Legendary Hollywood Director

Lyman sat quietly on the sofa and looked around calmly.

This is a hotel suite. At this time, all the windows are completely blocked by curtains, and no light can penetrate.

In front of him is an elegant wooden coffee table, and a small screen is hung on the wall behind the coffee table, showing the movie Buried Alive.

On the sofa on his right, Arman, a bald man, sat with two colleagues and watched the film attentively, while Ryan sat on his left.

Thomas didn’t come this time, and he still had a more important task to perform—continue to show films at that intersection to attract the attention of more film buyers, let them compete with each other, and enter the game.

Facts have proved that it is indeed beneficial to have the real foil of the moviegoers. At the screening yesterday afternoon, two more released their purchase intentions, namely: Fox Searchlight and Focus Pictures.

In today's business-filled society, people will not let go of any profitable project.

And Buried Alive is like a bait that goes into the sea, attracting all kinds of fish and shrimp.

They have such a big appetite that they don't even miss cold cuts before meals.

The show came to an end as time went by. The movie ended when the scene of Heath Ledger being buried alive appeared.

Lyman stepped forward and packed up the copy of the film. On the other side, Arman also walked to the window and closed the curtains, allowing the airtight suite to embrace the light again.

Director Lyman... Arman was about to say something when he was interrupted by one of his colleagues, Can we discuss it individually? Sir.

Of course. Lyman walked out the door, and Ryan, who was beside him, followed closely.

Whether the profit can be maximized depends on the quality of the film. As long as these film buyers feel that they can operate and are willing to pay the price, this game can be played, otherwise it is useless to say more.

They are businessmen, and businessmen are most mercenary.

After leaving the suite, Lyman and Ryan waited in the corridor outside.

Fox Searchlight also brought a viewing team.

Lehmann didn't go to the live movie yesterday, just lay in the hotel for a long time, pretending to meet people. The source said that two more companies joined in, and it was also what Ryan and Thomas reported after their return.

Ryan continued, They asked us to meet this afternoon, as did Focus Pictures, which one should we go to first?

Go to Fox Searchlight first, and then look at the situation and make plans on the other side. Now, the initiative is in our hands.

Ryan nodded, agreeing with Lyman's point of view very much.

Outside the suite, the two are still discussing the next operation, and Arman and others inside are also exchanging their opinions.

Not bad, there is a certain value of issuance.

The first person to speak was a man with short chestnut hair and the most powerful person in the company. However, the audience for this movie is not high, and such a strong experimental style is destined to exclude a large number of audiences.

Another person also agrees, There is only one main character in the whole film, and the scene has not been changed. It is really innovative, but innovation also means risk.

Yes, so we have to think about what price to start with? The short-haired man said again.

1.7 million euros, how about it? The man who spoke at the end continued: The film was handled well by the director, and the narrative advancement is also very rhythmic. The market audience is small, but it should also have a box office of five or six million. 1.7 million euros is definitely not a loss.”

But the first round of quotations was already at this price, and now there are other distributors eyeing this movie, it is impossible to think of a low price and no risk to find leaks.

Arman, who knows the situation best, poured cold water on it.

The short-haired man thought about it carefully and said, If there is a negotiation, we will quote 1.8 million euros first, and we will follow up on the follow-up situation. The bottom line is about 2 million euros. Do you understand what I mean?

After the summing up, the three quickly unified their opinions, Understood.

When Lehman and Ryan returned to the suite again, the wooden coffee table had been removed, leaving a larger space for discussion.

The two people from Europa Pictures had already taken their seats. After Arman came in, he also sat next to him, while Lyman and Ryan sat on the sofa opposite them.

Two gentlemen, Europa Pictures and I are very interested in your work Buried Alive and intend to promote it to the cinema market. The short-haired man continued: We have great sincerity for this cooperation, but The specific method still needs to be agreed by both of us, so what are the conditions in your heart?

This trick is good to use retreat as advance, no wonder you are the boss of the three.

But Lehmann is not a vegetarian, he directly sprayed: Three people, we spent a total of 1 million euros to make this film, plus the follow-up participation in the film festival, it is also a lot of expenses, as for the investors, If you need to see the income, then the rate of return is at least higher than depositing it in the bank. Moreover, combined with the distributors’ appointments in the past two days, it shows that many people are optimistic about this movie. In the case that the film industry also belongs to France, I personally am willing to give it to your company for distribution. Therefore, if the three of them can pay 3 million euros to buy it, I think there is an 80% chance of winning the film.

After a long series of analytical words, Lehman was a little tired, but the effect was not bad, and the three people on the opposite side were already thinking.

2 million euros, this is our bottom line. Allman made a timely clearance.

Lehman pretended to struggle for a while, and then said, It's not impossible, but it has to change from a buyout to a distribution copyright fee plus a certain box office dividend.

Generally speaking, for independent films like this, film buyers are more inclined to buy out the copyright cooperation method. In that case, no matter how they operate, the subsequent profits are theirs. Involving sharing also means paying attention to the cost of announcement and distribution. To a certain extent, it is not so arbitrary.

The short-haired man chuckled twice, but did not expressly refuse, One million euros in copyright fee, and then 10% of the box office market dividend, provided that the film's box office score can exceed 6 million euros.

What an old fox, Lyman thought, what's the difference between this condition and the last condition? , the copyright fee was reduced by 1 million pure real income, and only 10% of the dividend was exchanged. It is not the share calculated by the total profit, and there is a prerequisite for the achievement, otherwise it will not take effect.

Excuse my difficulty in agreeing, your conditions are too harsh.

I'm sorry, you two, these are the conditions we can give.

After all, the two parties failed to reach a consensus. Lyman smiled and politely, and left the hotel with Ryan.

The people at Europa Pictures didn't say anything to hold back.

They know that the second round of quotations just now is a bit of a self-deception, but they never thought about negotiating conditions for sharing the copyright. In their hearts, they definitely want to buy out the film distribution copyright. Moreover, the bottom line of the quotation has also been shown. Next, Lehman went to negotiate with other publishers, and he could also take the opportunity to see other people's quotations. They have to know what to do.

The battle for the distribution rights of Buried Alive has just begun, hasn't it?

It was only half an hour before and after the trial with Europa Pictures, but he already knew some of the other party's ideas.

Lehman was walking on the road and knew exactly what he wanted. He also knew that the unhappy parting of the two sides just now was just the first round of the game.

Everyone is trying to strive for better conditions for themselves, there is nothing to say, everything depends on their own abilities.

And the one million copyright fee, plus so many conditions, originally meant refusing to negotiate. Lyman understood, so he left.

Generally speaking, the income created after the movie is released will largely fall into the pockets of three parties: the theater, the distributor, and the producer.

As for the cinema, it will always take the same part, and the rest is determined by the agreement between the two parties.

But in any case, it is impossible to offer such a low condition of a 10% dividend.

After all, after deducting the income fluctuations of various taxes, on the whole, the theater chain can take an average of 40% of the movie box office.

The remaining 60% will be divided up by the issuer and the producer. Under normal circumstances, according to the international distribution rules, the issuer's dividend will be between 30% and 40%, and the rest It is obtained by the producer.

Among them, the producer's dividend also needs to be divided into two parts, one for the production company itself, and one for the crew members including the director, actors, and screenwriters.

For example, if a movie has created a profit of 1 million, then the theater chain will take 400,000 first, the distributor will take 200,000, and the producer will take 400,000 and share it with the crew members.

Of course, these percentages can only be said to be approximate levels, and the specific percentages will vary depending on the agreement of each work. Especially for the crew, if the first-line star actors are used, the proportion of dividends will definitely be raised. If you add a big director like Steven Spielberg, then the division required by the crew alone may be as high as 40%. , or even half of the net profit, in this way, the income of the other three parties will naturally be adjusted relatively.

The ones that Europa Pictures put forward just now clearly do not want to discuss the issue of dividends, and it also implies their attitude in this regard.

However, it doesn't matter to Lehmann, don't pay dividends, then the buyout price must be high, otherwise dividends will be paid. Very simple true or false questions, two choices, which one is higher.