Entertainment upstart

Chapter 800 conditions, gambling agreement

"Boss, what do you mean we can't make any more concessions?" Zhang Zhao hurriedly asked after hearing what Zhou Xia said.

Zhou Xia said that he would try his best to acquire this company.

"Concessions are not the solution, and neither are your two backup plans."

Zhou Xia put down the documents, looked at the two rows of highways passing by a large golf course and continued: "Studio 8 is a small company with 40 employees that has just been established. The most precious assets are Robin Love and his experienced film and television professionals. professional.

They have strong contacts in Hollywood, are familiar with various modes of operation, and know many directors and stars, so they can attract projects and then find investment.

I am not optimistic about some of their projects, so those gambling agreements are set in the investment agreement. Without these agreements, it is difficult for our investment to be guaranteed.

Losing money within three to five years is a trivial matter. The last thing I want to see is that once Studio 8 continues to lose money, we are forced to fill in the pits and stop losses, but because we don’t have enough voting rights to make an impact on the company.

Or, they succeeded, and there was nothing we could do to bring in bigger investments, dilute our stake, and eventually push our directors out of the decision-making ranks. "

"What the boss means is that the amount of investment can be compromised, but the VAM agreement cannot be changed, so that we have the possibility to fight back?"

Zhang Zhao had worked with Zhou Xia for so long, so he immediately understood what he meant.

"Right." Zhou Xia nodded slightly.

As long as there is a VAM agreement, the more the other party eats now, the more they may lose in the future.

Just like the Jiaxing established by Xiaohu, Zeng Jia and others in the original time and space, it ended up in a mess because of the gambling agreement.

And the founder of Studio 8, Jeff Robinlove, is a little swollen now, just like the little fox who was soaring back then, he wanted more, and ended up losing more in the end.

………………

Zhou Xia and his party soon arrived at the Billy Huashan Hotel where they were staying.

Si Si and Yu Fei went to prepare for the evening premiere, while Zhou Xia went to meet Li Lianjie, Harvey and others.

Harvey was hired as a consultant for Xiahua Film and Television North America Branch, and his Weinstein Films even fully participated in the promotion of "New Detective" in North America.

Although a lot of money was collected, things were really well done.

More than 3600 theaters have shown it, and each theater's human figure stand, billboard, film advertisement, as well as the promotion of TV programs and website channels have done their best not to mention.

The Hollywood stars he invited to attend the premiere tonight are also very dazzling. Many superstars who have time to work with Weinstein Films will come.

What made Zhou Xia happiest was that among these guests were his favorite movie stars Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, and the talented director Quentin.

"Zhou Xia, you're finally here. I was interviewed by eight media outlets by myself yesterday."

As soon as Zhou Xia came to the hotel conference room rented by Xia Hua, Li Lianjie came from beside Harvey, hugged Zhou Xia, and complained.

"Brother Jie, you've worked hard. I couldn't come early because of the fact." Zhou Xia said apologetically.

When Harvey saw that Zhou Xia had arrived, he stood up with the others and greeted Zhou Xia.

After Zhou Xia chatted with a few people he knew, he realized that a middle-aged white man with a bald head and a height of 175 looked familiar, and was expecting to look at him.

It was the Jeff Robinlove that Zhou Xia talked about with Zhang Zhao in the car.

Zhou Xia really didn't expect the other party to come to see him.

Looking at the expression of Peter, who had been staying in the hotel to socialize, it was obvious that the other party had just arrived, so he didn't have time to notify Zhou Xia.

"Hello, Mr. Robin Love, I've seen you for a long time." Zhou Xia shook hands with the other party politely.

"Hello, Zhou, it's really urgent, so I took the liberty to come here, please don't be offended."

Robin Love said politely, but the meaning in his words was that he was very anxious to talk to Zhou Xia.

"It's easy to talk, let's find a place to talk." Although Zhou Xia was not happy in his heart, he still kept smiling.

Since the other party came in such a hurry, it was obvious that he had come prepared and made a decision.

After Zhou Xia agreed to Robin Love, he regretfully greeted Harvey and several other people present, and then went to his suite in the hotel with Robin Love and others for a secret talk.

All the way, Zhou Xia exchanged pleasantries with Robin Love, testing the other party's attitude.

This Mr. Robin Love's personal ability and vision are beyond doubt, but he is also extremely ambitious and has a strong desire to control.

Look at the name of the new company he founded, Studio 8, what does it mean?
At present, there are six major production companies in Hollywood: Disney, Time Warner, Sony Columbia, [-]th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Paramount.

In addition, in the past two years, with the "Hunger Games" series, the annual box office revenue has exceeded Paramount's Lionsgate, which happens to be the seven major production companies.

Studio 8, it goes without saying that Robin Love's goal is very clear, that is to be the eighth giant.

However, leaving Warner Bros. to start Studio 8 last year was not Robin Love's first choice.

He was forced to leave after losing a three-way competition to be CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment and a feud with Kevin Sujhara, who won the competition.

In the past, with Warner's strong publicity, production capabilities, and abundant capital, as long as he was interested in a good project, he could basically compete with him based on his influence.

But now with Studio 8, it is not so easy to find good projects.

Zhou Xia believes that Robin Love, the former president of Warner Bros. Pictures, has served in the management for 17 years. He is known as the "Hollywood Movie Bole". Hollywood senior filmmakers who have both art and art must understand this.

He used to have Warner's platform, and he could lead the promotion of Nolan's "Batman" trilogy, "Inception", "Harry Potter" series, "Escape from Tehran", "Gravity", etc. movie of.

Now, such a good project may not necessarily fall into his hands.

Furthermore, the biggest advantage of Warner is that it can bear the loss of one or two blockbuster films and one or two billion dollars a year, and make up for this loss through income from other projects, so that the company is always in a favorable operating state.

Even if the newly established Studio 8 succeeds in financing this time, it cannot compare with other big companies in this regard.

Although Xiahua Film and Television's gambling agreement is loose, the possibility of triggering does exist.

All over the world, it is very common for movies to lose money.

Every year in Hollywood, blockbuster films with an investment of more than 1 million U.S. dollars lose nothing, and only a few Hollywood giants can bear it.

Didn't MGM suffer from bankruptcy and reorganization due to director Wu Baige's loss?
After losing Marvel Pictures in recent years, Paramount has no choice but to sell the distribution rights to Sony?

Now there are signs of the era of superhero blockbusters in Hollywood. Sdudio 8, which has only been established for half a year, has no possibility of investing in these superhero blockbusters, nor does it have enough funds to invest in those popular IPs. Space" this new ip.

But to create a new IP, the risk of losing money is even higher.

Even if Xiahua Film and Television Holdings' acquisition agreement is quite loose, it only triggers the corresponding equity repurchase and voting rights agreement if it cannot make a profit in three or five years.

But once those conditions are actually triggered, then Sdudio 8 only has two endings.

Either find a new replacement buyer to replace Xia Hua's investment; or let Xia Hua Film and Television take control of the business.

A veteran like Robin Love certainly understands this.

So after he concluded the negotiation with Huayi, he is now not only talking with Xiahua Film and Television, but also talking with Fosun, Ari, and Bernard, and also talking with Sony about the distribution rights of 5 films in the next five years.

Those 24 films, plus Robin Love himself and his team, are the studio's most valuable assets right now.

Zhou Xia, Zhang Zhao, Peter, and a senior executive of Studio 8 brought by Robin Love came to Zhou Xia's room and sat down. They didn't say much, and Robin Love spoke first.

"Zhou, if you promise me one condition, I will agree to your request for holding shares, and there is also a contract-defined gambling agreement."

(End of this chapter)