After greeting for a while, Morita Schoo asked: "The movie "Home Alone" is very successful, and the future income must be extremely considerable, I wonder why Mr. Xu wants to sell all the copyrights of this movie?"

Xu Zhi didn't answer directly, but asked: "Sony is in electronics, and it has been very successful in this industry, why do you want to get involved in the film industry?"

Xu Zhi and Morita Schoo can meet here, in fact, the subordinates of both parties have already informed the information that Sony intends to buy all the remaining copyrights of "Home Alone".

Morita Schofu smiled: "It is precisely because of the electronic industry, so it is more involved in the entertainment industry, electronic products are just the body, and entertainment is the soul!"

"I see, I see. Xu Zhidao: "It's for the betamax video recorder, right?"

Before the Internet era, people could only go to some stores to rent video tapes except to watch movies in the cinema, and at that time, there were two companies that had mastered the industry standard for video tapes: Sony and Panasonic.

Sony's betamax technology and Panasonic's JVC subsidiary's VHS technology competed fiercely throughout the '70s, with each wanting to beat each other and become the standard-setter in the videotape industry.

First-class enterprises do standards!

But no matter what the technical standards, the core of the videotape is still the movie, which is firmly controlled by several Hollywood giants, who are actually sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger, because they don't want either to win the final victory, for the giants, the two parties compete with each other, and they are the real winners.

The two Japanese giants are not stupid, this kind of problem is actually very obvious, Sony swallowed Columbia for $3.4 billion in 89, because their betamax failed completely in 1984, and Morita Schov believes that the problem is that it is stuck by Hollywood, and there is not enough film support.

It's just that Xu Zhi didn't expect that it was only 79 years now, and the controller of Sony already had this idea.

Morita Shaofu looked at Xu Zhi in surprise and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Xu to know about this!"

People who are not in the industry are generally unaware of the existence of this competitive relationship.

Xu Zhidao: "I pay more attention to the news of the electronics industry, and I am also involved in the film industry, and I still know about the dispute between betamax and VHS. ”

Morita Shaofu smiled: "Then what does Mr. Xu think about this?"

"To be honest, I'm not optimistic about Sony's betamax format?" Xu Zhi replied.

Morita Shofu was not angry and asked, "Why?"

Xu Zhidao: "First of all, my point of view is not from a technical point of view, because I don't understand these technologies at all.

The reason why betamax is not optimistic is that the video recording time is too short, only an hour, which is not enough to record a complete movie at all.

And the second point is that VHS is an open patent and has enough allies, while betamax is a closed patent, even if the technology is higher, but without the support of the manufacturer, it is impossible to succeed!"

In fact, Betamax's technology is indeed superior, but it is impossible for a single person to fight against a bunch of alliances of interest.

Morita Shov didn't argue anymore, just nodded and said, "Then we'll wait and see in the future!"

Xu Zhi asked: "Mr. Morita, if I sell you the copyright of Home Alone, will it be in the future, and this movie will only appear on Betamax's video recorder?"

Morita Shaofu said, "Yes, is there anything wrong?"

Xu Zhidao: "No, I just want to remind you that if you adopt this strategy, from an investment point of view, it is not cost-effective. ”

Morita Shaofu smiled: "I will consider this point carefully, I heard that Mr. Xu has negotiated with several major Hollywood companies, but the result is not good, I don't know what Mr. Xu's heart price is?"

Xu Zhi asked: "Let's not talk about the price, my request is a one-time payment, can Mr. Sheng Tian agree?"

"Why do you have to make a lump sum payment?" Morita asked, "We at Sony are willing to trade in part cash, part bond and some stock." ”

"Sony's stock is really good, but I'm still only going to agree to a cash deal. Xu Zhi said with a smile: "Since Sony is willing to trade stocks and bonds, then use this as collateral to obtain cash for normal transactions, isn't it more convenient?"

Morita Saufu smiled and said: "That's okay, but Sony's stock will definitely have a good return in the future, and Mr. Xu will regret this choice in the future." ”

"No, I have my thoughts, there are more places to invest in this world, and when it is not time to harvest in the future, who dares to guarantee that their choice is the most correct. Xu Zhi shrugged and said.

Morita Schaufu said: "Okay, it does make sense, then let's talk about the movie, if Mr. Xu insists on a cash transaction, we Sony can agree, and the price, we are willing to pay 200 million US dollars to buy out all the overseas distribution rights of the future "Home Alone", global peripherals and sequels." ”

Xu Zhi shook his head and said, "This price is not very good!"

Morita Shaofu asked, "What is the price in Mr. Xu's heart?"

"$250 million!" Xu Zhi said, the previous negotiations with several major Hollywood companies, the price was almost $180 million, and it was still procrastinating, unwilling to pay at once, relatively speaking, Sony is much more refreshing.

"It's too expensive, and now there are not many companies in the world that can make more than $250 million a year," Morita said. ”

"What does a company that doesn't make $250 million have to do with me?" Xu Zhi said with a smile: "According to the general rules of Hollywood, the income of the peripherals far exceeds the box office share, and the discerning people around "Home Alone" can see that the profits are extremely lucrative, not to mention that the follow-up sequel also has a box office and various peripherals, this is a chicken that can really lay golden eggs, whether it is worth the price Mr. Morita is actually very clear." ”

In fact, "Home Alone 1" alone netted $800 million for the later Twentieth Century Fox, but the film appeared in the 90s, and considering the inflation and the promotion of the Internet to the film market, this figure may be exaggerated now, but it is still okay to discount it.

If you add the later "Home Alone" 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., as long as the operation is good, the profit will definitely far exceed the $250 million that Xu Zhi is proposing now, but the problem is that in Hollywood, Xu Zhi is just a lonely person, and he has no ability to operate the peripherals of this kind of movie, even if he doesn't sell the full copyright now, he will be stripped of a large piece of meat if he hands it over to any distribution company to operate in the future.

And Sony is different, although it has not yet acquired Columbia Pictures, but its influence is already at the global level, and it is fully capable of negotiating on an equal footing with some distribution companies, and even if it is unhappy, it will directly accept the other party, anyway, Sony is ready to enter the film field, and it is inevitable to form its own channels.

Morita Schofu smiled and said, "I can promise this price, but Mr. Xu has to promise me two things." ”

Xu Zhidao: "Please speak." ”

Morita Shaofu said: "First, I hope Mr. Xu can write the next script for us!"

"I'm going to write the script?"

"Yes. Morita Shaofu said: "I have seen Mr. Xu's investment in drunken boxing, as well as this little ghost, in my opinion, Mr. Xu should be very good at comedy plot production, Sony has invested a lot this time, and entered the field that is not good at, I hope to reduce the variables with risks." ”

"Okay, I'll say yes. Xu Zhi said happily, anyway, the entire copyright has been sold, and the subsequent plots in his mind have no value, so it's better to take them out as a personal favor now.

Morita Schoo nodded, and said: "This second condition has nothing to do with the film rights of our deal, I hope Sony can obtain the exclusive rights to operate Mr. Xu's video game company Arcade in Japan!"