There was no suspense. The next morning, the newspaper was filled with titles such as "Simon Westeros' new relationship was exposed."

In the apartment of Century Building.

Simon woke up amid the ringing of the phone and then almost kept the microphone all the way until breakfast was over.

Jonathan Friedman and Pat Kingsley called to ask what happened to Simon and Sandra and how to deal with the media next. Simon's reply was just to make them vague. Sandra took the initiative to kiss himself last night, and if he immediately stated that the two had no relationship the next day, it would definitely embarrass the girl.

Janet naturally called and accused Simon of the playboy and bastard in a resentful tone, but then he went off topic on the profound issues of kissing skills. Simon patiently accompanied the woman to make trouble, and finally tried to find out if the two had been "breaking up" for two weeks, and could they start dating again, and were rejected again because of serious face problems.

During a series of calls, Dennis O'Brien, the head of Crafts Film, also called.

Crafts Films agreed to participate in the production of "When Harry Meets Sally", and Dennis O'Brien hopes to formally discuss the details of the contract with Simon. This kind of thing was more suitable for Amy to come forward. However, Amy still had to rush to New York, and Simon didn't have much important work on the weekend, so she took it on her own.

After two days of intensive consultations, Daenerys Pictures and Crafts Pictures officially signed a cooperation agreement on Monday. After Amy Pascal returned from New York, he began to discuss distribution cooperation with several major film companies.

Subsequently, the strong monopoly of major film companies on Hollywood film distribution channels and the weak foundation of Daenerys Pictures were undoubtedly revealed again.

Daenerys Pictures Headquarters.

Simon and Amy sat on the sofa in his office reception area together, whispering to discuss Amy's recent contact with several major film companies, and the atmosphere inevitably became a little heavy.

Due to the success of "Rolla Run" and "Butterfly Effect", the studios have expressed interest in investing in "When Harry Meets Sally".

However, when Daenerys Pictures decided to produce it independently and was only willing to cooperate with the seven majors in local theater distribution, the attitudes of all parties immediately changed significantly.

Among the seven majors, Paramount and Universal directly rejected Daenerys Pictures’ invitation to cooperate on the grounds that the filming schedule was full.

The remaining five.

Since Daenerys Pictures only wanted to authorize North American theaters to issue separately, Columbia asked to buy out, but the price offered was only $3 million.

If it is a share of distribution, Hollywood's solemn producers usually get a box office share of about 20% from publishers. Based on this ratio, Columbia's quotation of $3 million is only equivalent to an estimate of $15 million for the North American box office of "When Harry Meets Sally".

The box office of $15 million is actually not too bad in this era. A movie with a production cost of $15 million can basically make a profit by getting such a North American box office through subsequent channels.

However, this number is far lower than the box office of "When Harry Meets Sally" in Simon's memory, so he naturally could not agree.

The other four companies are willing to share the shares and issue them.

However, the distribution commissions offered by MGM and Disney are as high as 15%, so the promotion and distribution fee is naturally calculated separately. Moreover, not only did the two companies ask Simon to sign directors, screenwriters and film contracts, but the number of screens and film schedules that can be given are also unsatisfactory.

Fox and Warner next.

Fox is willing to give Easter schedule at the end of March next year, ensuring a minimum of 1,000 yuan for screen opening and distribution commission of 12%. However, Fox asked to take away the agency distribution rights of "When Harry Meets Sally" from other North American channels.

Warner gave the best schedule among the seven families. Next November, Thanksgiving, the minimum screen opening is guaranteed to be 1,000 yuan, and the issuance commission is 10%. The additional condition is the agency distribution rights of all other channels except the North American theaters.

The biggest difference between an agent issuance and a buyout pre-sale is the payment date.

If Daenerys Pictures retains the distribution rights from other channels, after "When Harry Meets Sally" is released, if the market responds well, it will soon be able to quickly recover funds by selling the distribution rights from subsequent channels like "Rolla Run".

However, if you choose to issue an agency, you need to wait until the film company completes the issuance through various channels before you can settle the accounts one after another.

Take the videotape release that is most recently released in theaters. After a movie is out of stock, the videotape can only be launched after a three-month window period. Even if it is settled on a quarterly basis, it will take at least another three months.

Therefore, even if you choose an agent to redeem more profits in the end, the collection cycle of several years is not something that a small company like Daenerys Pictures can afford.

In short, the five major conditions given by agreeing to cooperation are basically not what Simon wants to see.

However, five of the seven major film companies are willing to cooperate with Daenerys Pictures, which is actually the result of Simon's accumulation of two consecutive hot-selling movies. For a single movie, Simon wants to hold more distribution rights in his hands, and it is obviously impossible for the Seven majors to give too good conditions. For example, the popular schedule of summer seasons, you can't even think about it.

Speaking of which, the situation facing "When Harry Meets Sally" is actually a true portrayal of the common encounters of Hollywood's solo filmmakers.

Although Hollywood has never lacked second- and third-tier film companies that can distribute movies alone, the seven major studios monopolize movie distribution channels, which is definitely not empty talk. Only those who are present understand how terrible this strong monopoly is.

Take Xinyi Film for example. Robert Shea, the founder of Xinyi Film, established the company in 1967. But until 1984, when Xinyi Film launched its first self-produced "Ghost Street", it could only win 165 yuan for the film to open the screen, and it was an unpopular schedule like November 9.

Even the recent "Ghost Street 3" has finally expanded to more than 1,000 yuan, but the schedule seems even more unpopular. February 27. For large studios, this schedule is basically equivalent to a movie cemetery. Only movies that are not well-liked or movies that are solely unpopular or independent producers will be thrown into such unpopular schedules to fend for themselves.

So, why doesn’t Xinyi Film not choose popular schedules like summer or Christmas?

Because I can't get in.

Even after experiencing the Paramount Act that forced the separation of terminal theaters and film companies, the intertwined interests of major film companies and North American theaters have not been broken.

What's more, in recent years, as the Chinese and governments continue to relax the regulation of the media industry, the Paramount Act has been in name only.

At present, North America has about 22,000 movie screens, of which 7,500 screens are located in a bustling area, and the annual box office contribution of North America is as high as 80%.

After the Paramount Act expired, companies such as Warner, Universal, and Columbia have started to intervene in the theater screening business in recent years and have once again controlled nearly half of the core 7,500 screens.

With direct control of 40% of the total box office share in North America, coupled with its close interest relationship with other theaters, second- and third-tier film companies are okay to make small fuss, but basically cannot threaten the monopoly position of the seven majors.

Due to his attention to the dynamics in various aspects of Hollywood, Simon is actually clear about these things, but he still feels strongly unwilling to accept it.

After re-seeing the memo that recorded the cooperation conditions of several major film companies, Simon looked up at Amy Pascal and asked: "Amy, how likely do you think it is to release this movie in person?"

Amy Pascal shook his head and said, "Simon, it's too risky. This is $15 million, not the 1.8 million for "Ghost Street". Local box office data is the most important basis for subsequent channel publishers' quotations. It is not impossible for us to do the distribution in person, but the box office we get may not even be half of the seven majors. This will have a serious impact on the income of all subsequent channels, and it will not be worth the loss."

After hearing Amy's words, Simon couldn't help but fall silent. He naturally understood these principles.

Once again, Simon quickly weighed the cooperation plan in front of him.

Colombia's $3 million buyout will definitely not be considered.

Fox and Warner, even if the North American box office of "When Harry Meets Sally" can still reach $90 million, it may be difficult for Daenerys Pictures to earn more than $20 million in box office.

Just like "Run Lola", Simon values ​​the benefits of subsequent distribution channels more.

These two companies also excluded.

In the end, only MGM and Disney were left.

However, the schedules given by MGM and Disney are in early October and the other at the end of February, all of which are cemetery-level schedules.

Moreover, Simon really doesn't want to sign a director's film contract or anything else.

It's Thursday.

Simon handed over the story script of "The Lion King" to Jonathan on Monday. Although he wanted to work with Disney, he had to pass the Fox Pictures level first. Because after the original contract, "Butterfly Effect" and "The God of Death", he still owed Fox a script.

Although Fox Pictures does not make animated movies now, lawyers from both sides still struggled for a whole day and signed a formal agreement of understanding, so that Jonathan was able to introduce the project to Disney.

Thinking of this, he sighed secretly. Simon knew that he still had to face reality.

At present, Daenerys Pictures’ only signature that can make big film companies excited is himself. If he wants to reach a cooperation, he can only sign another film contract with MGM or Disney.

He picked up his pen and drew a circle on the names of MGM and Disney. Simon handed the memo to Amy and said, "Continue to contact these two companies. The Easter schedule in March is 1,000 yuan guaranteed screen. This is our bottom line. Others can be discussed."

Amy nodded, she actually prefers these two families.

As for Simon's signing a film contract again, it doesn't seem like a big deal in Amy's opinion.

The fundamental reason why Spielberg can only direct movies from Universal, Warner and Paramount over the years is due to contract restrictions.

After the success of "Jaws" that year, Universal changed Spielberg's seven-year "selling contract" into four film contracts. Until now, Spielberg still owes two films.

Therefore, although Spielberg publicly stated that he did not like Universal Pictures president Frank Price and was angry to write the terms of not working with the other party in the contract, Spielberg still had to continue working for Universal Pictures.

After confirming this, the two chatted for a few more words, and the office door was knocked.

After Simon agreed, Susan pushed open the door and said, "Mr. Westeros, Miss Kidman's hair is dyed."

Susan said, a tall, fair-skinned girl with dark hair and dyed hair walked in, just now Nicole Kidman, who was just twenty years old.
Chapter completed!