Simon reached a deal with Robert Galvin, and Westeros received a $30 million deposit from the other party that night.

According to the agreed price of US$70, the total value of the 4.13 million shares is close to US$290 million. Counting the 570,000 shares previously sold, Westeros will recover more than US$320 million in total after liquidating Motorola shares.

Motorola couldn't wait to announce the news of repurchasing Westeros' shares that night. However, the company's stock price inevitably fell below $60 the next day. In the following days, the media continued to clamor for various

While Fang was commenting on the deal, Simon had completely forgotten about the Motorola matter.

Compared with the initial investment of about US$250 million, more than US$320 million was recovered in just over two months, which is a huge profit no matter what.

At the same time, Simon also launched a plan to acquire New World Entertainment.

In order to reduce the acquisition cost as much as possible, James Raybould formulated a strategy of first absorbing enough stocks from the circulating market at low prices and then making a public offer. The early buying process took two weeks and did not require Simon to watch it personally. After New Year's Day

, he returned to Los Angeles again.

The time has officially entered 1988.

This side of Hollywood.

Robin Williams' "Good Morning Vietnam" was released on a very small scale on 4 screens on December 25. It quickly aroused unanimous praise from North American film critics. Hollywood's authoritative "Variety" magazine praised this film.

The film is 'an exciting journey on screen', and Robin Williams' performance has aroused a strong response.

Although the production of "Good Morning Vietnam" has not yet started on a large scale, the sales of "Good Morning Vietnam" can be expected, and it is obviously impossible for Daenerys Pictures to let the other party sign the film contract of "Dead Poets Society" at a low price.

but.

Simon is most concerned about "Rain Man".

After the first meeting, United Artists Chairman Tony Tomopoulos asked Simon to come out in person after Christmas to discuss cooperation with him on the film. Simon did not return to Los Angeles until after New Year's Day, so the matter was naturally impossible to discuss.

During this period, Simon also heard that Michael Ovitz once again recommended the project to Michael Eisner, hoping that Disney would cooperate with United Artists, but nothing happened.

After asking Amy in detail about the day of the meeting, Simon also roughly understood why Robin Williams suddenly changed his mind and why Ovitz re-recommended "Rain Man" to Eisner.

However, Simon's current influence has not yet reached the level where Spielberg would arouse strong attention or even rush for a project if he likes it. Naturally, Eisner, a Disney helmsman who has absolutely no lack of personal judgment, will not

Because Simon may be interested in investing in a film that the entire Hollywood is not optimistic about.

Tomopoulos wanted to talk to Simon in person, but Simon never came back and made a lot of money again on Wall Street.

After some careful calculation, United Artists still did not dare to take on this project alone. The matter dragged on until New Year's Day. Daenerys Pictures looked very calm, but Tomopoulos could not hold back and took the initiative to call Ai.

rice.

Before Simon returned, Amy and Tomopoulos finally came up with a rough cooperation plan after two days of negotiations.

United Artists sold the rights to "Rain Man" and "The Hobbit" to Daenerys Pictures for US$2 million. "Rain Man" was independently produced by Daenerys Pictures and MGM

- United Artists has obtained the all-channel distribution rights for "Rain Man" in North American theaters, videotapes and television broadcasts, while Daenerys Pictures retains overseas distribution rights.

Some other details include that MGM-United Artists has guaranteed 1,000 screens for the December 16th release at the end of the year. Daenerys Pictures needs to bear the publicity and distribution costs of "Rain Man". MGM-United Artists

The company receives 15% of the North American theater box office as a distribution commission, etc.

Simply put, this is a contract that favors MGM-United Artists.

United Artists Pictures can obtain 15% of the North American box office net income of "Rain Man" at almost no cost. It has two A-list stars, Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, and a direct December release date.

It is a popular Christmas movie on the 16th. Even if the movie is bad in the future, it will still be able to defraud the audience of US$10 to 20 million at the box office.

Moreover, United Artists also insisted on splitting the distribution between videotapes and television broadcasts, which once again reserved "operational" space for future distribution operations.

MGM headquarters in Beverly Hills.

Tony Tomopoulos signed his name on the contract, and looked up at Simon Westeros who was bowing his head to sign across the conference table. Even though he still felt that this matter was a bit strange, he still looked a little bit like a fat sheep in his eyes.

Emotions.

but.

Tomopoulos didn't know whether this was self-comfort or not.

As a veteran producer who has been in Hollywood for decades, Tomopoulos does not lack his instincts in film.

After meeting with Amy before Christmas, Tomopoulos also considered ditching Daenerys Pictures entirely to make Rain Man alone. However, when he discussed the project with his boss at MGM-United Artists,

When Kirk Kerkorian discussed it, he was directly rejected.

United Artists currently does not have much funds on its books. If it wants to independently produce "Rain Man", the company can only adopt the model of copyright pre-sale and bank loans for financing.

The entire Hollywood is not optimistic about this project, so United Artists is naturally unable to obtain much pre-sale funds from theater companies. Therefore, most of the film's production budget can only be obtained through loans. Counting future distribution investment, United Artists will

This resulted in at least $20 million in debt.

20 million US dollars may not be a big deal to Simon Westeros, who is now rich and wealthy, but it is difficult for United Artists Pictures to bear the risk. Once the project fails, the United Artists label is likely to go silent again

.

After the signing ceremony and a simple lunch, Simon and his team left Beverly Hills and returned to Santa Monica.

Inside Simon's SUV.

Amy looked at Simon who was looking through the contract and said: "Regarding "Charlie's Angels", Columbia Pictures has insisted on US$7 million and will not lower the price. Simon, if you think it is okay, you can sign the contract tomorrow."

In Simon's memory, Drew Barrymore, who bought the TV rights to "Charlie's Angels" in advance, easily earned $120 million after the movie version was released through reruns of the TV series and DVD distribution.

7 million US dollars is a sky-high price that many people think is completely taken advantage of, but Simon does not think it is high at all: "Sign it. In addition, you have recently contacted Warner about "Batman" and Alexander Salle.

The copyright of "Superman" in the hands of Kinder."

Amy was a little confused: "Aren't you going to buy DC?"

Simon shook his head helplessly and said: "When I was in New York, I contacted Steve Ross and wanted to talk about it in person, but he was rejected directly on the phone. I also gave Ross an offer.

, got no response."

Steve Ross is the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros., and controls the entire Warner system. Warner Bros. Pictures is only a part of Warner Bros.. Warner has not yet merged with Time Inc., but the two parties already started to merge last year.

related negotiations.

Amy asked: "Then how should we discuss this matter?"

Simon thought for a moment and said: "Contact Warner first and get the rights to "Batman", even if you only get half of it. But you must make sure that Daenerys Films has full control of this project. Get "Batman"

", if you contact Alexander Salkind about "Superman" again, even if it means spending money, we will seize the copyright of "Superman". By the way, there will also be "Wonder Woman", by the way, we will take over the copyright of "Superman".

The copyrights of superheroes are also taken down.”

Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman.

If you can hold the three giants of the DC movie universe in your memory, you basically have the entire DC in your hand.

Amy listened to the excitement in Simon's words and said with a smile: "Do you want "The Flash"?"
Chapter completed!