America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 578 Acquisition of Davis Studio
Back to the office in Davis Studio.

Martin handed Louise a bottle of water and asked, "What do you think?"

Louise said: "Pacific Pictures has been cooperating with Warner Bros. in distribution business since the mid-1s. It has been fifteen years now. During this period, 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 most it has increased was % at one time."

Martin heard from Nicholson that in an era when resources were not as concentrated as they are now, the distribution commission of major Hollywood companies, excluding publicity and promotion costs, often only accounted for 20% of the North American box office share.

The current average is around 30%, and the works of some new companies and new directors can even exceed 35%.

For commercial films starring Martin in the past two years, only the revenue within two years after the film was released is counted. The increased commission rate by Warner Bros. means that the producer will pay Warner at least tens of millions of dollars more.

In North America, you can hire a killer for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and this is the total price before layers of outsourcing.

Martin said: "Old films are not greatly affected, but new films... Gone Girl is still okay, as it signed a distribution agreement in mid-January. The second part of John Wick will be filmed this year, and the box office and revenue of the sequel will definitely increase significantly, tens of millions of dollars."

Louise thought for a moment and said, "Your studio has only been established for a few years. During this period, many of the films you shot, such as House of Wax, The Departed, and The Dark Knight, were originally Warner projects. The copyrights are in Warner's hands. The only ones you really hold the copyright to 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 with the existing agreement. For the sequel to John Wick, you can quietly contact a few other companies. With the performance of the first film, it shouldn't be difficult to get a better distribution agreement."

Louise nodded: "Leave it to me."

She made a decision quickly: "In the future, Pacific Pictures' business will be divided into two parts. Pacific Pictures will continue to invest in your project, and Pacific Pictures' other projects will continue to cooperate with Warner if they can, and will look for other companies if they cannot."

Martin babbled casually: "Be careful or I'll lead you into a ditch and make you bankrupt."

"I believe in your vision and ability." Louise has gradually adjusted her mindset over the past year or so and has been able to focus on being a producer in charge of the project.

As for the rest, making money is not shameful.

Following Martin's project, you can enjoy spiritual and physical pleasure as well as get financial returns. Where else can you find such an investment?

Martin then called Chad Stahelski and asked about the preparations for "John Wick 2". The script had been completed and Chad was working with Chen Hu on the action scene design. Once he finished filming "Gone Girl", he would be able to join the crew for filming.

Chad also reminded Martin not to relax in daily exercise and training.

Martin has maintained his training over the years without even being urged or supervised.

Having experienced the incidents at Burbank High School and Santa Monica Pier, he knew best that these critical moments could save lives.

A bastard who has messed with others too much will naturally worry about being messed with by others.

…………

In the Warner Building, another meeting was coming to an end.

In addition to promoting "The Hobbit" trilogy and the DC movie universe, Kevin Tsujihara has proposed a plan to expand the film business.

The content is very old, and this is also what the six major Hollywood companies have been doing in recent years, acquiring those high-quality small and medium-sized production companies.

Warner Bros. acquired Legendary Pictures, New Line Cinema, etc. one after another in the new century.

This way, the other party's film library can be directly swallowed up, bringing high-quality content. The latter brought Warner the complete copyright of "The Lord of the Rings" series.

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

After discussing with several trusted subordinates, Kevin Tsujihara initially decided on a list: Castle Rock Pictures, Pacific Pictures and Davis Pictures Studios.

"Castle Rock and The Pacific are indeed good." Someone raised an objection: "But Davis Studio is just a shell company established by Martin Davis. The film library... should not exceed five films, right?"

The person who proposed it said: "Strictly speaking, there are only three movies: Wanted, Limitless and John Wick. But don't forget, John Wick is preparing a sequel. The first movie grossed over $4 million and set off a new trend of action movies. The original cast will all return for the second movie, so the revenue will only be higher."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "From the perspective of the world in the first film, at least a trilogy can be made. Some of the characters, such as Winston played by Mene, can also be used to shoot spin-offs."

Kevin Tsujihara has learned about Martin's movies in detail and said: "The future of the John Wick series is indeed good."

The man continued, "According to reliable information, in addition to Gone Girl, Martin also bought the film adaptation rights for two novels, Prince of Thieves and The Martian. Judging from his successful precedents in the past few years, the prospects for the adaptation of these two novels are also very good."

Kevin Tsujihara said: "These three companies have entered the acquisition review process at the fastest speed."

CEOs have great power, but there are also limits.

After the meeting, the relevant departments of Warner Bros. immediately took action to collect information and data from the three companies and measure their future prospects.

…………

When Gavin Newsom left Los Angeles, Jennifer Siebel stayed.

The first lady of San Francisco called up director Keen Lee, with whom she had worked before, and made an appointment with Martin over the phone, and they all came to Davis' studio.

Siebel introduced Keen Lee to Martin and said, "Keen is both a director and a screenwriter. I think he wrote a very good script."

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

"Of course," Sibel said.

"I have the script here." Keen Lee handed Martin a printed copy of the script and said, "This is something I wrote specifically for Jennifer." Martin took it and said, "Please wait a moment."

He asked someone to bring him coffee and started reading the script.

The script is called "Romantic Trouble", which, as the name suggests, is a romantic comedy that mainly revolves around the heroine who is also named Jennifer.

Tailor-made? Even the name is Jennifer.

The plot setting is also interesting. The heroine Jennifer made a new boyfriend, but when she was having sex with her new boyfriend, she always had the illusion that she was with her ex-boyfriend and could keep talking to him.

The setting is very similar to Little Days or Holy Valley films.

Just looking at the script, the screenwriter has set up a lot of poker playing scenes for the heroine.

Martin is well-informed in Hollywood, so it's not difficult for him to tell that Jennifer Siebel needs to take off her clothes in these scenes.

For Hollywood actresses, these are no big deal.

But Sibel has another identity.

Martin had something to ask: "Jennifer, are you playing the female lead?"

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

She was very smart and understood what Martin meant. She said, "Gavin has read the script carefully and agreed that I should play the leading role in this play. He thinks it will become an artistic masterpiece."

Martin nodded, closed the script and returned it to Keen Lee, then asked, "Have you estimated? How much budget is needed for filming?"

Keen Lee was well prepared. He took out a detailed shooting plan and handed it to Martin: "I have made a detailed plan for every link. Jennifer is the most famous actress. The crew does not need other stars. I can definitely get $500 million!"

Although he didn't have to invest his own money, Martin still read the plan carefully and said, "It's a good plan."

He couldn't make it, but he had seen a lot of them, and he could make a rough assessment of whether they were genuine materials after watching them once.

Keane-Lee smiled slightly reservedly: "I have made several films, although none of them have been released in theaters yet."

Martin put away the plan and said, "I will ask the company to conduct a professional evaluation. Please wait for a few days. I will inform you as soon as there is news."

Sibel has waited for a long time to become the heroine, and she still has the patience to wait a few more days.

She said: "My biggest wish now is to complete a work as the heroine. Whether the final product is broadcast publicly in theaters, on TV stations, or on the Internet, I will be satisfied."

Martin said: "I can't guarantee that I can get into the cinema, but there will be absolutely no problem with TV stations and the Internet."

This type of film is difficult to get in the cinema market. Finding a distribution company and promoting the distribution will cost a lot of money, and the loss may be even greater.

Martin still cares a lot about investors.

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

Martin gently squeezed her hand and said, "Wait for my call."

The two men left behind a draft of the script and a plan and said goodbye.

The so-called review was actually done by Martin alone. He called Thomas first and asked him to insert suitable child actors into the crew.

Then he notified Wu Maoting that the project was available.

Not long after, Wu Maoting came to Davis' studio and saw the script and plan submitted by Martin.

Martin stated in advance: "The investment in this project is only about 500 million US dollars. There are certain risks. It may be difficult to enter the theater. I will sell it to a TV station or video website depending on the situation."

Wu Maoting quickly flipped through it. He regarded this project as a stepping stone to express his sincerity. After all, he had previously abandoned Davis Studio and Pacific Pictures and switched to Warner Pictures.

The result was all tears.

Wu Maoting said: "I will fully invest in this project!"

Martin shook his hand. "Davis Studios will try to make it profitable."

This is a work for which he has no memory, and it can be considered as a test of the waters.

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

His attention then temporarily turned to the Oscars.

At the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, Martin was once again nominated for Best Actor for "Benjamin."

David Fincher was also nominated for Best Director.

(End of this chapter)