Chapter 110： Sincerity

"Now the media and movie fans... well, the curses are all aimed at the crew members headed by Daniel Malik."

In the office, Robert told Ronan about the latest situation: "After participating in three consecutive media events, they hid in the hotel and did not dare to go out again."

Ronan was in a good mood. After all, Daniel Malick, an artillery cook, did a good job. He asked, "Did they not distinguish? For example, push us out."

Robert smiled and said: "Daniel Malik also talked about you and Embassy Pictures after finishing the last event the night before, but the public opinion against them has been irreversible, and they have no media channels to speak out, so they took the initiative to show up for the interview. Almost all targeted attacks by media reporters."

Ronan is regarded as a newcomer in Hollywood, and he is not so powerful. Compared with his previous life, Harvey Weinstein made a phone call, and he could suppress the unfavorable reports of the media, but the person facing him was Daniel. When a small director like Melick can't even catch the edge of Hollywood, he definitely belongs to the level of landlord bullies.

"Yesterday, Daniel Malick posted a rebuttal blog post, pushing the entire marketing plan on us." Robert added: "But no one believes them. All fans left behind are verbal abuse, and the trend of media opinion is not He can change it with just one blog post."

Ronan nodded and said, "This kind of thing, the first to show up is always the worst."

On the NBC program, I told the United States that everything about "Blair the Witch" originated from me. As a result, the media and fans immediately changed their positions and said that it had nothing to do with me. Few people believed it.

It’s not that no one mentions the Embassy Films, but Daniel Malik is at the forefront to attract firepower. In addition, the Embassy Films has not done less work. The appearances have been low-key, and the negative impact is very small or even negligible.

Robert remembered one thing and said, "Daniel Malik wants to meet with you to talk about compensation."

"Huh?" Ronan raised his eyebrows: "Didn't you give them the $50,000 box office bonus yesterday?"

Robert told the truth: "They are not satisfied."

This did not surprise Ronan. If he were replaced by him, he would make a film for tens of thousands of dollars and sell it to the distributor. As a result, the distributor sold a box office of $100 million in the North American market alone. He was not reconciled to only take a little box office. Bonus, want to get a bigger cake.

Where can people's hearts be easily satisfied.

I vaguely remember that in the past life, Artisan Pictures and the two directors finally had a very unhappy relationship.

Artisan Pictures bought "Blair the Witch," and the director and artisan made an agreement that if the film sells, the artisan will reward them with a good table.

As a result, the film went viral, and artisans offered the best tables on the market, but they couldn't satisfy the appetites of directors.

Ronan understands and understands, but it will not affect the actual actions. He directly said: "Drag behind them. If you can't hold back, send them away. We have a contract in hand."

Ronan prevented this from happening when he bought the copyright.

Daniel Malik and him are not relatives, and the relationship between the two parties is purely commercial cooperation. The contract is clear, and this is also done according to the rules.

Besides, if you agree to give Daniel Malik a post-partition, what about another director, Idyardo Sanziz? Are there three more protagonists? Will you keep up and take a bite?

It would cost at least millions of dollars to do that.

Moreover, these people will have no value at all in the future.

A trick like "Blair the Witch" can only be played once in a short period of time. In the last two years, there are still people who want to follow the trend and want to play this way.

However, Robert is a little worried about pushing people to the back of the pot: "Recently, the media and movie fans have criticized the crew for "Blair the Witch" too much. Will it affect the next box office trend."

Ronan slowly shook his head: "This film cannot be measured by ordinary Hollywood films. If it is replaced by a normal film, if there are so many curses, it will probably be finished. But for Blair the Witch, the controversy and curses are not bad thing."

Ronan did not conceal the entrepreneurial veteran. He found out a piece of statistics from an employment survey company and handed it to Robert, saying: "This is a sample survey conducted at theaters in 30 cities across the United States. It is close to 100%. The audience ratio will not watch the second time after watching "Blair the Witch", this film can only be fooled once. There is another phenomenon, starting from the third week, nearly 65% ​​of the audience are all Because I saw the controversy and scolding from the media and people around me, I wanted to see why this film attracted so many scolding."

Finally, he said: "Of course, these people knew about the disappearance of the Blair Witch and three college students in the early stage."

In fact, the truth is very simple. Many people criticize "Blair the Witch" as all frauds. Some people who have not seen it are curious about how the popular incidents that caused a national sensation were frauds.

With "viral marketing" as the core to promote publicity and marketing, and after achieving good results, "Blair the Witch" has completed its transformation and is no longer a Hollywood movie in the usual sense.

Ronan’s forecast is more accurate. Although there is a lot of criticism from fans and media, Blair the Witch still maintains a stable box office trend.

Discovery and Discovery Channel launched a show to crack the witch rumors in due course, which focused on "Blair the Witch", which caused a strong reaction and gave the film an assist from the side.

On the fourth weekend of its release, the film received another 9.62 million US dollars in North America, and the North American box office totaled 114.53 million US dollars.

The North American box office successfully broke 100 million!

It is only 1999, and the US$100 million at the North American box office is a watershed. The meanings of the two are completely different.

If this film is replaced by another type with a clear protagonist, it is enough to win a big star.

It's a pity that the person who has made the film the most famous today is the director Daniel Malik, which is still bad.

According to Ronan's calculation, the negative impact is estimated to accompany Daniel Malik for a long time.

In any case, "Blair the Witch" has achieved great success, and it is in line with the usual laws of Hollywood movies-any film that is popular in North America can easily attract overseas attention.

However, the Embassy Film Industry does not have the ability to distribute overseas. Ronan is determined to establish overseas distribution channels. However, the Embassy Film Industry's acquisition time is too short and the funds in his hands are not considered sufficient. For the time being, overseas distribution can only stay on paper.

Many companies with overseas distribution capabilities have come to Ronan, wanting to obtain the overseas copyright of "Blair the Witch". Ronan has not discussed with anyone for the time being. The North American market potential has not been exhausted. The higher the North American box office in the future, talk about overseas The more advantageous it is when issuing copyrights.

As for Daniel Malick, Ronan did not see him again. When Daniel Malick sold him the film, none of the crew members was a member of the union. The labor union's hard-determined post-division was naturally irrelevant to them, and Ronan paid for it. The box office bonus of 50,000 U.S. dollars fulfilled the contract signed by both parties.

Legally speaking, this business has ended.

But Ronan ignored Daniel Malik, but Daniel Malik came to him.

In the office, when he saw the haggard-looking director, Ronan was still quite polite: "Director Melnick, please sit down."

"Hello, Mr. Anderson." Daniel Malik sat opposite Ronan.

Ronan took a look at Daniel Malik and estimated that he has been under too much pressure recently and the other party's mental state is not very good.

Not everyone can calmly face attacks from the media and audience, let alone a novice.

"Are you looking for me?" Ronan asked directly.

Daniel Malik is not an idiot either. During this period of time, he gradually recalled, but all the dissatisfaction was endured. He tentatively asked: "Blair the Witch has over 100 million at the North American box office?"

Ronan roughly guessed his intention and nodded in response: "It's almost 120 million US dollars."

This can be found by just looking for a newspaper.

"The movie is selling!" Daniel Malik licked his dry lips and asked: "Does your company reward people who participate in running this movie?"

Ronan pretended to be puzzled: "Huh?"

Daniel Malik is still tentative: "The crew are asking me if the box office of the film is over 100 million yuan, should they be rewarded as the main creator There should be bonuses or sharing, I can’t help it. I had to come over and ask."

Ronan nodded and said, "I remember that your $50,000 bonus has been paid."

Daniel Malik squeezed the fingers of his left hand hard and said, "What about the fifty thousand dollars?"

Ronan didn’t answer, and asked: “Director Merrick, the total revenue of the film reached 500,000 US dollars in the contract we signed at the beginning. No matter how much income in the future, I will pay you 50,000 US dollars as a box office bonus. Although the film box office The share is not yet in place. To thank you for your efforts, I specifically asked the company to pay the $50,000 bonus in advance."

Daniel Malik understands it, the other party has no idea of ​​paying any more, and unconsciously raises his voice: "Mr. Anderson, these fifty thousand dollars are totally inconsistent with my and my team's contribution! This film is only at the North American box office. It’s about 120 million U.S. dollars, and there are peripheral and overseas copyright revenues behind. I only ask for the share we deserve!"

Ronan still had a warm smile on his face: "I respect your contribution, but I respect the spirit of the contract more. Although I am a businessman, I treat people with sincerity and my promises will be fulfilled." He emphasized his tone: "Melik Director, can I fail to comply with the contract and promise?"

Daniel Malik didn't know what to say for a while, Ronan Anderson did exactly what the contract stipulated.

"We have signed a formal contract." Ronan said again: "Being a human being must be true. I did it. I hope you can do it too."

Daniel Malik finally reacted, with a bit of irritation, and said: "It is grossly unfair that you treat us like this!"

Ronan smiled: "You want something unexpected in the contract, which is also unfair to me."