Chapter 764 Warner Copyright Auction, When Wall Street Versus Hollywood

Chapter 764 Warner Copyright Auction, When Wall Street Meets Hollywood...

As the 72nd Golden Globe Awards for Film and Television came to an end, the organizers immediately announced that the celebration banquet had officially begun.

At the same time, in China, the film industry, which had been paying attention to this awards ceremony, was completely shocked!

All major media, news websites, movie channels and other platforms were inserting related news.

Even including major film and television entertainment headlines and Weibo hot searches, without exception, all were flooded with the airborne Golden Globe information.

"The 72nd Golden Globe Awards for Film and Television officially ended half an hour ago. Director Chen Fei won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and the Best Actor Award for Drama with the movie "The Revenant", successfully achieving five nominations and three hits!"

No one can ignore the weight of a Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Even though Chen Fei has won it no less than three times, this award is still very exciting!

An hour later, including officials, various associations, major film and television companies in the industry, actors and artists... all responded.

These people either directly published congratulatory articles or went to Chen Fei's Weibo to congratulate him.

Related reports continued to pour out, attracting countless people's attention:

"Beijing Film Academy issued a congratulatory letter and hoped that Chen Fei could win another Oscar, hoping for the fourth consecutive championship to boost the Chinese film industry."

"Shanxi Film Academy has put up a banner and released a congratulatory letter on its official website. The number of new students has once again ushered in a surge!"

"The Oscar nomination list will be announced soon. Many actors in the industry have appeared in the comment section of Chen Fei's Weibo, congratulating him in advance on winning another Oscar! Climb to a higher peak!"

"..."

Compared to the lively Chinese film industry, the atmosphere in Hollywood is even more lively.

At the cocktail party, Chen Fei held the golden Golden Globe trophy in his hand and constantly accepted congratulations from many parties and requests for group photos.

Male actors were okay. In most cases, they came over to clink glasses, chatted for a few words, and then walked away consciously.

But the actresses were thicker than each other. During the group photo, they wanted to get into Chen Fei's arms directly.

And every time after contact, Chen Fei always felt that there was something extra in his pocket.

You don't need to guess that there will be no other items except the room card.

"Fei, congratulations."

Charlize Theron stepped on a pair of high heels and gently clinked glasses with Chen Fei, constantly showing her own charm and style.

She had given enough signals. Now only Chen Fei nodded, and the two could go out to spend a good night together.

Unfortunately, her calculations did not work out after all. Chen Fei did not want to be one of her "stamp collecting" targets.

Maybe many people are interested in this, but he has no idea in this regard.

In the end, Charlize Theron could only watch Chen Fei leave with her eyes wide open, and retracted her gaze sadly.

Chen Fei did not stay too long at the cocktail party. After greeting the organizer, he left the scene in advance and prepared to rush to the second celebration cocktail party.

The venue of the second celebration banquet was surprisingly Walton Pictures.

When he rushed back to the company, it was already a grand occasion with lights and decorations.

"Fei! Congratulations!"

The fireworks exploded, and Natasha personally held a bouquet of flowers and handed it to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei looked around, looked at the excited faces, and shouted loudly: "Tonight, we won't go home until we are drunk!"

Accompanied by a "boom" sound, Volton Pictures was immediately immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei and Natasha left the hall and returned to the latter's office.

"Fei, this is an invitation letter for a cocktail party and auction sent by Warner. The time is tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to go shopping?"

Warner? Auction?

Chen Fei raised his eyebrows slightly, took the invitation letter and took a look.

There was only one signature on the top, which was his own name, and the extra information was not written.

"What kind of auction is this? What are they going to sell?"

"I heard it's scripts, film and television copyrights, novels and the like. According to Warner, they are doing this to clear some of their backlog of inventory."

Clearing inventory?

Fade Chen curled his lips and didn't believe it at all.

Which film and television company would clear out the film and television copyrights that they had finally obtained? Warner's move must have a deeper meaning.

After playing with it for a while, Fade Chen put away the invitation letter, "It just so happens that I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I'll go over and take a look and see what they are going to do."

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"Sure, if you have nothing to do, then let's go over and take a look."

...

The next morning, as the overnight fermentation, topics such as Fade Chen, Leonardo, and "The Revenant" have become the focus of the entire Hollywood.

Since morning, Fade Chen has been receiving congratulatory calls and text messages from home and abroad, as well as many invitations to cocktail parties.

However, all of these were rejected by him.

I had drunk enough last night. If I go again, I will be completely soaked in the wine jar.

The auction started in the afternoon, so Chen Fei simply did not go out for the whole morning and just stayed in the villa to sleep in.

After waking up, he first talked to Liu Yifei on the phone for an hour, then logged into Weibo to check the news in China.

Regarding his winning of the Golden Globe Award for Best Director again, all directors and actors in the domestic film industry could not escape the media interviews.

At this time, many mainland directors had already reported on the Internet about his successful winning of the award.

"I really want to exchange my 2.2 billion box office for his Golden Globe Award for Best Director. I don't know if he is happy about it. I will definitely discuss it with him after he comes back."

"Congratulations... I am happy for him. The Berlin International Film Festival will be held soon. I hope I can gain something."

"I am quite busy with the work on "Old Cannon". I will make it short. Congratulations on winning the award..."

"Hehe, a long time ago, I was the first director to win the Golden Globe Award. From the perspective of a senior, I still hope that he can continue to be humble. After "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain" is released, I may try to win another award. This time it will be an Oscar."

"..."

To Chen Fei's surprise, in addition to those well-known directors in the mainland, the Film Association, which had already drawn a clear line with him a long time ago, also spoke out!

"At the recent Golden Globe Awards, Chen Fei successfully won the Best Director Award with his outstanding directing talent. This achievement is undoubtedly a high recognition of his talent.

As a big family dedicated to promoting the development of the film industry, the Film Association expressed warm congratulations on his achievement... We have seen his shining talent and unlimited potential, and sincerely hope that he can "go home" and become a member of the Film Association to contribute to the prosperity of Chinese-language films..."

In addition, major film industry-related organizations including the Screenwriters Association, the Producers Association, and the Actors Association have also publicly issued statements and extended an olive branch of "return" to him far away in Hollywood.

"Hey? What's going on? The sun is rising from the west?"

Chen Fei blinked and was a little confused for a while.

You know, he is a well-known "thorn" in the mainland film circle. He and those old guys are simply incompatible and have long torn their faces.

If it weren't for his strong ability and the protection of someone above him, those old guys would have forced him to stay in the mainland film and television circle.

Until now, whenever Feiyue Films' scripts and finished films were submitted for review, Chen Fei had to say hello to Tong Gang, otherwise they would never pass the review.

This shows how disgusting these old guys are.

But now they actually jumped out to do a wave of "welcome home" operations, which is very strange.

When did these old men actually lower their proud heads?

Chen Fei felt very strange from the bottom of his heart, but for a while he couldn't guess what they were thinking.

It is absolutely impossible for them to have a conscience, these old guys must be thinking of something bad again!

...

In the afternoon, Chen Fei got into Natasha's car, and the two went to the Warner Film Building together.

Since today's auction is not open to the public, the media and reporters who received the news can only shoot outside and have no qualifications to enter.

When Chen Fei arrived at the venue in a low-key manner, he saw the scene of the six major Hollywood members gathering.

Even well-known independent production companies such as Lionsgate, New Line Cinema, Focus Features, and Lakeshore Films had representatives, or even the presidents were there in person.

"Fei, Natasha, you are here too!"

As the CEO of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige also came to the scene today.

In comparison, the news he received was even more detailed than Natasha's.

After saying hello, the three of them walked to a corner.

Kevin Feige whispered, "According to the news I received, Warner Pictures has placed all its bets on the DC series of movies. Coupled with the continuous losses for several years, the company's internal capital chain has begun to show loopholes.

As for today's auction, their main purpose is to sell all the remake rights of those old movies and some long-standing scripts to relieve financial pressure."

Betting heavily on the DC series of movies?

Chen Fei curled his lips and almost couldn't help laughing.

Since the failure of "Green Lantern" in 2011, Warner Pictures has been constantly making bold moves.

Coupled with the great success of the Marvel series of movies, their eyes are so red with excitement!

You know, in the North American comics market, DC is on par with Marvel, but now Marvel is developing better and better, and has become an evergreen in the Hollywood movie market.

But on the other hand, except for Batman, the others are half dead.

And Warner will naturally not sit idly by. After much discussion, it officially launched the "DC Movie Universe Development Plan".

As for today's auction, it is a desperate act.

All funds will be provided to DC movies, which is undoubtedly equivalent to a gamble!

Soon, as the people arrived one after another, the staff began to guide the guests to their seats.

Chen Fei was led to the first row as expected, and on the left and right were the two vice presidents of Universal Pictures and Disney.

Because I was not familiar with the two swords, I just said hello briefly and did not have an in-depth chat.

Almost all of the people here today are competitors, and there are no media or reporter cameras to record it, so everyone is not very interested in socializing and chatting with each other.

Soon, with a Warner Pictures executive taking the stage, the auction officially kicked off.

The executive’s opening remarks were straightforward: “After the auction, Warner Pictures will conduct detailed copyright transfer work with the buyer who successfully bids for the rights.

This includes signing a formal copyright transfer contract, paying copyright fees, and delivering the original materials and related materials of the novel. At the same time, Warner Pictures will also provide the necessary support and assistance to the buyer to ensure the smooth filming and distribution of the film... …”

In the audience, Chen Fei whispered: "Hey? Are you preparing one-stop service support?"

The next second, the Warner executive on the stage pressed the remote control in his hand.

As a big screen slowly unfolded, two huge English words appeared on the screen.

Ben-Hur.

Chen Fei's brows suddenly trembled, this movie is not simple!

On the stage, Warner executives have already begun to introduce: "The film is adapted from Lewis Wallace's religious novel. It debuted on November 18, 1959, and earned 17.448 million yuan in box office revenue.

In addition, it also won 11 Oscars in one fell swoop, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography, setting a record that has never been surpassed..."

There was a sudden noise in the audience, and many people looked at the big screen with bright eyes, obviously very interested.

When this movie was released at the time, it received a lot of praise and achieved outstanding results in both film reviews and word-of-mouth.

Major film companies were eager to replicate its success, and since then have produced a series of epic films based on religious legends or classical legends.

Such as "Spartacus", "Heroes of All Time", "King of Kings", "The Fall of the Roman Empire", "Cleopatra", etc. are all included in this list.

And now, Warner is actually going to sell the rights to remake this movie. This is a good opportunity!

Natasha, who was sitting in the second row, immediately leaned out and asked Chen Fei for his opinion: "Should we win the remake rights of this movie?"

Chen Fei twitched the corner of his mouth, and was about to persuade her to calm down and not fall into Warner's trap, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a pair of eyes staring straight at her.

He rolled his eyes and deliberately showed a confident smile on his face: "You don't have to worry about it, just let me do it."

"good."

Natasha sat back obediently.

At this time, the Warner executive on the stage had already shouted out the starting price.

"The starting bid is US$1 million, and each bid increase shall not be less than US$100,000. Please note that all copyrights are valid for three years. Warner will withdraw the copyrights after the time limit."

According to the production speed of Hollywood, three years is enough time for a movie from preparation to release.

For example, the time limit for Marvel to license the film and television rights of "Spider-Man" to Sony is three years.

And this also means that after spending money to purchase the copyright, the film must be released within three years and officially screened in theaters, otherwise the copyright will be purchased in vain.

The vice president of Disney was the first to shout: "$1.3 million!"

Sony followed closely: "$1.5 million."

Universal Pictures tentatively said: "$1.8 million."

Chen Fei curled his lips, glanced from the corner of his eyes from one side, and said slowly: "2.5 million US dollars."

As soon as the price came out, many people in the venue looked over with some consideration and doubt.

Although "Ben-Hur" would have been very popular in the 19th century, in the current context, whether it can achieve box office success again is another matter.

Is it appropriate to pay such a high price for the remake rights?

But seeing the confidence on Chen Fei's face, everyone was unconsciously ready to make a move.

Projects that Chen Fei is optimistic about might actually succeed!

But the next second, a shout suddenly came to mind in the venue: "I offer 3.5 million US dollars!"

In an instant, everyone turned their attention to the side where the voice came from, and then saw a "woman" with a man's face but short shoulder-length hair, raising her head proudly.

Megan Ellison enjoys being in the spotlight.

She glanced at the audience with the look of a woman who is the best and a poor woman who only has money, as if she was choosing her opponent.

After everyone met her eyes, they silently looked away.

Investors from Wall Street and Silicon Valley are all so arrogant. When they first enter the market, they will look aloof, as if they can suppress Hollywood. They are used to it.

Chen Fei also withdrew his gaze and gave Natasha a look to signal her not to act rashly.

This is just a hole dug, and it has not yet reached his expectations.

As soon as the price of US$3.5 million was announced, the remake of "Ben-Hur" successfully fell into the hands of Annapurna Pictures founded by Megan Ellison.

The auction continues.

From time to time, Chen Fei would bid on projects that he was very unfavorable to, and without exception, Megan Ellison would jump out to bid with him every time.

An hour later, with the official end of the auction, Chen Fei got nothing, while Megan Ellison successfully won two copyrights at a very high price.

Under the gaze of the audience, she proudly raised her head, like a hen with phoenix feathers, and left the auction site in a high profile.

That afternoon, Annapurna Pictures issued a notice announcing that it had bought two copyrights from Warner Pictures at an astonishingly high price.

The first one was the remake copyright of the movie "Ben-Hur", which was purchased for $3.5 million.

The second one was the script "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword", which was purchased for $4.15 million.

As soon as these two notices came out, they immediately attracted the attention of the entire Hollywood.

At the same time, Warner was very happy.

At that time, Warner won the competition with Sony and Universal, and bought David Dokin's script "King Arthur and Lancelot" for $2 million, preparing to develop a magical epic blockbuster series around the legendary story of King Arthur.

But in the end, due to the huge differences between David Dokin and Warner in terms of filming concepts and investment scale, the project was suspended for a time and has been a hot potato until now.

But no one expected that Megan Ellison would actually buy this hot potato for $4.15 million.

On the other hand, Chen Fei looked at the two notices and was also very happy for a long time.

He really didn't expect that the people on Wall Street were so "simple" in Hollywood that they stepped on two pits in a row with great joy.

"Interesting, it's so interesting!"

...

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