"Danny, several major studios are currently interested in "When Harry Met Sally", and the business prospects are definitely very guaranteed. However, in order to maintain control of this project, Daenerys Film The industry prefers to invest alone. On the other hand, the funds in my hand will not be used until the end of the year, but the film will start shooting in September. That’s why we choose to cooperate with a third party.”
Although he took the initiative to contact Daenerys Pictures after they released rumors of seeking cooperation, Dennis O'Brien still keenly raised his doubts after Simon explained the general situation of the project.
“Simon, as far as I know, Daenerys Films has absolute control over both projects, Death Come and Pulp Fiction. Do you want to get the money from the Seven for When Harry Met Shakespeare? "It shouldn't be difficult to get equal treatment, right?"
Simon shook his head and said: "Danny, this time is different. The key is that I also intend to participate in investment. If I cooperate with one of the seven companies, even if I can get control of the project production process, the subsequent release will not only be released by the North American Academy line, all other channels must be completely tied to each other. Moreover, the accounting system of the major film companies cannot guarantee that Daenerys Pictures will obtain the benefits we deserve, as you must have experienced."
Denis O'Brien nodded sympathetically.
Almost all film capital that enters Hollywood hates the "Hollywood ledgers" of major studios and even second- and third-tier distribution companies.
In order to retain as much as possible the benefits that independent producers deserve, Hollywood distribution companies will do everything possible to falsely report all aspects of costs.
Take theatrical distribution as an example. If it is a project of an independent producer, the usual account sharing rules between Hollywood distributors and producers are as follows.
After the movie is released, the distributor will first deduct a portion of the movie's box office as a distribution commission. The proportion of this money is determined by the contract between the two parties. The stronger the producer, the lower the distribution commission that needs to be paid.
During the cooperation between DreamWorks in the original space and time and Paramount and other companies, the distribution commission that needed to be paid was only 8%. But weak producers need to pay distribution commissions that can even be as high as 15%.
But this is just the beginning.
The publisher's subsequent publicity and distribution expenses are the 'essence' of the Hollywood accounting system.
Film distribution definitely costs money.
Copying costs, TV advertising placement, offline expenditures on the company's loss-making projects, lawn mowing at the studio, private jets used by management for vacations, everything that can be calculated for you will basically be included.
finally.
In fact, the publicity and distribution expenses, which may be less than half of the production cost, may even be higher than the film's production cost on the distribution company's books.
So, could 'Hollywood Ledger' be avoided
cannot.
This is already a clear rule of Hollywood film companies. Even the "Harry Potter" series, which once had a global box office of US$1 billion, actually suffered losses on its books. Even if the producer is strong enough to personally send accountants to follow up on distribution, the result will only be an inflated publicity and distribution budget.
Of course, this raises a problem.
Everyone is not a fool.
If Hollywood does this, why is there so much capital flocking to it
It's obvious.
'Hollywood Ledger' certainly has a strategy.
For those with strong capital, they usually invest at the entire large studio level, and then calculate the general ledger and jointly bear the profits and losses. No matter how many tricks a film company plays on a single project, the overall financial statements must be clear. Otherwise, the Federal Tax Service will not agree.
As for small and medium-sized film investors, they can either choose to sell off the copyright directly, or set up a film company to do the distribution themselves.
at the moment.
Simon's release plan for "When Harry Met Sally" is basically similar to "Lola Run". We will retain the copyright of each channel as much as possible, first push the film to North American theaters, and then gradually operate subsequent distribution based on local box office results. Of course, the main thing is to sell out.
Inside the office.
Simon and Amy spent more than an hour explaining to Denis O'Brien in detail the main cast, shooting schedule, distribution strategy and other details of "When Harry Met Sally".
Finally, Simon talked about the issues of investment proportion and profit distribution.
"Danny, if Handicraft Pictures is interested in investing in "When Harry Met Sally," my requirement is that both parties will bear half of the budget of US$15 million, which is US$7.5 million respectively. However, the future profit distribution will be the leading role. As the producer of the entire project, after deducting the budget cost, Daenerys Pictures needs to take 60% of the net profit of the project, and the remaining 40% belongs to Craftsmanship Pictures."
When Dennis O'Brien heard this, he immediately shook his head and said: "Simon, it's too high."
Simon insisted: "It's not high at all, Danny, you have to understand that this is on the premise that the project is profitable. Daenerys Films undertakes all production work, but actually only asks for 20% of the net profit share As a commission, that’s fair.”
Dennis O'Brien hesitated for a moment and asked: "Simon, what about the future income settlement process? If we participate in the investment, when can we get the money back?"
"You can discuss the details of this aspect with Amy next. However, Daenerys Pictures intends to continue to be in Hollywood for a long time, and we will never deliberately default on our partners' accounts. In order to show sincerity, we have reached a cooperation Afterwards, Handicraft Pictures can send an accountant to follow the entire project.”
Dennis O'Brien thought for a while and finally said: "Simon, I still need to discuss this matter with George. Maybe I will give you an answer next Monday."
Simon nodded and said: "Of course there is no problem. However, Handicraft Pictures is not the only one that has contacted us for this project. Daenerys Pictures gives everyone the same cooperation conditions, and we will never bargain. So, if tomorrow, even Someone will give an answer tonight, so all we can say is regret."
After saying this, Denis O'Brien stood up, and Simon and Amy also stood up.
After sending O'Brien away, Simon and Amy returned to the company's office building.
Simon returned to his office, and Amy also followed in. Seeing Simon turn to sit down comfortably on the leather chair behind the desk, she walked to the reception area to pack up the pile of documents she had just received, and said at the same time: "Simon, you O'Brien should not have proactively promised that he could station an accountant."
Simon took the book "Forrest Gump", turned it to the bookmark, leaned on the leather chair holding the book, and said: "Amy, I am very sincere. I hope Daenerys Pictures can go far. There is no need to play tricks on these details."
Amy picked up the pile of packed documents and put them back in the filing cabinet on the wall, and continued: "Many film company founders have actually thought this way, but, Simon, reality often does not allow us to use some means."
Simon smiled and said: "In this case, it is up to you to discuss the matter of regret with them."
Amy rolled her eyes slightly, closed the cabinet door, turned around and sat down across from Simon's desk again, looked at the young man opposite, and said: "Ron, Wes and I are going to New York tomorrow. The scenes for "Death is Here" have been completed. We have to go through all the scenes and discuss some cooperation issues with the Queens Borough Government and JFK Airport. Speaking of which, you won this project from Fox. Now it seems that you don’t care at all.”
Tomorrow is Saturday.
However, the federal 40-hour work week system is actually only designed to protect the lower working class.
There are special provisions in the "U.S. Labor and Employment Law". Corporate executives who manage more than two people are not protected by the 40-hour work system of the labor law. These people work overtime, and the boss does not need to pay overtime pay.
In Simon's view, this is actually telling people a very simple truth. If you want to be a good person, don't expect to work only eight hours a day.
Simon listened to Amy's half-truth complaint, turned a page of the book in his hand, and said: "I am the boss, and winning the sharing terms from Fox is what I need to do. As for the rest, this project does not Not worthy of my full follow-up.”
After completing the script, finalizing the director Wes Craven, and with the assistance of Amy and others, Simon was very confident about this project.
"The Butterfly Effect" has been a great success again. Now no one thinks that "Death" will fail to cross the minimum guarantee threshold of 20 million US dollars. For such a purely entertaining youth horror film, Simon really does not need to spend too much thought.
After continuing to chat for a while, Simon looked at his watch, closed the book, and asked Amy: "I'm going to get off work soon. Do you have any plans for the evening?"
Amy raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "My boyfriend and I made an appointment for dinner."
"Oh, forget it," Simon shrugged and explained: "Actually, it's Jonathan. As you know, Robert De Niro has never had an agent. Some time ago, he failed to win the leading role in Fox's "Future". After that, I started thinking about finding a management company for myself. Jonathan wanted to bring De Niro to the WMA and held a party tonight. I hope I can go there too."
Speaking of which, Simon's acceleration in collecting some copyrights was also affected by the many projects recently discovered.
For example, "Beyond the Future".
In the original time and space, this movie not only achieved good results of over 100 million at the North American box office, but also brought Tom Hanks his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
It was only when Simon was chatting privately with Jonathan Friedman that he learned that Robert De Niro had also pursued the project. In addition, among the projects that Fox has confirmed is "Die Hard", which is also a box office hit series.
In addition to Fox, he is no longer able to get involved in many other hot-selling projects that existed in Simon's memory.
Moreover, there are still some projects that Simon is hesitant to get involved in.
Just like "Rain Man", which is the North American box office champion next year in the original time and space, the current script is still in a state of uncertainty.
However, "Run Lola Run" has basically determined this year's North American box office champion. If the North American box office champion next year, the year after that, or even the year after that is related to Simon, this is no longer just conspicuous, it is completely a matter of not letting others live.
If others can't survive.
Tsk!
For this reason, Simon has planned to consciously include some projects that are not popular in memory in the next process of collecting copyrights, and will actually put them into production when funds are sufficient.
Opposite the desk.
After hearing Simon's explanation, Amy said: "Even if De Niro finds a talent agency, he is more likely to go to CAA, right? By the way, you asked Susan to hire, um, Nicole Kidman What’s the matter with passing the information to Jonathan so that they can recruit people?”
Simon recalled his meeting with Michael Ovitz on Monday, shrugged, and said, "Nothing, I just think that CAA is too strong now, and we should use less CAA customers in the future."