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Sony was about to sign a contract, so Zhou Buqi should have gone to Tokyo to sign the contract. But Ning Yaxian was about to give birth and it was hard for him to leave, so he asked Senior Sister Zhen Yu to go there on his behalf.

During this period, Zhou Buqi stayed in Los Angeles and wasn't going anywhere.

However, he can't be idle either.

He met with Hulu's management team, and the two sides discussed the industry prospects and expected directions of streaming media. In their words, you can feel their pessimism about the Hulu project.

Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal is getting closer and closer to completion.

A very important asset in this deal is Hulu.

During this time, Hulu's management also had some communication with Comcast, and the feedback they received was not optimistic. Zhou Buqi was secretly happy and even treated them to a special lunch.

In Hulu's management team, only the CEO and the vice president in charge of marketing are white. The other business leaders such as finance, personnel, operations, and technology are all Chinese, and communication is smooth.

When the definite news came from Zhen Yu that the contract was completed, Zhou Buqi felt proud and went to Marvel with a high profile.

Everything is ready!

Winning the relevant copyright of "Spider-Man" marks Disney's complete elimination. No matter how hard Jobs and Robert Iger try, they cannot resist the attraction of "Spider-Man" to Marvel.

After winning MGM, we can seriously discuss the acquisition of Marvel.

Marvel is headquartered in New York, and Marvel Studios is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Now, the core of Marvel's business has been tilted towards movies, especially recently when Marvel launched a new project "Thor". During the project establishment process, Marvel's creative committee must be deeply involved.

The so-called Marvel Committee is composed of Marvel cartoonists, publishers and other big bosses. This group of people is now in Los Angeles.

When Zhou Buqi passes, almost all the core members of the board of directors will be there, and a temporary board of directors can be opened.

The good news about "Spider-Man" was announced, and everyone was very excited!

According to third-party asset assessments, Marvel's current asset value is US$2.55 billion, mainly due to the hot sales of "Iron Man" peripheral channels.

When Zhou Buqi raised funds for Marvel last year, he spent US$420 million to acquire 20% of the equity, and now there has been a certain increase in value.

However, it is impossible to buy Marvel for $2.55 billion.

Seeing that several Marvel directors were present, Zhou Buqi was rude and said that he could complete the acquisition at a 30% premium.

The other party felt that this offer was not sincere because Disney's offer reached US$3.5 billion.

Zhou Buqi laughed and said, "It doesn't matter, I just made a suggestion. The main negotiating party is SoftBank. I am also a major shareholder of Marvel. The higher the price of Marvel, the happier I am!"

Next, everyone discussed movie ideas.

Zhou Buqi was actually able to participate in this topic, but he was not very interested in such trivial matters. He just made a suggestion to Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios.

Zhou Buqi asked: "By the way, how many film contracts has Downey signed with Marvel?"

"Part 5."

"Too little!"

"Yeah, looking back, there was something really wrong with the original contract."

Kevin Fezzi sighed and felt a little regretful.

When Robert Downey Jr. was originally approached to play "Iron Man", he was just a scandal-ridden fringe Hollywood actor. Who knew whether he would be recognized by the market?

So the contract was not signed for too long.

I didn’t expect that “Iron Man” would be so popular after it was released!

Unexpectedly, a new big project "Purple Star Universal" appeared in Hollywood, and Marvel is one of the parts of this big project. With such a big backer, the grand vision of the Marvel Universe can really be realized with strong support in terms of funding and resources!

The most unexpected thing is that Boss Zhou is so powerful that he actually bought the related copyrights of "Spider-Man" from Sony.

In the comics market, "Spider-Man" is the only Marvel superhero that can rival "Superman" and "Batman" in terms of market appeal.

If Ziweixing Global really acquires Marvel, then Marvel Studios can obtain the relevant copyrights of "Spider-Man". By that time, the movie version of the Marvel Universe constructed by Marvel Studios will rise to even greater heights! We can make more and more exciting Marvel superhero movies!

Robert Downey Jr. has only signed 5 film contracts.

This is very troublesome.

During the contract period, according to the market situation of Hollywood, a single film can be given a salary of up to 20 million US dollars. After the contract period, it will be troublesome, and the salary will inevitably increase sharply.

In fact, this is also the case. After the film contract expired, Robert Downey Jr. felt that the "Marvel Universe" could not do without him, so he began to "support himself", signing one film at a time, and his salary increased step by step.

By the time of "Avengers 4", the salary had reached 100 million US dollars!

Who can afford to take this photo?

I can only reluctantly give up my love and find a few opportunities to kill the character of "Iron Man".

Zhou Buqi is about to win Marvel, and he must find a way to solve the problem of film contracts for the core actors. "Last year's "The Incredible Hulk" also had Downey Jr. in the easter egg. How does this count?"

Kevin Feige was a little embarrassed, "It doesn't matter."

Zhou Buqi was a little angry, "How can I sign the contract?"

Shooting an "Iron Man" counts as one film contract, so that's no problem. But what is "The Incredible Hulk"? In that movie, Downey only appeared in one scene as an Easter egg, and it only lasted a few seconds. Is this considered a film appointment?

This is really a scam!

Kevin Feige didn't dare to offend him now, and quickly explained: "I also lacked experience before. In the future, when I sign a long-term contract with an actor, it must be stated in the contract. This kind of easter egg that appears for a few seconds cannot be worth a film contract." ."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "Long-term contract? How many movies?"

"It can't be less than 5."

"not enough!"

"Um?"

"Minimum 10!"

"This..." Kevin Feige was stunned and said tentatively, "Is this the new 'Spider-Man' candidate?"

Zhou Buqi waved his hand and said, "Be confident. All the main actors have started with 10 films. Well, for core roles like 'Spider-Man', 'Iron Man', 'Thor', and 'Captain America', if If you can sign it for a longer period, that would be even better.”

"Is it too risky?"

Kevin Feige's heart skipped a beat. He is only in his thirties this year, and the largest investment project he has ever handled is "Iron Man 2" with an investment of US$150 million.

If any actor signs such a long film contract, what if he fails?

Take the superhero "Captain America" ​​for example. If the casting fails and the market does not recognize it, then we must stop the loss decisively, marginalize the character as soon as possible, and end it as soon as possible.

However, if a film contract that is too long cannot be fulfilled, there is a risk of breach of contract and liquidated damages will have to be paid.

Zhou Buqi shook hands with him and said with a smile: "As I said before, be more confident. Last year's "The Incredible Hulk" was indeed unsatisfactory, but "Iron Man" achieved great success. Future Marvel movies, We can all film it along the lines of "Iron Man". Hmm...I just heard you guys discussing "Thor", saying you wanted to film it in a Shakespearean drama style?"

"Yes," Kevin Feige nodded, "'Thor' is a god, this is not a story that takes place on Earth."

Zhou Buqi shook his head, "This is not a good idea. The success of "Iron Man" has already set the tone for the Avengers series, which is a simple, easy, funny and interesting popcorn movie. Especially in the early days of the series, the main theme It should still focus on entertainment and comedy. The positioning must be accurate and follow the path of "Iron Man"."

Kevin Feige greatly agreed, "Yes, that's what I mean! But the old guys on the creative committee seem to have a different point of view. It seems... they don't want to make the comic book movie into an overly simple and juvenile film. They appreciate The Dark Knight."

"No! I have to be the main one, and Marvel has to surpass DC instead of imitating DC!"

"right."

Kevin Feige is feeling passionate.

Zhou Buqi looked at him deeply, "I will speed up and strive to complete the acquisition of Marvel within 2 months! I have a habit in managing the company, that is, professional people do professional things, that is Employing people to ensure power! Since you are the president of Marvel Studios, you will definitely get the power of the president and reduce constraints."

Kevin Feige understood what he meant immediately and felt inexplicably excited, "Okay, I understand!"

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "Listen to me about the film appointments. Try to sign as many films as possible, the more the better! Moreover, Marvel sells superheroes, and there is no need to rely on star halo or find some big-name actors." The saved salary is used in special effects production. The lesson learned from MGM’s failures in the past few years is that it places too much trust in big-name actors. Marvel doesn’t hire big-name actors, but Marvel cultivates its own big-name actors!”

The bigger a star is, the more he refuses to sign a long-term contract.

But young actors can’t.

The competition in Hollywood is so fierce that many people can't make it in their lifetime. Marvel only selects some 18th-tier actors and provides them with the opportunity to be the protagonist.

In order to open up the market, these young actors will be willing to sign a "sale contract".

However, the labor unions in Hollywood are very powerful, and the "sale contract" cannot be signed too much. 10 film contracts are basically the limit, and real-time remuneration at market prices is required.

For example, if an actor's market value is 20 million U.S. dollars, the producer cannot only give him a remuneration of 10 million U.S. dollars on the grounds of a long-term "sale contract". This would easily lead to trouble.

Kevin Feige felt the ambition, courage and lofty aspirations of the new boss. He was somewhat excited and said excitedly: "Yes, we can train our own top actors. Before filming "Iron Man", Tang Downey's market price is only US$3 million, but now his film contract has reached US$10 million. Downey can do it, and I believe other actors can too."

Zhou Buqi said: "Yes, so Marvel must protect its own interests in the contract. We cannot allow the popular actors we have worked hard to provide resources to train, and they can turn around and extort huge salaries based on their roles."

Kevin Feige nodded slightly and sighed, "It's a pity that Downey only has 3 films left. After filming "Iron Man 2", there are only 2 films left."

"Can I renew the contract in advance?"

"I'm afraid it's difficult."

"not necessarily!"

"Um?"

Kevin Feige raised his eyebrows.

Zhou Buqi said: "We have recovered the copyright of 'Spider-Man'. The movie plan of the Marvel Universe can be appropriately adjusted to include 'Spider-Man'. You go to talk to Downey. If he is willing to renew the contract , the core of the Marvel Universe is 'Iron Man', and the movie world will be built around 'Iron Man'. If he does not renew his contract, 'Spider-Man' will become the core of the Marvel series of movies."

Kevin Feige sighed: "Okay, I will try my best."

Zhou Buqi thought of something, "By the way, are "Iron Man 2" and "Thor" 3D movies?"

"no."

"Hurry up. Isn't "Iron Man 2" finished filming? During post-production, a batch of 3D copies will be made. 3D movies will be the trend of the future!"