hollywood entertainment mogul

"Mr. Jin, you are one of the few respectable people in the Hollywood film industry. I'd like to toast you."

At the party, Yunori Ohga held a champagne glass and said politely.

"Congratulations to Mr. Congratulations!"

Duka raised his glass and smiled politely.

The Oga Yunori in front of me is an Asian in his sixties, wearing a suit and tie, his hair is meticulously combed, he looks elegant, and he is very polite to others, which gives him a good impression.

Dahe is also a very talented person. He was originally engaged in music. He studied at the Munich Conservatory of Music and worked as a baritone in a band. Later, he was spotted by Sony Chairman Sheng Tianzhaofu and entered the Sony Music Factory to work. He was less than 40 years old.

Appointed as a director at the age of 18.

In 1989, he led the Sony team to successfully acquire Columbia Pictures and became a deputy director of Sony Entertainment Group and the actual head of Sony Entertainment America.

"Mr. Jin, in the past three years, your company has experienced five friendly and successful cooperations with us. Both of us have benefited a lot. During the cooperation, I have a deeper understanding of Mr. Jin's talent in film investment, which is very exciting.

Marvel.”

Ohga Yunori continued to praise.

"Thanks!"

Duka chuckled, feeling that this guy had something to say, otherwise he wouldn't have said so many good words to pave the way. Sure enough, just when he was doubtful, Oga Yunori continued,

"Mr. Jin, what do you think of Columbia Pictures?"

"Emm, it's very good. Columbia Pictures is an old film company with a deep foundation and the support of Sony Entertainment Group. It will definitely become one of the giants in the world's film industry in the future."

Duca thought for a while and said.

Ohga Yunori laughed, "Mr. Jin, thank you for your affirmation. Are you interested in serving as the president of Columbia Pictures?"

"oh?"

"Mr. Jin, this is a proposal from our board of directors. If you are willing to serve as president of Columbia Pictures, we will provide you with a contract with an annual salary of no less than 20 million."

Annual salary 20 million?

Duca was a little surprised. Although Columbia Pictures is currently not developing well, it is still a large company with a market value of more than 4 billion. It is really a big deal for him to be the president of Columbia Pictures.

He expressed his amazement at Sony Entertainment Group's bold decision-making.

In addition, the current president of Columbia Pictures is Roland Mayer, one of the veterans of the CAA agency and Spielberg’s former agent.

During Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures, he worked very hard and was later appointed president of Columbia Pictures.

At that time, Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures was considered by Americans as an Asian cultural invasion, and it encountered great hostility.

Roland Mayer took many measures to help Sony integrate into Hollywood. For example, most of the company's employees from top to bottom were Americans.

In terms of movies, he also tried his best to strengthen cooperation with American filmmakers. For example, in 1990, he single-handedly helped Spielberg cooperate with Columbia Pictures to shoot "Captain Hook", and in 1992 he found Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

Filming "The Heroes of the Righteous Sea" and so on.

Although Roland Meyer promoted several major projects during his tenure and helped Columbia enter the North American film market, the company made little profit or even lost money on film projects.

For example, "Captain Hook", which grossed US$300 million worldwide, saw most of the revenue go to Spielberg, leaving Columbia Pictures with only tens of millions in revenue.

When filming "The Greatest Heroes", in order to impress Tom Cruise, Columbia offered a sky-high salary of 15 million U.S. dollars, and also offered Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore nearly 10 million, which led to the production

The cost of the film is too high, about 75 million.

Although "The Heroes of the Sea" grossed US$240 million at the global box office, Colombia's profit was still not much, and it was a bit like spending money to make money.

Sony was dissatisfied with Roland Mayer's performance, so it thought of replacing him as president.

Duca was a little moved by Ohga Yunori's proposal. If he could become the boss of Columbia Pictures, he would be one of the seven Hollywood film industry leaders and the youngest person in power, a true Hollywood boss.

But after thinking about it he refused again.

The reason was simple: he didn't want to work for Sony, and the 20 million salary couldn't seduce him.

And the most important point is that Columbia Pictures has Sony Entertainment Group on top and a group of unfamiliar leadership teams below. It will be difficult for a Mexican who has just arrived to gain a foothold in such a large company.

Just solving these office political problems will cost him a lot of time, one or two years, which is too inefficient and not cost-effective.

"Mr. Jin, we are very sincere. If you have any conditions, please tell us and we will consider your opinions carefully."

Ohga Yunori said seriously.

Ducat held his chin and thought for a moment, then raised a finger and said, "I don't want a penny of the basic annual salary, but I want 10% of Columbia Pictures' annual box office revenue."

Columbia Pictures' revenue last year was US$450 million, ranking second to last among the seven major film studios. Warner Pictures, the first company, had revenue of US$1.5 billion. There is a huge gap between the two.

10% of annual revenue of 450 million is almost 45 million.

Ohga Yunori was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Mr. Jin, are you serious? Is it revenue sharing rather than profit sharing?"

"It's revenue sharing!"

Colombia's income has been negative in the past two years. Even if he comes to power, there is no guarantee that he will make money immediately.

"Mr. Jin, with all due respect, your conditions are too harsh. No one in any industry can give you such a high salary."

Ohga Yunori shook his head and said.

"Mr. Dahe, the income of LV Pictures in the past two years has been at least 70 million. If I give up LV Pictures and go to work in Colombia, my income will inevitably decrease.

In addition, I can sign a bet with Sony. As long as the investment remains unchanged, if the annual box office revenue of Columbia Pictures in the first year is less than 500 million, I will not take any money.

In the second year, if the annual income is less than 800 million U.S. dollars, I won’t take any penny. In the third year, if the annual income is less than 1 billion, I won’t take any penny. How about that?”

Duca smiled confidently.

"this..."

Yunori Ohga was surprised by his confidence. Last year, Columbia Pictures invested more than 600 million US dollars in production, promotion and distribution. As a result, the annual income from movies was only 450 million US dollars.

The guy in front of me claims that his annual income will exceed 500 million, and 800 million the next year. If he doesn't meet the standard, he won't get any money.

If it were anyone else, he would have regarded him as a drunken maniac who spoke arrogantly, but this was Dukaskin, who had done an extremely good job in film investment.

This shows that when the other party reports this data, it has sufficient confidence that it can be achieved and is not lying.

Thinking about this, Oga Yunori was even more surprised. The Hollywood film industry is extremely competitive, and sometimes several major film studios will insist on investing in films even if they lose money.

Because behind the major film studios are media groups, making movies, promoting movies, hyping movies, celebrity scandals, crew dynamics, etc. are all materials for media groups to report.

[To be honest, I have been using Yeguo to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. www. Android and Apple are available.]

If one day the film industry collapses, the biggest losers will not be the major theater chains or film companies, but the media who have no scandals to report.

Precisely because the entertainment industry is highly competitive and involves a wide range of industries, Columbia Pictures has tried its best to get 450 million in box office revenue, but the other party is confident of getting 500.8 billion in annual box office revenue, which is unbelievable.

"Mr. Jin, your bet is shocking. Are you serious?"

Ohga Yunori asked.

"Yes, if you are willing, we can sign a draft contract right away."

Duca said.

Ohga Yunori hesitated for a while and said that he needed to ask the board of directors for instructions. Sony Entertainment is a listed group company, and Columbia Pictures is an important subsidiary. Changing the president and signing a contract all need to be approved by the board of directors. He, the vice chairman, cannot make decisions alone.

Duca expressed his understanding and watched the other party leave.

If Sony dares to agree, he wouldn't mind working for Columbia Pictures for a few years. With the capital of Sony Entertainment, he can accomplish a lot of things. There is no problem in completing KPIs of 700 to 800 million per year, or even more than 1 billion.

That way, we can earn 100 million a year, and with the addition of LV Pictures, our income will double.

However, the probability of Sony's board of directors passing it is not high.

Columbia Pictures was acquired less than five years ago and is in a transitional period. A conservative leader is more popular with peers and more in line with Sony's requirements than a radical and threatening leader.

——

Two days later, Yunori Ohga came to visit again, and the board of directors rejected his proposal.

The 10% income share is too high and seriously affects the income of shareholders, so the board of directors will naturally not agree to it.

Ohga Yunori said that if the share can be reduced to 5%, he is confident to convince the board of directors.

Duca refused. 5% of the box office revenue of 100 million is only 5 million, 1 billion is only 50 million, and a year of hard work is only 50 to 60 million, which is not very cost-effective.

Seeing his refusal, Ohga Yunori proposed another way of cooperation, to make a movie together.

In the next two years, Columbia Pictures is willing to provide 300 million in filming funds and cooperate with LV Pictures to shoot no less than 5 movies.

Both parties jointly invest, LV Pictures is responsible for producing, and Columbia Pictures is responsible for distributing these films.

Duca thought for a while and agreed. This kind of thing would be more beneficial to LV Pictures.

First of all, after 260 million yuan was invested in the stock market, he was not prepared to continue spending his own money to inject blood to LV Pictures.

In the future, if the company needs to make movies, it will either use box office profits to film them or absorb external funds. The more funds, the more projects, and the more money it will make. Colombia's money comes at the right time.

Second, Columbia Pictures' investment is equivalent to giving away money. For example, the production cost of "Sleepless in Seattle" was 21 million. All this money was invested by LV Pictures. Naturally, the more savings, the better. In terms of producer fees,

Very low, he likes to use ex post dividends.

If investment from Columbia is accepted, the production cost of "Sleepless in Seattle" can be increased to 40 million.

The extra ten million is the producer's salary.

He and Monica selected this profitable project from many projects, and the salary of 15 million was not very high.

Famous directors and big producers like George Lucas and Spielberg can get a salary of five to six million for just putting the name of producer or supervisor on a movie. If they personally participate in the production and

Directors earn more.

For example, in "Captain Hook", Spielberg's producer salary and box office share exceeded 30 million.

Among the "Star Wars" series, the minimum producer salary charged by George Lucas is 20 million. Taking into account the box office share and other shares, it starts at least 100 million.

After LV Pictures cooperated with Columbia Pictures, he could raise his salary openly, and Columbia Pictures could not object yet.

Because he is responsible for selecting projects and making decisions, these come at a price. If the movie loses at the box office, he, the producer, needs to be responsible, and it will also affect his reputation.

If the loss is too large, it will affect the subsequent cooperation between the two companies, and even cooperation with other companies, so this kind of money is not made in vain, and real things need to be produced.

The 300 million investment given by Columbia Pictures is equivalent to venture capital in some respects. It is invested in himself and LV Pictures. If he wins, he will make a fortune together. If he loses, he will slowly settle the accounts.

——

After agreeing to cooperate, LV Pictures and Columbia Pictures went through multiple rounds of negotiations and finally finalized the cooperation. Columbia Pictures invested 300 million to shoot no less than 5 movies with LV Pictures in the next two years.

After the contract was signed, the news caused a big sensation in the industry. It was so enviable that a new film company with a market value of tens of millions was able to get a US$300 million order from Columbia Pictures.

If LV Pictures takes this deal, what will its future development be like?

"Are those Japanese people crazy? If they pay 300 million to cooperate with Duca, they won't worry about losing money?"

Bob Weinstein looked at the newspaper and exclaimed.

Harvey shook his head. In this situation, he didn't know what to say. With Columbia's 300 million, LV Pictures has a stronger ability to withstand risks.

Even if a movie suffers a huge loss, it will not have a big impact on it, unless there are several losses in a row, or it is a big-budget movie.

But can Duca do it?

Harvey had a trace of regret, but was immediately snuffed out.

After more than half a year of negotiations, he and Disney have agreed on a cooperation. Disney will offer 100 million to acquire a majority of Miramax's shares, and will allocate funds for him to make movies and give him a certain degree of autonomy.

With Disney as its backer, it is much safer than Columbia Pictures.

In the future, everyone will have a backer and focus on film production. Whoever wins will have to compete in the box office market.

Harvey touched his chin and said, "Bob, find someone to keep an eye on LV Pictures to see what their new projects are. If you find something suitable for our production, try your best to get it."

"Okay, I understand."

Bob nodded.

In his office on the next street, David Geffen was also reading a newspaper,

"It's hard to imagine that Duca can get such a big deal, and it really doesn't need to merge with our DreamWorks."

"It's more convenient not to merge. It's more convenient for each of us to take responsibility for a part."

Spielberg said.

David Geffen nodded without saying anything. In fact, he also hopes to merge LV Pictures, Geffen Productions, and Amblin Pictures to form a large studio.

But Spielberg didn't agree, and he didn't force it, so he could only do it step by step.

He made a phone call to express his congratulations and asked Duka not to forget their proposal and to cooperate more with DreamWorks.

Duca said that he has not forgotten that with Colombia's investment, LV Pictures will produce several more movies every year. The movies that cooperate with Colombia will be handed over to Colombia for distribution, and the rest will be handed over to DreamWorks. After all, it is its own company.

Geffen was satisfied with his answer and asked him to play cards.

——