Chapter 565： Here is Hollywood that can work miracles

Tang Endao: "In the past two years, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" set off a martial arts craze in North America, and Miramax took the opportunity to rebroadcast several old Hong Kong films. "Fighting Heroes" alone earned $3 million at the North American box office. Well. Jet Lee still has a certain appeal in the United States."

Director Zhang was a little embarrassed, "'Hero' is in North America... just for the Oscars."

"Heroes" is a milestone for Chinese films. It doesn't need the North American market at all. The Asian market alone can earn 200 million yuan.

Director Zhang has already proven his strength in Europe. In front of him, there is only a big mountain of Oscar!

As long as he wins this award, he is the No. 1 Chinese director who is as famous as Ann Lee!

This is not only a personal honor, but also a political task.

Dunn shook his head regretfully, "I'm afraid you can't imagine how much box office "Hero" can sell in North America."

"How many?"

Director Zhang's expression changed.

Dunn stretched out a slap, "At least $50 million!"

"what?"

This time, the entire "Hero" crew was stunned.

The North American box office of 50 million US dollars, even if only 30% of the account is taken, is 15 million US dollars. Converted to the currency on the other side, it is 120 million!

Tang En said lightly: "This is just the box office market. The video tape and DVD market can still sell another 20 million US dollars, and cable TV can also get millions of dollars in broadcast fees. Overall, Miramax can at least get from "Heroes" made $40 million in one movie!"

Everyone in the "Heroes" crew was stunned!

Even the young actress Miss Zhang was shocked by the terrifying figures that Tang En said.

Director Zhang's face was almost contorted.

Dunn shook his head helplessly.

In this era, China has just joined the wto, and the international market has just opened up. The idea of ​​worshipping foreigners is too heavy, just thinking about making a name for yourself abroad. After returning to China, you will not only have movie fame, but also political image.

But then again, in addition to the popularity of the Chinese, the biggest factor behind "Heroes" being able to sell so much in North America is Harvey Weinstein's editing.

That's right, the American version of "Hero" is different from the mainland version of "Hero".

Without the final cut of Harvey Weinstein and the signature of Quentin Tarantino's producer, with the mysterious oriental color and overly concise lines of the mainland version of "Hero", the American Impossible to understand.

In the United States, there are many independent film companies operating overseas films, only Miramax is the crown jewel.

Why?

Because of Harvey Weinstein!

All foreign films that Miramax received, except for a few too excellent films or films with obvious cult style, must be reviewed by Harvey Weinstein first.

He will re-edit it according to American tastes, and then push it to the American market.

Through this model, Miramax made a lot of money.

From this level, Harvey Weinstein is the **** of American independent film industry!

It's just that this guy has very hard bones.

Even Michael Eisner bowed his head to Dunn, and even Kirk Douglas is finished, this guy is still holding on.

I don't know if it's stupid or confident.

"Eat a cut and grow a wiser, and don't sign a buyout agreement casually in the future."

Tang En waved his hand and looked at the lost "Hero" crew, a little helpless.

"Director Dunn... oh, Director Walker, do you really think "Hero" won't win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film?" Director Zhang still refused to give up.

Tang En said sternly: "Then let me say it bluntly, the imitation of "Hero" is too heavy. Oscar has already promoted "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to the world, and it is impossible to launch another film of the same type in a short period of time. Films. The Oscars are world-wide awards, and it is impossible to serve only martial arts films.”

Director Zhang's face is like a pig's liver, and he doesn't seem to give up.

Dunn didn't say much.

His words have already been said, and it is up to him how he should go in the future.

Just like Dunn pointed to John Wu.

They all told him not to change the style randomly, not to make war movies that are not good at, just don't listen to it, and took the "Wind Whisperer".

Can't get along in Hollywood, right?

However, pointing is pointing.

Companionship is impossible.

At the level of Director Zhang and John Wu, Tang En is also powerless.

Take a domestic film and a Hong Kong film!

One is the "Light of the Continent" and the other is the "Light of Asia", so big that they can last a lifetime.

If it was director Ann Lee, Dunn would definitely spare no effort.

...

There is no need to list the details of the night.

Dunn thoroughly enjoyed the night.

During this time, Natalie took annual leave, which made his personal life a little restrained and not enough to enjoy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he can show his greatness, one dragon and three phoenixes, making the sky dark and dark!

Even Nicole Kidman was angry and weird, saying he was a non-stop bullshit.

...

As soon as Kevin Turner took office, imax gave him a performance.

Dunn and Kevin Turner personally came to imax for inspection.

"Is this the latest digital projection equipment?" Dunn looked at a brand new playback machine in front of him, a little surprised, "It looks the same as the past."

In 1994, Richard Gelfand partnered with another investor to buy the imax company, which had an annual box office of only $35,000, and jointly held the power.

After Dunn acquired imax, Richard Geerfang was appointed chairman and chief executive of imax.

Richard Gelfand laughed: "The hardware doesn't actually need to be updated, the main thing is the change in the playback system."

Dunn nodded.

At the request of Dunn, imax has increased the research and development of digital projection technology, digital copying and digital transformation technology. After one year, it finally made a major breakthrough.

Richard Gelfand explained: "We borrowed dmr technology to produce a digital copy in the digital cinema packaging format (dcp format), which is four times the resolution of ordinary films and twice that of last year's imax digital film. With current playback technology, such clarity is enough to make a digital copy look as real as a film copy."

It's 2003, and digital technology is developing rapidly.

However, many veteran filmmakers still love film. In addition to personal habits and adherence to traditional film modes, the low definition of digital copies is also a major reason.

Imax's new dcp format digital copy is enough to promote it to the market in a large area and in all directions!

After all, imax film copies are too expensive, and Dunn can't even play.

Last year's "Pirates League: The Curse of the Black Pearl" grossed $21 million in imax theaters, but it turned out to be less than $3 million in profit.

In comparison, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which is obviously inferior in visual effects, because it is a digital copy, won a box office of 16 million US dollars at the imax theater, but the profit is as high as 8 million! Full half!

Kevin Turner suddenly asked, "What about the cost? How much does a dcp-format copy of a two-hour movie cost?"

Richard Gelfand replied: "$400 is enough."

"What about the sale price?"

"It's the same as last year's digital copy, $800."

Kevin Turner's eyes widened. "Double profit?"

Dunn laughed and patted his shoulder, "Kevin, this is not Wal-Mart with small profits but quick turnover, this is Hollywood that can create miracles!"

Kevin Turner has just taken office. He still lacks enough understanding of the various companies in the entire interactive entertainment department. The one that he knows best is Netflix.

On the way back, he repeated the old story, "Dang En, I think you still don't pay enough attention to Netflix's business!"

"Um?"

Dunn was a little surprised.

He has exclusively licensed the copyrights of New Universal and Disney's film and television works to Netflix, and also acquired the imdb database to integrate Netflix. Is this not enough attention?

Kevin Turner said: "If you have absolute trust in Netflix, it is better to make arrangements as soon as possible, which can save more expenses in the future. Now... is a golden period for bargain hunting."

"Buy the bottom?" Tang En raised his eyebrows and stared at him.

Kevin Turner said: "Video tapes are on the verge of becoming obsolete, and the future of video discs is unclear, just like records. The future belongs to the transmission of information on the Internet, not this hardware medium that requires additional transportation, which is what Reed said that day. Yes, the streaming business."

Dunn thought thoughtfully, "What do you mean?"

Kevin Turner said: "Netflix is ​​a monthly subscription system for members. In the future, video on demand will definitely not be a pay-per-view. Even if Netflix is ​​willing, the content side is afraid of being tricky. The best way to cooperate~www. novelhall.com~ must be a package buyout."

Dunn nodded, "Indeed."

"I haven't been working at New Universal for a long time, but I have a feeling that the Silicon Valley side is full of confidence in the Internet! The Hollywood side has always been skeptical about the Internet. Several major entertainment companies are now bidding for MGM. , isn't it just that you value MGM's film library, trying to make more profit in the video business?"

Tang En smiled and shook his head, "Otherwise, when I buy MGM, I care more about copyright! It's not only the current video disc and video tape market, but also the foreign online streaming media market."

"That's right!" Kevin Turner slapped his thigh and stared at Dunn, "Boss, don't you think we should make arrangements in advance? Taking advantage of the low prices of online copyrights for film and television content, let's have a super big deal. buy!"

Tang En's eyes suddenly opened, revealing a surprised expression.

Kevin Turner's whimsical ideas are wild, but there are traces to follow!

From Dunn's foresight, it's completely feasible!

In the previous life, after Netflix launched the streaming media business, in order to obtain the online copyright of film and television programs, not to mention other film companies, Disney alone would have to pay 300 million US dollars every year!

Why did Netflix start to independently produce film and television works?

It is because the copyright fee is getting higher and higher that Netflix can't afford it.

It is now 2003. If you take advantage of the low price of copyright, sign a long-term online copyright licensing agreement with major film companies.

This will be a huge fortune in ten years!

Of course, the price is that in recent years, these copyright fees have to be paid for nothing.

Until the Internet bandwidth bottleneck is broken, and high-definition videos can be watched on the Internet, the online copyrights of these film and television content can only be effective.

(Sanqi Chinese)