pictures, but was rejected by Xiang Nan.

  On the one hand, the management system of Dongying Company is relatively rigid, and subordinates need to obey the orders of their superiors unconditionally, and this is not Xiang Nan's character;

  On the one hand, to serve as the president of Columbia Pictures, you need to sign an employment restriction clause first. Once Xiang Nan stops working in Columbia Pictures, he will not be allowed to engage in the film and television industry within two years.

   It was impossible for him to sign such a contract, so he rejected Sony's offer.

  Sony had no choice, and eventually handed over the company to producers Peter Guber and Jon Peters.

  These two are not considered outstanding filmmakers in Hollywood, but for some reason they were favored by Sony, and they were actually allowed to direct such a big company.

  However, the two of them really lived up to Sony's expectations. After taking charge of Columbia Pictures, they went crazy. Within five years, it caused a huge loss of 3.1 billion U.S. dollars, which was the largest overseas loss of Toyo Corporation.

  This move also caused Sony a lot of losses, disgraced and regretful.

  …

   Xiang Nan watched Sony successfully acquire Columbia Pictures, and it was impossible not to be envious.

  Sony is rich and powerful, and with the support of the Dongying consortium, its strength is much stronger than him. So despite the opposition of the American public, it succeeded.

  In comparison, Xiang Nan is much weaker. It is really not an easy task to acquire a Hollywood giant.

  However, Xiang Nan is not in a hurry, the road is walked out step by step.

  If you don’t have contacts, you can expand them; if you don’t have power, you can make friends. No one is born with friends everywhere.

  …

  In October, "Goodfellas", directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, was officially launched.

   This is a movie adapted from the experiences of real people. The archetypal character Henry Hill is a legendary figure in the underground society. He has struggled step by step from the underdog to the top of the gang.

   In the end, he was given up by the gang leader because he caused a big disaster, so he reported to the police angrily, and sent all the gang leaders to prison. He was also protected and sent to Canada. Change your name and change your life.

  But I didn't expect that he would not change his bad habits, and later violated the law many times, so he was removed from the Witness Protection Program. At first, Henry was worried about being retaliated.

   But he didn't expect that those enemies of his would have been locked up a long time ago, old and dead, and none of the rest had the motivation to take revenge. After all, what gangsters are after is profit, and the gangs are gone, so there is no need to deal with traitors.

  Killing him can neither recover the loss nor be rewarded by the gang leader. No one would do such a thing that hurts others and does not benefit oneself for a moment of loyalty.

  Hence, Henry Hill got up again. Not only did he publish his autobiography, but he also accepted interviews everywhere, becoming a well-known person.

  After "Goodfellas" was released, the reputation was quite good. It was hailed as another masterpiece of Martin Scorsese, and was even regarded as the three classics of gangster films together with the "Godfather" series and "Scarface".

   And its box office reached 46 million US dollars. Compared with Xiang Nan's box office of over 100 million in the past, such results are indeed not amazing.

  But the biggest advantage of gangster films is that they have a stable audience. The consumption of this kind of movie fans is long-lasting and stable, so the follow-up income is still relatively high.

  The sales and rental of video tapes will be more frequent. And like this kind of high reputation work, the TV station is also willing to pay a high price to buy its TV broadcasting rights.

  So the income is still very high.

  …

  In November, "Robocop 2" starring Bruce Willis was officially launched.

  The previous film of this movie sold more than 50 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office, and nearly 100 million U.S. dollars at the global box office, which was very popular.

  And the "Robocop" series, as a cyberpunk movie, has a stable audience. They are very obsessed with this kind of art, so its sales of videos, figures, peripheral products, etc. are also very good.

  According to incomplete statistics, the figure of "Robocop" alone has sold nearly 1.3 million copies and made a profit of nearly 10 million US dollars, which is quite good.

  Since the income is so huge, making a sequel is naturally a matter of course.

   Moreover, because the previous work was so popular, this sequel has more investment than the previous work, with larger scenes and better special effects. The story, in particular, is more intense and exciting than the previous one, with constant climaxes.

   After it was launched, it was very popular.

  In the end, the box office in North America was more than 60 million U.S. dollars. It is one of the few films whose sequel is more successful than the previous one.

  …

  In December, "Home Alone" was grandly launched on the Christmas file.

   This clever little ghost beats thieves and defends the homeland. Once it came out, it immediately caused a sensation.

  People all over the United States were conquered by this clever, brave and mischievous little boy. Coupled with the exaggerated and funny performances of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, the audience's viewing process is full of laughter and endless fun.

   So the movie was a box office hit. In North America alone, it made $280 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing comedy of all time. The global box office is as high as 530 million U.S. dollars, which is even more powerful than "Star Wars".

   And its cost is only 18 million US dollars. Therefore, from this one movie alone, Xiang Nan's income exceeded 200 million US dollars.

   This is quite an astonishing number, and it is also a number that makes people jealous.

  The male protagonist Macaulay Culkin became famous, although he had already filmed "Honey, I Shrunk the Children" before and gained a little fame. But it was "Home Alone" that really made him the darling of Hollywood.

  But Xiang Nan knew that it was precisely because of his popularity that his parents coveted him, filed a divorce lawsuit, and robbed him of custody in order to take away all his income.

   After all, he is still underage, and the custody of his property will definitely be in the hands of the guardian.

  Macauley was still a child, being robbed by his parents in this way, watching them go to court, the shock and hurt he suffered in his heart is simply indescribable.

   So Macaulay Culkin quickly fell. Alcoholism, drugs, flash marriages... Within a few years, Hollywood has found out this person, becoming another example of the fall of child stars.

   What a pity!

  …

  (end of this chapter)