Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 47 Twentieth Century Fox

"20th Century Fox? Okay, I'll come over this afternoon!"

Aaron Anderson received a call from 20th Century Fox, who seemed interested in Phone Booth.

A few years ago, Rupert Murdoch, a media tycoon from Australia, acquired the 20th Century Fox Entertainment Group;
Now, the parent company of 20th Century Fox is News Corporation, a newspaper company controlled by Rupert Murdoch!
Moreover, because Rupert Murdoch attached great importance to the television industry, he poached Barry Diller, who was interested in the television industry, from Paramount to form FOX, the fourth largest commercial wireless broadcasting network in the United States;

Barry Diller was a key helmsman in Paramount's revival in the 1970s. Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, now at Disney, were both Barry Diller's deputies at the time.

Obviously, 20th Century Fox Entertainment is run by Barry Diller, who also reports only to Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation;
But Barry Diller's current focus is definitely on developing the FOX wireless broadcasting network.

The United States originally had three major commercial wireless broadcasting networks, namely ABC, NBC and CBS, but there was also a non-profit broadcasting alliance organization - the Public Broadcasting Corporation PBS (Public Television)!
PBS does not participate in these business rules. It is an alliance of television stations with an educational focus. Currently, the wireless broadcasting business in the United States mainly refers to these three major television networks.

In the afternoon, Aaron Anderson drove to the Century City business district next to Beverly Hills.

2121 Century City Avenue of the Stars, Fox Plaza Tower, a 40-story skyscraper, is the headquarters of th Century Fox, which was built two years ago;

The main filming location for "Die Hard" was this building, which was not yet fully completed at the time.

Aaron came to the president's office on the 38th floor and after waiting for more than half an hour, he met Joe Roth, the president of th Century Fox!
The assistant whispered something to Joe Ross and left, "Aaron, sit down!"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ross!"

After a while, the office assistant brought two cups of coffee.

"The elements of 'Phone Booth' should be very attractive, and you have such impressive achievements as 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' and 'Cinema Paradiso';"

"Shouldn't there be a distributor to help you release this movie?"

Joe Roth does have some vision in this regard, so there is no way Miramax would refuse to distribute it.

Aaron took a sip of his coffee. “New Line and Miramax are indeed interested, but they want to buy the distribution rights directly;”

"Personally, I had higher expectations for Phone Booth than for Sex, Lies, and Videotape;"

"I don't want to sell it at a low price. We can't agree on the price!"

Joe Roth laughed, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape won the Palme d'Or and grossed $2400 million in North America."

"'Phone Booth' is indeed novel, but the setting is even simpler. Are you so confident?"

Aaron nodded. "Mr. Ross, I think you've seen the movie. What did you think of Nicolas Cage's performance?"

"Brilliant!" Joe Ross said without hesitation.

"How about this? Since you don't want to sell out, let's use a profit-sharing model. 20th Century Fox is short of a movie for the spring release and needs to fill the vacancy."

"Therefore, 300th Century Fox will distribute Phone Booth. It will open in no fewer than 100 theaters, and the initial marketing budget is $300 million. This will increase to no more than $ million depending on the film's reputation."

"The distribution commission is 20% of the box office revenue, and marketing expenses will be deducted from the profits!"

Joe Roth wouldn't waste too much time on a film that made less than $200 million. He expected the film to gross between $1000 million and $2000 million. "Spring, is that March?"

"Yes, 20th Century Fox needs to release a movie around early to mid-March."

Aaron knew that Phone Booth wouldn’t have a good release date and thought it would be in August, since it was so early in March!

"Mr. Ross, it's no big deal, but I want a tiered distribution plan. For box office revenue below $1000 million, I'll get a 20% distribution commission."

"For the portion exceeding $1000 million, a 15% issuance commission will be charged. For the portion exceeding $2000 million, a 12% commission will be charged. How about that?"

Joe Ross shook his head. “For those below $1500 million, it’s 20%, and for those above $1500 million, it’s 18%;”

"For films exceeding $3000 million, the distribution commission will be 16%, and th Century Fox will have the right of first refusal to purchase the film's videotapes and television broadcasts."

"This is the final condition. If you agree, we can sign the contract today!"

Aaron was about to say something, but then he shut up and nodded.

20th Century Fox is backed by News Corporation, so it is absolutely trustworthy in terms of publicity!

In the afternoon, Aaron Anderson asked the lawyer who had registered Dawn Pictures for him to come to the Fox Plaza Building to sign the contract;

In addition to clearly stating the tiered distribution based on box office revenue, the number of cinemas operating, the amount of television advertising broadcasts, and the number of newspapers and posters should also be clearly stated.

The profit could be millions of dollars. It’s better to be careful. This is what entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles do!

"Not bad, Aaron. Your company has only been open for three months, and your first movie is about to be released?"

The sun was setting when the lawyer and Aaron Anderson left the Fox Plaza Building together.

"It's okay," Aaron Anderson looked at the lawyer next to him. His name was Daniel Williams. He graduated from Columbia Law School and stayed there to teach for several years.

"By the way, didn't you have a very beautiful female assistant with you last time? Why didn't you bring her with you?"

Daniel Williams opened a small Williams Law Firm in Los Angeles last year. The last person who met Aaron was a young woman!
Daniel Williams smiled and said, "You are young and handsome, and you are not short of money now. There are so many beautiful women in Hollywood, aren't they enough for you to find?"

"That's my student, still studying at Columbia Law School. He just came to help last time.

"It'll be soon. She'll come over for an internship during spring break in March. However, she won't graduate until next year, so you'll have to decide for yourself when the time comes!"

Daniel Williams explained with a smile that he also knew Aaron Anderson, who made a million dollars in his first year at CAA;

Although he didn't go to college, it couldn't be easy for him to develop so quickly in Hollywood. It is necessary to develop into a long-term customer.

"I see," Aaron just asked casually and chatted.

"Bye, Daniel!" Aaron has now signed a distribution contract with 20th Century Fox, it's time to celebrate!

(End of this chapter)