Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Latest website: The Oscars are approaching, and Ronald asked Billy Crystal to discuss the lyrics for the awards show.

"Gregory Peck? Is he going to present an honorary award?" Billy Crystal asked.

"No, the honorary awards are given by Spielberg and Lucas. The main reason is that when Gregory presented the award to Audrey Hepburn at the Golden Globe, the ratings hit a new high, so the Academy also wanted to invite him to improve it. Ratings..." Ronald waved his hand...

"Oh, who is that? Are you going to give Coppola an honorary award?"

"No, it will be announced soon. It is Kurosawa Akira from Japan..."

"Oh," Billy Crystal expressed understanding, "You gave more time to announce the nominations. I watched the previous awards videos. What were your considerations?"

"This year I plan to use images to speak more. Now the acting award nominees must be accompanied by performance clips from their nominated movies. Those lame comedian hosts in the past few years have said too much... By the way Reduce the pressure on your host."

Ronald, this is also from a director's point of view. Nowadays, the Oscar awards show is more broadcast to the TV audience. Letting them see relevant scenes is much more important than the host saying a few witty words. The Oscars are no longer the small-scale entertainment insider gathering they used to be, but production ideas have not yet caught up with the requirements of television broadcasts.

"Ronald, Ronald..."

At this moment, Richard ran into Ronald's large work room, panting.

"Ronald, Panasonic has really come to contact you...ah, you have something to do..." Richard saw Ang Lee and consciously shut up.

"Um..." Ronald pointed to the upstairs, and the two of them went up to a small private study.

"Panasonic has contacted Niceta. Their chairman, Masaharu Matsushita, wants to invite you to be their consultant for the acquisition of MCA..."

MCA is the parent company of Universal Pictures and Universal Music. Panasonic was jealous of Sony's acquisition of Columbia Records and Columbia Pictures, and wanted to complete the two major transactions that took Sony three years to complete.

"I have promised Sony's Dahe Sang... I am a man of my word..." Ronald waved his hand, indicating that he would not break his promise.

"But Panasonic has spoken and can give you this number..." Richard whispered a number into Ronald's ear.

"Huh?" Ronald looked like he had counted the wrong number. This price is equivalent to the best eight or eight years since the release of "Dirty Dancing" when video tapes and soundtracks were sold. He made a net profit.

It's not impossible to say that I can be a consultant and help them connect the dots... As for Oga Norio, I can go and apologize and explain the situation... Speaking of which, I also helped Oga Norio a lot. He should understand himself...right?

"Then let me go and continue to contact them?" Richard was also shocked by this number, so he came to Ronald's house as quickly as possible. If it succeeds, it will benefit him and Niceta a lot.

"Let's ask about the situation first... Well, let's confirm, are there any additional conditions?" Ronald felt very outrageous. Don't these Japanese entrepreneurs regard money as money?

"Recently, the pace of overseas acquisitions by Japanese entrepreneurs has been very urgent. Many companies are buying high-quality assets in America and Latin America..." Richard dropped a sentence and went back to the CAA office to discuss with Niceta.

…

"Ronald, Carloco has contacted me about the Terminator sequel. They have started substantive copyright negotiations..."

Just when Ronald was thinking about getting something for nothing, James Cameron called him.

"Well, I heard that Pioneer Electronics from Japan injected capital into them..."

The Japanese companies that Richard mentioned in the morning were buying assets all over the world, including Pioneer Electronics, which started out manufacturing speakers for the US military.

Compared with Panasonic's proposed full-ownership acquisition, which needs to be reviewed by joint government agencies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), Pioneer's investment in Karoko is relatively low-key and does not involve any controlling interest. It is more like an investment by a minority shareholder. Behavior.

So they don't have to get approval from members of the House and Senate, and multiple committees. In addition, Carocco is only a medium-sized studio. It is not as representative as the Big Seven. It has a library of classic films that are recalled by the public, and it does not have its own domestic distribution channels, so it is easy to go to Carocco. A sum of money was invested.

After getting the money, the first thing Carocco did was to start filming Terminator 2.

"Carocco is crazy. Their founder Mario Casal paid Heimdall 10 million dollars and bought 50% of their copyright..." Cameron's tone on the other end of the phone was very "Hot", this number stimulated him.

When Heimdl invested in him to film "Terminator", he had a bad time with him. Heimdall's boss, John Daly, forced him to sign a contract and tried every means to squeeze him out of the director's position on "Terminator."

Now this boss has done nothing but sits at home and gets 10 million US dollars.

"Casal is really crazy. The $10 million was Heimdall's extortionate price. Why did he just agree without making a counter-offer?" Cameron saw that his enemy at the time was using his works. , got 10 million for nothing, and whether it was because of anger or jealousy, Ronald could hear his excitement through the phone line.

"Isn't this a good thing? It shows that they are very serious. To be honest Jim, they paid Heimdall 50% of the copyright ten million. What does this mean? It represents your 25%, which is also worth five million!"

"Oh, Shxt..." Cameron shouted, suddenly falling into silence. This money made him very... He stopped complaining and hung up the phone after saying a few words.

"Damn it, doesn't this also mean that Gale can get five million for nothing?" Suddenly Cameron reacted and shouted angrily.

Carloco acted quickly and contacted Ronald that night. They heard the news that Ronald also wanted to invest in Terminator 2, and one of the founders, Mario Casal, personally brought the team to visit.

"You are very confident, Mr. Casal." Diane was too bloated and inconvenient, so Ronald personally brought several cups of coffee to the guests.

Carloco has already given Heimdall 10 million, Gale Hurd 5 million, plus Cameron's 5 million, before filming, plus various miscellaneous expenses, they will have to pay 2000 More than two million.

This is simply the most arrogant studio in Hollywood. A few years ago, when Minahan Gran received $400 million, and when he was still very arrogant, he said he invested $40 million to make Superman, but he never spent any real money like this. It was so enjoyable to take out.

"Call me Mario. Of course, I have always been very confident in the film industry. My partner does not believe that big productions can bring big returns. I have bought out his shares. Moreover, I think you are also very confident, Mr. Li. Confidence." Mario Casal only regarded Ronald's evaluation as a compliment and just rubbed his hands and smiled.

"My confidence comes from Jim, and as long as he's the director, I have confidence..."

"Hahaha, our goals are the same." Mario Casal took a sip of coffee and couldn't tell whether it tasted good or bad. He then said to Ronald, "I have made accurate calculations. I can give Director Cameron five million to buy a 25% stake in the movie, but the movie must be released before Memorial Day next year (the last Monday in May).

Time was of the essence, and I had to move forward with this project whether Cameron wanted to direct or not. If he is willing to join, I am willing to pay another one million for the script, plus the director's fee. As for us, I can leave you an investment share, and we must advance this matter... Time waits for no time..."

"This..." Ronald was also shocked by his arrogance. Is this a stud? "I can bring Samsung into the company as a domestic publisher..."

"I can find Canal+ for European distribution. Their subsidiary Le; Canal+ has also agreed to inject capital..." Mario Casal's enthusiasm made him have an unhealthy blush on his face, and he began to talk about his investment in the country. This sequel is planned.

This enthusiasm was so contagious that Ronald agreed to invest in the project on the spot and persuaded Cameron to direct it.

"Jim, this is the situation. The conditions are very good, but their timeline is relatively rigid. If you join, you will probably be as busy as when you were filming the first part..."

"Fuxk it, I did it..." Cameron, who was silent for a while, suddenly agreed. After all, the conditions given by Carloco were too good.

In addition to acquiring the copyright and the top script fee in the industry, there is also a director's salary commensurate with Cameron's status, plus bonuses that increase according to the box office ladder. Cameron is very confident in the quality of his sequels, and he will definitely be financially free now.

…

"This is the special assistant to Matsushita Masaharu, chairman of Panasonic Electric... This is Ronald..."

A few days later, people from Panasonic, Niceta, Richard and others came to visit and secretly communicated about the MCA acquisition.

"Ronald San, this is our proposal..."

A dozen pages of cooperation negotiation terms were held in both hands by the assistant and handed into Ronald's hands.

"Huh?" The more Ronald read, the deeper his frown deepened.

"Is this what Chairman Panasonic meant? Then you don't have any sincerity?" Niceta next to her couldn't help it. This clause is too harsh.

If Ronald wants to make this money, he must go from Universal's film library index to communication with Congress and the review committee. Each project will be broken down into phased results, and then each small result will be evaluated by Panasonic. If the assessment results are not met, money will be deducted.

Moreover, Panasonic has also learned lessons from Sony and the advanced experience of Hollywood, and has also implemented long-term performance appraisal. Only half of the consultant's contract, more than 20 million yuan, was paid in cash, and the other half was given to MCA's stock options after the acquisition.

"Ha, this is also what our president, Toshihiko Yamashita, means. This is the corporate culture that our Panasonic Electric relies on for success. Everyone is equal. Even the chairman of Panasonic himself has to take turns cleaning the toilets in the office..."

"Everyone is equal..." Ronald suddenly didn't want to do it anymore. Was he exploiting me as an employee?

"Forget it, I am an artist after all, these things are not my strong point..." If I follow this proposal, I will stop doing other things this year and work wholeheartedly for Panasonic, and I may not be able to get money.

Although 50 million is a lot of money, it's not that I can't earn it...

"I understand. Ronald Sang's loyalty to our old friends is admirable..." Panasonic's assistant to the chairman said his last words and left.

It seems that the industry is indeed aware of the fact that he helped Sony and even promised them not to participate in other acquisitions.

In this case...

Ronald picked up the phone and dialed Norio Ohga at Sony.

After a while, the other party called back, "Ronald San!"

"Dahe Sang, people from Panasonic have indeed invited me to help them smooth the merger and acquisition case, and they have offered me a sky-high consulting contract..."

"If Ronald Sand feels it's a pity..."

"No, no... I have already refused. I will never forget what I promised Dahe Sang. But since they came to me and offered such a high price, they must be determined to get the thing done. You must also have All prepared..."

"You are right. I would like to thank Ronald Sang again for his great love for us. I will keep this friendship in mind..."

Ronald hung up the phone and looked at his two agents smiling. He needs to know about his affection for Dahe Sang.