Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Now I'm on the live broadcast, and now everyone knows that I'm Ronald Lee's girlfriend." Helen hugged Ronald at the airport check-in counter, and the two took advantage of the little time before the plane took off to be affectionate.

"That was just a live broadcast on a local TV station. If you really want to become famous, you have to watch "Supergirl" come out. By then, everyone knows you as Helen Slater." Ronald heard the hall broadcast reminding boarding for the last time, and hurriedly kissed Helen gently, carrying her suitcase to the boarding gate.

"Sir, you can't go in any further," the airline's flight attendant stopped him.

"Bye! I'll go to New York to see you again on Christmas." Ronald blew a kiss.

"Bye!"

After seeing Helen off, Ronald will devote himself to the production of "Night of the Comet". After determining the goal, he began to feel full of motivation again.

First, he had to meet Roger Corman, the president of New World Productions and his leader in the film industry. He promised to invest 500,000 in the filming of "Night of the Comet". Co-production, distribution, and investment ratio all require his approval first.

"Please wait a moment. Mr. Coleman has instructed that you will be received first upon your arrival. However, he is now meeting with an important guest. Mr. Li, please sit in the lounge for a while."

The new assistant to the president took Ronald to the lounge.

Looking at the familiar interior decoration, Ronald reviewed what he would say to Coleman at that time.

Half an hour later, Roger Coleman finally finished meeting the last group of guests. Three middle-aged men in suits and ties with meticulous hairstyles withdrew from the office.

"Mr. Coleman, we will come back with new proposals."

"He doesn't look like someone in the entertainment industry." Ronald, who heard the noise and slipped out of the lounge, thought to himself when he saw this scene.

"Ronald, welcome." Coleman found Ronald next to him and hugged him with open arms.

"I heard that you are a producer?" Coleman asked.

"Gail told you, right?" Before coming to the New World, Ronald talked to Gail Hurd and had some preliminary understanding of co-production.

"That's the title of associate producer given to me by the producer of Paramount's new film 'Flashdance', recognizing my contribution to the filming. I heard that Paramount is quite satisfied with the sample film, and they may give me the title of co-producer." Ronald replied.

"But I do want to be a producer, which is the main purpose of my meeting you today." Ronald said that he wanted to make "Night of the Comet" a multi-party co-production. The production model of "Flashdance" inspired him.

"Cameron and I carefully calculated the money needed for filming, saving everything that could be saved, and finally came to the conclusion that it should not be less than 1.3 million. I also have to prepare some extra money to prevent unexpected situations during filming, so I made a budget of 1.5 million."

Ronald handed over his production budget list, "I hope to use New World's distribution capabilities to find more investors, and then give them rewards after the film is released."

"How to return? Box office share?"

"That's what I plan to do?"

"Then what funds will you use to make up for the filming of the movie? Looking for foreign bank investment, domestic bank loans, or fund investment, and what proportion of advance payment will be used?" Coleman asked many questions at once.

"Uh, I don't seem to understand the answers to these questions." Ronald was a little confused by Coleman's question. He began to realize that he seemed to have thought too hastily.

"Investors are optimistic about my movie, give me a sum of money first, I shoot it, and then wait for the movie to be released, and pay them back with interest, or divide it according to the proportion. Isn't it like this?"

"Hahaha... This is a good idea, and it's also very simple. I can't say you are wrong, but it's not suitable for your movie." Roger Corman took a sip of coffee, "Let me put it this way, Ronald, do you know why I agreed to give you 500,000 funds to make a movie?"

"Because I have a successful resume in youth movies, and you think highly of my ability to make movies according to the budget and schedule?" Ronald thought for a while and answered.

"Of course, this is why I think highly of you. But for this high opinion, I can only give you a maximum of 500,000." Coleman raised his palm and made a five gesture in front of Ronald.

"I don't understand."

"Because this is the most advance payment I can get from the distribution channel for your movie."

"Oh." Ronald understood a little, and continued to listen to Coleman's "Filmmaker from Beginner to Master in 20 Minutes"

The film industry is in a downturn. All investors are not fools. Not many people are willing to invest in a movie first, then wait for filming, editing, and release, and finally collect interest or dividends from the box office revenue.

There are too many variables in the middle, and investors can't wait so long. Moreover, there are countless risks in the filming and release of movies. Investing one or two million US dollars, it takes more than a year to shoot and edit, and then half a year to sell tickets. In the end, not only will there be no interest, but even the principal will be lost.

Therefore, only those small productions of hundreds of thousands of dollars can get advance filming funds from distributors. Because the shooting cycle of small productions is fast, the box office is relatively fixed, easy to estimate, and the risk is small.

Generally speaking, Coleman's New World Company will charge about 20% of the final box office total from the studio as a distribution fee.

In other words, Coleman is confident that his new film will generate at least 2.5 million in box office upon release. Therefore, he is willing to invest 500,000 yuan upfront for production costs, and under ideal conditions he will not lose money.

There is also Coleman's own profit, risk reduction, and some margin. In other words, Corman gave a minimum estimate of a box office of 400 to 5 million for his 40 million director's name, and worked backwards to give Ronald 500,000 in production funds.

Beyond that number, the risk becomes too great and Coleman won't invest any more, leaving Ronald to find the funds to fill the gap.

"Yes, the producer is the one who takes the final risk. Other investors only want to get a fixed income return, or the priority settlement rights of the box office share, so as to ensure that their investment will not lose money, so they are willing Invest in movies.

If the box office exceeds expectations and everyone else can only get a capped income, then the producer will get the most generous piece of the cake. If the box office fails, all the financial pressure will be on the producers.

This is why few directors in Hollywood use their own money to invest in movies. Producer is actually a very professional job, and few directors are proficient in it. "

"So what kind of investors should I find to fill this gap?" Ronald asked Coleman humbly.

"The best way is to find a capable producer to work with."

It's a pity that Gale Hurd has been captured by Cameron and is focusing on finding money for his "Terminator". Ronald shook his head.

"Secondly," Roger Coleman continued, seeing that Ronald was still listening to his answer, "if you have a very rich good friend, then you can also ask him to pay."

This was also unlikely, Ronald shook his head again.

"The rest are conventional options." Coleman pointed out several financing directions to Ronald.

"With my distribution capabilities, I can already get you about 30% of the filming funds. In addition, we have to sign a distribution contract. This will solve the biggest problem in your financing process. How will other investors determine your film? It will be released in theaters.”

Ronald said he understood that many movies were too poorly made to be released in theaters.

“After you get a domestic distribution contract, you have several directions you can try hard.

If you have overseas distribution channels, especially theatrical distribution channels in English-speaking countries, you can use this contract to get an overseas distribution contract. The prerequisite for them to sign a contract is that your movie will be released in America.

With this contract, you can go to the bank and try out a mortgage and get some of your money. "

Ronald secretly shook his head again. I'm afraid he can't do this either. All the people he knows in the film industry are in China.

"Another way is to invest directly from overseas banks. Many European banks will invest in the film industry. If you have connections in this area, you can try it. But there are many scammers and mafia here, so you have to be yourself. For protection, it’s best not to deal with them directly.”

It’s a bit scary. You have to deal with these people to make a movie? Ronald shook his head again.

"Then there is only one way, which is to attract more studios and stars to participate. This way, with strong distribution capabilities and celebrity endorsement, we can get loans from banks or investment from Wall Street."

This is impossible. I just couldn't find a big studio to invest, so I came to you. Ronald felt that all three options were hopeless.

"I'll think of other ways, Mr. Coleman." Ronald planned to go back to find an agent and try other small and medium-sized producers to see if anyone is willing to believe in himself and take risks.

"You're not going to invest your own money, are you? Ronald." Roger Coleman asked Ronald.

"I have had this idea, but my cousin is still in high school, and I have to plan for the future myself, and it is impossible to put all my wealth into risk.

Now I am asking my agent to accept contracts for various scripts. I hope to be able to use some of these extra income to make up for any gaps in investment. ” Ronald told Coleman the truth.

"That puts me at ease. It's not worth taking artistic risks with your own money. We have better ways to achieve our goals, right?"

"Thank you, I won't do anything reckless."

"That's good. You and Jim both came out of the New World. I don't want to see you go bankrupt."

"No, at most I will just make up for the small gap in investment." Ronald has already made up his mind that even if he wants to invest, he must use his newly earned money and not use his savings. It should not exceed the upper limit of two to three hundred thousand US dollars. Any more will affect your life and future plans.

"It seems you have made a lot of money, Ronald," Coleman smiled. "What do you do with your money? Do you invest it?"

"I bought stocks of some large companies, hoping to use stock dividends to make up for the loss of inflation. Now I don't know what assets to buy to preserve their value."

"Very good, your investment philosophy is very good. The most important thing about investing is not to lose money. We must not be deceived by Wall Street for the money we finally made from the cameras."