Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 133 It’s more suitable to cooperate with you
Aaron and Sophie Marceau came to the Saint-Denis Film Festival for a few days and then went straight back to New York;

As a platform for independent films, the St. Denis Film Festival, with its large number of works, rarely catches Aaron's eye.

Compared to other independent publishers, Suguang's business is heavily weighted towards production, while other independent publishers are still primarily focused on distribution;

The income from purchasing some finished films and distributing them by oneself, rather than financing the filming by oneself, is really limited. However, Shuguang is different, as it started directly from the production business!

In a villa in East Hampton, Long Island.

Aaron sat on the sofa, talking on the phone with Jessica Parker, "Sleepless in Seattle, Indecent Proposal, Schindler's List - these can all be used as collateral to get a bank loan!"

Jessica Parker is in corporate finance, so she has experience with these things;

After all, Aaron transferred another $300 million to his agent to buy shares of America Online. After deducting fixed expenses, Sugon's liquid funds were only $500 million.

"I understand." After all, Shuguang had a loan to repay soon, and $500 million was not enough.

The copyrights of these three films can be used as collateral to obtain a loan of at least $5000 million. "Sleepless in Seattle" alone has attracted a lot of attention, and banks and investment institutions are willing to pay for it.

Last year's "Ghost" shocked everyone!
After hanging up the phone, Aaron leaned back on the sofa and pinched his forehead. He still had 60 shares of Microsoft in his hands, which he could use as collateral at any time.

By then, the release of "Indecent Proposal" and "Scent of a Woman" would require cash investment, and new films such as "Speed" would also have to be developed.

As the Golden Globe Awards were held in Los Angeles, Kathy Bates won the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Dawn's Ghost;

Jodie Foster won Best Actress in a Drama for "The Silence of the Lambs"

However, Aaron still pays little attention to the Golden Globe Awards. After all, another project "Scent of a Woman" has officially started filming.

At the launch party of "Scent of a Woman" at the Pierre Hotel in New York, Aaron unexpectedly ran into Mike Medward, the head of TriStar Films;
Because the distributor of "Sleepless in Seattle" is Samsung Pictures, and the script was also sold to Dawn Pictures by the other party, the two parties have already agreed that Samsung Pictures will charge a 12% box office distribution commission.

"Mr. Medward, welcome!"

Aaron really didn't know the other party would come.

Mike Medver smiled and said, "Congratulations, you have another movie starting."

Aaron shook his head. "TriStar Cinema's 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day,' released last year, grossed $5.1 million worldwide, and over $2 million in North America!"

“Oh, but Ghost grossed $2.2 million in North America, surpassing Terminator 2: Judgment Day;”

"The global box office has also reached $5 million!"

Aaron's mouth twitched. Isn't Columbia the distributor of "Ghost"?
Aren’t they all released by Sony?
Mike Medward sighed. The investors and producers of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Ghost" were Carlock and Shuguang respectively.

Sony did make money from distribution, but did not participate in investment, which is somewhat unsatisfactory.

However, Mike Medver is also satisfied. This year, there are glimmers of hope in "Sleepless in Seattle" and Carlock's "Basic Instinct" to be released. I hope to achieve more glory!

"I came to you because I want to work with you on a movie about Zorro!" John Macaulay's novel Zorro created a masked knight named Zorro who robs the rich and helps the poor.

"A movie about Zorro?" Aaron frowned. "Do you have a script?"

Mike Medward shook his head. "It's just this idea. I want you to develop it. The film will be co-produced by Sugon and Samsung."

"Dawn Pictures is responsible for North American distribution, while Samsung Pictures is responsible for international distribution!"

Aaron looked at the other person. Could this be a precursor to the future "The Mask of Zorro"?

"Well, you don't need to answer so quickly. After all, it's just an idea. I was originally planning to ask Spielberg's Amblin to develop it;"

"But I feel like you're more suitable!"

Aaron nodded, "Okay, let me think about the script first."

Anyway, last year, Aaron met Catherine Zeta-Jones in London, and that movie The Mask of Zorro came to mind;
Now, Aaron can indeed develop ahead of time.

Mike Medver's collaboration with Aaron Anderson was also based on his own interests. For films like "Ghost," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," and this year's "Basic Instinct" and "Sleepless in Seattle," Sony was only responsible for the distribution. The films were financed by Suguang and Carlock themselves, so Sony's investment was small.

Last year, Samsung collaborated with Spielberg on the film "Hook", and not only did it spend $7000 million on the filming, but also had to share 40% of the film's profits among the main creators. The input-output ratio was not cost-effective.

"Hook," which was released at the end of last year, has grossed $9000 million in North America so far, and its reputation can only be described as passable.
According to predictions, "Hook" will definitely make a profit in the end, but the filming cost plus the publicity and promotion expenses of the film are too much for Samsung Pictures to invest, and the final income from the film is far less than that of the main creators.

After Mike Medver left, Aaron didn't care why he was approached to work with him, but he was genuinely interested in the Zorro project.

Anyway, with Samsung Pictures backing him up, Aaron doesn't have to worry about lack of funds!

Aaron took a sip of his wine and called his assistant, Esther Beckett. "By the way, go to the crew of 'Dracula: Bram Stoker' and inform Winona Ryder."

"The first scenes of 'Scent of a Woman' were shot in Manhattan, New York. Next month we'll be filming the tango scene with her and Al Pacino. Let her get ready first!"

Esther Beckett nodded, indicating that she understood. "It seems the crew of 'Dracula' is currently filming in France and will return to the UK at the end of the month."

"Is there anything wrong with the crew of Spielberg's Schindler's List?"

Aaron asked again.

"Nothing unexpected happened, and the film's total budget increased to $2200 million, enough for Spielberg to complete the film;"

"Besides, Spielberg is currently preparing Universal's blockbuster 'Jurassic Park,' so 'Schindler's List' won't be postponed!"

After all, one is the black-and-white art film "Schindler's List" that no one was optimistic about, and the other is the blockbuster "Jurassic Park" adapted from a best-selling science fiction novel that everyone was looking forward to.

(End of this chapter)