"Well, Nick, we didn't say no. But at most a year -- a year, we make enough money, and with enough money, we can make good enough movies. We are not short of this year, we can wait. ”

After Levy had spoken, Alexander spoke. Compared with several partners, he compromised the fastest, because he knew how poor the company was, and he was very clear about the current situation.

With his support, coupled with the fact that he has no money, Levy has also been recognized by several people. This made Levy very satisfied, and after saying goodbye to Adam, he had been thinking about this aspect of things, and he found that even if he could really make a good movie with a small budget, he would not make any money, and it was better to make a TV series.

For example, in my memory, the production cost of the movie "Blair the Witch" was indeed only $100,000, but the cost of publicity was as high as $20 million. It's not difficult for Levy to make a movie by himself, but how can he have the money to do publicity and distribution? If you can't distribute it independently and go to a distribution company, who is willing to promote your own film? It's 1996, Lionsgate hasn't been established yet, and you're counting on the seven major studios to spend 20 million to distribute a film with a production cost of 100,000? This is so unrealistic.

Taking a step back, even if it is issued, whose money is earned? The distribution company pays 20 million to promote a $100,000 movie, and then shares the account with the director? Levy believes that there are indeed fools in Hollywood, but he is already poor and pitiful, and he bets his hopes on meeting fools? How can I have such a good life.

As long as the other party is not stupid, he will refuse his request for account sharing. And if Levy refuses to sell the movie at a low price...... Pseudo-documentary shooting, in fact, is just selling an idea, and I refuse to sell it, the film company still paints a gourd, and after watching my own "Blair the Witch", is it difficult for them to shoot a "Ghost Record" or something? Anyway, what is sold is publicity, not cost. I have no fame or status in Hollywood, so I am not qualified to compromise with myself. Even if they just plagiarized themselves, what should they do? Sue them? No matter how stupid people are, they know that lawsuits cost money, and Levy just has no money......

Moreover, even if you take 10,000 steps back, you really meet the legendary conscientious capitalist, who is willing to spend a lot of money on publicity, and then shares the account with himself after the issuance, and is full of conscience not to make false accounts, does not delay payment, and pays all the money in one go - but what will happen to you in the future? The director of horror films still shoots in DV, and it is strange that such a director can have a good reputation in the circle. People always have to be a little far-sighted, not thinking about reputation, just trying to get a little money to spend, that is their own and their own future can not get by.

Spielberg made the Great White Shark in 1975 and became famous. But since then, he has been severely discriminated against, although he made ET, purple and other movies, but he has never won the Oscar, until 1993 he won the Oscar, during which it took a full 18 years to wash away his reputation as a commercial film director, and it was still a blockbuster like Schindler's List that celebrates Jews.

Even Spielberg had to spend 18 years to clear his own foundation before he could be recognized by his peers, and Hollywood's harshness can be seen. Make money fast making a horror movie? It may seem like a good idea, but it's just an overdraft of your future. Shoot a movie and then be discriminated against for 20 years, during which time you keep making flattering films to wash your floor - unless you are sick.

Of course, you can also consider not washing the floor at all, that is, going for money for the rest of your life. However, Levy, who has been mixed in the circle, is very clear: Spielberg and Michael Bay seem to be both great directors, but the difference is still very huge.

There is no need for a rookie director to think about making money, he has no connections, no qualifications, and no matter how big his ability is, he can't make money. Newcomers think more about word-of-mouth. How to make your own reputation and make your own reputation is much more important than making money.

If it was a previous life, becoming Michael Bay, Levy would be very satisfied. But now...... I am a time-traveler, as a time-traveler, is it proud to be Michael Bay? People have already crossed, and there are many ways to make money, and you have to ruin your reputation to be able to exchange for money, which can be called a shame for the traverser. Moreover, I have already crossed over, and I can't shoot the movie I want to shoot, but I have to blindly make a movie with money...... That's not what I'm looking for.

"I hope so," Clark muttered, "but can we really make money filming TV series?" ”

To this Levy shrugged and did not speak.

Filming a TV series is actually to pave the way for the future, and Alexander didn't think about how much money he could make from TV series - because making money from TV series is not very reliable in itself.

The business model of American TV dramas is quite complex: the production company is responsible for the production, and when it is finished, it is sent to the television network. However, what the TV network bought was not all the copyrights, but the premiere rights of the TV series, that is, it only bought the rights to broadcast the TV series for the first time.

And the buyout price of the premiere rights given by the TV network is the cost of TV drama production. It is very difficult for a TV series to make money from the TV network, and the TV network will not give much higher than their cost, generally speaking, if you get the money, you will pay the actors, screenwriters, and crew members in the early filming, and 60% of the money will be gone, and there will be basically nothing left for post-production. It is possible to make a living by relying on TV dramas, but it is also difficult to make a lot of money by relying on TV dramas.

So how can you make money? It's very simple, if a TV series has been done for a long time, or the reputation is very good, someone buys the replay rights, or the TV series is doing very well, and it starts to sell peripheral products, and a large number of DVDs are sold, then these revenues are the production company's own. No one buys a rerun of a bad drama, so the show basically doesn't make money. If it is cut in less than five seasons, it will even have to pay the actor money, because the actors' contracts are signed for five years. And if a drama is a good drama that can sell well, and there are many local stations or foreign TV stations that are willing to buy replay rights, then the drama can make a lot of money.

It's just that generally speaking, even if a drama is replayed, it has to be filmed for five seasons before anyone will buy the replay rights after it is determined that it is a good drama. Unless it is a TV series with terrible ratings, once it is broadcast, it can become the top TV series in the ratings, otherwise, it is difficult to get income early.

"That's right, filming a TV series is basically making a living, so you can't make much money." Regarding this question, Bob also opened his mouth, "I have no objection to shooting TV series, we don't have the capital to make movies now." Can we shoot a TV series, does it really help us? ”

Looking at a few of his companions, Levi sighed, and he decided that it would be better to talk about it himself.

"Guys, first of all, please trust me, we will make money, and with our talent, it will not be particularly difficult to produce a hit drama. Secondly, I want you to understand that we don't shoot TV dramas for money - but for our future. ”

These guys will be their own help in the future. Levy knows that a person's strength is limited, especially a person without a golden finger, and if he wants to succeed, he can't ignore the help of others. It is impossible to do everything alone, and if you need help from others, you have to let them know how they can help you.

They need to know what they are going to do.

"Guys, why are we filming a TV series? Money is one aspect, but what is more? It's for us to get more opportunities to display our talents. We need to know more people, know more people who can serve us, can work for us, and can help us, so that we can have a future. ”

What Levy needs now is not money, but to lay a solid foundation in Hollywood and build his own network. Filming a TV series is not as glamorous as a movie, but you can definitely build your own network - especially when one knows how many depressed actors are now and will become famous in the future, filming a TV series that uses more actors will definitely help to build a network.

"Every year, there are a lot of people who try to make independent films and get ahead. Every year, there are many people who think that as soon as they enter this circle, they will immediately become famous and famous. But what about the facts? There are few successes, and countless failures. Such a path is far less stable than being down-to-earth and walking out step by step. We are different from them, we have a good background, we don't have to gamble our lives, we can play primitive accumulation and move towards success step by step. It's not good to just think about shortcuts, especially when we already have the opportunity to accumulate, why gamble again? Each of us believes that with our own efforts, one day, we will be successful filmmakers. But just thinking about opportunism, is it worth talking about hard work? In this circle, behind the glitz of the successful, there are the bones of the losers, and we can't make those bones. ”

"As an unfamous filmmaker, looking forward to your own fame, what do you need? It's not how to make a money-making movie - no matter how much you make, how much can you get? How many movies have you seen without big investment, but with big income? Investment fundamentally determines everything. What kind of status you have, what kind of words you say, no status at all, you just make the best movie, and there is only one way to sell it cheaply, so it doesn't matter whether you make money or not, because this is not what we should consider in the first place. What we need to think about is how to express our abilities through our work and let others see that we are a group of great filmmakers. ”

"Guys, I know you're a genius, but it's useless to just know that. You have to let people know that you're a genius. Don't always think about making money, no Hollywood company will agree to give a share to an obscure little guy. Even if you can shoot a movie with a box office of over 100 million, if you can sell 1 million, it is a sky-high price. Why? Because you are not famous. What you have to do now is to make a name for yourself and not think about how to make money. When you are famous, a well-known director in Hollywood, no matter how bad the movie you shoot, there are people who are willing to share it with you. Guys, remember my words: in this circle, there are ironclad rules, and if we want to succeed, we must follow them. And now, under the rules, what are we going to do? Fame, fame, fame! This is the most important thing for us! ”