1979 Golden Age

There is a Focus Audio and Video store on a busy street in Los Angeles.

The big-eye logo copied from Weibo is very eye-catching. If this happened decades later, Chen Qi was confirmed to be a member of the "Illuminati", he might even be rumored to be on the guest list of Loli Island.

Of course, it is very difficult to get on the table in the United States. You think you are on the table, but in fact you are just being used as a dish on the table.

Ukraine: Just tell me whether you have been there or not?

Early in the morning, Chen Qi and Bob Shea arrived at this store with the highest cost due to location factors. When they looked up, they saw Phoebe Cates's standee at the door and customers queuing up.

"Are they waiting for a signed poster from Phoebe Cates?"

"Yes, otherwise who would line up in front of the video store? We also introduced drinks and snacks, plus some movie and celebrity peripherals, just like what you do in Hong Kong, each store is a small fan club."

“How is the revenue of a single store?”

"It's already relatively stable, with net profits basically around $100,000," Bob Shea whispered.

The Focus Company has several financial personnel sent by Chen Qi to report regularly. He actually knows all the data, but he still wants to ask.

These revenues include: video rental, overdue fines, monthly membership fees, and peripheral sales. The biggest part is rental. Watching video tapes is really a common lifestyle in the United States. People can watch 100-200 tapes a day, and 300 tapes at the peak on weekends.

The two walked into the store and Chen Qi looked around.

It was no different from the last time I came, except that there were more videotapes and they were divided into more detailed categories. The big categories were by region, the small categories were by genre, and there was also a "children's section" that was full of cartoons and family movies.

There were so many customers that the shop assistants were very busy.

The week's hot movies were still posted on the wall. Chen Qi took a look and saw that some of them were popular movies in theaters six months ago, and some were B-level movies.

According to industry tradition: the better the box office of a movie, the later the video will be released; the worse the box office, the earlier the video will be released. For example, "Top Gun" was released in May, but the video was not released until March of the following year, a window period of 10 months.

Chen Qi stayed for a while and then came out to sit in a nearby cafe with Bob Shea to discuss how to develop.

There are essentially two points: the store and the source of films.

"We have achieved our goal this year and have 10 directly-operated stores. I would like to set the development fund for next year at US$5 million. Assuming the cost of each store is US$200,000, we will open another 15 directly-operated stores next year.

The rest will be used for franchise system building, technology upgrades and marketing.”

"Haha! We've come up with an idea. You played a great trick on Happy Death Day and saved a lot of money on GG fees. Focus Video Store is very famous now, so we should strike while the iron is hot and open up franchising.

We will immediately start investigating and come up with a fee that everyone can accept, such as a $50,000 franchise fee plus a few percent of the revenue share, with the headquarters providing the supply.”

Bob Shea was very excited because chain stores were the end point of all industries in the United States.

No matter what it is, in the end it will be a chain! Chain! Chain! Refinance and go public, expand overseas, and continue to chain!

But he asked, "What do you mean by technological upgrade?"

"We have a headquarters warehouse in California. I would like to introduce a computer management system to track inventory and sales data and analyze customer preferences. This will improve operational efficiency. I'm not sure if current computers can do this. You need to consult a professional."

"OK!"

Bob Shea took note and said, "Where are the film sources? We have the production capability, but the number of films we produce is still too small to form a significant exclusive advantage."

"This can only be developed slowly. I will try to increase production. You can contact the American film distributors and see if we can get a lower price by purchasing in bulk. The number of films sold in our single store must reach at least 2,000.

Our short-term goal is to become the largest video brand chain in California."

"Totally agree!" laughed Bob Shea.

A definite award-winning film!

Moreover, playing a patient and self-disfigurement are two shortcuts to winning awards, as if they can better demonstrate acting skills. For example, Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot and Julianne Moore in Still Alice both played patients.

Charlize Theron in "Monster" and Nicole Kidman in "The Hours", these are all self-mutilation.

Chen Qi suggested to find a big name to play the role, and Price readily agreed, saying that big names would not refuse a theme like "Rain Man". After some research, the choice of actors naturally fell on Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.

The former is a first-line art film star with a salary of 5-8 million, and the latter is a newly rising idol. Even if the two of them reduced their salaries because of the good script, the total would still be in the tens of millions.

There’s no way Rain Man had a low budget.

So Chen Qi started to make a list, throwing out a series of specific clauses:

"Set a maximum limit for the publicity and promotion budget. Anything beyond that must be agreed in writing by both parties. At the same time, I must have the right to approve publicity and promotion expenditures, and a third-party company must audit the accounts regularly!"

"Adjust the profit sharing ratio in different stages according to the box office performance!"

“Both parties inject capital into the joint management account in proportion, and expenditures must be signed by both parties, and the payment is also supervised by a third-party agency!”

“Hiring a professional film completion guarantee company to supervise the production!”

"The copyright of Rain Man is mortgaged first. If the profit sharing does not reach the agreed amount, we can dispose of the assets first!"

“…”

Price listened to each one of them, feeling surprised at first, then frightened, and finally horrified.

People in Hollywood thought Chen Qi understood the superficial rules, but they didn't expect him to understand the deeper things. Moreover, he framed the contract tightly, which showed that he was very confident in the commercial performance of "Rain Man" and could make a lot of money.

Hollywood is not so straightforward in cheating people. They will set traps through various cumbersome clauses in the contract, making it impossible for you to win the lawsuit.

For example, Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall" was distributed globally by Universal Pictures, but the Chinese side did not include the right to audit in the contract, resulting in the final dividend being far lower than expected - the film cost $150 million, $110 million in publicity and distribution, and $335 million in global box office.

The Chinese investor is Jia Yueting, yes.

Price hesitated.

All of this is based on the premise that Rain Man is a big hit at the box office. Otherwise, it would be a bit funny to have such detailed rules when the movie only makes tens of millions of dollars. So will Rain Man be a big hit?

In essence, this is an artistic film.

Price wasn't sure, but Chen Qi verified his magic many times.

Moreover, he was in a difficult situation. If he did not agree, wouldn't that mean he was going to trick the other party?

Columbia and Chen Qi have a good relationship. They will use their action team in "Con Air" and they will also cooperate on a script later. Price made a decision quickly. Chen Qi's personal value is much greater than that of "Rain Man"!

Of course, he still wanted to argue for a while, saying, "You have too many terms, and we shouldn't be the ones to negotiate in person. Let's leave professional matters to professionals. How about we make an appointment and hand it over to the legal team?"

"Can!"

Chen Qi nodded and said with a smile: "I have a good cooperation with you, and I hope to continue this relationship."

"Of course, we agree on that."

Price smiled, but for the first time he felt a sense of fear. The guy in front of him was really scary. He had already penetrated into the deep level of Hollywood.

(In the evening there is also...)