Chapter 317 of the main text: Lionsgate

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Zooming out the camera, the scene maintained a relaxed atmosphere, and Zhang Ran was responsible for bringing the young actors into the prescribed situation. The whole strategy worked very well and over the next few days the shooting went very smoothly.

However, because Zhang Ran stayed with two children to play all day, the two little ones liked him very much, so Zhang Ran had two more little tails behind him.

On March 22, Zhang Ran had to get on a plane to Las Vegas to participate in the Film Industry Expo.

Lionsgate, the North American distributor of "Time Warriors", wanted Zhang Ran to attend this meeting, because the distribution strategy of "Time Warriors" was formulated by Zhang Ran, and the most important publicity was carried out in Cannes, not Zhang Ran, and it was more appropriate for Zhang Ran to make a statement to the buyers of the theater.

There are nearly 40,000 screens in the United States, with the 10 largest theater companies owning nearly two-thirds of the total number of screens in the United States. These theater chains are centrally purchased by the central government, and their choices determine what kind of films the vast majority of Americans can see. These nationwide theater companies actually control 80 percent of Hollywood film grossing in the U.S., and the vast majority of these films are purchased at the Film Industry Expo.

Held annually in late March in Las Vegas, the Film Industry Expo brings together film distributors and theater managers for four days. During these four days, the distribution company will hold a promotion meeting similar to the annual meeting to introduce the company's films, and then meet with the buyers of the theater chain to finalize the number of screens each theater can give to the film, how long the screening period is, the trailer before the theater and the free advertising film in the theater outfield hall, and the final box office share ratio, etc.

When I got off the plane, I was greeted by a big card "Zhang from Beiping".

Under the solitaire is a familiar face, Tom Odenberg, Lionsgate's distribution manager.

"Hello Tom!" Zhang Ran was very familiar with Oldenberg and discussed the release of "Time Warrior" together. Before he got to Odenberg's side, Zhang Ran greeted him loudly.

"Man, you're finally here!" Oldenberg laughed and hugged Zhang Ran fiercely.

Get in Oldenberg's car. The two headed towards the brightly lit Las Vegas.

"The hotel has already booked it for you. Mr. Gusta asked me to apologize to you, he wanted to see the theater manager. There's no way to come and pick you up. Oldenberg explained to Zhang Ran as he drove the car.

"It's okay, it's important to get down to business. I used to hear about the Film Industry Expo when I was a student, but now I finally have the opportunity to see it. But isn't the fair starting tomorrow? Why did you start negotiating with the theater chain today?" Zhang Ran was looking at the scenery outside, and when he heard Oldenberg's words, he turned his head and smiled.

"No way, Lionsgate's distribution ability is relatively weak. So far, there have been no particularly successful films at the box office, and our opponents in the same schedule are particularly strong, all of them are Big Six movies, so we have no advantage at all, so we have to contact the theater chain in advance and invite them to our meeting. If the theatrical side doesn't show up, then we won't be able to get the scale of the distribution!" Oldenberg explained.

"I see. Zhang Ran somewhat understood.

The car soon arrived at the Bailey, where the conference was held.

After Zhang Ran settled down, Odenberg took Zhang Ran to Gusta's room.

On the sofa sat a middle-aged man with short hair who was not tall. It was really Frank Gusta, the owner of Lionsgate, who saw Zhang Ran standing up and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello. Mr. Gusta, we meet again. Zhang Ran took the initiative to stretch out his hand. Shook hands with Gusta.

"Zhang, I'm very happy to see you. With a smile on his face, Gusta's handshake was very powerful, and Zhang Ran knew that he must be a very decisive person.

Frank Gusta is a banker in Canada, but he's always been interested in movies. He left investment banking in 1996 to found Lionsgate Entertainment with company executives and several private equity bankers. With this background, Lionsgate established good relationships with many financial institutions from the beginning, and soon made Lionsgate Entertainment's listing.

In the first three years of its establishment, Lionsgate Entertainment focused on small-budget literary films and started steadily. And while acquiring the issuing company. In the years that followed, Lionsgate Entertainment was in the impression of most people as a company that "specialized in horror films". Lionsgate's ability to issue is weak. There are only 5 movies that have grossed more than 10 million. The highest of them is "Dance of Death Row Prisoners", with a box office of 30 million, and the other four films are all in the early 10 million.

But last year, Lionsgate bought Artisan, the company that released the famous "Blair the Witch," for $220 million. Lionsgate's acquisition of Artisan not only gained a library of 8,000 films, but more importantly, access to Artisan's distribution channels, which greatly improved their distribution capabilities. This year, Lionsgate is ready to make a big splash in the publishing space, and "Time Warrior" is the most important part of Lionsgate's overall distribution plan.

After Zhang Ran sat down, Gusta's secretary brought Zhang Ran coffee.

"Zhang, you are really an idle person, I heard that you have been making movies again recently. I don't know what type?" asked Gusta with a smile.

"I was going to wait for the release of "Time Warrior" to make a new film, but suddenly I had an inspiration and made it. It's a drama, and the style is a bit alternative and a bit literary. Zhang Ran knows that Lionsgate rarely releases foreign language films, and has rarely released literary films recently, so they will not be interested in "The Aviator".

Sure enough, Gusta smiled when he heard the partial literary art: "I thought you would continue to make science fiction films?"

"This film is an expression of my own emotions, and it is something I really want to make. In fact, every director has this kind of special thing that he wants to shoot, and now I just have time to shoot. Zhang Ran took a sip of coffee and asked, "I don't know how the theater is doing?"

"It's not going to be too good, Jacobson has been secretly saying bad things about "Time Warrior" to the theater side, saying that it's a bad movie. A film with an investment of 120 million does not cooperate with the Big Six, but chooses a new company like us, and the theater chain has some doubts about the quality. Gusta shook his head, looking a little helpless, "The theaters that have cooperated with us in the past will attend tomorrow's meeting, and other big companies have also called, but the top five theaters, regal and AMC have made it clear that they will not come, and although Cinemark and Car fans Ke said they would come, they are not very interested in our movies;

Zhang Ran was stunned, it seems that the situation is really not very good. It's normal for the top two companies not to be interested. At that time, they were releasing "Harry Potter" and "Shrek 2", and it was impossible to separate too many screens for other movies. Unexpectedly. Companies third and fourth are also showing little interest, while fifth-ranked Cinexle has only 140 theaters and 1,400 screens. The other companies are even smaller, and it seems that the release of "Time and Space Warrior" this time can only be counted on in small theaters!

In the U.S. film industry, markets are divided into regions, with each region covering a population ranging from thousands to tens of thousands, many of which are exclusive. Distributors will only select one theater in each region to authorize the films they distribute, and other theaters cannot show them.

The distribution of small cinemas is very troublesome, unlike the unified deployment and publicity of large cinemas, forming a scale effect. However, there is no choice in this matter, the cinema chain is not interested in "Time and Space Warrior", and people are unwilling to purchase it, even if they kneel, it is useless.

Zhang Ran asked: "In the current situation, how many screens can we win in the first week?"

"Our goal is to get 2,500 screens. It's hard, though. Although we have acquired Artisan, our distribution capacity has been improved, but in the eyes of theaters. We are still small ants, and we can't compare with the Big Six. Even if our movies are of higher quality. But the theater chain still tends to the big six movies. Stephenson, the owner of Theate Cinemas, told me that they would prefer to work with the Big Six, which has its own promotional channels and can invest in large-scale marketing campaigns for the film, which is something that small companies don't have!"

Zhang Ran nodded, and the movies that were also released on June 11 with "Time and Space Warrior" include Warner's "Star Legends 2", Fox's "Garfield", and Paramount's "Replica Wife", these three movies are above "Time Warrior" in terms of cost and movie cast. is another big six releases, and the theater side will naturally lean towards these three movies.

The success of the film is very important. Take "Ghost Record" as an example, many people know that the film, which cost $15,000, grossed more than $100 million at the North American box office. But if the film is handed over to Lionsgate for distribution, it will definitely not achieve such a high box office, because Paramount spent $20 million on the release of "Ghost Record", and the budget-conscious Lionsgate is unlikely to spend $20 million on a $15,000 low-budget movie.

However, Zhang Ran is confident in "Time and Space Warrior", and he also has confidence in Gusta, and Lionsgate's ability to surpass Paramount and Gusta in ten years is separate, and he is an ambitious person: "We have enough funds, and there is no problem with the plan, so there is no need to worry." ”

"There are several companies that we work with who have come up with a marketing plan first, and after they have a comprehensive understanding of our marketing plan, they will conduct a test screening, and they want to see how the quality of the film is. Tomorrow afternoon, our company will conduct a promotion, and in the evening we will arrange a test screening of "Time and Space Warrior". The whole marketing plan is yours and you need to introduce these movie buyers!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me! There is nothing wrong with our propaganda plan!" Zhang Ran said very firmly.

"I believe in your abilities, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to make a statement to the filmmaker. Gusta was confident in Zhang Ran's persuasiveness. He originally thought that "Time and Space Warrior" would not be a good choice to be released on June 11, and the opponent was too strong, but after listening to Zhang Ran's analysis, he was convinced. Now he needs Zhang Ran to convince those movie buyers to get the best release conditions for "Time Warrior".

After chatting for a while, Gusta looked at Zhang Ran and smiled: "Zhang, let Oldenberg take you around, the nightlife in Las Vegas is very rich, and it is very suitable for young people like you!"

Where does Zhang Ran still have the heart to have fun? He "Time and Space Warrior" is important to him, and he doesn't want to make the slightest mistake. Besides, he is also a person who has a girlfriend, smiling and waving his hand: "I've been a little tired from making movies lately, and I don't have the heart to play, and I still have to prepare for tomorrow's speech!"

Back in his room, Zhang Ran turned on the computer and began to organize the outline of tomorrow's speech. His opponent is the big six films, and it is not easy to convince the buyers of the theater chain. If you can't get more than 2,500 screens in the first week, in this crowded summer file, "Time and Space Warrior" can only end miserably!

Zhang Ran has no choice but to convince the buyers of the cinema chain! )