America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 80. Setting Up a Scheme with Daniel Wu

By early March, Whale Rider had been in theaters for half a month.

As it turns out, even if an art film is marketed under the banner of environmental protection and animal welfare, it is still an art film and it is impossible for it to achieve high box office returns.

Those animal rights and environmentalists are usually quite vocal, but when it comes to contributing to the box office of a movie, they fall silent.

This perfectly demonstrates what it means to be all talk and no action, somewhat similar to a keyboard warrior.

In just half a month, "Whale Rider" has only grossed $1600 million at the North American box office. Judging from this trend, it will probably only gross a little over $2000 million in North America in the end.

However, this film should still make a profit in Europe and Australia, especially New Zealand, where the movie directly depicts the local ethnic groups.

The global box office is expected to reach over $4000 million. Compared to the $700 million cost of the purchase and the limited marketing expenses, it will not lose money, but it won't make much profit either.

The good news is that its rating on IMDb is pretty good, currently at 8 points, and even if it drops a bit later, it should still stay above 7.5 points.

We'll submit the film to the Cannes Film Festival in May. If we're lucky enough to win an award, it will be very beneficial for selling the rights later.

Regarding the filming of "Transformers," the scenes set in Los Angeles have been completed. These were the most difficult scenes to film, but thanks to Eric's direction, no major problems arose.

After filming this part of the movie, Eric left the crew again, as he also had to take care of company matters in addition to filming.

Patty Jenkins continued to lead the filming of smaller scenes, such as family scenes, while Neal Blomkamp led the team to Utah after filming at Hoover Dam.

The terrain here is complex, with mountains, valleys, gravel, and rivers, and the open and beautiful environment has always been a favorite filming location for Hollywood.

After a month of filming experience, the crew worked together quite well, and Eric also figured out the tricks of the trade.

For him as the director, as long as the script is solid enough and he finds one or two capable assistant directors, he can actually hand over most of the filming to them.

All you need to do is take some time to film, check the shooting progress, and promptly identify and correct any shortcomings in the footage, and a commercial film can be produced.

When the film is released, I will naturally still be credited as the director. Although I didn't direct some of the scenes, the people filming them are my puppets. So what's the difference between that and me directing them myself?

Absolutely no difference!

Of course, this is on the premise that it's a commercial film that doesn't pay much attention to detail; it's much more troublesome for art films that focus on details.

After spending time with him, Eric found Patty Jenkins to be quite capable and fully qualified as an executor.

However, she also has her flaws; she tends to nitpick over details, which makes her more suited to art films.

Neill Blomkamp is also very talented, but he needs at least two or three more movies to mature.

When it comes to the next movie, I don't know who I should ask to be the assistant director.

In addition, Eric has been writing several scripts since filming at the Nevada military base, and the outlines are now complete. These are three thriller/horror films: Happy Death Day, A Quiet Place, and Don't Breathe.

The production department has already been tasked with finding a screenwriter to fill in the script, and it is estimated that it will be completed and filming will begin in a little over a month.

He originally wanted to make "It," but when he started writing, he suddenly realized that the copyright was held by Warner Bros., so he had to give up.

At the MGM Grand, Eric and his father were talking in his office.

My dad's former secretary, Susan, has officially accepted her new position and has already set off for the other side of the ocean, serving as a preliminary outpost.

Eric got a new secretary, who was also blonde, blue-eyed, and had big waves in her hair, and was even younger than Susan. Eric couldn't help but suspect the relationship between the two.

"Eric, I've already had someone investigate the matter of Twin Star Entertainment."

"How did it go?" Eric sat up straight.

"Overall, Doublestar Entertainment's performance has declined in recent years, and the company's valuation is around $6 million, which may be slightly lower."

"The largest shareholder is Robert Solney, who owns 45% of the company. The Olsen sisters' parents each own 5%, and the two sisters each own 22.5%."

"Robert Solny seems to have had some bad luck lately. He left the market in disgrace during last year's stock market crash, and must have lost a lot of money, but the exact amount is unknown."

"After he suffered a major setback in the stock market, several companies actually wanted to acquire his shares in Double Star Entertainment."

"But Solni never sold it, and the reason I found out was that he asked for too high a price."

"Based on his shares, they are worth up to $2.7 million, but this guy has a big appetite and seems to think the Olsen twins are still in high demand, asking for $5 million."

"A stupid old man, no wonder he's only ever been in the television industry his whole life."

After his father finished speaking, Eric asked, "So this guy definitely isn't going to sell?"

"They'll sell, unless we offer $5 million."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Father and son laughed at the same time, treating reality like a fool's dream from One Thousand and One Nights.

"After learning all this, I didn't try to find a middleman to test him. If he had known it was MGM that was acquiring it, I think he would have dared to ask for 6 million."

Eric shook his head: "Then there's no need. He's lost a lot of money in the stock market, I don't believe he's not short of cash. Since this guy still has illusions, let's set him up."

"What do you want to do?"

"The company's been doing very well lately. How about we leverage the funding round?"

Some things can be understood in a single sentence. Dad smiled slightly and said, "Can't we use AK Video?"

"No, AK Films has only produced one blockbuster, 'Sharknado,' and the rest are all knock-off films that don't go to theaters, so they're not very appealing."

"And if we're going to take over, then even if we can't take over all of Solne's shares, we should at least take over most of them, otherwise MGM won't be attractive enough."

Dad nodded: "Okay, I'll find the specific person. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've done something like this. We'll let some information slip during the recent media interviews."

The plan for Robert Solni has been tentatively finalized, and Dad briefly explained the revenue of the recently released films.

The box office revenue sharing for "Red Dragon" and "Barbershop" has been received, and the revenue sharing for "Die Another Day" will be received soon, while "Saw" will be received a little later.

The film rights for these movies sold very well, and "Red Dragon" continued to perform exceptionally well on DVD, which is typical of the Hannibal series.

Although "Saw" has not yet been released, highly rated R movies have always been the most popular products in the DVD market.

To date, the films have generated approximately $1.75 million in total revenue, and this revenue is expected to continue to rise, reaching $3 million by the end of the year.

In addition, there was revenue from the sale of copyrighted merchandise in the fourth quarter of 2002, totaling $2.33 million.

Movies are a long-term business; box office revenue is always a small part, while the main source of income is always the subsequent copyright and merchandise.

"Eric, besides the Transformers thing, there's something else you need to keep an eye on."

"What?"

"If Darabont's zombie TV series is going to win an Emmy, we don't have much time left."

"Yes, I remember. I'll take some time to check it out, at least we should put together a pilot episode."

Which TV station are you planning to sell to?

"I haven't decided yet, let me think about it."

In the United States, the production of TV series is different from that of movies; the pilot episodes that Eric mentioned are a characteristic of American TV series.

Unlike movies, which are usually produced by major film and television companies, TV series are more often produced by television stations.

This situation is particularly prominent in this year, but in 20 years, the situation will be completely different.

At that time, major film and television companies also began to get involved in television drama production.

After all, compared to a two-hour movie, a TV series that lasts more than ten hours can often attract more viewership and clicks. Viewership and clicks equal traffic, and traffic equals dollars.

Looking at the current situation, the typical production process for American TV series is as follows.

First, major TV stations will acquire scripts on the market, usually several hundred. Then, they will conduct internal reviews, eliminating more than 80% in the first round.

The next step is the second round of screening, which eliminates more than 80% of the scripts again. At this point, only a dozen or twenty scripts are left.

Then they recruited a team to produce the pilot episode, which is what we sometimes see as Season 0, Episode 0.

After the pilot episodes were produced, they were screened internally and broadcast on the radio to gather audience feedback. Finally, about five episodes were selected to remain, while the rest were eliminated.

The entire process takes about a year and a half to two years, during which more than 97% of the scripts are rejected. The competition is extremely intense and the rules are very harsh.

But that's in contrast to typical American dramas. "The Walking Dead" is a completely different model, produced directly by film and television companies, without having to consider the whims of television stations.

If you're not confident, you can shoot a pilot episode. But if you're confident like Eric, you can shoot a whole season and sell it.

The model is somewhat similar to that in China, and also somewhat similar to the streaming media model in the United States 20 years later.

Ultimately, it all boils down to one core issue: whoever controls the money can invest however they want, but TV stations have to listen to others when it comes to investing.

On the set of The Walking Dead, Eric got out of his car and walked into the studio.

After finishing his work on "Transformers," Bordeaux took on the role of producer for the series.

Upon seeing Eric arrive, he immediately strode over.

"I'll go and call Frank over."

"Wait, let him finish filming this scene. How's the progress?"

"It's alright, at least it's proceeding according to the filming schedule, it just means we'll have to pay more overtime."

"So, the production crew often has to rush the schedule?"

Bordeaux smiled wryly and said, "There's no other way. Time is still a bit tight, and you know Frank. He's not the kind of person who would sacrifice quality for speed. So, the only option left is to work overtime."

Eric nodded. "That's the right thing to do. The quality of the show should be the top priority. By the way, how much of the budget has been spent?"

Knowing in advance that Eric was coming, Bordeaux had prepared all the accounts and took them out from the box next to him.

"I've summarized it up; this is a simplified account, and so far 68% of the budget has been used, totaling $2896 million."

Eric took the ledger and started flipping through it, but even someone in the industry would be confused by the various bills.

He also knew there was definitely something fishy going on. This kind of thing was unavoidable. If you don't let the people below you get some benefits, how can they work hard?

So as long as the result is good enough, it's okay to be a little greedy.

After a quick glance, Eric said, "Overtime pay should be paid, but you need to stick to one bottom line: the maximum budget is $4500 million, and it absolutely cannot exceed that amount."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the production team and do my best to keep the budget under $4000 million," Bordeaux assured, patting his chest.

Eric then turned his attention back to the filming set, and stopped worrying about casting.

My gaze swept around, and I thought that apart from Balefali, I wouldn't recognize anyone. But I was surprised to find quite a few familiar faces.

Andrew Lincoln reprises his role as Rick, though the series was filmed six years ahead of schedule. Eric initially thought the actor would be replaced because the age didn't match.

Rick is supposed to be a sheriff, and the young actor's face didn't make it believable at all.

But after looking at his resume, I discovered that Andrew Lincoln was already 31 years old. His face was not much different from the original timeline. He was neither old nor young.

Norman Reedus is still playing Daryl, and at 34 years old, he's the right age to play the role. This charismatic character has once again fallen to him.

Melissa McBride is still playing Carol Danvers. She is 38 years old this year and is a veteran of Darabont's team. Naturally, the bald director contacted her immediately. Melissa also appeared in the movie "The Mist".

Besides these acquaintances, Eric also discovered an actor who surprised him somewhat.

The role of Green was originally played by Korean actor Steven Won, but this time it was played by Daniel Wu, a young actor from Hong Kong.

Actually, he's not exactly young; his resume shows he's 29 this year. It's just that Asians tend to look younger.

After a scene was filmed, Frank Darabont came over.

"Eric, this is your first time on set. I thought you'd forgotten about this show."

Eric laughed heartily: "How could that be! This is a production meticulously crafted by MGM, and I was the main force behind its launch. I just have a lot of faith in you, Frank."

Delabont felt a sense of comfort.

He took the water glass from his assistant and took a big gulp: "I know what you're after, you want to know the filming progress, right? Don't worry, I definitely won't miss the Emmy Awards."

"At most a month and a half, I can produce at least the first 6 episodes. As for the remaining 6 episodes, we can film and broadcast them as we go."

"Oh right, I forgot to ask, you always say you can't miss the Emmys, what specific day are you planning to broadcast it?"

Eric shrugged. "That's why I'm here, Frank. I need you to edit out the first episode as soon as possible so I can sell it."

Frank Darabont touched his ears, thinking he had misheard.

"Eric, hasn't MGM reached an agreement with the TV station yet?"

"No, but I have a lot of confidence in The Walking Dead. It will definitely start a zombie genre craze. Whoever buys it will make a profit."

After a moment of stunned silence, Delabont thought to himself, "Rich people really know how to have fun; they don't follow the rules at all."

However, reflecting on his filming experience over this period, he knew that MGM was indeed confident in its ability to achieve this.

Many people go crazy for these zombies when they run and tear apart on the TV screen.

"Okay, you're in luck. I've almost finished editing the first episode, and it'll be ready in two days, is that okay?"

"Of course, I've always trusted your abilities."

Eric said, glancing at Daniel Wu, "This Chinese actor is good. He has a great appearance, and his face is suitable for the big screen."

Darabont nodded in agreement: "Daniel Wu knows kung fu and is very agile. He can do many action scenes in one take. He's a great young man. Maybe he will become the next Jack Chen or Jet Lee."

"Yes, remember to change your nationality to Chinese. People from different countries on the other side of the strait are very easy to distinguish, so don't make a fool of yourself."

"Really? I feel that people from China, South Korea, Japan, and other countries all look quite similar."

"Can you tell the difference between Germans, Norwegians, and Swedes?"

Darabont shook his head: "I can only tell Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans apart."

"Yes, it seems you understand this principle."

Nicole Kidman will appear after Chapter 5, so please look forward to it.

(End of this chapter)