America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 242 241. Is there something going on in the Killer Universe?

Canada, Alberta, Calgary.

"Eric, this is as far as New Line can go, let's each take a step back."

Eric read the contract carefully and finally nodded.

"Okay, then let's do it. You missed a good opportunity. Don't blame me for not letting the new line roll out in the future."

Bob Meyer smiled and shook his head: "Of course not. In fact, New Line does not have such big ambitions. We just want to do what we can."

"Eric, MGM's territory is too big and New Line can't keep up with you, but I'm willing to compensate in other ways."

"It's a pity, but I wish us a happy cooperation."

“A pleasure to work with.”

By signing his name on the contract, the partnership between MGM and New Line was officially established.

MGM sold the film adaptation rights to "The Hobbit" to New Line, agreeing to film up to a trilogy for a period of six years.

Within six years, whether New Line makes one, two or three films, MGM will take back the rights.

New Line will grant MGM the exclusive online broadcast rights for all its film copyrights, but the latest films will have to be delayed for at least a month after theaters are canceled.

The specific length of delay is negotiated individually for each film, mainly to leave time for DVD sales.

A junk movie that has no video market at a glance may be released in more than half a month. Classic epic blockbusters like "The Lord of the Rings" may be delayed by two to three months or even longer.

In addition, because they did not take sides, New Line decided to make further concessions, that is, 20% of the profits from each "The Hobbit" will be given to MGM.

Note that what is mentioned here is profit, not the box office mentioned by Eric last time.

The so-called profit includes not only the box office, but also the extended income generated by the film copyright.

If the high point of US$1 billion is still used as the calculation standard, the final share MGM can get will exceed US$200 million, which is tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of US dollars more than simply dividing the box office.

In fact, Eric also considered whether Lionheart should imitate the video website and develop popular videos that members can pay to watch on demand again, as well as 12-second advertisements that members cannot avoid.

However, after thinking about it, I still feel that it is too disgusting. This is too unpopular and will inevitably be disgusted by the audience.

Eric remembers that one viewer was offended and sued for advance on-demand broadcasting.

After a lot of effort, hiring a lawyer and going to court, in the end, although I won, I was only compensated 1,500 yuan and half a month of gold membership.

What kind of food is enough for 1,500 yuan? Funny.

And only violated one audience member? It violated countless viewers and violated contract law.

It's a pity that the people don't take action, and ordinary people don't have time to litigate. So after winning the lawsuit, it took another one or two years to finally cancel the advance on-demand broadcast.

If something similar happened in the United States, the final result would most likely be the same, it would just be more compensation and fines.

After all, they are all big taxpayers. As long as you can pay a huge amount of taxes, you can enjoy detached treatment in other countries except for weird countries like Asan.

However, the lost audience popularity cannot be made up. Doing so in the early stages of starting a business is equivalent to committing suicide.

At that time, this incident also attracted extensive discussion in the circle. Everyone also compared overseas and domestic video websites and wanted to know who was cutting the leeks?

After data calculation and comparison, it was found that tmd was actually domestic.

Taking 2021 data as an example, the median disposable income of U.S. residents is $3,885 per month.

The basic subscription fee for mainstream video platforms is about US$7, which accounts for 0.2% of the monthly salary of a middle-income American. The premium subscription fee is about US$20, which accounts for 0.5% of the monthly salary.

In the same year, the median disposable income of residents was 2,497 yuan per month.

The average membership fee for mainstream video websites is about 25 yuan per month, which accounts for 1% of a middle-income citizen’s monthly salary and is five times that of the United States. The premium membership fee is about 45 yuan, accounting for 1.8% of the monthly salary, which is 3.6 times that in the United States.

Not only is the cost lower, but the service level is also good, and it can project to a TV with high-definition picture quality. Do you think it’s annoying?

Bob Meyer stood up and handed the contract to his assistant, who carefully put it into his bag. This stack of paper was worth hundreds of millions.

"Let's go have a meal together. You left in a hurry last time. I found a nice place in Calgary."

Bob Meyer waved his hand and refused: "Let's do it next time. I know your shooting schedule is very tight, so I won't waste time. I will invite you to a party when you return to China."

"So anxious! You can't be in a hurry to go back and prepare to start filming."

"Hahahaha... I have to be responsible to the shareholders, they are still waiting for news."

"Well, in that case, I won't leave you alone. With the copyright of "The Hobbit", New Line can gallop on the road of magical epic blockbusters."

Hearing this, Bob Meyer suddenly dropped his raised steps and asked with interest: "Eric, from your perspective, what is the prospect of epic movies?"

Eric answered without hesitation: "It's very promising. If it were before "Lord of the Rings", I would be skeptical about it, but the birth of "Lord of the Rings" shattered all doubts."

"Facts have proven that as long as the story is told well enough, the audience is very willing to buy it, and it can also win a lot of statues. It is a perfect type of movie that is compatible with commercial art."

This answer made Bob Meyer very happy: "This is also my opinion. Only with a big background, a big story, and a big production can you get a big box office!"

"Bob, so in addition to preparing "The Hobbit", does New Line also plan to shoot other epic movies?"

"I have this plan, but I need to keep it a secret."

Eric shook his head slightly: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in New Line's secrets, but since your company's focus is on epic movies, it's better to sell some secondary IP to MGM for development, and leave it alone. Waste of resources.”

"Huh? What do you mean?" Bob Meyer was stunned for a moment.

Eric held up three fingers: "The rights to "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th" are both owned by New Line. I heard that you have also acquired the rights to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

"Then the four murderers only have the copyright of "Moonlight Panic". If you don't have the energy to take care of it for the time being, you might as well leave it to me."

In just a few words, Bob Meyer suddenly recalled that in the past year or so, MGM had changed its style and indeed produced some horror and thriller films.

And these movies have all been successful, with almost none of them taking less than $100 million at the box office.

Especially the "Saw" series is a super money-spinner, and people who watch it are greedy.

Although the quantity is not large, the quality is really high, which shows that the other party understands the horror film market and understands what horror film lovers want.

Since the turn of the millennium, several classic killer IPs have actually been a bit weak. After all, they have been arrogant for decades and cannot produce new ideas. The audience is indeed a little tired of them.

On the contrary, horror images such as "The Mountain Has Eyes", "Fatal Turn" and "Chucky" began to challenge Big Brother's position.

That is, last year's "Freddy vs. Jason" won widespread praise from movie fans and ultimately earned US$110 million at the box office.

However, the corresponding investment cost has also soared to 30 million U.S. dollars, and generally such horror movies can be completed with an investment of less than 10 million U.S. dollars, so the profit is not as much as expected.

This kind of high investment is the biggest restriction on the filming of horror films. Therefore, 20 years have passed and fans have not waited for the second part of "Freddy vs. Jason."

The thoughts flashed through his mind, and Bob Meyer couldn't help but think that if the IP was handed over to MGM, and with the help of the other party, it would be possible to rejuvenate the screen with several killers.

There was a twinkle in his little eyes: "Eric, if New Line gives the rights to MGM, what are you going to do?"

"Linkage, of course, is in the linkage mode."

"You know Bob, I like these guys very much. They look very handsome when they kill people on the big screen."

"Especially last year's "Freddy vs. Jason", I went to the cinema to support it. This kind of linkage between murderers is simply too attractive."

"But just Freddy and Jason is not enough. I want to see more, and I think the audience also wants to see more murderous brawls."

"If New Line hands over the IP to MGM, I will try to get as many rights as possible, and then make a big slasher movie, which should be very interesting."

Bob Meyer shook his head: "Eric, I'm not optimistic about your idea. If there are too many characters, how will the roles be allocated? Have you considered it?"

"Actually, when we were filming "Freddy vs. Jason," we also thought about whether we could put Leatherface in, but in the end we rejected it because we couldn't find a suitable place for him in the movie."

"If you force it in, the effect will be poor and it will offend fans."

Pushing the chair away, Eric stood up: "Bob, this is what I should consider. As the youngest best screenwriter in history, you should have confidence in me."

Bob Meyer shrugged: "Okay, I'll think about it."

After sending the other party away, Nicole walked out of the next room.

"Are you done talking?"

"Um"

"Has another cooperation been reached?"

Eric held her in his arms. After filming every day these days, he took turns comforting the two girls, and his body became thinner.

well!

It’s so painful to live this kind of life, my family members don’t understand!

"I can only say that half of the cooperation has been achieved. New Line will not eat the pie I painted. Of course, other companies will not eat it either. Their choices are consistent."

Nicole stretched out her sweet tongue to explore Eric's body: "Hmm, that's because they have no vision. I will always stand by your side, my dear."

Eric sneered: "Bob Meyer's vision cannot be said to be bad, but under his leadership, I don't think New Line will be successful for a few more years."

"Why?" Nicole was a little surprised.

"Because he fell into a misunderstanding and made the same mistake as MGM back then, which was to be obsessed with big investment and big production."

"In the 1950s, MGM came back from the dead with the huge investment in "Ben-Hur". Since then, it has recognized this model and plunged into the abyss of major studios."

"'Lord of the Rings' is to New Line what 'Ben-Hur' is to MGM, and now Bob Meyer has been blinded and believes in this outdated model."

"MGM was much stronger than New Line at the beginning, but in the end they were forced to sell themselves to Kerkorian, let alone New Line. It will take a few years to see how long its fortune can last."

"But didn't you give him the copyright to "The Hobbit"?"

"Yes, but one "The Hobbit" cannot drive a company of New Line's level. It will only make Bob Meyer struggle for another year or two at most."

"When he destroys the company one day, I won't mind joining the acquisition army. There are still many good things in New Line's film library."

According to the development of the original time and space, New Line finally fell under this model.

After "The Lord of the Rings", it continued to decline. Almost all the movies it invested in within a few years suffered a setback, and the money it earned was not enough to pay for it.

Finally, after experiencing the fiasco of "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" in 2007, New Line Cinema officially came to an end and was pocketed by Warner.

It has only been three years since "The Lord of the Rings" swept the Oscars. In just three years, Bob Meyer brought a company with great potential to ruin. I don't know whether to praise him or scold him.

Eric has watched "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" because Nicole is the starring role, but her acting skills were criticized for being too poor and not at the level of an Oscar-winning actress.

Coupled with other reasons, the final North American box office of the film was only 70 million U.S. dollars. Compared with the production cost of 180 million U.S. dollars and the publicity cost of nearly 100 million U.S. dollars, it was a huge loss.

The overseas box office was quite strong, taking in US$300 million, but New Line's overseas distribution had not yet gotten rid of the constraints of large companies, so Warner was responsible for it, and most of the money earned overseas went into Warner's pockets.

As a result, New Line did not recover for a moment.

died!

When that day comes, Eric will definitely add fuel to the fire. Even if New Line has shares in Warner, he can try to buy out Bob Meyer's shares.

This old guy has always been able to maintain the independent management rights of New Line just by relying on the 21% of his shares, which is more than Warner's shares.

"Substitute! Substitute quickly!"

In the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Eric directs the set operations.

Several leading actors left and the stuntmen were replaced. The next thing to be filmed was the avalanche scene.

With the consent of the local government and calculations by relevant experts, the crew has buried a considerable amount of explosives on the top of the mountain in advance. With just one order, a small avalanche can be created.

This scene has been rehearsed many times, but it is still a very dangerous scene, and Bell did not dare to ask to perform in person.

All non-essential crew members have evacuated down the mountain, and the stuntmen are ready to give signs.

Eric walked into a temporarily rented helicopter with a camera set up inside.

There are two other helicopters with the same configuration. After all, this scene will most likely only be filmed once, so this scene must be filmed from multiple camera positions and angles.

After checking everything carefully, after repeated confirmation, the order was issued.

"Inception nth!"

boom!

After a loud noise, the forest seemed to shake.

The rolling white snow on the top of the mountain turned into crazy huge waves and rushed down!