Chapter 746 Investing 100 Million US Dollars
"Yes, Warner Brothers sent an email to Minghua a few days ago, asking the company to send someone to contact them as soon as possible." Song Tangtang briefly explained the matter, and then said:
"Okay, Lili, you don't have to worry about this. Rest peacefully. Second Aunt, I'll go get ready first."
"Okay, Tangtang, be careful on the road."
After Song Tangtang left, Zhou Yunmei looked at her daughter lying on the bed and suddenly asked, "Lili, you seem to be very concerned about Minghua's affairs?"
"Of course, he is my brother-in-law. Besides, my cousin and I have such a good relationship, her business is my business." Li Li replied.
Zhou Yunmei said "Oh" without saying anything else. She looked at the sleeping baby again and felt that something was wrong.
Song Tangtang called the airline and booked a flight ticket to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Then he sent an email to Fang Minghua and rushed to San Francisco International Airport early the next morning. It took more than two hours. Later the plane arrived in Los Angeles.
Warner Bros. Entertainment is headquartered in New York, but the Warner Bros. operating company, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., is located 20 kilometers north of Los Angeles in a city called Burbank.
Burbank is not only home to Warner Bros. Pictures, but also the headquarters of Disney, NBC, Viacom, PBS and many other world-famous media and entertainment companies. The company has branches in Burbank, so Burbank is also known as the "Media Capital of the World"
After Song Tangtang arrived in Los Angeles, he changed trains and finally arrived in Burbank at noon. He checked into the local Amanola Hotel in Hollywood. After having a simple pizza at noon, he took a rest and then called Warner Bros. Pictures. The company's administration department met Jeff Robinoff, vice president of Warner Bros. Pictures, in the headquarters building.
A white man in his forties with a tall build looked at Song Tangtang with a polite smile on his face.
"Ms. Song, you are the wife of the famous writer Mr. Minghua, and you are also the CEO of China's largest private film company. We are also very optimistic about China's big market, so I am happy to cooperate with you."
Jeff sat on the sofa opposite, crossed his legs, and said, "But, I have to ask you to consider a question, does your company have enough funds to co-produce this movie?"
"Mr. Jeff, we have already considered this issue, so we propose that your company invests two-thirds and our company invests one-third. Of course, the revenue share will also be based on this ratio." Song Tangtang, wearing a gray-black OL suit, said Speaking fluent English, he looked at Jeff sitting opposite with a calm expression.
"Oh, this is our company's preliminary investment plan, you can take a look." After speaking, Jeff picked up a document from the coffee table and handed it to Song Tangtang.
Song Tangtang flipped through it, and suddenly a number caught her eye: the film's budget investment was approximately between 90 million and 100 million US dollars.
Oh my god
Song Tangtang was shocked.
Before leaving Xijing, Song Tangtang held a high-level meeting in the company to discuss the matter and everyone discussed the investment issue.
Knowing that the United States, especially Hollywood, invests heavily in filmmaking, it is expected that the budget of this "Harry Potter" will not be low, at least the cost of the movie "The Fugitive" produced by Warner Bros. will be similar.
This is the first American commercial blockbuster introduced to China. It is said that the investment was as high as 44 million US dollars, equivalent to more than 300 million yuan. Of course, it also achieved a lot of box office revenue.
44 million U.S. dollars, the executives of Shengshi Film and Television, including Song Tangtang, felt that it was already very high, but this time Warner Company actually came up with a minimum budget of 90 million U.S. dollars, which was more than doubled!
"Mr. Jeff, is this budget a bit too high?" Song Tangtang suppressed her inner turmoil, put the information on the coffee table, and asked calmly.
"Oh, Ms. Song, I'm afraid you don't know much about Warner Bros. or Hollywood." Jeff stood up with an arrogant look on his face:
"Do you know how much the investment cost of the "True Lies" movie you introduced to China last year? 115 million US dollars! It was produced by 20th Century Fox. We at Warner Bros. are determined to make a movie that surpasses "True Lies", and Minghua Mr. Harry Potter gave us this opportunity!”
"How can we make a high-level movie in such a grand magical world if we only invest tens of millions of dollars? I think this is a waste of time and a waste of Mr. Minghua's good book!"
this.
Song Tangtang fell silent after hearing this.
Warner Company attaches so much importance to this novel. Of course, as Minghua's wife, she is very proud, but as the general manager of Shengshi Film and Television, she feels unprecedented pressure. "
Based on the budget of 90 million, one-third is 30 million US dollars, which is equivalent to 240 million yuan in RMB.
Oh my god
Last year, Shengshi Film and Television’s annual revenue was only 82 million yuan!
Even if you want to sell everything, you don't have that much money.
Of course, there is another possibility.
The other party deliberately made a large budget to scare themselves away.
Don’t you Chinese want to co-produce with us?
Get the money!
After a while, Song Tangtang said: "Mr. Jeff, can I make a call?"
"OK!" Jeff pointed to the landline on the boss's desk: "I'll go out for a while if you want." After saying that, he left coolly.
Song Tangtang stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the phone and dialed a number. Naturally, it was Fang Minghua.
It was about six in the morning in Xijing time. Fang Minghua was sleeping soundly when he was awakened by a hurried phone call. He picked up the phone in a daze.
"Minghua, this is Tangtang. There's something urgent."
"Tangtang, what's wrong?" Fang Minghua suddenly woke up: "Did something happen to the child? Or Lili?"
"Neither, both mother and daughter are fine." On the other end of the phone, Song Tangtang replied unhappily: "There was a problem in the negotiation with Warner Bros. I'm in the office of their vice president Jeff now."
"What's the problem?"
"They budgeted this film as high as 900 to 100 million US dollars!" Song Tangtang briefly explained the process.
"Oh, so that's it." Fang Minghua's heart was immediately relieved, and he changed a comfortable position in the quilt: "One hundred million, not much."
"Ah? One hundred million is not much? I thought they were deliberately exaggerating to scare us off." Song Tangtang said.
"There are not so many conspiracies. Tangtang, how much can Shengshi Film and Television take out?"
"The company has only about 50 million in cash on its account now. We have to wait until "If You Are the One" is released and the copyright of the first part of "Kangxi's Private Visit" is sold. The initial estimate is that the revenue will be around 70 million to 90 million, but it can't be in place immediately." Song Tang explained.
"Even if it is in place, it can't be invested in this film. The company needs to maintain daily operations, and also invest in the second part of "Kangxi's Private Visit" and reserve funds for filming. After calculation, our company can invest a maximum of 90 million."