Hollywood Hunter

Chapter 101 Hollywood Ledger

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"Danny, several major studios are currently interested in 'When Harry Met Sally', and the commercial prospects are definitely very secure. However, in order to maintain control of this project, Daenerys Film The industry is more inclined to invest alone. On the other hand, the funds in my hand will not be available until the end of the year, and the film has to start shooting in September. That’s why we choose to cooperate with a third party.”

Although it was after Daenerys Pictures released the news of seeking cooperation, Dennis O'Brien raised his doubts keenly after listening to Simon explaining the general situation of the project.

"Simon, as far as I know, Daenerys Pictures has absolute control over both The Death Is Coming and Pulp Fiction. It shouldn't be difficult to get equal treatment for Li', isn't it?"

Simon shook his head and said: "Danny, this time is different. The key is that I also intend to participate in the investment. If you cooperate with one of the seven majors, even if you can get control over the production process of the project, the subsequent distribution will not only be limited to the North American Academy of Sciences. Line, all other channels are bound to be completely tied to the other party. Moreover, the accounting system of the big film companies cannot guarantee that Daenerys Pictures will obtain the benefits we deserve. You must have experienced this.”

Dennis O'Brien nodded sympathetically.

Almost all film capitals that enter Hollywood hate the "Hollywood ledger" of major studios and even second- and third-tier distribution companies.

In order to retain the due benefits of independent producers as much as possible, Hollywood distribution companies will do everything possible to falsely report various costs.

Take theatrical distribution as an example, if it is a project of an independent producer, the usual accounting rules of the Hollywood distributor and the producer are as follows.

After the movie is released, the distributor will first deduct a portion of the movie 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.

In the process of cooperation between DreamWorks and Paramount and other companies in the original time and space, the distribution commission that needs to be paid is only 8%. But weaker studios have to pay distribution commissions as high as 15%.

But this is just the beginning.

The issuer's next announcement fee is the "essence" of the Hollywood ledger system.

Movie distribution definitely costs money.

Copy costs, TV commercials, offline expenses for a company's loss-making projects, lawn mowing at the studio, private jets for management's vacations, you can basically count what you can count.

finally.

In fact, it may be less than half of the production cost, and it may even be higher than the production cost of the film in the book of the distribution company.

So, can the 'Hollywood Ledger' be avoided?

cannot.

This is already a clear rule for Hollywood studios. Even the "Harry Potter" series, which once had a global box office of $1 billion, actually lost money on the books. Even if the producer is strong enough to personally send an accountant to follow up the distribution, the result will only be an inflated publicity budget.

Of course, this is where the problem comes.

All are not fools.

Hollywood does this, why is there so much capital rushing to it?

Obvious.

The 'Hollywood Ledger' certainly has a strategy.

For strong capital, they usually invest at the entire big studio level, and then calculate the general ledger and share the profit and loss. No matter how a movie company plays tricks on a single project, the overall financial statement must be clear. Otherwise, the IRS will not agree.

As for small and medium-sized film investors, they 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. Retain the copyright of each channel as much as possible, first push the film to North American theaters, and then gradually operate the follow-up distribution according to the local box office performance. Of course, the main thing is to sell out.

Inside the office.

Simon and Amy spent more than an hour explaining to Dennis O'Brien in detail the main cast, shooting schedule, distribution strategy and other details of "When Harry Met Sally".

Finally, Simon talked about the ratio of investment and distribution of benefits.

"Danny, if Craft Films intends to invest in "When Harry Met Sally", my request is that the budget of 15 million US dollars, each side bears half, each of which is 7.5 million US dollars. However, in the future, the distribution of benefits will be the dominant 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 Craft Pictures."

Dennis O'Brien heard the words and immediately shook his head: "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 Pictures undertakes all the production work, but in fact only asks for 20% of the net profit. As a commission, it's fair."

Dennis O'Brien hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Simon, what about the future income settlement process? If we participate in the investment, when will we be able to recover the money?"

"The details of this, you can discuss with Amy next. However, Daenerys Pictures intends to continue in Hollywood for a long time, and we will never deliberately default on the accounts of our partners. In order to show sincerity and reach a cooperation After that, the handicraft film industry can send an accountant

The teacher follows up the entire project. "

Dennis O'Brien thought about it and finally said, "Simon, I still need to discuss this with George. Maybe I will give you an answer next Monday."

Simon nodded and said: "Of course there is no problem. However, for this project, we are not only in contact with the craft film industry, and Daenerys Pictures has the same cooperation conditions for everyone, and we will never bargain. So, if tomorrow, even if Someone gave an answer tonight, so we can only say sorry."

Having said that, seeing Dennis O'Brien stand up, Simon and Amy also stand up.

Send O'Brien away, and Simon and Amy return to the company office building.

Simon returned to her office, and Amy followed. Seeing that Simon turned to the desk and sat down comfortably in the leather chair, she walked to the reception area to pack up the pile of documents just now, and said, "Simon, you Shouldn't have offered to promise O'Brien an accountant just now."

Simon took the "Forrest Gump", turned to the bookmarks, leaned on the leather chair with the book in his hands, and said, "Amy, I was very sincere just now. I hope Daenerys Pictures can go. It's far away, and there's no need to play tricks on these details."

Amy picked up the packed stack of documents and put them back in the filing cabinet by the wall, and continued: "Many film company founders have actually thought about it, but, Simon, reality often doesn't allow us to not play some tricks."

Simon smiled and said, "Since this is the case, it's up to you to discuss the matter of regret."

Amy rolled her eyes gently, closed the cabinet door, turned and sat down opposite Simon's desk again, looked at the young man opposite, and said, "Me, Ron and Wes are going to New York tomorrow. The scene of "Death Is Coming" has been completed. We are going to go through all the scenes and discuss some 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 workweek is really only there to protect the bottom working class.

There is a special clause in the "US Labor and Employment Law" that manages senior executives of more than two people, and is not protected by the 40-hour working system in labor law. These people work overtime, and the boss does not need to pay overtime.

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-truths, turned the book in his hand, and said, "I'm the boss, and getting the sharing clause from Fox is what I need to do. As for the rest, this project does not It's not worth my follow-up."

After completing the script, finalizing director Wes Craven, and with the assistance of Amy and others, Simon is very relieved about this project.

"The Butterfly Effect" has been a big success again, and now no one thinks that "Death Is Coming" will not cross the minimum threshold of $20 million. Simon really doesn't need to spend too much thought on such a purely entertaining teen horror film.

After chatting for a few more words, Simon glanced at his watch, closed the book, and asked Amy, "I'll get off work soon, do you have any plans for the evening?"

Amy raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, "I have an appointment with my boyfriend for dinner."

"Oh, that's fine," Simon explained with a shrug. "It's Jonathan. You know, Robert De Niro has never had an agent, and he lost his bid for the lead in Fox's 'Follow the Future' some time ago. After that, I started thinking about finding an agency for myself. Jonathan wanted to bring De Niro to wma, and he held a special party tonight, and I hope I can come too."

Speaking of which, Simon's accelerated collection of some copyrights was also influenced by many recently discovered projects.

For example, "Flying Beyond the Future".

In the original time and space, this film 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.

Simon also learned that Robert De Niro had also fought for the project when he was chatting with Jonathan Friedman in private. In addition, among the projects already confirmed by Fox is Die Hard, which is also a box office hit.

In addition to Fox, there are many other hot-selling projects that exist in Simon's memory, and he can't get involved now.

Moreover, there are still some projects, and Simon is also hesitant to intervene.

Just like "Rain Man", this is the North American box office champion next year in the original time and space, and the current script is still in a state of nowhere.

However, "Lola Run" has basically determined the North American box office champion this year. If the North American box office champion next year, the year after, or even the year after, is related to Simon, it's not just conspicuous, it's a question of keeping others alive.

If others can't live.

Gee!

For this reason, Simon has planned to consciously incorporate some projects that will not be popular in memory in the next process of collecting copyrights, and will actually invest in production when the funds are sufficient.

Opposite the desk.

Amy heard Simon's explanation, but said: "Even if De Niro finds an agency, he should be more likely to go to caa. By the way, you asked Susan to take that, um, Nicole Kidman's What's the matter with the information being passed to Jonathan for them to poach people?"

Simon recalled his meeting with Michael Ovitz on Monday, shrugged, and said, "It's nothing, I just think that caa is too strong now, and we should use less caa customers in the future."

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