Four Hundred and Twenty-Three - Exclusivity

When it comes to exclusive screening, it is definitely not a new term. The practice of exclusive screening in Hollywood has been going on for more than half a century, from the earliest hand-crank screening era to the current film age and even the digital age in the future. , has always been a well-known monopoly tool used by the three major theater companies and the six major Hollywood giants.

Specifically, "exclusive screenings" refer to contracts between distributors and exhibitors that ensure that exhibitors located in the city's hinterland have exclusive, first-run showings of films, thereby preventing competing theaters located in the same area from showing them at the same time. Same new movie.

Although this policy is not limited to large exhibitors, in fact independent cinemas and theaters have been fighting against the "exclusive screening" of large cinemas. In recent years, due to the rapid growth of the North American film market, the operating difficulties of independent theater chains and cinemas have intensified, and the exclusive screening of large theater chains has further harmed them.

In fact, people only see the impact of exclusive screening on small theater companies, and completely ignore the impact on production companies. You know, the three major theater companies usually sign exclusive screening contracts. When they sign a film from a certain production company, it means the end of other films in the same period.

Since the 1990s, every one of Wayne's films has been able to bring massive traffic and revenue to the theater alliance led by the three major theater companies. To a certain extent, just relying on him With his name, it is entirely possible to negotiate an exclusive screening contract with theater companies.

If today's new film is not "The Departed" but the second Batman film, then Bruce Rosenblum will never hesitate and is 100% sure that it can be negotiated.

But after all, this is not a purely commercial film. Even at the beginning of the project preparation, Wayne explained the situation in advance. The main goal of this film is to win the Oscar statuette.

After the film was produced and screened internally, it became clear to all Warner Bros. executives that this was not destined to be a film with a broad audience. The extremely stylized production, coupled with the film's overly large scale, would make it difficult for theaters to The company believes that such a film can become as popular around the world as Batman.

"Don't worry, Bruce."

A thick cigar was thrown across the desk. Jeff Robinoff held the newly lit cigar between his fingers and walked out from behind the desk. He stood in front of the window and looked down at the busy streets on Burbank Street. crowd.

Two lines of thick fog sprayed out from his nose, which were particularly obvious under the sunlight that had just risen. "Bruce, to a certain extent, Wayne is much smarter and greedier than you and I! He has a complex personality, but his principles are not complex at all.

Yes, that is profit first. He could endure the criticism of film critics in front of him for the sake of that damn statuette, or he could go against his will to please the old men in the academy, but there would never be many such situations. I believe that regardless of the outcome of "The Departed"'s Oscar journey this time, he will immediately turn his head and continue making commercial films with huge profits! "

The intention of the CEO of Warner Bros. was very obvious. They did not have to worry about whether "The Departed" had signed an exclusive screening contract, or even the profits of this film. They just needed to do their best to help the young man get what he wanted.

After this film is released, whether it is the exclusive screening agreement that they have longed for, the extremely generous box office revenue, and the peripheral revenue that has made countless companies in the industry jealous, they will naturally make up for it.

"I just feel a little pity." Bruce Rosenblum shook his head slightly, carefully trimmed his cigar, and said again and again, "It seems that this "The Departed" can not only recoup the investment from the theater market, but also make a lot of money. Pen."

"I never doubted that."

There was a chuckle. Jeff Robinov turned around and walked back to his desk. He glanced at the various newspapers and magazines on the table. Ninety percent of them were praise for "The Departed". Some media It was due to the public relations from Warner Bros., and more of it was just riding on the popularity.

"Bruce, there's no way Wayne's movies are losing money." Although he said it with a smile, his confidence can still be heard in it. "At least this film can't lose money, unless he misses three or two times in a row and completely consumes all the brand effect he has established among movie fans. Otherwise, no matter how niche his film is, there will still be a large number of fans. Willing to try.”

Bruce Rosenblum took the airbrush, lit his cigar and nodded. He also knows that this is the biggest benefit of a director establishing a brand effect.

When a large number of movie fans think that the films you shoot are all excellent, then even if you fail once in a while, movie fans will choose to watch them because of inertia, especially young people.

The rebellious nature of young people is still more or less present. They do not believe in the so-called authority and will base everything on what they see with their own eyes. This is also the main reason why film critics have less influence during the summer season. Young people would rather believe in those around them. Even if a friend recommends it, he or she will not take a second look at the ratings of so-called famous film critics.

"Jeff, the first box office share of "The Matrix" has been paid by the theater company." Bruce Rosenblum frowned when he mentioned this matter.

You know, regarding the income issue of "The Matrix", there have always been different voices within the Warner Bros. board of directors. Everyone knows that Wayne's part must not make any mistakes and must take the initiative without missing a penny. to the Greenberg Studio account.

The production cost of "The Matrix" was around US$80 million, of which US$40 million was real money spent by Wayne. Needless to say, he must enjoy the benefits he deserves.

But the other $40 million was raised by the Warner Bros. Film and Television Production Department, under the banner of Wayne, from outside international film funds. They inevitably had other ideas.

According to the usual practice of Hollywood production companies, the final accounts of "The Matrix" will definitely turn into losses. Funds from outside the industry are treated like this. Even the vampires on Wall Street can't have fun with this. Media giant.

But now Wayne's income is involved. Although he is the majority shareholder of Warner Brothers, no one can be sure what he thinks until they sit down to discuss it.

"I remember that the distribution department signed a distribution contract with Hacker Studio. All the royalties will be paid within six months after the film is released, right?"

Jeff Robinov put down the cigar in his hand, raised a hand, gently rubbed his chin, and said carefully after thinking over and over again. There's no way, Wayne is involved, and they must be cautious in every decision they make.

Especially when it comes to money, no one wants to cause the man's dissatisfaction because of the profit from the film. Even if a gap occurs unknowingly, it will be more than worth the gain.

In the thick fog, Bruce Rosenblum's helpless voice came out, "It is stipulated that payment should be made within six months after the film is released, but all the company's remuneration to Wayne, according to the rules, is almost always paid in advance after it is paid. I estimate that within two days, that accountant Colin Howard will come to your door."

Of course Warner Bros. has great respect for Wayne. He has used his own strength to win the respect of all senior executives and shareholders. The most important thing is that he can always bring huge benefits to everyone.

But the other staff around Wayne definitely have a different attitude. For example, the agent Jimmy, who is like a vampire and loses all bottom lines as long as Wayne's income is involved, as long as he appears on the negotiating table. , every executive at Warner Bros. felt disgusted.

Leaving aside Jimmy, who only has to endure nausea once or twice a year, accountant Colin Howard is no less generous. He is a troublesome figure who appears in Warner Bros.'s financial department almost every few months.

Everyone can guess that some of the accountant's actions may not have been approved or authorized by Wayne, but no one is stupid enough to verify it, because this guy has always been protecting the interests of his clients, well , with four senior accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers at all times for maintenance.

The huge revenue that "The Matrix" can generate is by no means comparable to Wayne's usual follow-up share. The box office is only a small part of it. The bulk of it is the huge peripheral sales, which exceeds 1.1 billion US dollars in sales of peripheral items. Nearly $50 million belongs to the production company, but it is also sitting on Warner Bros.'s financial accounts.

No one dared to speculate on this money, and all accounting transactions with surrounding dealers were watched by a team of PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants led by Colin Howard.

"Wait a minute, Wayne should still be on the plane flying to New York."

Raising his wrist, Jeff Robinov glanced at the time and said, "Before noon, I will call him personally to discuss it. As long as the money belonging to Greenberg Studio is not less than one cent, he should not Object to how Warner Bros. handles its accounts."

Bruce Rosenblum nodded and said dullly, "Okay, I'll leave it to you."

In fact, both of them knew that no media group composed of capital was willing to give up so many benefits, including Wayne's share.

If Wayne is willing to be a producer or director, Warner Bros. will not be stingy in offering the top box office share contract in the industry. However, no one is a fool.

Everyone in the company understands that when the huge profits from "The Matrix" are seen by that greedy young man, no matter what project it is in the future, he will definitely think of co-investment immediately and will never be willing to take "that one" Ding Dian" box office share.

"Fortunately, Wayne was willful enough to make that commitment in order to control this summer's schedule!"

Warner Bros. is not a small company. It was Wayne’s promise not to participate in the DC series investment that drove this media giant to do everything he wanted during the summer season. Therefore, most people within the company also felt that He is a willful lunatic.