The Oscars are more than just an awards ceremony.

In February, after the Golden Globes were announced, it officially entered the Oscar awards season.

On February 5, the Oscar jury announced the nominees at the Samuel Goldwin Theatre in Beverly Hills, and Sam Mendes, directed by Sam Mendes, became the biggest winner, with eight nominations.

The total army produced by Tang En Pictures was wiped out, and the one directed by Tang En only received a few technical award nominations.

Another Oscar, and Don N missed.

As soon as the nomination was announced, it was officially taken offline from North America, and the North American box office was fixed at $210 million, and the overseas market has not yet been released, it is estimated that it will be $90 million, with a total box office of $300 million.

On February 15th, the Oscar nominees luncheon, on February 25th, the Academy Awards ceremony, on March 12th, the final voting officially began, on March 19th, the final voting closed, on March 20th, the Oscar concert, and on March 26th, the 72nd Academy Awards.

Don went to England to continue post-production.

For the first time, Bill McNick started distribution negotiations with Universal Pictures as the president of Down Pictures, not just for one film, but for the next three years of strategic cooperation.

Bill McNick has a good relationship with Universal, and with Brian Lord as a matchmaker, the whole negotiation went very smoothly. On February 10th, Donn returned to Los Angeles with the first cut and the post-production team.

"How's the negotiation?"

Don looked at the new look of the studio, and secretly admired in his heart, he still needs professional people to do professional things. Bill McNick's ability to manage the company is indeed better than him.

Bill McNick sat in Donn's office, lit a cigar, and his expression was indescribably indifferent, "It's a small thing." ”

He hadn't dealt with such a "little thing" for many years.

Tang En smiled a little wryly, "What about the specific conditions?"

Bill McNick said: "After three years of cooperation, Universal is responsible for the distribution of all films produced by Done Films, and the distribution commission is 10% of all channels. ”

"That's good!" Donn's eyes lit up, he had worked with Fox in the past, and the distribution commission had reached 15%.

Bill McNick waved his hand, "Not worth mentioning." However, there are still some details, for the A-level large-scale production produced by Down Pictures, the distributor is responsible for all the distribution, transportation, labor and other related costs, and the publicity costs are given priority by the box office account; ”

Don nodded in approval.

A-level productions have high returns, especially the films produced by Towne Pictures have always been very high at the box office, and the 10% draw is already a huge amount of money, and it is natural to bear the expenses related to distribution.

As for some small investments or feature films, the market risk is high, and the distributor is definitely not willing to bear the distribution cost of tens of millions of dollars. If Towne Pictures wants to release it on a large scale, it needs to pay out of pocket.

Donn was reassured by Bill McNick, "When will you sign it?"

"Next Monday, when you need to come forward. "Bill McNick's job is really well organized and well handled.

Don tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically, "By the way, I see that there are a lot of new employees in the company, is it your team?"

Bill McNick sighed and rubbed his head with a headache, "There are 22 people in total, but there are some departments, and Donn Pictures is temporarily missing, and the work is not easy to arrange." ”

Tang En waved his hand, "If there is a lack in the department, then make up for it! Tang En Pictures is ambitious, and it must not be satisfied with a small studio." By the way, do we need to build our own office building?"

"Huh?"

Bill McNick was stunned for a moment, his mouth wide open.

Tang En said lightly: "If there is a need, you can mention it, I said, you are responsible for the management, and the capital is ...... I'll take care of it! If you need to build an office building for Down Pictures, you start preparing for that. ”

"That's probably a lot of money. Bill McNick is a reminder.

Tang En said: "I said, in terms of funds, I will find a way. By the way, the budget of the office building, do not be too stingy, and leave enough space for the future scale of the company...... It's going to be big, it's our headquarters, it's going to be built magnificently. ”

"Is it in Hollywood? I mean...... Do we need to build our own studio?"

Bill McNick thought it through, if you just build a building, no matter how spectacular and luxurious, $100 million is enough, but if you want to open Donn Film Studios, it will be too much.

The area occupied by dozens of studios alone cannot be reduced without a hundred million dollars.

The price of land in Hollywood is very different from when it was first established. MGM was able to buy half of Hollywood, but now Warner Bros. has moved out of Hollywood.

Don muttered, "Bill, Universal has a studio, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then we don't have to waste too many resources, we can rent from them. ”

Bill McNick thought about it for a moment and shook his head, "It may be okay in a short time, but if Don Pictures really develops as you expect in the future, producing dozens of movies a year, Universal Studios may not be able to arrange it." ”

"Then let's talk about it later, you can go to other cities to set up studios, and the preferential conditions may be better. ”

"This ...... Donn, now the administration of Warner, Universal, and Disney has moved out of Hollywood to Burbank or New York, but the studio must be in Hollywood. This is the consensus in the circle, and the studio is the hallmark of Hollywood. Bill McNick glanced at Donn, "Hollywood people have to defend Hollywood's interests, that's the rule." ”

Don smiled, hesitated, and suddenly changed the subject, "I heard...... Sigram, the parent company of Universal, suffered huge losses?"

Bill McNick bowed, "During this negotiation, I also talked about it with Universal. The Sigram Group sold its stake in Dupont Chemical and then borrowed to buy Universal. However, the film industry is like this, it is booming for a while, and it is finished for a while. The Seagram Group is said to have lost $13 billion last year and another $2.8 billion in the first two months of the year and is looking to acquire it. ”

"Huh, you mean...... Is Seagram Group looking for a merger?"

"Yes, with such a serious loss, unless a large group company takes over, it can only go bankrupt. ”

"Is there a goal?"

"I heard...... It seems to be the Vivendi group in France. ”

Don En opened his mouth wide and froze.

Bill McNick looked at him in surprise, "Donn, what's wrong?"

Tang En said in a daze: "If that's the case...... Bill, do you think I'm missing out on the opportunity to buy Universal?"

"What?" said Bill McNick, thinking he had misheard, "you're going to buy Universal, where did you get all that money?"

Tang En waved his hand, "You don't care how much money I have, I just want to know, is it possible for me to cut off my beard now? Oh, no, my funds will not be credited until at least April." ”

Bill McNick was dazed by Donn, and frowned: "Donn, I don't know what secrets you have, but at present, it is impossible for Donn Pictures to acquire Universal Pictures!"

"Why?"

"First of all, it's that the status of Down Pictures is not enough. Even if you have enough money, with your current results, it will not give Universal's management confidence, and once Towne Pictures completes the acquisition, Universal's management will definitely leave in large numbers. ”

Second, Universal Pictures is the core asset of the Seagram Group, and the reason why Vivendi can take a fancy to Sigram is not their ability to make red wine, but Sigram's Universal Pictures and Universal Music, which is a prerequisite for the cooperation between the two companies. Unless your price is high enough for Sigram to cover a huge loss of more than $10 billion, it is impossible to change the resolve of the board. ”

"Third, Universal Pictures is different from Marvel Entertainment in that it is an icon of Hollywood, incorporating the efforts of a large number of filmmakers. If you're an outsider, of course it's okay to buy Universal, because everything in Hollywood has nothing to do with you. But you are a filmmaker, and you complete the acquisition with far less qualifications, status, and influence, which will definitely cause a large number of insiders to be dissatisfied with you. ”

Tang En was stunned.

He thought that after making a lot of money in the bubble crisis, he would be able to run Hollywood.

But I didn't think that there were so many mysteries behind this, so many words.

Don is a newcomer after all, and letting him step on a large number of filmmakers who have worked hard in Hollywood for decades to become the master of Hollywood will definitely cause controversy.

When the time comes, big-name producers and directors will avoid Universal with their projects and look for other film companies to cooperate, so it is impossible for Don to support Universal alone, right?

Qualifications, status, influence!

"How can I improve as fast as I can?"

This is the biggest conundrum hanging over Donn's mind, and Bill McNick gives a standard answer - Oscar.

"Although the more than 5,000 judges of the Oscars come from all over the world, most of them are Hollywood filmmakers. If you can win the Oscar, it means that you have their approval, and when the time comes, there will be no jealousy caused by seniority problems, but will praise you as a Hollywood genius. ”

Bill McNick paused for a moment and added: "The Oscars also represent influence, which is completely different from the box office hits. The old guys in Hollywood, who are conservative in their thinking, care more about the artistry of the film, and if you can satisfy them in this regard, they will get wider support. ”

It dawned on Donn.

This is the same as patting on the back.

If you do what you like, you will naturally get their favor.

With their favor, the acquisition of Universal Pictures is no longer an obstacle.