"Hugo, I thought you didn't think so." Steven looked at Hugo, who was talking eloquently, and showed a faint smile, Hugo tilted his head and looked at Steven with puzzled eyes, "Then what do you think I should think?" ”

"The work comes first, the script comes first." Steven didn't shy away from it this time, and gave his answer neatly, "You should think that as long as my work is good enough, I don't have to worry about finding a distributor or not selling at the box office, just like 'before sunrise'." James just understood this, didn't he? ”

Steven's words made Hugo a little shy, although this was indeed his idea, but from Steven's mouth, it seemed very awkward, "I will take this sentence as a compliment." This made Steven smile as well, "However, my idea is the position of the actors, not the position of the production company." If the production company runs according to the actor's standpoint, Steven, I believe you know better than me, what kind of ending will be. ”

A production company that can't make a profit can't stick to art. This is the biggest question facing DreamWorks, how to choose between art and business? Steven, along with David and Jeffrey, chose the arts, so they left the big production companies supported by the consortium and created independent labels. But everyone knows that if DreamWorks' work is not profitable, it is only a matter of time before the company fails.

History also proves this.

DreamWorks' finances in 2004 were a complete mess, and although they produced many blockbuster titles, there were too many failed productions, which dragged down the company's finances, and not only did the big three pay for it, but even the Big Three paid out of their own pockets, and because they didn't have the support of the consortium, they had to break up and reorganize in the end - the animation department was separated, the film department was under Paramount, and the music department was temporarily cooperated with Disney.

When DreamWorks came to an end, many people were surprised because there were so many great films from DreamWorks, and after the silence of New Line Pictures, they quickly rose to become the eighth largest film company in Hollywood, and the only independent film company, almost single-handedly changing the situation of Hollywood that had been controlled by Wall Street for nearly half a century.

So, the fiasco actually dragged down the company's finances? It's almost unimaginable.

In the final analysis, it is actually the lack of the distribution department, DreamWorks handed over the distribution initiative to the major production companies, and can only negotiate the price one work at a time, and the harvest is very meager, Steven even quarreled directly with Universal Pictures for many years for the box office dividend of one percent, which is simply humble to the extreme.

To put it simply, DreamWorks' works make money, but most of it goes to the distribution company, and DreamWorks itself doesn't make money; DreamWorks, on the other hand, lost money, and the risk shared by the distribution company was very small, and most of the losses were borne by DreamWorks itself. The results can be imagined.

"I thought you didn't know anything about the company." Steven looked at Hugo meaningfully and nodded his chin.

In fact, Steven knows all these truths, but he does not have Hugo's ability to "foresee" and does not have enough understanding of the severity of the problem. After all, before DreamWorks, independent production companies did not reach the heights of later DreamWorks, they were the first people to break the deadlock, and before that, all independent production companies handed over distribution rights to large production companies.

Even if they are started as a distributor and then switched to production, they have two separate departments of distribution and production - Summit Entertainment's works are not necessarily distributed by themselves, and most of the works distributed by Summit Entertainment are not produced by themselves.

So, you can't blame the DreamWorks Big Three for being ill-conceived, because they were the first to eat the crabs.

Hugo spread his hands, "Maybe my instincts are wrong?" I'm not sure. Steven tugged at the corners of his mouth and chuckled, "Then I'll talk about my thoughts from the actor's standpoint now, for example, I made 'Before Sunrise', which is exactly what I thought about filming Zuò, just like the situation that you and David and Jeffrey insisted on...... " Steven, who was sitting opposite, supported his chin and listened carefully.

In many cases, I understand the truth, but I still need to communicate with bystanders to clear my mind. Steven was like that at this point.

"But what if I'm just a little screenwriter with no name? Or maybe it was after I won the Golden Raspberry Award? Do you think anyone would want to release it? Hugo's question made Steven laugh directly, and Steven wanted to refute it, but Hugo stopped Steven in advance and said, "You can think of it as Richard Linklater's work, will you be interested?" Will Columbia Pictures spend a million dollars on distribution rights? ”

Steven swallowed the words from his mouth and motioned for Yuguo to continue, "Or, 'Before Sunrise' was made by me, and Columbia Pictures was willing to release it, but they didn't have enough confidence in the film, they just developed a simple distribution strategy with the aim of recovering the cost of a million dollars, or they made the wrong distribution strategy, like running a commercial film, directly released in 2,000 theaters, and the box office failed miserably." Well, those viewers who are really willing to appreciate it and are able to appreciate it miss this work. With the first time and the second time, what do you think of DreamWorks' future work? ”

Although Steven is a director and a producer, and his understanding of distribution is not detailed and professional enough, a truly professional distributor needs to have a collection of management, marketing, publicity, planning and other aspects of knowledge, and the value of a good distribution company is even more valuable than the production company itself - because they have the ability to turn decay into magic, they can also let the audience enter the cinema for a bad movie.

Therefore, Hugo's words easily moved Steven, and he couldn't help but be completely silent, did not speak again, but handed over the initiative to Hugo.

"If you want to shoot your own work, of course, I'm sure you also want to produce good work, but you are no longer controlled by the consortium. So, what do you think will happen when you put the initiative in the hands of the consortium? Hugo asked the question, but he had no intention of answering, because Steven knew better than he did.

It's like when "Shrek" came out, in fact, it was quite difficult to distribute, and all major Hollywood studios had a mediocre response to this work, especially at that time when Pixar Animation had risen strongly, competing with Disney in the entire animation market, and DreamWorks' unconventional choice was really too bold. In the end, Steven relied on his personal friendship to convince Universal Pictures to complete the distribution.

"Profitability is always the first factor that studios consider, Steven, you know this better than me, you are a dreamer, but you are not an idealist, you know the difference between dreams and reality." So Steven has always had a keen sense of smell when it comes to commercial films, "When there is a conflict between profit and production, you know the choices of those consortiums, and when you have the distribution initiative in your hands, then you can make choices according to your own ideas."

"It's true that publishing is a business, which is contrary to the creation itself. As an actor, I don't like this, because you directly equate art with money, not to say vulgar, but to affect the creation itself, and no one can freely control the erosion of utilitarianism; But as a company, you can't live in a utopia. Even if DreamWorks is stained with the smell of copper, at least it is in your hands, and as long as your innermost dreams do not change, then DreamWorks can become the kingdom of independent films. ”

Hugo's words made Steven's brow furrow slightly, he didn't expect this. Because Steven is different from Robert Redford, Steven has never paid enough attention to independent films, and founded DreamWorks only to grasp more initiative, not to be controlled by a consortium. But Hugo's words opened up a new world for him.

"If you have a distribution department, you can also help countless other independent films, tap into more film talents, and give more people with dreams the opportunity to realize their dreams. Steven, you know, the big studios in Hollywood don't have the leisure to pay attention to this part, Robert Redford needs help, and DreamWorks needs supporters. ”

After Hugo said his thoughts in one breath, he finally relaxed, in fact, he wanted to talk to Steven like this a long time ago, but the identities and status of the two people were too different before, even if Hugo said it, it would not have any effect. Unexpectedly, things turned around, and in the end Hugo still got a chance.

"As for the distribution department can win you more dividends and more profits, I don't need to discuss this matter, you all know that those consortia are demons who eat people and don't spit out bones, they have the right to issue in their hands, and they will definitely do their best to deprive you of your profits. So, you can go back and let your accountant do the math. ”

Hugo's words made Steven chuckle, but he didn't speak immediately, but thought in silence. Hugo's words just now are not very content, but the amount of information is too large, and Steven needs a little time to digest it. In fact, why doesn't Steven know these truths? It was only explained by a bystander like Hugo, and he was also a top actor, especially a top actor who was extremely critical of the script and the work, and the thoughts in Steven's mind began to collide fiercely, producing countless sparks.

Hugo didn't bother Steven, just quietly holding the red wine glass, feeling the intoxicating aroma. Time has fallen silent at this moment, but history has quietly shifted.