In the mid-1990s, the cable TV industry in the United States was on the verge of breaking out, taking advantage of the wave of new technologies.
As long as FFM operates properly, by the time of the peak of the new technology wave in five years, the valuation will only double. Five times and ten times are very conservative estimates. The options worth more than 10 million U.S. dollars that Eric promised to Weinstein at this time may even bring hundreds of millions of dollars in return. As long as the development of FFM TV station meets expectations, Eric will also pay the management compensation. Never skimp.
It's just that Harvey Weinstein obviously doesn't think so. After all, not everyone can see the future. He shook his head and said, "Eric, I can accept the annual salary of 250,000 US dollars, but the option of 1 million shares Too little."
Eric said: "Harvey, after this cable TV company is handed over to you, according to the annual growth rate of 30%, the market value of the company will be about four times that of the current one in five years, and the salary you will eventually get will be about 4 times that of the current one." It will be more than 40 million US dollars, which is already very generous, whether it is Firefly or News Corporation, there are no more than ten executives with an annual salary of tens of millions."
Harvey Weinstein opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t say that he didn’t have the confidence to achieve a 30% annual growth rate, could he
For companies that have passed the period of rapid development, it is really not easy to achieve an annual growth rate of 30%, and more is just conservative. But for a start-up company like FFM that has just been established and has sufficient capital and resource support, if it cannot achieve a 30% annual growth rate, it really cannot be considered a success.
Seeing that Weinstein was hesitant, Eric thought for a while and said, "If you think the option risk is too high, we can take another approach and set up a special bonus. As long as you complete the annual performance target, you can Get this bonus. However, the most I can give you is a bonus cap of $5 million per year."
When Sony hired Peter Guber to manage Columbia, it adopted this method. Peter Guber's contract was also five years, and Sony set up a bonus of 50 million US dollars. In the end, Peter Guber took the bonus and left Sony with a mess.
Sony would only be tricked by outsiders, and of course Firefly and News Corp. would not make such a mistake. However, at the level of the CEO of Peter Cooper's big film company, the bonus amount is only 50 million US dollars. Of course, it is impossible for Eric to set too high a bonus amount for Weinstein, otherwise the two companies will be at the same level as Weinstein. of executives are bound to be disgruntled.
Harvey is obviously aware of the rules, and his expression is even more hesitant. It is undoubtedly very safe to choose a bonus.
Although he has received a lot of money from Miramax in the past two years, this is also when the year is good, and the film industry has always been very variable. Maybe next year he will not get a penny of dividends due to losses.
However, the high return rate of options is also very attractive, but it also comes with very high risks. The continuous growth described by Eric is just an optimal state. If a certain year due to factors such as huge losses causes FFM valuation If there is a sharp drop, then the efforts of the previous year or two are likely to be in vain.
In the end, Weinstein still said: "Eric, can you give me a few days to think about it?"
"No problem," Eric nodded, and he didn't expect Weinstein to agree on the spot, and said again: "If you are not in a hurry to leave, maybe you can listen to my thoughts on FFM, which should be a decision for you Whether or not taking the job helps.”
Harvey smiled cheerfully, and said flatteringly: "Of course I am very happy. I don't think anyone will miss this opportunity."
FFM started from the establishment of the project, and the goal it was determined to pursue was HBO.
Since its establishment in the early 1970s, HBO has changed its slogan eight times. This is actually the process of HBO’s exploration of the business model of paid cable channels.
HBO's current slogan is 'We\'re-Out-of-Town-Today (let us stay away from the hustle and bustle)' established in 1993. And HBO's most classic and longest-used slogan, which implies that the HBO business model has completely matured, "This is not TV, this is HBO", has not yet been released.
"This is not TV, this is HBO" actually represents the core business philosophy of HBO, which not only gives the audience a completely different viewing experience from ordinary TV programs. It is precisely around this core that while introducing hundreds of excellent movies every year, HBO has consistently invested heavily in the production of a large number of well-received high-quality drama series with production specifications and concepts that are not inferior to movies.
Now that HBO has not launched its own classic slogan, Eric did not hesitate to replace it with 'This is not TV, this is FFM'.
Combining the memories of previous lives and the information consulted in the recent period, he discussed with Murdoch and Weinstein in detail his development ideas for FFM TV station.
Now that it has decided to use the slogan 'This is not TV, this is FFM', this paid cable station must completely de-television, completely eliminate the profit model of conventional TV stations based on advertising revenue, and make profits through user subscriptions and copyright operations. While introducing high-quality content, FFM needs to produce more high-quality self-produced drama series. Of course, this does not mean blindly spending money to pursue big investment and big productions, but according to the status quo that FFM audiences are mostly social elite groups, the production is in line with this More open and more ideological and artistic works required by the audience's taste.
The three then discussed other details such as brand building, focusing on user satisfaction, etc. Eric also chatted about some big data concepts that appeared more than ten years later, so until eight o'clock in the evening, after dinner, the three each leave.
Tired after a busy day, Eric did not rush back to Angle Manor, but went to Drew's residence in Trousdale Manor.
The girl didn't know where she went, and there was no one in the villa. Eric sent the driver away, and took out the key to open the door and enter the house.
He simply took a shower, came to the living room in a bathrobe, turned on the TV, and sat on the sofa with his laptop in his arms, watching TV while checking today's mail.
Judging from Weinstein's reaction when he left, he has basically decided to accept the job, and at most he will just try to fight for salary. After finding a suitable manager, Eric began to think about the next step.
In the media field, the core of competition is content after all.
In order for FFM to quickly gain fame and establish a brand, it is definitely not enough to introduce external film and television copyrights, and self-made content with sufficient topicality is essential.
Apart from "Sex and the City" which has been taken to Lifetime, the first thing Eric thinks of is "The Sopranos".
In the original time and space, because of the rise of the Internet, mainland audiences are more familiar with Netflix's "House of Cards" than "The Sopranos".
With the strong influence of "House of Cards", Netflix surpassed HBO in the number of subscribers in one fell swoop, and it even left HBO far behind in the following years. The status of "The Sopranos" in HBO is actually equivalent to Netflix's "House of Cards". Although there used to be many high-quality drama series such as "Lust and the City", "Six Feet Under" and "Band of Brothers", it was "The Sopranos" that really pushed HBO to the dominance of premium cable channels.
Back then, even in China, Eric often heard the famous name of "The Sopranos".
This masterpiece of TV series ranks first in the "ranking of the greatest TV series in history" by many western media. Although the previous "Sex and the City" had a great influence, it was only limited to women, but "The Sopranos" was able to become the focus of topics at the national level.
Under normal circumstances, for dramas of the same quality, in terms of ratings, public stations are usually higher than basic cable stations, and basic cable stations are higher than paid cable stations.
Due to the inherent disadvantage of the audience base, there are very few TV programs on premium cable stations that can squeeze into the top positions in the ratings rankings, but "The Sopranos" just did it. This TV series was at the peak of HBO. It has achieved more than 10 million viewers, compared to the total number of subscribers of other paid cable channels, which are only tens of millions, the viewership data of "The Sopranos" is simply a miracle. It is precisely because of the ratings data of "The Sopranos", which can be called against the sky, that HBO was able to ascend to the status of the overlord of paid cable channels.
There are many reasons for the rise of "The Sopranos", but in the end it is inseparable from the excellent quality of the series and catering to the tastes of the American media and audience.
Although the history of Hollywood has changed because of Eric's appearance, David Chase, the screenwriter of "The Sopranos", still wrote this script, because the idea of the script was based on David Chase's youth. Some conceived from personal experience, the story has been brewing in David Chase's mind for many years.
David Chase is already a well-known producer in the TV industry, and has participated in the production of the hit CBS drama "North Country".
However, the promotion of the script of "The Sopranos" was not so smooth. Before Eric paid attention to this matter, several major TV stations including ABC had received this script, but the senior management of the four major TV stations was very concerned about this. He was not interested in this kind of alternative gangster film with a grim style, so he chose to reject it without exception.
In the past, the production process of "The Sopranos" was even more bumpy. After unsuccessfully promoting to several major TV networks, David Chase turned his target to smaller cable TV stations. HBO eventually picked up the script in 1997, but the will to make it wasn't all that strong. At the strong request of David Chase, HBO finally approved the production funds for a pilot episode. David Chase personally acted as the director to film the pilot episode, but was suppressed by HBO for more than a year until 1999. In 2009, "The Sopranos" finally landed on the TV screen, and then it rose miraculously.
Eric also recently asked Firefly's copyright department to contact David Chase again, wanting to win the script. There is another relatively coincidental thing in this. The agent of David Chase's script is named Brad Gray. He used to be Weinstein's assistant and currently founded a production company alone.
Of course Eric will not come forward in person about this matter, otherwise he will tell others clearly, come and grab it.
Eric deliberately told the person in charge of the copyright department to report to him the progress of the negotiation of "The Sopranos" in time, opened the mailbox, and quickly found a related email.
Perhaps feeling the change in Firefly's attitude towards the script of "The Sopranos", David actually asked to be the director and producer in the negotiations, and participated in the selection of roles, and Brad Gray refused to completely let go of the series production.
Compared to the size of Firefly, Brad Gray's production company is like an inconspicuous small workshop. As long as the other party is not greedy and wants to share the copyright, Eric doesn't mind giving the other party a little sweetness. As for David Chase wanting to participate in the production of the series, it is what Eric wants to see.
After writing a reply letter, Eric closed the mailbox interface, opened the Yahoo portal and casually browsed the latest news.
I don't know how long it took, and when Eric was about to fall asleep on the sofa, Drew, who was wearing a blue evening dress, came back from the outside with the twins.
"Eric," the girl entered the door, threw herself into Eric's arms and kissed her greasy.
Eric pushed away the laptop sandwiched between the two, put his arms around the girl's waist, and asked, "Where did you go crazy, and you came back so late?"
"It's not crazy, the godfather's party, I have to go," the girl said, twisting her body, pressing her body closer to Eric's body, and shaking her calves, The twins stepped forward quietly, helped the girl take off the high heels, and took the initiative to put away the laptop that was tilted to the side. One of them asked softly, "Boss, do you want to take a shower?"
"Well, I'll wash with Eric later."
Eric smiled and said, "I've washed it."
"Then wash it again," the girl coquettishly put her arms around Eric's neck.
Eric had no choice but to nod, and waited for the twins to leave to prepare hot water before asking, "What party did Steven invite you to this time?"
"It's still about business cooperation." The girl obviously didn't have the heart to say this, but said: "Anyway, I always feel that the godfather and the others are not doing much this time."
Eric smiled. At the end of last month, with the support of Microsoft, Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, George Lucas and others officially announced the plan for a major studio. Perhaps It was Eric who took the name of DreamWorks in advance. The new studio did not rename it, but integrated all the resources of several parties into Amblin Films under Spielberg's name.
Microsoft made an initial capital injection of US$500 million and promised to provide technical support in film and television special effects and computer animation, and acquired 25% of Amberlin’s equity. George Lucas merged Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic under his name into the company , also holding 25% of the shares, Amberlin will also obtain the production rights of "Star Wars" at the same time, and Spielberg holds 30% of the remaining 50% of the shares. David Geffen only got 20% of the shares this time, and there is a faint tendency to be excluded from the inner circle. It is conceivable that as long as Microsoft conducts the second and third rounds of capital injection, the first to dilute its shares must be David. Geffen.
At the same time, Amberlin also signed a distribution agreement with Paramount for eight films over the next five years.
Eric has been paying attention to these things all the time. Just like the feeling of the girl at this time, Eric also feels that the possibility of Spielberg and others making the studio bigger this time is not high.
Not to mention the short board of distribution channels, the secret suppression of the original seven studios and other factors, just say Spielberg and George Lucas, the two of them are not the kind of ambitious people, although many people call Spiel Berg was a film businessman, but his indecisive personality made him completely unsuitable for running a major studio.
Take this time, it is said that during the cooperation negotiations, Spielberg also told other partners that he would do his best to run the company, but at the same time maintain the right to cooperate with other film companies alone. Is that like something an ambitious man could say
There is no doubt about Spielberg's talent in movies, but after all, he can't be a time traveler like Eric with the prophetic advantage. In the original time and space, DreamWorks has been established for many years, and the live-action film business has basically not achieved much profit. The only relatively stable development is DreamWorks Animation, which is under the control of Katzenberg. Later, DreamWorks Animation also simply chose to leave DreamWorks. , went on the market independently, and then several companies seemed to be in harmony with each other, and finally parted ways.
PS: The PC side of this book has been free for a limited time in recent days.
… (to be continued.)