Movie Master

The conversation between Lance and Brad seemed brief, with only a few back and forth between the beginning and the end, but in fact there was a hidden mystery.

Lance took the initiative to bring up The Unfortunate Adventures of Raymond Snicket and The Chronicles of Narnia, not only to dig holes, but also to increase the chips for Chaos Pictures. Brad had to carefully consider whether the cooperation with City of God was a one-time deal, or the possibility of long-term cooperation with Chaos Films and Lance in the future. This can definitely be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Similarly, Brad was also calculating. He took the initiative to give up 30% of the box office dividend, and he didn't even veto the 40% proposed by Lance. average level. More importantly, he didn't say the price of the copyright fee - if it's a 40% box office dividend, plus a copyright fee of US$500,000, then this offer doesn't have much advantage over Harvey to speak of.

It can be seen that Brad is only testing. After tonight, Brad is bound to conduct further investigations, not only to investigate the quotations of competitors, the development prospects of City of God, but also to investigate the situation of the two works mentioned by Lance, and Lancelot-Sch Trello the possibility of cooperation with this person. Then consider making your own offer.

Today's conversation is just the first step in the release of the copyright of City of God. Just like Harvey.

In the next few days, the whole Park City was full of wind and clouds, and Lance became extremely busy. Under the recommendation of Robert Redford, Lance got to know the purchasing team of Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures successively; and then with the help of Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, he worked with Sony Classics and Fox Searchlight. The distribution department picked up the conversation.

The difference between the former and the latter is that the former are the eight major Hollywood film studios, while the latter are subsidiaries of these top production companies that specialize in the distribution of independent films. In short, the former is to expand contacts, and the latter is really related to the distribution rights of City of God.

In addition, Lance also met representatives of several medium-sized distribution companies, and they all showed a lot of interest in City of God. Especially with the passage of time, the popularity of City of God in Park City has been rising, and many people have seen the potential of this work.

Since the premiere of City of God on January 21, the number of moviegoers has gradually increased in the past five days, and reached its peak on the 24th, when more than 200 people flocked to Park City. 50,000 viewers, which also created the highest single-day audience flow record since the birth of the Sundance Film Festival. Its unshakable title of Holy Land of Independent Films in the world.

The reason why the increase in the number of viewers is linked to City of God is because in the past five days, due to the large number of viewers, the organizing committee had to increase the screening of City of God twice. On the screen, according to incomplete statistics, City of God accounted for 12% of the audience, ranking first in the 19th Sundance Film Festival, far ahead of Glorious America ​​which currently ranks second. —The latter has only 8% of the audience.

At the same time, Javier-Ulier's blog also ushered in a full-blown stage during the Sundance Film Festival. In just five days, it achieved nearly 600,000 views and was successfully published On the popular headlines of major portals. Even in the last two years of the blog boom, the rise of Javier's blog is amazing.

Thanks to the propaganda power of the Internet, the attention of major media in the United States to Sundance has also increased significantly. In the same period last year, Sundance-related news averaged about 40 articles per day, and this year it has passed the threshold of 100 articles in one fell swoop—many of which are lamenting that the powerful power of Internet publicity has made people form an online relationship. Through the interaction between online and offline, many people can communicate with Park City even if they just sit in front of the computer at home without going to Park City, and then many viewers take the initiative to drive to Park City to join Sundance directly. As a result, Sundance ushered in a movie-watching boom.

This is undoubtedly an epoch-making great progress.

Under the situation of singing and dancing, the word-of-mouth of City of God has further increased. A street survey was conducted in the Salt Lake Tribune, and the top three works that impressed the audience most were Soul Station, City of God and Whale Rider, among which the most heated discussion is undoubtedly City of God.

Among audience ratings, City of God, Soul Station and My Flesh ranked the top three, among which City of God stood out with an undisputed score of 3.8 points, even higher than God City. The response after the premiere of The City was even more enthusiastic. It can be seen that the hotter the discussion and the stronger the controversy, the higher the word-of-mouth reputation of City of God.

In other words, if Sundance is Toronto, then the People's Choice Award belongs to City of God, which seems to be the answer without suspense.

In the vigorous and lively atmosphere, the closing ceremony and awards ceremony of the Sundance Film Festival is coming, the annual Sundance is also coming to an end, and the battle for the distribution rights of major Hollywood film studios is gradually coming to an end. Gao Feng, the distribution rights of several films such as Soul Station, Glorious America, and Whale Rider seem to have found their ownership, but City of God, one of the focuses, has never been moved.

Harvey looked at the flickering cigar in his hand. The rich aroma relaxed his tense brain. Through the hazy smoke, he could outline the elegant and lazy outline of Lance, just like a squinting cigar. dozing fox with closed eyes.

Although Harvey has already understood the rules of Hollywood, but this time, the speed of the offensive and defensive transition far exceeded Harvey's expectations, disrupting his overall plan, and he even had an illusion: all this It was all carefully calculated by the little fox in front of him. Immediately, he himself denied this possibility. If Lance was really that smart, Diorama Pictures wouldn't have changed hands so easily.

Box office, or awards? Harvey let himself relax on the back of the chair, showing his confidence and calmness, but in fact, his heart was more tense than ever, because he knew that now he was the buyer's market . Don't talk politely, you and I both know that you have left Diorama Films for only half a year, and Chaos Films has just started now, and your struggle has just begun.

Harvey obviously went through careful investigation and knew about Lance's current situation. Objectively speaking, what Lance is after is indeed awards, word of mouth, or more precisely, the recognition of people in the industry. With the current capabilities of Chaos Films, it is too difficult to produce a box office hit and quickly complete the original accumulation. The success of the box office requires the right time, place and people. The success of Blair Witch cannot be placed at any time. Both can be achieved; the most convenient way is for Lance to prove his ability, and then use it as a springboard to win cooperation opportunities for major projects, so Lance chose City of God.

Therefore, before Lance told Brad that he was after the box office, this was obviously not true.

Lance didn't panic at all, and the smile on the corner of his mouth was even tinged with complacency, Harvey, whether it's box office or awards, I can't just get what I want. Can you make sure of this? Lance said What is being said is the truth, but it is not the intention of Harvey's question, but Harvey can't refute, Why don't we all tell the truth, Harvey, do you want box office or awards?

The same question, but Lance's subtext is completely different-how much is City of God worth in Harvey's mind? If Harvey intends to use City of God to hit the awards, how sure is he of success, and how much is Harvey willing to pay?

Lance handed over the initiative to Harvey, but Harvey couldn't laugh.

This is not their first meeting, to be precise, this is their fifth meeting in the past four days. Both of them have talked a lot about their respective advantages and disadvantages, and there is no point in repeating it now, it is time to make a decision. Harvey took a deep breath of the cigar in his hand, and said confidently and proudly, Lance, do you know why cigars are so special? It's not because they are expensive, but because there are too few people who know how to taste. Only Its value can only be realized when it finds a truly suitable owner. As for the others... they are just arty people.

Lance raised his eyebrows slightly. The implication of Harvey's words could not be more obvious, but Lance did not intend to respond.

It seemed that Harvey didn't expect a response from Lance either. He exhaled the smoke from his mouth and said casually, 1.5 million, 35% of the box office dividend.

Lance didn't speak immediately, he knew that this was no longer a bargain, this was Harvey's final offer, a non-negotiable offer.

Harvey raised his chin confidently, and looked at Lance in front of him with a condescending attitude. In Harvey's view, although Lance is very good, he is still too young to be rational. Harvey can feel that Lance is deliberately taking revenge on himself and his previous teasing, but for a truly mature businessman, he should not care about these trivial matters, and the only core idea is profit.

If Lance was sensible enough, he should have nodded. According to the information Harvey inquired, the current highest offer is from Paramount, 1.5 million plus 30% box office dividend. The other companies have all retreated in front of Paramount, leaving only Miramax as the last competitor.

Therefore, the choice couldn't be simpler, and it depends on Lance's decision.

Lance showed a polite smile, stood up from his seat, and said humbly and politely, I'm sorry, Harvey, I still need a little time to think about it. You know, after all, this matter is for me and Chaos Shadow In terms of industry, it is too important.”

The smile on the corner of Harvey's mouth was outlined in satisfaction. He knew that Lance could not resist the temptation, so he also stood up, Of course, you know my phone number. Then he shook Lance's hand, Watching Lance leave.

At 8 o'clock that night, news came from Sundance that the distribution rights of City of God were officially taken over by Paramount Pictures. According to insider information, the transaction price was US$1.8 million plus 30% Five box office dividends.

When Harvey heard the news, he was stunned, and then slammed the whiskey glass in his hand against the wall, smashing it to pieces.