America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 578 Acquisition of Davis Studio

Back in Davis Studio's office.

Martin handed Louise a bottle of water and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Louise said, "Pacific Pictures has been working with Warner Bros. on distribution since the mid-1990s, which is 15 years now. During that time, Warner Bros. has changed its chairman and CEO several times. This is not the first time that the distribution commission has increased, but in the past, the largest increase was only 1% at a time."

Martin had heard Nicholson say that in the days when resources were not as concentrated as they are now, the distribution cuts of major Hollywood studios, excluding marketing costs, often only accounted for 20% of the North American box office revenue.

The current average is around 30%, and for some new companies and new directors, the percentage can even reach over 35%.

For commercial films starring Martin Scorsese in the last two years, considering only the revenue within two years of the film's release, Warner Bros.' increased percentage means that the production company pays Warner Bros. at least tens of millions of dollars more.

In North America, you can hire a hitman for a few hundred thousand dollars, and that's the total price before all the outsourcing.

Martin said, "Older films weren't affected much, but new films... Gone Girl is doing alright. The distribution agreement was signed in mid-January, and they're also filming the second John Wick movie this year. The sequel's box office and revenue will definitely skyrocket, tens of millions of dollars."

Louise thought for a moment and said, "Your studio has only been established for a few years. Many of the films you've made since then, such as 'House of Wax,' 'The Departed,' and 'The Dark Knight,' were originally Warner Bros. projects, and the copyrights are all in Warner Bros. The only films whose copyrights you actually hold are 'Wanted,' 'Limitless,' and 'John Wick.' Your sunk costs are very low."

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Gone Girl won't have much of an impact. Just stick to the existing agreement. For the John Wick sequel, quietly contact a few other companies. Given the performance of the first film, getting a better distribution deal shouldn't be difficult."

Louise nodded: "Leave it to me."

She quickly made a decision: "From now on, Pacific Pictures' business will be divided into two parts. Pacific Pictures will continue to invest in your projects. For other Pacific Pictures projects, we will continue to cooperate with Warner Bros. if we can't cooperate, we can find other companies."

Martin casually retorted, "Watch out, or I might lead you astray and bankrupt you."

"I trust your vision and abilities." Over the past year or so, Louise has gradually adjusted her mindset and is now content to be a producer in charge of projects.

As for the rest, making money is nothing to be ashamed of.

Following Martin's projects offers a combination of mental enjoyment, physical pleasure, and financial returns. Where else can you find such an investment?

Martin then called Chad Stahelski to inquire about the progress of "John Wick 2". The script was complete, and Chad was working with Chen Hu on action scene design. Once he finished filming "The Vanished Lover", he could join the crew for filming.

Chad also reminded Martin that he should not slack off on his daily training and workouts.

Martin has maintained his training over the past few years without needing any prompting or supervision.

Having experienced the Burbank High School and Santa Monica Pier incidents, he knew better than anyone that these critical moments could save his life.

A bastard who messes with too many people will naturally worry about being messed with himself.

…………

At the Warner Building, another meeting was drawing to a close.

In addition to promoting The Hobbit trilogy and the DC Extended Universe, Kevin Tsujihara has proposed a plan to expand his film business.

The content is very outdated, and it's something the six major Hollywood studios have been doing for the past few years: acquiring high-quality small and medium-sized production companies.

Since the beginning of the new century, Warner Bros. has acquired Legendary Pictures and New Line Cinema, among others.

This allows them to directly acquire the other party's film library, bringing in high-quality content. In this case, the latter brought Warner Bros. the complete rights to the Lord of the Rings series.

Warner Bros. has a mature model and operating mechanism in this regard, and the risk is much smaller than investing in unknown new film projects.

After discussing with several close subordinates, Kevin Tsujihara finalized a preliminary list: Castle Rock Pictures, Pacific Pictures, and Davis Studios.

"Castle Rock and the Pacific are indeed good." Someone objected, "But Davis Studios is just a shell company set up by Martin Davis, and its film library... probably doesn't exceed five films, right?"

The proposer said, "Strictly speaking, there are only three films: 'Wanted,' 'Limitless,' and 'John Wick.' But don't forget, 'John Wick' is in the works for a sequel. The first film grossed over $4 million and sparked a new trend in action movies. The second film will have the original cast returning, and the profits will only be higher."

He paused slightly, then said, "Looking at the world of the first film, there's at least enough material for a trilogy, and some characters, like Winston played by Menez, could even be made into spin-offs."

Kevin Tsujihara, who has studied Martin's films in detail, said, "The John Wick series certainly has a bright future."

The man continued, "Reliable sources say that in addition to Gone Girl, Martin has also bought the film rights to Prince of Thieves and The Martian. Given his successful precedents in recent years, the prospects for these two novels are also very good."

Kevin Tsujihara said, "These three companies moved into the acquisition review process at top speed."

The CEO has a lot of power, but there are also constraints.

After the meeting, Warner Bros. departments immediately took action, collecting information and data from the three companies to assess their future prospects.

…………

When Gavin Newsom left Los Angeles, Jennifer Seabell stayed.

The First Lady of San Francisco called in director Keane Lee, with whom she had worked, and arranged to meet Martin at Davis Studios.

Sibel introduced Keane Lee to Martin, saying, "Keane is both a director and a screenwriter, and I think he writes very good scripts."

Martin asked directly, "Can I see the script first?"

Sibel said, "Of course."

"The script is here with me." Keane Lee handed Martin a printed copy of the script, adding, "This is one I wrote specifically for Jennifer."

Martin took it: "Please wait a moment."

He had coffee brought over and started reading the script.

The script is titled "Romantic Troubles," which, as the name suggests, is a romantic comedy that mainly revolves around a female protagonist also named Jennifer.

Tailor-made? Even the name is Jennifer.

The plot is also quite interesting. The female protagonist, Jennifer, has a new boyfriend, but when she is intimate with him, she always has the illusion of being with her ex-boyfriend and can keep talking to him.

This setting is very similar to "Little Days" or "Saint Valley".

Judging from the script alone, the screenwriter included a lot of scenes of the female lead playing cards.

Martin is quite experienced in Hollywood, so it wasn't hard for him to tell that Jennifer Sybil would need to undress in these films.

For Hollywood actresses, these are no big deal.

But Sibel has another identity.

Martin needed to clarify a few things: "Jennifer, are you playing the lead role?"

Sibel smiled. "Of course, this is a play that Keane tailored specifically for me."

She was very intelligent and understood Martin's meaning, saying, "Gavin read the script carefully and agreed that I should play the lead role in this film. He believes it will be a masterpiece."

Martin nodded, closed the script and handed it back to Keane Lee, asking, "Have you estimated how much the filming budget will be?"

Keane Lee was well-prepared, pulling out a detailed shooting plan and handing it to Martin: "I've made a detailed plan for every aspect. Jennifer is the biggest star; the crew doesn't need any other celebrities. I can definitely handle the $500 million!"

Although he wasn't investing his own money, Martin still carefully reviewed the plan and said, "The plan is well done."

He couldn't do it himself, but he had seen a lot of things. He could roughly assess whether something had real substance after just one look.

Keane Lee smiled with a slightly reserved air: "I've made a few films, though none of them have been released in theaters yet."

Martin put away the proposal and said, "I will have someone from the company conduct a professional evaluation. Please wait a few days, and I will let you know as soon as I have any news."

Sibel has waited a long time to become the female lead, so she has the patience to wait a few more days.

She said, "My biggest wish right now is to complete a film as the leading actress. Whether the final product is shown in theaters, on television, or online, I'll be satisfied."

Martin said, "I can't guarantee it will be available in theaters, but there will definitely be no problem with television and the internet."

This type of film is inherently difficult to release in theatrical markets. Finding a distribution company and doing promotion and distribution costs a lot of money, and it may result in even greater losses.

Martin is still very considerate of investors.

Sibel stood up, smiled, and shook hands with Martin: "I'm leaving everything to you."

Martin gently squeezed her hand: "Wait for my call."

The two left behind a draft of the script and a project proposal, then took their leave.

The so-called review was actually done by Martin alone. He first called Thomas and asked him to send any suitable child actors to the production team.

Then Wu Maoting was notified that the project had been secured.

Not long after, Wu Maoting arrived at Davis Studio and saw the script and proposal that Martin had presented.

Martin stated in advance: "This project only requires an investment of around $500 million, but there are certain risks involved. Getting it into theaters may be difficult, and I will consider selling it outright to a TV station or video website depending on the situation."

Wu Maoting quickly flipped through the document, treating this project as a stepping stone to show his sincerity, especially since he had previously abandoned Davis Studios and Pacific Pictures in favor of Warner Bros.

The result was nothing but tears.

Wu Maoting said, "I will invest the entire amount in this project!"

Martin shook hands with him: "Davis Studio will strive to make it profitable."

This is a work he has no memory of, and it can be considered a trial balloon.

With the project finalized, Martin, through Thomas, found a reliable producer to take charge of it.

Subsequently, his focus temporarily shifted to the Oscars.

At the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, Martin Scorsese received another Best Actor nomination for his role in "Benjamin Button".

David Fincher also received a Best Director nomination.

(End of this chapter)