Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 153 Helping to Pretend
Since the conditions put forward by Roy Disney were all illusions, Ethan and Evelyn declined his project. After all, in this world, apart from some vulture lawyers, senior management who attempted to obtain huge profits from large companies, and those wolves on Wall Street who did not create value but only plundered wealth, few people were willing to get involved in the internal fighting of other families.

Because this kind of thing is too annoying.

hiss……

wrong!

There are actually three types of people in this world who like to intervene in other people's family fights?
From this perspective, there are quite a lot of people who like to stir up trouble!
Tsk tsk tsk!
After making the decision not to disturb others, the two people who had nothing to do said goodbye to their Hollywood know-it-all classmate Xiao Si. Feeling a little tired, they returned to the hotel arranged by Fox in advance to rest. They stayed in bed the next morning. In the afternoon, Ethan went to the Fox headquarters in Century City to meet Xiao Lu.

Yes, this time he came to Los Angeles, in addition to attending the movie's celebration party, he also had some work matters to deal with, specifically, the global distribution of "Star Wars".

Today's Hollywood is different from the future. In Ethan's previous life, whenever a blockbuster was released, it was simultaneously screened in more than 100 countries and regions around the world. But now... various overseas distribution companies have just been established, and the movies here are not as rampant on the earth as they would be decades later. The work of global screenings is only done after the North American box office comes out.

The reason is very simple, that is profit-seeking.

Overseas distribution is a very troublesome thing. The first thing to solve is the review issue of the countries and regions where the film will be released. After that, you have to negotiate with the local theaters on scheduling and profit sharing. The whole process is time-consuming and laborious. Moreover, movie copies of this era are not digital versions, but film. When the copying cost is high, if a movie does not even have a good box office in the local market, wouldn’t it be a waste of time to show it globally?
As for whether the time difference will lead to piracy problems...

This is something that doesn't really require much thought, right?

In this day and age, videotapes were not yet popular, and MCA, which owned the patent for optical discs, was just about to give its "partner" Philips a hard blow. When the soil for breeding piracy did not exist, Hollywood companies lived a very comfortable life because they had time to slowly show movies.

Of course, how the overseas distribution of "Star Wars" movies will unfold has nothing to do with the game of fate. The reason why Ethan sat in the conference room was because Fox was eager to obtain the most advanced and interesting distribution tools.

"Mr. Jones, we at 20th Century Fox have some small ideas about the global distribution of the Star Wars movie... We hope that you can bring the Star Wars arcade to the world just like when the movie was released in North America..."

Ethan naturally agreed with a smile to this proposal that could make him money, "No problem."

But at the same time, he also had a problem, "But our Destiny game has no overseas sales channels."

“Or even if we have it, we may not be able to sell video arcade machines to theaters around the world in a short period of time. First, it’s because of the different channels, and second, it’s because of the language problem.”

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"Aha?"

He winked at George Lucas, who was sitting across from him.

Perhaps because he drank too much yesterday, this guy's eyes were still a little blurry, but after hearing Ethan's words, he reacted and smiled knowingly, saying: "Oh Ethan, I know what you mean, the Seven Sons of Europe, right? That's really a headache!"

The Seven Sons of Europe mentioned by Xiao Lu actually refer to the seven major countries on the European continent, namely John Bull, Gallic Rooster, Hans Meow, Matador, Italy, Tulip and Five Shields Legion.

The reason why they are so troublesome is that these countries have their own independent languages. If companies from other countries want to sell their products to the people of these countries, the most basic step is language translation.

Hollywood film studios are all too familiar with this, because one of the first things they do when distributing a film worldwide is to add subtitles to copies of the film.

This kind of localization work is very simple for movies, but it is not the same thing for games. The arcade machines of this year are different from the small computers of the future. If you want to change the language, you can't just click on the language, but you have to modify the code.

After Nintendo obtained the game agency, the first thing they did was to change the display of the game text from English to Japanese. This process is actually not difficult, but it is prone to bugs. Therefore, before the game was officially sold to Europe, the Destiny game really did not do any translation content.

And now...

Temporary launch?

Not enough time!
However, the difficulties in Ethan's eyes were not a problem in front of 20th Century Fox. After seeing Ethan and Lucas laughing and complaining there, the Fox staff member who presided over the meeting said while laughing: "Oh Ethan, you don't have to worry about these things."

"We didn't make any changes to the language and directly launched the English version to other markets. After all, the only thing you really need to know about the whole game is Play, right? And English is still popular in Europe, and most people can still understand those simple lines."

"As for sales channels, we at Fox can also handle that."

"Oh—" Ethan understood, "You mean, you want me to supply you with goods?"

"Yes!" Fox staff nodded repeatedly.

"Sure!" If you don't make money, you're a bastard. "How many machines do you want?" Ethan asked, "Fifty thousand or a hundred thousand? I'll make them for you!"

"But there is one thing we need to make clear in advance. You won't be able to sell this book in the market. And the movie there will be shown in the summer of 1998. I've already told you about this."

"Uh--Mr. Jones, we know the situation with the book." Before signing the contract with Arakawa, Ethan had already communicated with Fox. With the strange system of the book, it would be difficult for them to sell it in advance. "Besides, we don't need that much..." The number Ethan reported made the Fox staff sweat on their foreheads.

Fifty thousand units would cost one hundred million. Without the notebook, they would never be able to sell them. "Our current expectation is 5,000 to 8,000 electronic arcade machines... No, it's 5,000 to 6,000 chip circuit boards and 2,000 electronic arcade machines."

“The former are sold to Europe and Southeast Asia, while the latter are shipped to Canada.”

"We'll buy the arcade machine at market price? For a single board... one thousand dollars? What do you think?"

"As for why you don't want to fix the whole machine..."

"It's mainly because it's not very convenient to transport."

Five to six thousand circuit boards? Two thousand complete machines?

The appearance of this order brought a look of nostalgia to Ethan's face.

Because after Snake, he no longer sells things like this.

The income is too low!

And when Fox proposed this plan, Ethan felt that he should have seen through their true purpose. When they were willing to purchase game console boards at a price of one thousand US dollars each, these guys might not have thought about making huge profits from the "Star Wars" game.

Because after delivering the game console to the destination, they still have to hire someone to install a casing, a TV screen, a joystick, etc. on the machine, and the cost alone can reach two to three hundred dollars.

If you add in shipping costs, tariffs and other miscellaneous items, the cost of a single Fox machine must be no less than $1,600.

Not to mention the whole machine, I sell it to them for two thousand. If they ship it at this price, they will lose money.

In this case, their net profit from this business should be only about five points.

this--

How to make money?

It’s just like playing house!

So, Fox's real purpose is to use video games to promote movies? And then test the popularity of the combination of video games and movies in other markets? If the effect is good - then they may be like Roy Disney, licking their own crazy?

Ethan thought to himself.

But he agreed quickly.

"No problem. One board costs one thousand dollars. Six thousand boards costs six million dollars. Two thousand complete machines costs four million dollars. You can pay a 30% deposit first, and the rest can be paid upon delivery..."

"Okay, I'll have a lawyer draft a contract and send it to your company." The Fox staff responded quickly, and then they exposed their true colors: "Ethan, we are very happy to cooperate with you on Star Wars, and we admire your straightforwardness. If possible, can we cooperate on other projects in the future?"

"Do you like science fiction?"

"It just so happens that we at Fox are also planning to invest in a science fiction movie recently..."

"Okay!"

Ethan narrowed his eyes in laughter when he heard the blatant dog-licking words.

"It seems that my guess was right!" he muttered to himself with pride.

At the same time, he also cast a curious look towards Xiao Lu. After answering his question, Lucas directly made a zipper gesture on his mouth, indicating that he had nothing to say.

Ethan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the blatant little action. The childish reaction made him turn his gaze back to the Fox staff and said with a smile, "If there is a good project, I will."

Although it was perfunctory, the Fox staff hurriedly nodded in agreement.

But before they could be happy for a few seconds, they saw Ethan stand up, walk behind Xiao Lu, put his hands on his chair, and said, "For example, Star Wars 2."

"If it's this project, we can talk about it now. As for the others..."

"Show the script to George first. If he doesn't think it's good, then don't come to me."

"Hehehehe——" Student Lu, who was leaning on his chair, laughed like a pig.

He raised his head and gave Ethan a thumbs up.

Several Fox managers sitting in the first seats nodded awkwardly.

But unfortunately, Ethan ignored their meaning and patted Lucas on the shoulder. "Now that we have finished discussing this matter, I will leave first. If there is anything else, call me again."

Before he finished speaking, he looked around, gestured briefly to everyone in the conference room, and then left the venue with a smile.

As the door of the conference room closed, Ethan could vaguely hear a series of eager voices coming from behind him.

"George, let me tell you, Star Wars should have a sequel!"

"Yes, yes! You see, Ethan is waiting for your new script! When will you have time to perfect the story behind Luke Skywalker? Or - can we help you find a screenwriter?"

"Bah! What are you talking about? Does George need a screenwriter? He is the best screenwriter on the planet! We just need to find some writers for him! Just record the stories he tells in front of him! Does he really need to write the script himself?"

The people who suddenly approached showed their eagerness.

George Lucas, leaning back in his chair, smiled calmly and waved his hand.

"Everyone - if I remember correctly - I own the copyright of the sequel of Star Wars, right? I have the right to accept your investment, but I can also refuse -"

"So, please work harder on the global distribution of Star Wars, get higher box office sales, and sell more games for me, otherwise I will doubt your ability."

Such words made the Fox guys' faces freeze.

But the next second, they agreed readily.

"Okay, okay, okay! George! Don't worry about us!"

The sudden change of face made George Lucas very happy, and he tapped the table with his index finger.

The tapping sound seemed to quiet everyone down.

But it's more like knocking on the soft hearts of these people.

"You have time to gather around me, so you might as well show your sincerity."

"Maybe once I'm in a good mood, I'll hand your notebook to Ethan."

"Did you all hear that just now?"

"brother!"

"Aha?"

"We're talking about results?"

George Lucas glanced around sharply.

Before he finished speaking, the noisy meeting room became as quiet as a chicken.

After a few seconds of pause, everyone scattered.

The scene of the panicked exit was extremely satisfying to George Lucas.

"Hmm~" He made the sound with the tip of his nose.

Then he took out the sunglasses from his collar and pushed them up his nose.

Pat your butt and leave in style.

Ethan actually didn’t know about the communication between Lucas and Fox…

Well, it’s all nonsense if you can’t explain it clearly. The reason why he left early was that he wanted Xiao Lu to feel comfortable and show off.

There is no way. Who made Lucas feel depressed for too long in promoting "Star Wars"?
When he achieved success despite the whole world's doubts, what he wanted to do most was to make those who had looked down on him before smile and apologize.

Although this behavior seems low, what is the meaning of success if it is not used to show off?
Walking in the night in brocade clothes?

Come on!
After Musk became successful, Musk's mother would brag that her son was a child prodigy!

There is no one in this world who doesn’t like to show off!
nobody!
Of course, Ethan helped Lucas out of selfish motives.
If what he said was true—

He likes Star Wars 2 very much.
I also like "Indiana Jones" and "Jurassic Park"
More like——

You can touch success with your eyes closed!

The feeling of being able to touch the sky with your hands -

It’s really great!

hehehe~
(End of this chapter)