"Harvey, why did you come to me? Mr. Luc Besson is in charge of the release and pre-sale of the film, you should go to him!"

In the afternoon, Zhang Ran was about to go to see the premiere of "Adapted Screenplay", but he didn't expect Harvey to come to him, saying that he wanted to talk about the North American distribution.

Zhang Ran is not lazy to throw the pre-sale to Luc Besson, the pre-sale and distribution are very professional things, and it is impossible to come nonsense. For example, if you want to pre-sell the copyright in Japan, then Zhang Ran must have a certain understanding of the entire Japanese market, and you must know how much money you can sell for the highest price, and not less than how much you can collect and recover the cost, otherwise the negotiation will not be possible.

Luc Besson is different in that after the main actor of the film was finalized, the team of Europa Films, with rich industry experience and keen observation of the international film market, formulated a detailed "film sales evaluation report", and obtained the "ideal saleable" price and "minimum saleable" price of each regional film, so that Luc Besson has a judgment standard for the price when negotiating.

Harvey knew that Luc Besson was in charge of the pre-sale and distribution, but he also knew that the real owner of the project was Zhang Ran, and he preferred to work with Zhang Ran: "There are so many people talking to him that he can't keep himself busy. You're the producer of the film, and you're the big boss of the whole project, so it's the same with you!"

Zhang Ran looked at Harvey and smiled: "You didn't come to me because I was inexperienced, right?"

Harvey was very speechless, he was so sincere, why did Zhang Ran always doubt himself? sighed and said: "Zhang, I think you have a prejudice against me, I like to cut other people's films, and I have deceived people. Notoriety in the circle, but I've never cheated on any genius. I think genius needs to be respected. Quentin is a genius, and so are you!"

Harvey was heard comparing himself to Quentin. Zhang Ran felt a little dark in his heart: "Quentin is a genius, yes, but I'm really not a genius!"

Harvey didn't want to be bored: "Let's get back to business." You should know the strength of our Miramax, except for the big six, we are the strongest in North America. Give us the film to distribute and we will do our best to do it, it's a win-win choice!"

Zhang Ran shook his head and said: "Miramax is indeed very powerful, but Mr. Luc Besson thinks that it is more prudent to cooperate with the Big Six, and he has a good cooperative relationship with Colombia." Colombia can guarantee more than 3,000 theaters when it is released, and their bargaining power is also very strong. When negotiating with the theater chain, you can get more shares. ”

These are facts, and Xavi can't refute them, so he can only find another way: "Colombia does get more of the share from the theaters, but they also take a higher percentage, which doesn't make sense to you." This movie is going to be released in the summer next year. In the summer, these big companies have their own big-budget movies to release, Columbia has "Spider-Man 2", "Hellboy", Warner has "Troy", "Harry Potter", do you think they will go all out to release your movie? If we give the distribution rights to Miramax, we will definitely go all out to publicize it!"

Zhang Ran looked at Harvey and said lightly: "Yes, then when will "Hero" be released? Why don't you taste it?"

Zhang Ran is a fan of Lao Mouzi, and he knows very well the release experience of "Hero", when Harvey bought "Hero". promised to give "Hero" a large-scale release and help bid for the Olympics, but he didn't care about it after he bought it. Zhang Weiping jumped to his feet in anger. Across the Pacific Ocean, I greeted all eighteen generations of Harvey's ancestors.

The release of "Hero" in North America is completely a blessing for Quentin, who is a fan of kung fu movies. I like "Heroes" very much, and I have repeatedly urged Harvey to release it as soon as possible. even said to him, do you want to publish it or not, if you don't want to send it, I will send it myself. If there was no Quentin, "Hero" would have been released directly to the DVD.

Harvey was choked by Zhang Ran, opened his mouth wide, and was stunned for a few seconds before saying: "That's different, "Hero" is a foreign language film, the market is very small, and the risk of distribution is very high. According to the plan, we are going to release it this year, using the Oscars as a gimmick to do publicity. However, Zhang Weiping's screening of the Olympic bid in October last year disrupted our entire plan. I can just put the release of Heroes on hold for the time being and wait for a more opportune time!"

Zhang Ran felt that Harvey's words also made some sense, "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" was actually in a similar situation, Zhang Weiping screened the Olympic bid in advance, but "The Thirteen Hairpins" was not so lucky, and finally failed at the box office. However, Zhang Ran still had an indifferent expression: "Although I am a producer, I have to discuss this matter with Mr. Luc Besson." If the conditions you give are not too bad, I can still say a few words!"

Harvey glanced at Zhang Ran, the other party meant very clearly, open the conditions, if the conditions are poor, there is no need to talk, he knew that it was time to take out his chips, so he immediately took out a contract from his briefcase and handed it to Zhang Ran.

Zhang Ran looked down carefully, and when he saw the terms of the contract, his breathing stagnated slightly. Harvey's offer was a good one, and it was really unexpected.

In general, there are two types of contracts for North American production companies and distribution companies. The first is that the distribution company buys out the film, and the distribution rights of the film belong to the distribution company, and the subsequent income has nothing to do with the production company; the second is that the distribution company and the production company participate in the sharing, and the production company can generally share 15 to 30 percent of the box office, and the specific value depends on the strength of both parties and the results of the negotiations.

Zhang Ran hopes that the distribution in North America will be shared, and he has enough confidence in his work, although it is more risky to choose this method, as long as it succeeds, the profit will be greater.

What Miramax offered was a sharing agreement, taking 25% of the North American distribution revenue as distribution expenses, publicity and marketing and making copies and other publicity and distribution expenses, and after the film was released in North America, it would be preferentially intercepted from the box office. At the same time, Miramax is guaranteeing more than 2,000 paintings.

The contract offered by Miramax is so generous that it's impossible to refuse!

The distribution fee charged for distributing a film at a Hollywood studio is 35 percent of the total distribution revenue, while Miramax now charges only 25 percent, a reduction of ten percentage points.

Let's say "Time Warrior" has a North American box office of $100 million. Then after removing the 50 million revenue of the theater, there is still 50 million, and after adding the DVD and removing the cost, the income is 50 million. Then the total revenue from the issuance is 100 million. If it were handed over to other Hollywood companies for distribution, then they would take away 35 million in distribution fees. If it's handed over to Miramax to be issued. They can only take 25 million. Zhang Ran's income is 10 million more!

"The terms of this contract are really good!" Zhang Ran raised his head and looked at Harvey, "Time and Space Warrior" is a good project, and it is normal for Hollywood distributors to reduce their share when competing for promising projects. However, the 10% drop is indeed a bit much, and it is really a bit unexpected.

Harvey had long anticipated Zhang Ran's reaction, and explained with a smile: "I'm optimistic about this project, and I'm also optimistic about you as a director." It's a pity that I didn't look at your project when I was in Tokyo, otherwise I would have worked with you at that time. I'm sure this movie will be a big hit!"

Zhang Ran asked seemingly casually: "If you are asked to release it, how will the schedule of the movie be arranged, and when do you think it will be released?"

Harvey said directly: "The real horror of next year's summer file is "Spider-Man 2" and "Harry Potter". and Shrek, we need to avoid all three movies as much as possible. According to the format of the whole summer file, I think it is better to put it on June 18th! "Harry Potter" was released for a week, and "Spider-Man" was two weeks later, and there were no particularly strong opponents in these two weeks, which was enough for us!"

Zhang Ran believes that Harvey really wants to win the distribution rights of the movie, otherwise he would not have done such a detailed study of the schedule. However, just because Harvey has the intention to win the distribution rights does not mean that he will not play tricks in the contract, and Hollywood contracts are full of pitfalls, and one word is different. The effect can be devastating.

In its simplest example, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" grossed $938.2 million at the box office, but the box office alone was a loss. The more than 900 million box office revenue was $459.3 million. An additional $182.6 million was required to reimburse the issuance division for its issuance costs. After deducting these expenses, there is another $276.7 million, compared to the cost of the film of $315.9 million. If you only look at the box office. The film was loss-making.

If the stars of "Harry Potter" had signed a box office net revenue sharing agreement, now the box office is losing money, and they can't get a dime of it. If the lead actor signs a box office share contract with the filmmaker. Then the effect is different, and it can be divided directly according to the box office revenue.

Of course. Except for a few top stars and directors, everyone else in Hollywood has signed a net revenue sharing agreement. Most of the movies did well at the box office though. But the leading actor actually can't share much money, because the vast majority of the box office is a loss on the books.

Hollywood's big companies not only use this trick to trick actors, but also often trick foreign investors. Feng Xiaogang's "Big Shot" is a collaboration with Colombia, and 2 million US dollars were sent overseas, Feng Xiaogang is very happy, this time he will share a lot of dollars. But as soon as Colombia settled the score, it spent $2.3 million on the issuance fee, and as a result, not a penny was shared. Of course, Huayi is not a vegetarian, and two years later, through "Heroes of Heaven and Earth", he ruthlessly cheated Colombia, and Colombia directly withdrew from China.

The studios, whether in China or in the United States, are controlled by the capitalists, and don't expect them to have a conscience and get a piece of their profits, unless you can make him more money. For example, in "Interstellar", Nolan received $90 million through salary and sharing, while Warner itself had 49 million in the account. There is no way, Nolan's project will definitely make money, if Warner and Nolan play tricks on him and cheat him for money, then he will turn around and find other companies, which is equivalent to losing a cash cow for Warner, so even if Nolan takes twice as much money as Warner, Warner still welcomes him with a smile.

While Miramax's contract seems fine, who can guarantee that there are no pitfalls in the text? Every contract signed in Hollywood is reviewed by a dedicated lawyer. When Schwarzenegger was filming "Terminator 3", he asked Hollywood's super lawyer Jacob Bloom to draft 21 drafts of the contract in 4 months, carefully considering every word, and ensuring his own interests to the greatest extent.

Luc Besson also brought an entertainment lawyer to Berlin this time, and this contract must be shown by the lawyer, and it can only be signed after confirming that there are no problems. Of course, Zhang Ran couldn't say it too bluntly, and said with a smile: "Harvey, Luc Besson is the producer, and he is in charge of pre-sale distribution, I have to show him the contract." If he thinks it's okay, then we'll sign the contract!"

The smile on Harvey's face was bright: "Of course, I am sincerely working with you, and I am waiting for your news!" (To be continued.) )

PS: The last few chapters are a bit boring, but I'm going to get to the point soon.