364 Calculated

In one breath, Douglas threw out three plans, and then said a lot of numbers, and the speed of brain analysis was a little slower, and it was about to be unable to keep up with the rhythm. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Which of the three plans is more suitable? Which plan is more beneficial to the crew? The jumble of numbers poured in in less than thirty seconds, and Drake entered a brief state of stagnation -- Americans are not very good at numbers, not to mention that the calculation of copyright and box office is already very complicated.

For most laymen, the third option would be the best. The reason is very simple, the copyright fee is 4 million, even compared to the 5 million buyout, and there can be a 15% box office dividend, which is simply not more cost-effective.

Of course, some people will also choose to buy out directly, get five million dollars in one go, and get out of poverty in an instant, so tempting/confusing, it is not something that anyone can stop.

But Lan Li knew that this was a trap, an incomparably clever trap.

On the surface, Focus Pictures is more generous, giving Drake three options, full of different possibilities, full of sincerity, compared with Harvey Weinstein's calculations and suppression, and making a judgment.

But in fact, the other meaning of the three options is that with only these three options, the bargaining chips will not change.

In other words, the three options are carefully calculated, Focus Pictures has always been in control, and will definitely not suffer, and Drake has lost the opportunity to negotiate, so he can only choose the most suitable one among the three options.

It may seem like there are plenty of options, but in reality, the space for negotiation, the space for argument, and the room for profit have been compressed to the extreme. Sure enough, whether it is Focus Pictures or Weinstein Pictures, none of them are good.

Douglas has just proposed a total of three options, but the difference between the first option and the second option is not very big.

If the North American box office of "Love Crazy" reaches 10 million, the results of the two plans are basically the same, less than 10 million, the second option loses a little, but the loss also fluctuates in the small range, and above 10 million, the second option is a little more cost-effective, but there is not much room for profit.

But the problem is that part of the publicity cost of the second option has to be paid by the crew themselves. Part of it, which part is it? makeup and hair, transportation, or styling? The greasy in it cannot be summed up in a simple two sentences.

Focus Pictures' attitude is very clear, choose the second plan, share the risk, then the burden of publicity also needs to share a part; choose a plan, Focus Pictures will take care of everything, bear all the related costs of publicity, but also carry all the risks on their shoulders, naturally, the profit part will also belong to them.

It is conceivable that Focus Pictures will have to face all the problems and risks, and for its own interests, the publicity will naturally give the highest treatment, but if the crew will share some of the risks, Focus Pictures can contribute less, and the crew members themselves will grit their teeth and promote.

To summarize briefly, between the first and second options, Focus Pictures leans towards Drake's option of choosing a buyout.

However, in contrast to the previous two options, the third one suddenly stands out.

4 million royalties, 15 percent box office dividends, although the crew needs to bear part of the publicity costs, but on the whole, this not only reached the expected height - Andy's estimated share of the royalties is about 4 million, but also to be able to cooperate with Focus Pictures, not to mention the prospects of the awards season, at least the exposure in the box office market will skyrocket.

More importantly, Focus Pictures agreed to the sharing option.

At the beginning, Lan Li decided to pay $20,000 and nodded and agreed to take over the filming of "Love is Crazy", Andy didn't care about Drake's share promise, because he knew that it would be difficult for the distributor and the producer to nod and agree to such a request. Andy has given up on the idea of sharing and operates purely as an art film that doesn't make money.

But unexpectedly, "Love Crazy" was filmed by Pittsburgh Indian Pictures and Drake out of their own pockets, and after the producers nodded in agreement, the distributor also relented and compromised.

For distributors, if they are confident enough in the box office, buyout is the first choice, and the share is secondary, because then they can ensure that they maximize their profits, and if they are not optimistic about the box office prospects of the work, then choose the share, which can reduce the royalty and then share the risk of the box office with the producer and the theater chain.

For the producers, it's the other way around.

The reason why Focus Pictures is willing to choose to share, to put it bluntly, is that it is not optimistic about the box office prospects of "Love is Crazy".

This is not a derogatory meaning, but an objective judgment, the North American box office of "Blue Valentine" is only 9 million US dollars, and it is difficult for such art films to have an advantage in theaters, so they can only rely on the awards season, and then hope for TV on-demand, video tape rentals and art theater playbacks.

Therefore, it is more advantageous to share Focus Pictures than to buy out.

Focus Pictures has been squeezing the box office share of "Love Crazy", from 45 percent to 25 percent, or even 15 percent, so that their box office score is higher and the possibility of losing money is even smaller. Coupled with the future peripheral profits, Focus Pictures will be invincible.

Despite this, the third option is still an option that Drake can't refuse, and for the crew of "Love is Crazy".

This is the most clever thing about Focus Pictures, on the surface, it seems that there are many possibilities to choose from, but in fact, under the series of digital attacks, Douglas is invisibly guiding Drake to make a choice - the third option, which is unquestionable, followed by the first option, and finally the second option.

Especially when comparing the first two options, the advantages of the third option are obvious. Drake's decision was not difficult.

But are there really only three options?

It's like a multiple-choice question where someone asks, "Do you want to go left or right?"

The answer is obvious, left, or right. Almost everyone makes a choice. But in fact, the answer is that there are other options, go straight, go back, and ask other passers-by...... And so on and so forth. This is the myth of multiple-choice questions.

Countless numbers were surging through Drake's mind, and he was a little confused now. Compared to Harvey, Douglas gave a clearer choice, and Drake was more vacillating - a phobia of choice.

So, Drake turned his head to look at Lan Li and cast an inquiring look. Or, rather, the gaze of help.

Working with numbers, this is not something Lan Li is good at, this is Matthew Dunlop's domain, but Lan Li is no stranger to dealing with people. He knew that Douglas had three options, and whichever one they chose, Focus Pictures would readily say yes - negotiation? There was no negotiation at all, there was just a choice.

Therefore, Lan Li chose the simplest and most direct way.

"Why don't you listen to the plan that our crew has conceived. Lan Li's words made Drake stunned, full of question marks - do they have a plan?

Douglas, who was sitting across from him, laughed, "Oh? You have a plan?"

"Two, we have two options. When facing Harvey, Lan Li always refused to show his hole cards, because he did not have an accurate concept of copyright fees, and he could not always make unreasonable prices.

But now, after the prices of Andy, Harvey and Douglas, he probably has a vague number in his mind. He decided to report to the extreme high point of this number and give it a try.

Whether it's Harvey or Douglas, Lan Li really doesn't like this kind of tricky numerical calculations, instead of worrying about small profits, it is better to cut through the mess quickly and deal with things neatly.

"First, buyouts. Before Lan Li's words fell, Drake's anxious call came from the side, Lan Li was a little helpless, but he was unmoved on the surface, and continued, "Eight and a half million, the North American distribution rights of 'Love Crazy' are fully handed over to Focus Pictures. ”

Eight and a half million, Drake was frightened.

"Second, divide. Lan Li's voice was always calm, and his calm and calm attitude impressed Douglas, "The copyright fee is five million, and the box office dividend ratio of the crew is thirty-five." ”

The situation that Douglas threw to Drake just now, now that Lan Li has lost it to him, in just thirty seconds, the initiative has completed the alternation.

Douglas found it very interesting.

This is not the first time that Focus Pictures has dealt with Lan Li, "Buried Alive" This work really made Douglas's eyes shine, and he did not complete the distribution rights negotiation in Toronto, but he also heard that Lan Li's agent, Andy Rogers, is definitely not a good stubble, he showed strong confidence in "buried alive", and did not give an inch in terms of box office dividends.

Andy's wisdom has also been proven by the facts. "Buried Alive" has achieved a box office of 52 million in North America, and Focus Pictures has already made a small profit of 12 million dollars before the surrounding distribution has begun, and they will continue to make profits after the videotape distribution and TV on demand begins. What's more, this work is still on the waiting list for the awards season, and it remains highly competitive, which is really rare.

Focus Pictures is also quite optimistic about the work "Love is Crazy", especially the future of Lan Li. Even if "Love Crazy" doesn't make the final nominee for the 2011 awards season, Douglas is confident that the Blue Gift will still have a strong impact, even stronger than Ryan Gosling four years ago.

Putting aside competitors such as Weinstein Pictures and Paramount Advantage, Focus Pictures itself is also determined to win.

It's just that Lan Li's calmness, wisdom, and self-confidence are really surprising.

"It seems that you are very confident in the North American box office of 'Love Crazy'. Instead of answering directly, Douglas made a joke.

The corners of Lan Li's mouth lifted slightly, like the morning light jumping on the treetops, "Don't you have faith?"