Tokyo Literary Godfather

"Daniel, I'm very happy to receive your call, but one thing I have to remind you is that we are at almost opposite ends of the earth."

"Do you understand what I mean? Hmm? Maybe you think this time is just tea time, but for me it's late at night. Do you know that there is a time difference of nearly thirteen hours between California and Tokyo."

"Can you call me next time during breakfast? Maybe I won't be asleep then."

Fujiwara Kei scratched his bird's nest-like messy hair and said.

"Haha, I'm sorry, Fujiwara, for disturbing your sweet dream." Daniel was not embarrassed by Fujiwara Kei's accusation. Instead, the hearty laughter of a fifty-year-old boy from the other side of the ocean came from the other end of the phone.

"Let me report to you the box office results of "Saw". I have first-hand information here earlier than Ms. Suwon." Daniel said, "The box office and attendance rate on the first day were not high, but fortunately, the results from the theaters According to first-hand news, the audience seems to be very satisfied with the movie. They said they were scared. The screenwriter and director are really sons of bitches... This is not what I said. It came from the words of those unlearned punks in Chicago. Expression.”

"Only scold the screenwriter and director, not the producer?" Kei Fujiwara expressed doubt.

"Who knows, maybe I scolded him too, that's not the point..."

Daniel continued, "The key is that the box office and attendance have increased significantly, and the increase has doubled. Although it can't compare with those big productions released at the same time, the good news is - it has already paid back."

"From now on, every penny the movie makes is revenue."

"Hey, maybe this is the advantage of low-cost movies. Although the upper limit may not be high, there is not much pressure to repay the cost. But even so, there are not many movies that can repay the cost in three days. Fujiwara, your script is amazing .”

"Thanks to you and Ruan, I will go to the United States next month and celebrate then." Kei Fujiwara said, "How much has the box office reached now?"

"It's already 5 million. I still think it's not growing fast enough. Many theaters see "Saw" as a low-budget R-rated film, and even only schedule movies for late nights. I will contact those theaters one by one during this period. People, strive for a better film schedule and strive to get more than 10 million box office in the first week."

Daniel's voice sounded very excited. Indeed, I didn't have any particularly high expectations for this film, but I didn't expect that it had already shown its extraordinary ability to attract money in just three days. As long as this movie can get 20 million at the box office, it will be considered a big victory.

After all, the production cost of this film, including publicity and distribution, was less than 1.5 million.

Has the box office already reached 5 million? It has indeed paid back. Fujiwara Kei thought.

In the era before the rise of streaming media, there was a very simple and crude algorithm to calculate whether a movie was profitable, which was whether the box office of the movie reached three times the cost.

Although it's not very precise, it's roughly correct. The reason why it is three times is that in addition to deducting costs, there is also a share for theaters and distribution.

For example, "Saw" cost about 1.3 million, so as long as the box office of this film reaches 4 million, the producer can feel reassured. Because even if this movie doesn't make much money, at least it won't lose money.

At this time, Fujiwara Kei thought of something else and continued: "Now that the box office potential of this film has been partially revealed, it should attract the attention of the distribution company, right? Can more money be invested in publicity? For example, Say a positive review in the New York Times, or a trailer on television, airing it in prime time, four times a day."

"Fujiwara, you are either joking or dreaming, or taking drugs." Daniel said, "Few movies have such treatment. If I ask Chris (the boss of the film distribution company) to make this request, he will definitely give it to me." I sent him to Willard Mental Hospital.”

"Haha, the hospital bills must be very high..."

The two joked with each other. Although Daniel is a producer, he is also the owner of a film and television studio. They are both operators of the company. They discussed their experiences with each other and complained to each other about the fierce competition in the market and the increasing number of employees below. rampant corruption.

"Oh, Fujiwara, can you believe it? Even printing paper and napkins are the hardest hit areas for corruption. Can you believe that I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy those things last year? They are really crazy, thinking that I can't see it. …But in fact, I really didn’t see it. This behavior has been going on for more than four years…”

"Yes, running a company is a difficult thing. Recently, the company executive I sent to Hollywood also told me a lot of difficulties she has encountered recently... It seems that an airborne leader from a foreign country still has no solution. Lead an American company well. Especially this company is not newly established, but acquired. The employees of the company are all veterans and will unite to fight against the top management..."

Daniel said disdainfully: "This situation can be easily solved. Just fire more than one-third of the employees. It will definitely have a deterrent effect."

"Daniel, you still have much more experience than me..." Kei Fujiwara stroked the phone cord with his hand and said, "Maybe you are willing to take the position of COO?"

"Fujiwara, it seems that I really have to contact Willard to reserve a bed for you."

"Haha, is my idea crazy? I don't think so. This period of cooperation makes me very willing to establish a long-term cooperation with you, Daniel. However, it seems that a small company that has just been established and has no reputation still cannot attract you. ah."

"Fujiwara, if you really want to find a local operations officer, I can help you recommend a reliable candidate." Daniel said, "But I'm afraid I won't be able to agree to you for the time being, unless..."

"unless?"

"Unless the box office of this movie can exceed 50 million!" Daniel Ellison laughed.

Can a movie with a production cost of 1.2 million earn half a billion at the box office? Haha, this is unrealistic. If it really happens, it will be a super classic case in the history of American commercial films, the kind that can make film school students learn from it one by one.

Hearing Daniel say this, Fujiwara Kei was silent for a rare moment.

This guy really knows how to guess... and his guess is really accurate...

Unfortunately, he didn't believe the results of his guess...

Seeing that Kei Fujiwara stopped talking, Daniel thought that his tone of rejection was too harsh. Kei Fujiwara was unhappy, so he quickly said: "But don't worry, Fujiwara, I will introduce you to a reliable professional manager, whether it is Both credibility and ability are absolutely reliable, and this is not the first time I have done this. You know, I am not only a producer, but also a good headhunter in the industry."