While "Bodyguard" was released, the later stage of "Batman" was still steadily advancing.

The film has recently begun the soundtrack phase, and Simon hesitated between several of Hollywood's biggest soundtrack artists, but finally decided to take it personally. After all, no one in Hollywood knows the effect he wants better than him.

Warner Studios has a state-of-the-art recording studio and other related equipment, and this part of the work is still done in Burbank.

After a busy morning, Simon left Warner Studios and rushed to the nearby Daenerys Entertainment Burbank branch.

Today is Friday, June 9th.

Ira Deutchman returned from Europe yesterday, Simon came to the company's branch, and everyone picked a nearby restaurant for lunch, and Deutchman talked about the results of this trip to Europe.

"In order to grab "Cinema Paradiso", Universal offered a $5 million upfront plus post-share deal, which is just a simple North American distribution right, which is already sky-high, and I can only give up. Tornatore got the Palme d'Or this time, and there are a lot of people who want to invest in his next film, and I also had a disagreement with him on the script of that "Family Journey", and this matter was also not negotiated. ”

It was completely expected, and Simon just asked, "What about the others?"

Ira Deutchman said: "Considering the situation at the time, I selected 10 films from the main competition and each screening section, carefully communicated with each producer, and then sent them a time-limited offer with only one night to think about it. In the end, among the films I fancied, "Overly Beautiful", which won the Jury Prize, still didn't get it, Jane Campion's "Sweet Sister" arrived, and the omni-channel rights in North America were sold for $300,000 in advance plus 50% of the box office net profit share. There is also a Swedish film called "Woman on the Roof", which has an advance payment of $100,000 and the same 50% box office net profit share. ”

Simon noticed the smile on Ella Deutchman's face as she talked about it, and could probably imagine him battling wits with other studios who were eyeing Daenerys Entertainment.

"The Woman on the Roof" is just an addition, and the focus is still on "Sweet Sister".

$300,000 plus a 50% share of the box office net profit is not worth mentioning at all for a Hollywood commercial film. However, according to Simon's judgment, the production cost of "Sweet Sister" will not exceed $500,000. Just for the sale of North American rights, New Zealand filmmakers can basically recover most of the costs, not to mention the sharing clause.

Simon is actually more inclined to a buyout, but he also understands that this idea is not realistic.

Just like his insistence on "Lola Run", those who make movies are more or less expecting miracles. Deutchman's offer actually reduced the risk for Daenerys Entertainment.

Moreover, the sharing only involves the box office, and the revenue from the videotapes and TV broadcast rights in the later stage is Daenerys Entertainment, which can also avoid long-term financial entanglements, and both parties are happy to accept the transaction model.

The cost of the advance is $300,000, and about $500,000 is invested in publicity, and the North American box office of "Sweet Sister" must be more than $1.5 million to break even.

Simon doesn't expect much from the box office potential of "Sweet Sister", as long as it can get $3 million, it will be a success.

According to this figure, Gorgate Pictures can make a small profit at the box office, and the later videotape and TV broadcasts can also bring in good income, and New Zealand studios can also get another 300,000 to 400,000 US dollars in revenue sharing, and both parties are happy.

Simon was about to ask about something else, noticing Robert Rehm's slightly frowning expression as he listened to the two talking, and asked, "Bob, what's the problem?"

Robert Rehm glanced at Deutschman, but said, "Simon, I just think you value these small businesses too much. ”

"It's not a small business, Bob, like 'Lola Run' and 'Vulgar', both of which are more literary and artistic, but they're phenomenal at the box office. Since I was able to do this, I believe that other filmmakers can also do such miracles. I don't expect Gaomen Pictures to dig up a movie similar to "Lola Run" every year, but as long as there is a blockbuster literary film in two or three years, it will be a success. Simon explained seriously, and finally said: "Moreover, for me, there has never been a concept of big business and small business, I hope to do every job in my hand well, and I expect the same from you." This is a very important matter of attitude, if a person can't take a $300,000 'small business' seriously, then if he is given $3 million or even $30 million, he will not be able to do well. ”

In front of Deutchman, Jennifer and Danny Morris, the president of New World Pictures, who were dining together this time, were refuted, although Simon's tone was very calm, Rem was still a little uncontrollable, he still insisted on his point just now, but he only barely showed a smile and nodded: "Okay." ”

Simon sighed secretly and turned to Deutchman again.

Without waiting for Simon to ask, Deutchman took the initiative to say: "According to your request, I also signed a contract with Campion for two films, and she is going to shoot a biographical film called "Angels at the Table with Me", I have read the script, and it is also a very suitable film for the European Film Festival. In addition, she also has an idea for an original script, which tells the story of an aphasia woman who marries New Zealand with a piano, because the script has not yet taken shape, I can't judge the merits for the time being, and she said that she will draw up an outline in the near future. ”

The story about the piano and the mute girl is obviously the "Piano Farewell" that Simon likes very much.

Without seeing the script, Simon didn't say too much, and continued to chat for a few words, he looked at Danny Morris, the head of New World Pictures, and asked, "Danny, how are the preparations for the sequel to "Kids in the Cornfield"?"

Danny Morris was initially appointed head of Heighton Pictures, but because he was not optimistic about the prospects of literary films and had a negative attitude, Simon sent him to take charge of New World Pictures, which specialized in thriller and horror films.

During the exchange just now, feeling Simon's importance to Deutchman and his discussion of 'big business' and 'small business', Danny Morris somewhat regretted giving up the position of president of Gorman Pictures.

New World Pictures is not responsible for many projects now, mainly "Scream 2", the sequel to "Scream", which was a big hit last year, the third sequel to "Hellraiser 3", and the sequel to "Cornfield Kids" "Cornfield Kids 2" that Simon asked.

All three films, the previous work was a commercial success.

Therefore, the sequel is done well, unless it is much better than the previous work, the credit will not be too great, but if it is messed up, it will definitely seriously affect your future.

With this in mind, Danny Morris quickly said: "The script has been completed, and we are looking for a director recently." In addition, I plan to shoot this film in Australia, so that I can save at least 10% of my budget. ”

"Kids in the Cornfield" has a budget of $3 million, and because it is a low-budget film, it will definitely not be able to get the generous tax rebate conditions of "Batman" when it is filmed in Australia. A 10 per cent reduction in the budget actually saved only $300,000.

Rushing to Australia to shoot was originally just an idea that Danny Morris was still a little hesitant about, but after hearing Simon's words just now, he made a decision without hesitation.

At the very least, such an attitude can win the boss a lot of favor.

Simon was indeed satisfied.

Although a company's profits are not saved, if it can be carefully calculated, it must still be carefully calculated.

After chatting a few words, Simon did not snub Rehm, and talked about "Bodyguard" again.

The first-week box office of "Bodyguard" was $23.63 million, which was slightly lower than Simon's expectations, and even worse than "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3" in the same period.

Fortunately, the soundtrack album of "Bodyguard" was an unexpected hit like in the original time and space, which made Simon full of expectations for the film's next box office trend and overseas box office performance.

Moreover, compared to the original soundtrack, Simon actually still pays more attention to the box office.

If "The Bodyguard" can achieve the global box office of $400 million in the original version, Daenerys Entertainment will be able to make at least $100 million in net profits in the next year or two, and channels such as videotapes in the later stage will also begin to provide revenue.

In comparison, the expected revenue of soundtrack records is equally staggering, but in memory, the album sales of more than 45 million copies are the result of long-term accumulation in the next ten or twenty years.

In addition, Simon is also a little worried about the impact of "Ghostbusters 2" released this week on "Bodyguard".

I don't have too specific box office figures for "Ghostbusters 2" in my memory, but the $37 million blockbuster film is clearly also in the top 10 bestsellers of the year.

Moreover, "Ghostbusters 2" is on par with "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3" and "Bodyguards" in terms of both the scale of its release and the publicity offensive.

After lunch, everyone had just returned to the Burbank branch office building when they heard another breaking news.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Paramount Communications suddenly held a press conference, saying that it would launch an acquisition of Time Inc., and gave a high offer of $175 per share, totaling $10.7 billion.

Prior to this, the merger talks between Time and Warner Bros. had been going on publicly for three months and had recently entered the final stage.

Paramount Communications made a sudden move, and the executives of Time Corporation and Warner Bros. were caught off guard for a while.

Times Company issued an announcement as soon as possible, saying that it did not welcome the hostile takeover of Paramount Communications. Warner Bros. also quickly followed up and expressed solidarity with Times Inc.'s announcement.

It's hard for the average person to know the details of the acquisition, but the whole of Hollywood is keeping a close eye on it.

The entanglement of the three companies is also very interesting.

Between Time and Warner, the previous transaction was actually an acquisition by Time Inc. to Warner Bros., and Time Inc. was the acquirer. Now, Paramount Communications has launched an acquisition of Time, and Times has immediately become the acquired.

The reason why the top management of Times Company reacted so strongly is mainly because of this host-guest translocation.

As the acquirer, the senior management of Times will remain the controller of this new large media group after the completion of the merger.

Moreover, according to what Simon heard, the senior management of Times Company has even prepared a ten-year generous salary contract for themselves, even if some people have to leave after the company's merger is completed, they will still continue to receive compensation benefits for ten years.

In contrast, if Time is acquired by Paramount Communications, after the merger is completed, the management of Time is likely to be kicked out of the company, and a ten-year salary contract is impossible.

After Paramount Communications' announcement, the two sides went back and forth in the media for a few days, and Paramount Communications soon publicly stated that for the benefit of shareholders, Paramount would file a lawsuit in federal court in Delaware to stop Time Inc.'s transaction with Warner Bros.

In the transaction plan between Time Inc. and Warner Bros., the two parties adopt a stock swap model, and Time Inc.'s share price is about $7 billion. Paramount Communications' $10.7 billion cash acquisition plan is obviously much more generous than the deal between Times and Warner.

However, mere numbers are just a façade.

Based on the U.S. capital gains tax rate of up to 28% at this time, if the cash acquisition of Paramount Communications is accepted, the shareholders complete the cash acquisition and pay the tax, and the final proceeds are roughly equivalent to the price quoted by Time Inc. and Warner Bros. This is because there is no capital gains tax on stock swap transactions.

Therefore, Paramount Communications's statement about safeguarding the interests of shareholders is actually not so tenable.

As a bystander, Simon knew the end result of the acquisition.

Moreover, for this deal, Simon actually has some envy in his heart.

Not to mention Warner Bros., Time owns HBO, the most profitable paid cable network in North America, and this alone makes Simon extremely greedy.

Moreover, Time, which owns platforms such as Time magazine, is now just as lucrative.

It's just that when it comes to large-scale acquisitions with a volume of tens of billions of dollars, Daenerys Entertainment does not have the strength to participate at this time.

Simon is now focusing on this acquisition, just to gain experience for some of Daenerys Entertainment's future layouts. In fact, this day is not too far away, and it will only have to wait until next year.

On the other hand, a week after the soundtrack record of "Bodyguard" was released, the sales of the first week were quickly released.

For post-marketing reasons, Alista Records and Daenerys Entertainment had originally made up their minds that even if the album could not exceed 1 million copies in its first week, both parties would privately push the number above 1 million.

Fortunately, the final sales of the soundtrack record of "Bodyguard" was 1.02 million copies, so everyone did not have to risk fraud, and the two companies soon launched a large-scale follow-up promotion of this sales figure.

In the fierce competition of summer files, on June 16, the box office data of the new week was released.

In the first week of filming, "Ghostbusters 2" collected $44.91 million at the box office like "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3", and won the first place in this week's box office list without suspense.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark 3", which entered its fourth week of release, also maintained a single-week box office of $23.88 million, ranking second, and the cumulative box office of the film officially exceeded 100 million yuan, reaching $110.65 million.

Stimulated by the popularity of the soundtrack, the box office of "Bodyguard" fell by only 15% the next week, collecting another $20.06 million, and the cumulative box office reached $43.96 million.

Although the combined box office of "Bodyguard" in two weeks is not as good as the complete first-week data of "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3" and "Ghostbusters 2", under the attack of two blockbusters, it is actually very rare that "Bodyguard", which has suffered a word-of-mouth Waterloo, can still maintain such a strong box office curve.