While "The Bodyguard" is in theaters, the post-production of "Batman" is still progressing steadily.
The film has recently begun the scoring stage. Simon hesitated among several major Hollywood scorers, and finally decided to do it himself. After all, no one in Hollywood knows what he wants better than him.
Warner Studios has state-of-the-art recording studios and other related equipment, and this part of the work is still done in Burbank.
After a busy morning, Simon left Warner Studios and rushed to the nearby Burbank branch of Daenerys Entertainment.
Today is June 9th, Friday.
Ella Deutschman returned from Europe yesterday. Simon came to the company branch. Everyone chose a restaurant nearby for lunch. Deutschman talked about the results of this European trip.
"In order to grab "Cinema Paradiso", Universal offered an upfront payment of US$5 million plus a later share of the deal. It was just for North American distribution rights. This was already a sky-high price, and I had no choice but to give up. Tornatore won this time When he arrived at the Palme d'Or, there were many people who wanted to invest in his next movie. He and I also had differences on the script of "Family Journey," and we also failed to reach an agreement on this matter."
Things were completely expected, Simon just asked: "What about the others?"
Ella Deutschman said: "Considering the situation at the time, I selected 10 films from the main competition unit and various screening units, seriously communicated with each producer, and then sent them one after another. They send out limited-time offers with only one night to consider. In the end, of the films I was interested in, I still didn't get the Jury Prize winner "Beautiful," but I did get Jane Campion's "Sweetie," which was released in North America. For omni-channel copyright, the transaction price is an advance payment of US$300,000 plus 50% of the net box office profit. There is also a Swedish film called "The Woman on the Roof" with an advance payment of US$100,000 and the same 50% of the net box office profit. Divide.”
Simon noticed the smile on Ella Deutschman's face when she talked about this, and could probably imagine the battle of wits between him and other producers who were closely following Daenerys' entertainment.
"The Woman on the Roof" is just a tack, the focus is still on "Sweet Sister".
US$300,000 plus 50% of the net box office profit share, this price is completely worthless for Hollywood commercial movies. However, according to Simon's judgment, the production cost of "Sweet Sister" will not exceed US$500,000. New Zealand film producers can basically recoup most of their costs through the sale of North American rights, not to mention the sharing terms.
Simon actually prefers a buyout, but he also understands that this idea is not realistic.
Just like his original insistence on sharing in "Run Lola Run", those who make movies are more or less expecting a miracle to happen. Deutschman's offer actually reduces risks for Daenerys Entertainment.
Moreover, the share only involves the box office, and the later income from video tapes and TV broadcast rights belongs to Daenerys Entertainment. This can also avoid long-term financial disputes and is a transaction model that both parties are happy to accept.
The upfront cost is US$300,000, and an additional US$500,000 is invested in promotion and distribution. The North American box office of "Sweet Sister" must be more than US$1.5 million to break even.
Simon doesn't have high expectations for the box office potential of "Sweet Sister". As long as it can get 3 million US dollars, it will be considered a success.
According to this figure, Gaomen Pictures can achieve a small profit at the box office, and the later video tapes and TV broadcasts can also bring good income. The New Zealand film producers can also get another 300,000 to 400,000 US dollars in revenue sharing. Both parties are happy. .
Simon was about to ask about other things when he noticed Robert Rem's slightly frowning expression when he heard the two talking, and asked: "Bob, do you have any questions?"
Robert Rem glanced at Deutschman and said, "Simon, I just think you value these small businesses too much."
"This is no small business, Bob. Like "Run Lola Run" and "Pulp Fiction," both of which tended to be literary and artistic, but they were amazing box office hits. Now that I can do that, I believe in other movies People can also create such miracles. I don't expect Gomen Pictures to unearth a movie similar to "Run Lola Run" every year, but as long as a big-selling literary film appears in two or three years, it is a success. "Simon explained seriously, and finally added: "And, for me, there has never been a concept of big business or small business. I hope to do every job well. I am the same way for you. Expectation. This is a very important attitude issue. If a person cannot take a 'small business' of 300,000 US dollars seriously, then if you give him 3 million US dollars or even 30 million US dollars, he will not be able to do well."
In front of Deutschman, Jennifer, and Danny Morris, the president of New World Pictures who were dining together this time, they were rebutted. Although Simon's tone was very calm, Rem was still a little uneasy, and he still insisted. Although he just made a point, he just forced a smile and nodded: "Okay."
Simon sighed secretly and turned to Deutschman.
Without waiting for Simon to ask, Deutschman took the initiative and said: "According to your request, I successfully signed a two-film contract with Campion. She will next film a film called "Angels and Me" I have read the script for the biographical film "My Deskmate", and it is also a film that is very suitable for European film festivals. In addition, she also has an original script idea, telling the story of an aphasic woman who marries to New Zealand with a piano. , because the script has not yet been formed, I can’t judge the pros and cons yet, but she said she will draw up an outline in the near future.”
The story about the piano and the mute girl is obviously the one Simon loved very much, "The Piano".
Simon didn't see the script, so he didn't comment too much. He continued to chat for a few words. He looked at Danny Morris, the head of New World Pictures, and asked: "Danny, that movie "Children in the Cornfield" "How are the preparations for the sequel going?"
Danny Morris was initially appointed as the head of Gaomen Pictures. Because he was not optimistic about the prospects of literary films and had a negative attitude, Simon sent him to be in charge of New World Pictures, which specializes in thrillers and horror films.
During the exchange just now, I felt Simon's importance to Deutschman and his discussion about 'big business' and 'small business'. Danny Morris somewhat regretted giving up the position of president of Gomen Pictures. .
New World Pictures is currently responsible for not many projects, mainly last year's "Scream" sequel "Scream 2", which was a hit, and "The Amityville Horror 3", the third sequel to "The Amityville Horror" and "Children of the Corn 2," the sequel to "Children of the Corn" that Simon asked about.
All three films were commercial successes.
Therefore, if the sequel is done well, unless it is much better than the predecessor, the credit will not be too great, but if it is messed up, it will definitely seriously affect its future.
With this in mind, Danny Morris quickly said: "The script has been completed and I am currently looking for a director. In addition, I plan to shoot the film in Australia, which can save at least 10% of the budget."
The budget of "Children in the Cornfield" is US$3 million. Because it is a low-cost film, shooting in Australia will definitely not be able to get the generous tax rebate conditions as "Batman". A 10% budget reduction actually only saved $300,000.
Rushing to Australia for filming was originally an idea that Danny Morris still had some hesitation in his mind. However, after hearing what Simon just said, he made the decision without hesitation.
At least, this kind of attitude can win a lot of favor from the boss.
Simon was indeed satisfied.
Although a company's profits are not derived from savings, if it can be calculated carefully, it must still be calculated carefully.
After chatting for a while, Simon did not ignore Rem and talked about "Bodyguard" again.
The box office of "The Bodyguard" in its first week was US$23.63 million. This figure was slightly lower than Simon's expectations, and it was even worse than "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the same period.
Fortunately, the soundtrack album of "The Bodyguard" was an unexpected hit like the original, which made Simon full of expectations for the film's subsequent box office trends and overseas box office performance.
Moreover, compared to original albums, Simon actually still values box office more.
If "Bodyguard" can achieve the original global box office of US$400 million, Daenerys Entertainment will be able to earn at least US$100 million in net profit in the next one or two years, and later channels such as video tapes will also begin to provide income.
In comparison, the expected revenue from acoustic albums is equally astonishing, but in my memory, the sales of more than 45 million albums are the result of long-term accumulation in the next ten or twenty years.
In addition, Simon is also a little worried about the impact of "Ghostbusters 2" released this week on "The Bodyguard".
I don't have very specific box office data for "Ghostbusters 2" in my memory, but this big-budget movie that cost $37 million is obviously one of the top ten best-selling movies in the annual list.
Moreover, "Ghostbusters 2" is comparable to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Bodyguard" in terms of release scale and publicity offensive.
After lunch, just as everyone returned to the Burbank branch office building, they heard another breaking news.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Paramount Communications suddenly held a press conference and stated that it would initiate the acquisition of Time Inc. and made a high offer of US$175 per share for a total of US$10.7 billion.
Prior to this, the merger negotiations between Time Company and Warner Bros. had been publicly conducted for three months and have recently come to an end.
Paramount Communications suddenly took action, and Time Inc. and Warner Bros. executives were caught off guard.
Time Inc. immediately issued an announcement stating that it did not welcome Paramount Communications’ hostile takeover. Warner Bros. quickly followed suit and expressed support for Time Inc.'s announcement.
It is difficult for ordinary people to understand the details of this acquisition, but the entire Hollywood is paying close attention to this matter.
The entanglement between the three companies is also very interesting.
The previous transaction between Time and Warner was actually Time Company's acquisition of Warner Bros., and Time Company was the acquirer. Now, Paramount Communications launched an acquisition of Time Inc., and Time Inc. immediately became the acquired party.
The main reason why Times Company executives reacted so strongly was because of this change of subject and object.
In the acquisition transaction between Time and Warner, as the acquirer, Time Company's senior executives will still be the controllers of this new large-scale media group after the merger is completed.
Moreover, according to the news Simon heard, senior executives of Time Company have even prepared a ten-year generous salary contract for themselves. Even if some people have to leave after the company merger is completed, they will still continue to receive ten years of salary contracts. Compensation benefits for time.
In comparison, if Time Inc. is acquired by Paramount Communications, after the merger is completed, Time Inc.'s management will most likely be kicked out of the company, and a ten-year salary contract will be out of the question.
After the announcement of Paramount Communications, the two parties went back and forth in the media for several days. Paramount Communications soon publicly stated that for the benefit of shareholders, Paramount would file a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Delaware to stop the Time Inc.'s deal with Warner Bros.
In the transaction plan between Time Company and Warner Bros., the two parties adopted a stock swap model. Time Company’s own share price is approximately US$7 billion. Paramount Communications has offered a cash acquisition plan of US$10.7 billion. Judging from the numbers alone, it is obviously much more generous than the deal plan between Time and Warner.
However, pure numbers are actually just an appearance.
According to the capital gains tax rate of up to 28% in the United States at this time, if the cash acquisition of Paramount Communications is accepted, shareholders complete the cash out and pay taxes, the final income will be roughly equivalent to the offer of the merger plan between Time Inc. and Warner Bros. Because stock swap transactions do not require capital gains tax.
Therefore, Paramount Communications' argument about safeguarding the interests of shareholders is actually not that tenable.
As a bystander, Simon knew the final outcome of the acquisition.
Moreover, Simon was actually a little envious of this deal.
Not to mention Warner Bros., Time Inc. owns HBO, which later became the most profitable paid cable TV network in North America. This fact alone made Simon extremely greedy.
And Time Inc.'s print business, which owns platforms like Time magazine, is now equally profitable.
However, when it comes to large-scale acquisitions worth tens of billions of dollars, Daenerys Entertainment does not have the strength to participate at this time.
Simon is paying attention to this acquisition now, just to gain experience for Daenerys Entertainment’s future layout. In fact, this day is not too far away, or even just needs to wait until next year.
On the other hand, one week after the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was released, the sales figures for the first week were quickly released.
For later marketing considerations, Alistar Records and Daenerys Entertainment originally made up their mind that even if the album's first-week sales could not exceed 1 million, both parties would privately push the number to exceed 1 million.
Fortunately, the final sales statistics of the "Bodyguard" soundtrack were 1.02 million copies, so there was no need to risk fraud. The two companies quickly launched a large-scale follow-up promotion of this sales data.
In the fierce competition for summer movies, box office data for the new week was released on June 16.
In its first week, "Ghostbusters 2" grossed US$44.91 million at the box office, just like "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and undoubtedly topped the box office rankings this week.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark", which is in its fourth week of release, has also maintained its single-week box office at US$23.88 million, ranking second. The film's cumulative box office has also officially exceeded the 100 million yuan mark, reaching US$110.65 million.
Stimulated by the popularity of the soundtrack album, the box office of "The Bodyguard" dropped only 15% the next week, collecting another US$20.06 million, bringing the cumulative box office to US$43.96 million.
Although the two-week box office of "The Bodyguard" combined is not as good as the complete first-week figures of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Ghostbusters 2", but under the attack of the two blockbusters, "The Bodyguard" has suffered a bad reputation. It is actually very rare to be able to maintain such a strong box office curve.