Chapter 117 "Don't Stop the Camera!" Overseas copyright sales

The filming of "Good Will Hunting" is progressing steadily.

During this period, Tang Ze occasionally had to deal with company affairs.

Especially now that "Don't Stop the Camera!" is still in theaters, he must always pay attention to the film's box office trends.

The time came to February 16, with only three days left before the movie was released. At this time, the movie’s box office had already accumulated 186 million yuan.

The height is indeed very high, but without external stimulation, I am afraid this is also the final result, and it will be difficult to rise further.

And on this day, Lao Wu told him that three foreign businessmen arrived and wanted to introduce the movie "Don't Stop the Camera!"

Tangze was very happy and immediately booked a large hotel to entertain the three foreign friends.

Among the three visitors, one was Gary Barber, the president of MGM, one of the eight major film companies in Hollywood.

Now MGM has been acquired by Sony and has lost its top eight status.

But just seeing him, Tang Ze's breathing quickened and he clenched his fists.

This is an opportunity to pave the way for Hollywood.

In his previous life, he knew MGM very well, including its bankruptcy history.

Otherwise, he is not the only director who wants to take the opportunity to make a movie to save a Hollywood company on the verge of bankruptcy and break into Hollywood.

Even today, MGM should have been saddled with nearly US$2 billion in debt.

Of course, on the surface, Tang Ze showed no emotion at all and looked at the other two visitors.

The other one is the famous French director Luc Besson, a famous director who can be ranked among the best in the world.

Europa Film, the company he founded, ranks among the top three in France.

The last one, from Toho Co., Ltd., will be the future president and current vice president Shimatani Nose.

Toho Co., Ltd., people who like to watch animation will often see this word. This is the largest film and television production company in Japan.

"Thank you all three for coming. It's my honor that you have chosen the movie "The Cameras Don't Stop!"!"

Luc Besson waved his hand: "Don, I have read both of your works, especially "Don't Stop the Camera!", which surprised me."

"It is completely unimaginable that a 21-year-old young man would have such mature directorial abilities."

"I'm also a director. You have to trust my judgment. Even directors like us who have been famous for a long time don't dare to say that we can shoot better than you."

"So you deserve my respect, and you also deserve the respect of other directors."

Tangze said modestly: "It's not worth mentioning. It's not worth mentioning. Compared with director Luc, I still have a long way to go."

Shimatani Nosei also said: "Luc and I have the same idea!"

"After watching "Don't Stop the Camera!", I'm afraid there is no more outstanding young person than you, Tang Zejun, among the people I know."

Gary Barber just nodded politely, retaining the pride of being the president of one of the eight major companies, and it seemed that he was not here for Karasawa.

Tang Ze was not in a hurry, and after thanking him repeatedly, he asked: "Did the three of you know about my movie because you happened to be in China?"

Shimatani Nosei was the first to answer: "I happened to be in China on a business trip, but I feel really lucky to have discovered your movie. I like it very much."

"Not only because of the various plots, but also the wonderful scene design."

"Also because I think the spirit of hard work and creation shown in the movie is exactly the same as the spirit of film creation in our country."

"It's not an exaggeration to even use it to show the tenacity of our family. This makes me happier than other factors."

Luc Besson shook his head: "That's not the case for me. This movie was actually recommended to me by my friend Nicholas Kristof."

"You may not know that Nicholas Kristof admires you very much and praised you in two well-known newspapers, Cahiers du Cinema and Vanity Fair."

"Up to now, there may be many people in Europe who don't know your Chinese brother Chen Kai, but they know you."

Gary Barber said: "Director Luc and I work together. I have heard of you, but my willingness to trade is not that strong."

"Of course, if the price is right, I will sell it."

Tang Ze didn't care, and thanked Luc Besson: "Director Luc praised me highly. I'm not that famous now, am I?"

Luc Besson smiled and said: "You are young and famous. People like young and handsome guys. It is not surprising that more people know you."

Next, the four people began to discuss the copyright issues of "Don't Stop the Camera!", which was the focus of their visit.

Obviously, in addition to liking it, Nosei Shitaya and Luc Besson are also very optimistic about this movie.

The first step is to acquire the full copyright for US$3 million to US$2 million.

This is just a call to buy at a low price, and the price will be raised later.

Gary Barber seemed to have no interest in trading and did not speak.

Tangze listened to the quotation but did not reply for the time being.

He doesn't get a share of the movie when it's released overseas in Europe and the United States, and it doesn't matter if it's sold.

But for distribution in Asia, he has Bona as his debtor, so he can collect the box office by himself.

He said: "Except for broadcasts, sequels, adaptations, and DVD rights in Asia, I can sell them all."

"Little Days is also Asian, and I won't sell the broadcast rights."

"If President Shitaya doesn't want me to take the share, I can sell you the adaptation and sequel rights."

"Or for 4 million U.S. dollars, four copyrights in the Xiaoli area will be sold to you at the same time."

"This..." Shimatani Nojou hesitated.

If you only charge the adaptation rights, it won't make much sense. There are some movies that can be successful in their remakes, but not many.

And he felt that Tang had made the best shot of "Don't Stop the Camera!"

Four million US dollars is too much.

Although he is optimistic about "The Cameras Don't Stop!", he believes that the box office will only be over one billion yuan.

4 million U.S. dollars, excluding 50% from the exhibitor, directly accounts for 50% of the revenue.

The general overseas distribution fee for a movie is the share that the producer gets.

In China, it is currently only 22.9%, depending on the issuance ratio determined by China.

Other countries have about 35%.

That is to say, if Karasawa's movie is released on a small day, he can get 35% of the share.

In the end, converted into soft sister coins, Shimatani Nose bought other copyrights for 5 million yuan.

The broadcasting rights will be given to Tianze Company with a 35% share.

Luc Besson bought the full European and American rights for 48 million yuan.

This is not much.

In later generations, the Chinese-language film market exploded, but the value of Chinese-language films overseas gradually declined.

Even if the domestic box office is several billion, it would be good if it can sell 20 to 30 million overseas.

But at this time, overseas copyrights for Chinese-language films are still very popular.

The highest ones, such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers", can easily fetch hundreds of millions of royalties.

This is also the reason why Zhang Yimou has a high status.

And even those who make literary films, such as Jia Zhangke's "The Good Man of Three Gorges" in 2006, have sold overseas copyrights for more than 40 million.

Therefore, as long as there are valuable Chinese-language films, overseas investors will be very generous with their money.

Unfortunately, Gary Barber never made an offer.

After that, Tangze solemnly sent away the two money-losing investment masters, but called out Gary Barber.

Gary Barber heard that the fate of MGM was at stake as soon as Karasawa opened his mouth, so he didn't mind staying a little longer.

Later, there is the scene where Karasawa explains the current situation of MGM.

In addition to the asset situation, including MGM's upcoming investment in "Dark Angel 4", the plan corresponding to the previous "Terminator 4" was also revealed.

It can be said that Gary Barber was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and could no longer maintain his pride.

The source of information for the young man opposite is incredible. Maybe he knows a big company in Hollywood.

However, Karasawa didn't talk much. After impressing Gary Barber, he only slightly persuaded him not to make "Dark Angel 4".

This movie directly caused MGM, which was already unable to make ends meet, to become terminally ill. Film production and distribution were suspended at the same time, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

Of course, the other party would definitely not believe it. Karasawa’s original intention was not to save MGM, but to leave a link for the future acquisition of MGM.

I even heard some people urging me to do so, and I even strengthened the idea of ​​filming "Dark Angel 4".

After all, MGM regarded this movie as a life-saving film.

The conversation that followed was meaningless. As Tang Ze watched, Gary Barber left with a heavy heart.

After burying the button and seeing that Tianze suddenly gained 53 million yuan, Tangze couldn't help but feel refreshed.
To be continued...