Chapter 1078 1078 Intense Competition

"DreamWorks was only established in October last year, and the time is so short; and Steven, David, and Jeffrey are all producers, so they must not have time to take care of the distribution for the time being. You can't ask too much." Regarding Hugo's doubts, Rick explained.

On October 12, 1994, when Hugo was traveling in Europe, DreamWorks officially opened, a major event in the entertainment world. Not only because of the strong alliance of the three bigwigs, Steven on behalf of film, David on behalf of music, Jeffrey on behalf of animation, indicates that Hollywood will usher in a new round of competition; but also because of the gathering of these three bigwigs Behind it, there are many curious secrets.

For example, Jeffrey and Disney head Michael Eisner officially broke their faces. Jeffrey and Michael met at Paramount. Both of them stayed at Paramount for many years and became close friends with each other. So, in 1984, when Michael jumped to Disney, he brought Jeffrey along, and the two entered Disney together, and brought Disney, which was at the bottom and precarious, back to the peak of his career.

Jeffrey is undoubtedly a top animation master. During his cooperation with Michael, he launched "The Little Mermaid (The. Little. Mermaid)", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" and other classics that are enough to go down in history.

But in the past year, Disney has been caught up in disputes of interests and power struggles within the company. Under the influence of a series of events, Jeffrey and Michael have turned against each other. On the one hand, Jeffrey has not been able to wait until the end. Promised bonuses and promotions, Michael, on the other hand, couldn't stand Jeffrey's rebelliousness. As a result, the two of them shot and scattered.

Now, Jeffrey has teamed up with Steven and David to establish DreamWorks, and the competition between DreamWorks and Disney in the future is bound to attract attention. In addition, Steven has always been close to Universal Pictures, but now it has become a competitor, and Ron Mayer, who has been trying to control the situation since taking office last year, is obviously not happy to see such an outcome.

Therefore, the emergence of DreamWorks can be described as a stone that stirred up a thousand waves.

Since film production requires a certain period of time, DreamWorks was established in October last year. Even if film production is started immediately, it will not be able to meet the audience until 1996 at the earliest, and DreamWorks will not be able to exert influence in a short time. But under such circumstances, "Before the Sunrise" became the first shot of DreamWorks. Although Hugo was talking about cooperation with David Geffen at the beginning, the "Before Sunrise" production company is also hanging up. Under the name of DreamWorks, it unexpectedly became the first work after the establishment of DreamWorks.

So, in this case, Rick's explanation is quite reasonable.

At the same time, "Before the Sunrise", which has already attracted much attention because of Hugo's screenwriting debut, has attracted a lot of attention from people in the circle. For ordinary people, they are just watching the excitement, but for professionals who come Said that the cooperation between David Geffen and Hugo obviously has more far-reaching significance, and they are also curious about the performance of "Before Sunrise".

As a result, as soon as "Before Sunrise" landed in Park City, a heated discussion was aroused, and the topicality was close to the "Pulp Fiction" that was still being shown, which attracted everyone's attention. As a result, there was a grand occasion in which four distribution companies competed for the distribution rights of "Before Sunrise" at the same time!

Look, David just made a good relationship. Not only did he gain the goodwill of Hugo and Richard, but he was also able to maximize profits in the competition of the four companies. I have to say that David is really an old fox. But even if Hugo knew that this was David's work, he had to thank David: because David did put the initiative to choose the distribution company in their hands, so that "Before Sunrise" could get a better distribution resource.

Hugo also knew that it was impossible for the three big bosses of DreamWorks not to know the importance of the distribution department, but DreamWorks never established a distribution department. The reason for this is not that simple at all, so he just said that, maybe The next time I meet Steven or David, Hugo will talk to them in detail. but not now.

"Four?" Hugo didn't continue to struggle with the issue of the distribution copyright decision, but looked at Rick with great interest and was attracted by this number, "I thought no one wanted to release our movie. Woolen cloth."

"It's a fact." Rick responded casually, letting Hugo's words stuck in his throat. Joseph, Samora, Charlize and others next to him were actually stunned, but when they saw Hugo's words His face was stunned, and he couldn't help but be amused. Rick shrugged slightly, expressing his innocence, "I'm talking about the fact that no one wants to release our movie. It's just that the follow-up effect maintained by the movie 'Before Sunrise' is very subtle, what they have What they seek is not necessarily the benefit generated by the film.”

As an independent film with such a strong experimental nature, "Before Sunrise" can be regarded as the representative of the small fresh Cult film, and the film itself is also different from the blockbuster attributes of "Pulp Fiction" - "Pulp Fiction" and the main story line are still There's dark humor and American culture and all that stuff, but "Before Sunrise" is nothing, so let's be objective: no publisher would be willing to take on a project that looks like it won't make any money, and they're not a charity.

But what's interesting is that the "Before Sunrise" project has maintained two important characters, one of which is David Geffen, the music industry mogul who also has a strong influence in the film industry, "Interview with the Vampire" The success of the film can be seen from his strong contacts. As the producer of this film, the distribution company will more or less sell him a face.

The second is Hugo Lancaster, the hottest actor and singer in the United States today. After breaking the curse of the Oscar statuette, he dedicated two absolute masterpieces, "Speed ​​of Life and Death" and "Pulp Fiction", shining through the whole. In 1994, "Before Sunrise" was not only Hugo's screenwriting debut, but it was also Hugo's choice of an obscure subject after such an alternative and eerie independent film as "Pulp Fiction". "Give more attention.

Now, add another DreamWorks. "Before Sunrise", as the first work after the establishment of DreamWorks, although David came forward to invest and produce, but since DreamWorks is willing to put up the label of "Before Sunrise" instead of David's own production company The name shows that at least Steven is also optimistic.

Therefore, this is a cost-effective transaction, paying 300,000 to 500,000 yuan to complete the distribution copyright transaction. On the one hand, only 30,000 to 500,000 yuan can easily be recovered, and the 250,000 "before sunrise" The cost of 100,000 yuan is not a problem that the distribution company needs to consider. The distribution company only needs to operate well, relying on the appeal of Hugo, and then pinning its hopes on the video tape rental market. It is not too difficult to achieve profitability. Profitability is a complex mathematical formula, and the issuing company does not need to think too much.

On the other hand, even at a loss of $100,000 in exchange for the friendship of David, Hugo, and DreamWorks, this long-term investment is not expensive at all.

In such a case, the distribution rights of "Before Sunrise" will be tricky, but it will not be ignored. That's what Rick means: It's the people that the film maintains that matters more than the film itself.

So, in this way, it is normal for one or two companies to come to inquire about the issuance. But now there are four companies competing in one breath, the scene can be said to be very lively - you must know that this is Sundance, not Cannes. This is because of accidental factors.

"Before Sunrise" actually won a lot of applause from film critics and professional fans after its release. Although there are many controversies about the film itself, after all, a non-mainline film composed of lines is too bold, but critical and What does it mean to be sought after by demanding professional fans and praised by shrewd and sharp critics?

It means that at least when the movie is released in art theaters, the box office will be very good. Aside from the full release, the results of small-scale screenings may be able to recover the cost of 2.5 million movies; it means that after the movie is released, it only needs to operate Get it right, and you can make a difference at the awards ceremony, and even more in the long run, at next year's Oscars!

Not to mention that "Before Sunrise" just premiered at Sundance, and it attracted so much attention, even overshadowing the just-concluded Golden Globe Awards. From a purely topical point of view, it is also worth investing.

So, overnight, the "before sunrise" that no one cares about becomes hot.

"They're willing to pay, they're willing to release it seriously, that's enough, I don't care what made them make such a decision." Hugo pouted and said after understanding what Rick meant.

Rick chuckled, "There are more competitors, and it's not so easy for them to take advantage. I strongly suspect that David must be doing something behind his back."

"It's not suspicion, but affirmation." Joseph said next to him, "These companies are all foxes, how can they easily give in. Although 'Before Sunrise' has a good momentum in Sundance, it has not reached the time for everyone The level of swarming, so now there are four companies competing, David must have a push behind it, and our opportunity is fleeting, and as time advances, they will start to lower prices.”

Rick nodded and affirmed Joseph's words, "So I want to discuss it with you first, and then you can talk to Richard." Richard is an independent filmmaker, and he currently does not have an agent. . "At present, the four companies have all revealed some words, and Ali and I have communicated on the phone several times. I think..." Speaking of which, Rick paused and glanced at Hugo. He seemed a little hesitant, but then he continued. He said, "I think Columbia Pictures looks the most sincere at the moment. If you think it's appropriate, I will talk to them in depth."

"Columbia Pictures..." Hugo nodded his chin slightly, with a "no surprise" expression.