When Harvey saw the trailer of "Falcon", he was already convinced that this was a high-level commercial blockbuster, and as long as such a movie was operated properly, it was possible to make millions at the box office, plus TV rights and videotape revenue, and even tens of millions of profits. However, such a movie cannot be unattended, and it is almost impossible to beat other competitors with Miramax's strength and win the rights to "Falcon".

Harvey was reluctant to miss such an opportunity to make a lot of money, and considering that this was a Chinese movie, he had an idea and thought of a way to split the account. Splitting the account sounded tempting to get more bang for its buck, and he was sure the producers of "Falcon" would be tempted. After the movie is released in the United States, they don't share the account with them, or only give them a small amount of money, and they can't do anything about it.

It's just that Harvey never dreamed that as soon as his suggestion was put forward, it would be debunked by the other party, but he reacted quickly, pointed to his face, and said aggrievedly: "I know that I have the face of a villain, and it is always difficult for people to believe it." Every time I talk to a film director about copyright, people always look at me with suspicion and think I'm a liar. The film industry is a very small circle, and the whole circle will soon know something, if I lie to you, who will do business with me in the future? Many people laugh at me, thinking that I cut the nude scenes of the movie into trailers and attract audiences is very low-level, but no one has ever called me a liar, and if you don't believe it, you go to New York to inquire and people call me honest Harvey!"

Xu Wangqiu saw Harvey behaving there, and felt funny in his heart, this acting is good, honest Harvey has come out, I believe you are a ghost! Feng Xiaogang directly called you a liar Harvey! But Xu Wangqiu was too lazy to demolish him, and said with a smile: "You can hand over the right to film distribution, but we must agree on the total amount of publicity and distribution, and other expenses, if this cost exceeds the agreed amount, you will bear the extra expenses." ”

Harvey heard Xu Wangqiu say this, thinking that he was moved by what he said, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Last year, Kurosawa Akira's costume war blockbuster "Shadow Warrior" achieved a box office of more than 8 million US dollars, "Falcon" is bigger, more intense, and better looking, if you promote it well, it is completely possible for the box office to catch up with "Shadow Warrior". However, "Shadow Warrior" has the Palme d'Or, and it has been nominated for an Oscar, and the media has helped them build momentum, so we can only rely on ourselves to promote it, and we have to spend money. I think the promotion and distribution cost of the film needs 3 million!"

Xu Wangqiu looked at Harvey and shook his head lightly and said, "Harvey, if you can really pay 3 million distribution fees, it is entirely possible to directly win the copyright of "Falcon". But you didn't do it, but chose to divide the account, because you couldn't take out 3 million at all. You can't get 3 million, but you say that the publicity fee will be 3 million, and it is clear that you want to hack our money! We Chinese pay attention to win-win business, I like to deal with honest and trustworthy people, how dare I do business with you like this?"

The cold sweat on Harvey's head came down, this bastard looks very young, just eighteen or nineteen years old, I didn't expect it to be so powerful, even I can't take out 3 million to know, this Nima is a monster!

Seeing that "Falcon" was about to leave him, Harvey wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and hurriedly explained: "You are the smartest guy I have ever met, well, I admit that it is indeed difficult to pay 3 million." However, the publicity fee I am talking about is not just the promotion cost of the film, but the total cost of the promotion of the film and the videotape combined. That's how I think about it, the movie promotion fee is 1.5 million, and the video tape promotion fee is 1.5 million. Six months after the film's release, the tape will be released. At that time, we had already received a share of the box office, and we had enough funds to pay for the 1.5 million publicity fee for the videotape. ”

After the advent of home video recorders in 1975, they were initially used mainly by American households to burn classic movies broadcast by television stations, which forced production companies to start distributing some low-budget film tapes for the rental market, and then the videotape market exploded. By 1986, the U.S. home entertainment market was larger than movie theaters, spending $4.4 billion on buying and renting videotapes, compared with $3.8 billion at the box office that year. By the 90s, the videotape and DVD market had doubled the box office.

The American film market is a very free market, but it is also the most difficult market to enter, because Americans are very confident and think that our American movies are the best, and they don't like to watch foreign language films at all. Therefore, foreign language films, whether they are commercial films or art films, are thrown into art theaters for release, and the scale of the screening is generally less than 500 museums.

Cheng Long and Li Lianjie's Chinese films are not released in American theaters very much, and they mainly rely on videotapes and DVDs. For example, Li Lianjie's "Once Upon a Time" was not released in the United States, but the videotape and DVD sold well, exceeding 10 million. They amassed a large number of fans through videotapes and DVDs, which is why Hollywood would later invite them to make movies in the United States.

Xu Wangqiu knew that it was basically impossible for "Falcon" and the export company's films to achieve too high a box office in the United States, and it could be said that it was a miracle to exceed 10 million, mainly relying on videotapes and TV rights. If Chinese films can continue to enter the U.S. market through videotapes, it is entirely possible to cultivate a group of people who like to watch Chinese movies in ten or twenty years.

At this point, Indian cinema has done a particularly good job. Around 2000, Indian films had no market in North America, far inferior to Chinese-language films. However, around 2020, more than half of the top 20 foreign languages in the North American market are Indian films. There are more than 20 Indian films that grossed more than one million in the North American market every year, while there are only two or three Chinese-language films.

Xu Wangqiu was originally just teasing Harvey, but now when he heard about the copyright of the videotape, he suddenly thought of a good idea. He stared at Harvey for a few seconds and said with a smile, "I see. I thought that the movie promotion fee was 3 million, and the video tape publicity fee would make 5 million, but it turned out to be 1.5 million for the movie and 1.5 million for the video tape!" His expression suddenly became serious: "Harvey, you are very optimistic about "Falcon", and you think that as long as the publicity is effective, the box office may reach 78 million, right?"

Harvey nodded sincerely: "Yes, I am very optimistic about "Falcon". ”

Xu Wangqiu suddenly laughed: "Harvey, we are a socialist country, and we have always been afraid to speculate on capitalists with the worst malice, and in our eyes capitalists are potential liars and potential criminal suspects. It sounds good to divide the account directly, but what if you don't give us the money if you end up making money? Can't we go to the United States to fight a lawsuit with you? In the United States, where McCarthyism was born, will the judges treat us people from socialist countries fairly? Impossible. If you really want the rights to Falcon, we can give it to you, but we won't share the account with you, you can exchange Miramax's shares with us!"

Harvey was startled and said loudly, "What did you say?"

Xu Wangqiu said lightly: "Don't doubt your ears, you heard it right, if you are really optimistic about "Falcon", if you really want the copyright of "Falcon", then take Miramax's shares in exchange." ”

Harvey stood up suddenly, like an angry lion, staring at Xu Wangqiu viciously: "You dare to beat Miramax's idea!"

Being stared at by such a strong man, with cannibalistic eyes, ordinary people will definitely be under a lot of pressure. However, Xu Wangqiu's eyes did not show the slightest fear, but showed a smile: "Harvey, you are staring at me like this, it makes me very stressed! Let me make it clear to you, we can't share the account with you, and you can't come up with enough funds to buy the copyright of "Falcon", the only way is to exchange Miramax's equity." Don't you think that as long as "Falcon" is well promoted, it may reach 78 million at the box office? With the TV rights and video tape revenue, you will definitely get more than 10 million dollars. Do you really want to miss such an opportunity to become a multi-millionaire? In fact, there is another huge benefit to you in stock exchange. ”

Harvey looked at Xu Wangqiu's smiling face, and felt a burst of fear for no reason, as if there was a terrible devil hidden behind this young smiling face, and he could eat himself and Miramax at any time. However, when he heard that there were other benefits to the share exchange, he couldn't help but ask, "What benefits?"

Xu Wangqiu raised his right hand and pressed Harvey, and after he sat down, he said: "You have been in the film market for many years, you should know that Xiangjiang kung fu movies are quite marketable in the United States, right?"

Harvey nodded slightly: "Kung fu movies have a regular group of fans, and the rental and sale of video tapes is also good. ”

Xu Wangqiu knew that Harvey liked kung fu movies, and after Miramax grew up, he released many kung fu movies. It's not that Harvey doesn't want to get involved in the kung fu film business, but he doesn't have the ability to do so now. Like Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers have their own channels in the United States, Harvey has no chance to get involved.

Xu Wangqiu pointed to the English name of the film export company on the display board and said: "We are a China Film Export Company, which is similar to Warner Bros. in the United States, and is a large group. We have a number of film companies, six in Chinese mainland and three in Heung Kong. We produce hundreds of movies every year, and there are a certain number of kung fu films. If you exchange shares with us, we can provide you with some excellent kung fu movies every year, and finally the two sides will share the account together. ”

Harvey's heart suddenly froze, kung fu movies have a group of loyal fans, if you can get a batch of excellent kung fu movies every year, it will be a very profitable business, he couldn't help asking: "How much do you want to change?"

Xu Wangqiu grinned: "40%, we use the copyright of "Falcon" to exchange shares with you, we don't want the control of Miramax, let alone Miramax, but we hope to tie the two sides together in this way." In this way, we provide excellent commercial films, and you are responsible for the distribution. As a result, our films can be sold in the U.S. market, and you get a quality source, which is mutually beneficial, and it's definitely a win-win!"

Harvey thinks it can be changed, Miramax is a small company that has only been established for two years, and has not released any decent films at all, the company is not worth anything at all, and it is very cost-effective to exchange part of the equity for the copyright of "Falcon".

What's more, now Miramax is at the bottom of the film industry, and he often buys movies that others don't want, and he can't get high-quality film sources at all. After the exchange of equity, Xu Wangqiu can provide high-quality kung fu films, so Miramax will have a stable supply channel and can achieve stable development.

However, Miramax is not Harvey's company alone, and he must discuss it with his younger brother Bob Weinstein before making a decision, so he said: "This matter is related to the future development of Miramax, I can't promise you now, it takes time to think about it." ”

Xu Wangqiu believed that Harvey would agree, because it was really good for Miramax, and nodded with a smile: "Of course, I'll wait for your news." ”