Heads Up Hollywood

After dismissing some irrelevant people, Dunn and Michael Ovitz sat down in the plane, and the stewardess brought over two glasses of red-label whiskey.

"HBO and Warner Bros., although they are both owned by Time Warner, have a cold relationship and have different shareholders. For Warner's film broadcast, HBO will not pay a penny less for copyright fees."

Michael Ovitz's words directly cut off the possibility of talking to HBO through Warner.

After all, Warner and Legendary Pictures are now a cooperative relationship.

Tang En waved his hand, a little coldly, "HBO? Huh, I will compromise with Viacom, that's because Viacom and Comcast have collusion! Time Warner and Comcast are both cable operators , is a competitor. Can Comcast help HBO limit the development of the Starz TV network?"

Michael Ovitz was slightly taken aback, "Twain, are you... wanting to be tough?"

"It's true that HBO is a predecessor in the field of professional cable TV, but my STA TV network will not be afraid! Competition, in the final analysis, is hard power!"

Tang En raised the corner of his mouth and snorted coldly.

He knew that the reason why DreamWorks regretted its promise must be because HBO offered a sky-high price that could not be refused for the North American TV copyright of "Band of Brothers"!

But... the HBO of today is not the HBO of ten years from now!

The current HBO has more than 7 million subscribers, and its annual revenue is less than 500 million US dollars. Can such a small company be the opponent of Tang En Pictures?

Last year, Tang En Pictures' revenue was 890 million US dollars, and this year... it is heading towards 2 billion US dollars!

North American copyright bidding, to put it bluntly, is a price war, and the highest price wins!

Tang En had already made up his mind to win "Band of Brothers", and he must be determined to win.

What's more, Tang En Pictures invested 5,000 US dollars in the production cost of "Band of Brothers", accounting for 41.7% of the production cost.

For the overall income of "Band of Brothers", excluding Dreamworks' 10% distribution fee, 41.7% of the remaining income will be returned to Tang En Pictures' pockets.

Tang En Pictures has such a big advantage, can HBO afford it?

Tang En took out his mobile phone and called Steven Spielberg, "Steven, how much is HBO's bid for "Band of Brothers?"

When mentioning this matter, Spielberg felt a little guilty, but there was no way around it. Business is business, and verbal promises are all nonsense. Everything is subject to the contract. He immediately said: "Twain, this matter... I hope you can understand , DreamWorks, as the issuer, must consider the interests of all shareholders."

Tang En secretly despised it in his heart.

"Band of Brothers" has a total of three shareholders, in addition to him, it is Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Tang En did not believe that Tom Hanks would confront him over such a trivial matter.

Tang En was dissatisfied with Spielberg when Tom Cruise excluded Natalie from the "Minority Report" crew.

I didn't expect such a disgusting thing to happen again this time!

"I don't need to say anything superfluous. I'm an investor and I have the priority right to cooperate. Tell me, how much is HBO's asking price?" Tang En's attitude was very cold, and he no longer had the respect he had for famous directors in the past.

Perhaps this is not Spielberg's nature, but a passive response because DreamWorks is struggling to survive and urgently needs funds.

But this really made Tang En very dissatisfied.

Spielberg sighed and felt a little helpless, "HBO bid is very high."

"How many?"

"80 million dollars!"

Tang En opened his mouth, but did not respond immediately.

For the TV copyright in North America, HBO even offered a sky-high price of 80 million US dollars!

When did Jeff Bewkes, chairman of the HBO television network, become so generous?

If he had had such great courage, he would not have put forward so many harsh demands when he invested in "Band of Brothers". As long as the conditions were the same as Tang En's, with the backing of HBO's powerful resources, he could easily squeeze Abandon Tang En and become the producer of "Band of Brothers".

Tang En took a deep breath and smiled coldly, "$80 million, Steven, do you really think the North American TV copyright of "Band of Brothers" is worth $80 million? I'm afraid HBO is deliberately raising the price!"

Spielberg said: "Since a few years ago, HBO has started the line of high-quality drama series, but it has not been a big investment. Now "Six Feet Under" is hot, and the market response is very good. "Band of Brothers" Naturally, all boats will rise, and I think the US$80 million copyright in North America is reasonable."

"Reasonable?" Tang En laughed angrily, "Steven, don't forget that DreamWorks has already launched a promotion in the market, and "Band of Brothers" will premiere on Starz TV on September 9th!"

Spielberg said disapprovingly: "Fortunately, the problem arose early. We have invested less than US$1.2 million in promotional expenses. Compared with the price of US$80 million, it is not worth mentioning."

"Good! Good! Good!" Tang En's tone no longer had the respect of the past, mixed with sarcasm, and even the title changed, "Director Spielberg, I didn't expect that you are not only an excellent director, but also a director. What a great businessman!"

"I'm only responsible for the shareholders. Tang En, I hope you can understand that friendship is friendship, and business is business."

"OK, alright!"

Tang En bit the tip of his tongue, his face sullen, "It's only 80 million US dollars, no big deal! I'll send someone to DreamWorks to sign the contract tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow? Is it too hasty?" Spielberg was slightly taken aback.

The corner of Tang En's mouth twitched, "I can't be in a hurry, if another NBO or MBO pops up and raises the price a few more times, will I still be able to broadcast this TV series?"

Of course, Spielberg heard the other party's sarcasm, his face was a little embarrassed and ashamed, and he forced a smile, "Hehe, Twain, you really know how to joke. I promise, 80 million US dollars is the last bid!"

"I hope your promise this time is true!" Tang En sarcastically said again.

Michael Ovitz sat across from Twain, listening to Twain's words silently. After seeing him finish the call, he shook his head and sighed, "It seems that DreamWorks' survival pressure is too great. Spielberg This is the only way to go.”

The corner of Tang En's mouth twitched, a little coldly, "Could it be that my favor, Tang En, is not as good as those tens of millions of dollars?"

Michael Ovitz opened his mouth, but no words came out.

This breath is too big!

After pondering for a moment, Michael Ovitz dissuaded him: "Twain, even if you are very strong now, you have already started a war with Disney, so there is no need to make more enemies."

"You mean HBO?" Tang En snorted coldly, "The whole world knows that "Band of Brothers" is mine, and HBO dared to cut it off and raised the price by nearly 30 million US dollars! How can I not teach them a lesson?"

Michael Ovitz sighed. He knew that Tang En had a tough temper. He shook his head and said, "The field of professional cable television is very small. STA TV network will fight against HBO sooner or later. I'm talking about... DreamWorks."

"Dreamworks?" Tang En blinked and laughed dumbly, "Are you afraid that I will take action against Dreamworks?"

Michael Ovitz nodded solemnly.

Tang En said disdainfully: "Forget it, the little capital of DreamWorks is not worth my shot. Even if Spielberg tried his best to save it, how many years can DreamWorks survive? He kept talking to me about business, but in fact DreamWorks He’s the one who doesn’t understand business! How many of the movies he advocated investing in made money? More than David Geffen lost!”

Michael Ovitz could only smile wryly.

He had already seen that Spielberg made Tang En very angry, even angry!