Chapter 181: Small group

In the past two days, Ronan received a call from Hassan and others. They will once again cooperate with Shahai Entertainment to invest in the project "Fatal Bend". The total investment of the three is as high as 20 million US dollars.

On the day when the investment income of "Reaper is coming" was settled, the Hassan and the three also signed a formal investment agreement with Shahai Entertainment.

"Happy cooperation."

"Happy cooperation."

With applause, the two parties formally signed the contract.

Ronan shook hands with Hassan, Hussein and Aziz one by one and said: "This will be the same successful cooperation as the previous two."

Hasan smiled and said, "It must be."

In the previous two days, he learned through various channels that Shahai Entertainment has not been affected by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and the scale has expanded rapidly in the past two years. Ronan Anderson has also acquired another film company, which is very developing. smoothly.

The Indians are also cooperating with Shahai Entertainment, which is also confirmed.

Then, he specifically found an Arab lawyer in Los Angeles, consulted some legal issues, and asked the other party to help review the contract and settlement statements to make sure that they were in compliance with laws and regulations.

The income of "Reaper Is Coming" is much lower than that of "Human Elimination Project", but considering the average profit rate of Hollywood movies that I know about, plus years of business experience, the 30% profit rate is not low.

The average profit margin of the import and export trade and processing industry of the three of them is less than 10%.

With the signing of the formal investment contract between the two parties, Hassan and others invested US$15 million in "Reaper Is Coming", plus a 30% profit of US$4.5 million, totaling US$19.5 million, all invested in the "Fatal Corner" project Among.

The three people signed the agreement and completed the following procedures, and returned to Abu Dhabi contentedly.

"Not only did they not take $19.5 million, they also left $500,000." In the office, George Clint said with a smile: "Ronan, it's better that you think of it."

Mary was very calm: "This is not our money after all."

Ronan said calmly: "If "Fatal Corner" is successful, they have successfully cooperated with us three times in succession, will they continue to cooperate next?"

George Clint thought for a while, and said, "I will definitely continue to cooperate."

Mary understood Ronan's meaning: "Can this money stay in our account for a long time?"

"Right." Ronan said slowly: "For investors, this is just a number, but it is a real financial aid for us. If one day they don't want to cooperate with us anymore, there will be a movie with a serious loss. "

George Clint laughed: "Like "Ace Agent"?"

Ronan did not speak, but the meaning was clear.

Mary is the financial director of Relativity Entertainment. She is very clear about what "Ace Agent" is. The funds invested by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in this project are actually used in the film preparation, shooting, production, promotion and distribution process. The legal method was transferred to the legitimate income of Relativity Entertainment and its subsidiaries.

This is not money laundering, but normal business operations.

"Isn't "Fatal Corner" originally budgeted for 10 million US dollars?" George Clint asked: "Now I have received 20 million US dollars in investment..."

Ronan thought for a moment and said, “The production budget for this project has been increased to 25 million US dollars. We actually invested 10 million US dollars in the production, and the other 10 million US dollars... When this film is released in the future, the publicity budget will be allocated by Shahai Pictures. Assumed, the publicity expenses are incorporated into the cost."

Both Mary and George Clint agreed with this approach.

This is one of the cost calculation methods often used in Hollywood. The public cost of some movies includes not only the production costs, but also the promotion and distribution costs.

For example, there are some films with huge amount of foreign investment, and the film prospects are promising. A film company like the Big Six companies that integrates production, promotion and distribution can incorporate the publicity expenditure into the cost, thereby increasing their total investment. Accounted for, enjoy more revenue sharing.

The six major companies are playing very slippery ways, and all of them are legal means.

Ronan added: "Once the project is established, Shahai Entertainment's operations and daily expenses will all be accounted for in "Fatal Turn".

This project has no third-party guarantee and no financial supervisor.

This is why Ronan is trying his best to continue to cooperate with Hassan and others. Compared with Indians who know the film industry, these Arabs who wander at the door of the film industry can be called the best Hollywood film investors.

After Mary and George Clint left, Ronan couldn't help but think of the indescribable country on the other side of the Pacific. It seems that the coal bosses have already embarked on the road to get rich. Do these people know less about Hollywood?

Then he forced himself to stop and stop thinking about it.

When it comes to things over there, the risks are too great.

Maybe we can set up an office of Embassy Pictures there first? After all, the film market has unlimited potential in the future.

Polygram Films used to have a branch in Hong Kong City. After Embassy Pictures accepted their distribution department, it also set up a branch office in Hong Kong City. It can recruit people who really understand there and go north to that indescribable city. Set up a branch office first.

Maybe the film released by Embassy Pictures can appear in the theater over there.

There is no need to think about these series of horror films. There should be some hope in "The Bourne".

Although there is only 13% of the box office share, no matter how small it is, it is meat.

Moreover, we can make more preparations for the future.

Ronan was not prepared to handle the matter personally and called Robert Lee. When he and Danny Donald arrived in Hong Kong City, they selected or recruited suitable candidates on the spot, and then relied on Polykin's long-standing relationship with Hong Kong City. , Go north to the indescribable city, establish a branch office of the Embassy Film Industry, and then try to establish a relationship with the indescribable scissors.

There is also China Film Group.

In this era, most of the power to import foreign films is in the hands of this company, and Hollywood has a limited amount each year.

With funding in place, preparations for "Deadly Bend" are also speeding up. Ronan has used George Clint’s deputy Sandro as the production manager of the crew, and hired Darwin, who had previously collaborated with Shahai Entertainment to shoot video tapes. Sting worked as an associate producer and met with the CAA agent whom Tom Cruise contacted.

Afterwards, Ronan met Gilmour del Toro. After several talks between the two sides, they were both satisfied with each other and signed a formal director contract.

CAA also actively promoted this cooperation.

Everyone can see that today's Shahai Entertainment is developing rapidly. It belongs to the new territory of Hollywood, and the brokerage company will naturally not let go of such new resources.

Ronan will not refuse to cooperate with any brokerage company, the best conditions are the most suitable business partners.

Gilmour Del Toro is very good at horror films, and the pay is not expensive, only 800,000 US dollars. In addition to the rigid standards set by the directors' union, it does not involve post-production.

Today's top director is far from the future Oscar winner.

As the film needs some outstanding young actors and actresses, CAA recommended a batch to Shahai Entertainment, but Ronan did not refuse. These are all new potential actors signed by CAA. The conditions are guaranteed and the pay is not high, as long as they audition. If appropriate, it can be used directly.

This can also reduce the heavy work of Shahai Entertainment and his producer.

The Bourne Shadow project is cooperating with William Morris, and "Fatal Turn" is mainly cooperating with CAA. Future projects may also cooperate with other agencies.

Ronan's business map is gradually expanding.

Relativity Entertainment and its two companies also settled their revenue for the 1999 fiscal year.

During this year, Shahai Entertainment filmed two films, "Reaper is Coming" and "Ace Agent"; Embassy Pictures released three films "Blair the Witch", "Ace Agent" and "Reaper Is Coming"; Relativity Entertainment As a holding company, it mainly provides loan support for two subsidiaries.

Due to the temporary inability to distribute films overseas, the overseas copyrights of these three films are all sold out at one time. "Blair the Witch" is US$50 million, "Reaper is Coming" and the other two videotapes are US$50 million, and "Ace Agent" is US$10 million. .

In North America, the distribution of Embassy Pictures has brought diversified income to films, including cinema projection income, video tape and DVD rental and sales income, pay TV income, free TV income, Internet copyright income, and a small amount of film derivative copyright income.

In addition, a company is discussing with Shahai Entertainment about the possibility of gamification of "Death Is Coming", and in the future this film can also realize game copyright revenue.

There is also the sequel copyright of "Blair the Witch", which was sold to DreamWorks by Ronan for US$12 million and then the offline market revenue. Regardless of the TV copyright, or the rental and sale of video tapes and DVDs, there are funds. In a steady stream of accounts.

Although it cannot be compared with the six major Hollywood companies or even DreamWorks, after Ronan has worked hard for two years, the film company in his hands has evolved from a video tape film company that was in debt and faced bankruptcy. A small group company with a simple industrial chain.

Among them, the most important thing is to take the Embassy Film Industry and establish a distribution channel that belongs to itself.

Distributors can participate in movie box office sharing, home entertainment sharing represented by video tapes and DVDs, TV broadcast sharing, and other royalties.

Compared with the producer, the distributor is always the first to recover the cost of the input, and is the first to get a considerable distribution fee before the box office and other income flows into the hands of the producer or other agents.

More importantly, the distribution company provided Ronan with another possibility, allowing him to have enough room for film operations. Even a commercially failed film like "Ace Agent" can actually bring benefits.