Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 353 Trading
The Oscars awards banquet is ultimately not a place to discuss business.

Cao Yang and Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinoff have only reached an agreement; the specific details and conditions of the cooperation still need to be discussed and negotiated by the team.

This is actually one of the purposes and functions of the Oscars dinner: to provide a platform for people to socialize.

The general direction of the matter has been determined.

The focus of the discussion was "Joker," and Cao Yang will definitely direct this film.

As for "The Batman," it's confirmed that Cao Yang will first produce a script, and then Warner Bros. will contact other directors, most likely Nolan.

It all depends on whether the director accepts the condition of filming according to the script.

According to Jeff Robinoff, it doesn't matter who it is, Nolan or anyone else, if they don't accept this condition, they can all get lost.

However, Jeff Robinoff revealed that Warner Bros. has internally approved the budget for "The Batman" at $200 million, with the possibility of adding more.

Without a script, without formal approval, without a director, and without anything even confirmed, they gave a budget of two hundred million US dollars.

This is Warner Bros. during this period.

Warner Bros. is very wealthy, holding several consistently profitable films, but due to special circumstances, it doesn't actually make a profit on paper.

This is related to Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros.

In 2000, the internet portal AOL merged with Time Warner for $1680 billion in stock value; in fact, it could be called a takeover.

This was a very influential acquisition and merger at the time, involving a total amount of $3500 billion.

After the new company was formed, AOL owned 55% of the shares, while Time Warner owned only 45%.

However, with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, by 2002, the new company had already lost $990 billion.

Of course, this wasn't the worst of it.

Just last year, the market capitalization of the newly merged company, AOL Time Warner, even fell to a low of $480 billion.

It's less than a fraction of the total market value when the merger first took place.

The newly merged company faces enormous financial pressure.

In the past two years, Time Warner has finally "woke up" and is now focused on breaking up the company.

Warner Bros.' various antics and tactics against its parent company in recent years are understandable... I suppose.

Time Warner is definitely a cautionary tale about mergers and acquisitions in the American financial world. Not only did it fall into a deep pit with its merger with AOL, but ten years later, it fell into the same pit again in a merger with another company.

In 09, after many hardships, Time Warner finally succeeded in separating from AOL.

After nearly a decade of "recovery," in June 2018, US telecommunications giant AT&T acquired Time Warner for $810 billion.

Three years later, due to failed integration and pressure from competitors, the new company's latest financial data shows that its net debt is as high as $1690 billion, making it the most indebted non-financial company in the United States.

In Hollywood, Disney is a prime example of a company that has grown rapidly through acquisitions and mergers.

Time Warner and Warner Bros., on the other hand, showed us that acquisitions and mergers are not necessarily a path to rapid growth; they can also be a huge pitfall.

From the perspective of warning the world, Time Warner's entry into the game is definitely a positive example—if acquisitions and mergers were a shortcut to rapid growth, wouldn't the world be in chaos?
Things cannot be judged by appearances alone.

In Hollywood, all you need to remember is that Era Warner Bros., the parent company of Warner Bros., was struggling financially, while Warner Bros.... made big splashes almost every year, with a constant stream of mega-productions, giving the impression of being nouveau riche.

In previous Oscar banquets, the most attention was always focused on the producers and directors who won Best Picture and Best Director.

However, this year was a bit of an exception. Even though Cao Yang didn't win either of the two awards, he still overshadowed Martin Scorsese.

There's no way around it, Inception was just too dazzling, both at the box office and in terms of awards.

Fat Bing sat quietly in the corner, watching Zhang Ziyi, who was forcing a smile, and her foreign boyfriend leave. She smiled thoughtfully, finding it quite amusing.

Zhang Ziyi may appear very enthusiastic on the surface, but Bingbing can tell that she's just putting on an act.

On the contrary, her foreign boyfriend seemed genuinely interested in making friends with her.

I heard recently that Zhang Ziyi has a new boyfriend who is very powerful in Hollywood and is said to have connections with many important figures.

Insiders once speculated that Zhang Ziyi was about to "rise to prominence," with a constant stream of roles in Hollywood, becoming a resource expert in the city.

Fat Bing wasn't envious of this. She had experienced ups and downs and had long since come to terms with these things. She didn't demand much in terms of resources or future development.

She had already made up her mind: as long as Cao Yang didn't want her anymore, she would just retire from the entertainment industry, since she had already earned enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

So at the Oscars dinner tonight, after she parted ways with Cao Yang, she found a corner and quietly observed this world of fame and fortune in Hollywood.

She didn't expect Zhang Ziyi and her new boyfriend to come over.

Through observation, Bingbing, with the clear-headedness of an outsider, discovered that Zhang Ziyi's new boyfriend doesn't seem to be as high-profile as rumored.

He does know many important people, and seems able to chat with anyone, even introducing Zhang Ziyi.

However, through observation, Fat Bing discovered a detail: there seemed to be an invisible "barrier" between him and the real big shots in Hollywood, and their conversations never lasted long.

In addition, she didn't see any celebrities at the scene trying to "fawn" over him; most of them maintained only superficial politeness.

This can be seen by comparing Cao Yang or Martin Scorsese.

Or you can see it by comparing them with those who can communicate with Cao Yangping and others.

Fat Bing didn't recognize the people who were chatting and laughing with Cao Yang, but wherever they went, a small group seemed to form around them.

Fat Bing even counted them with great interest.

Centered around Cao Yang, he was surrounded by many people, most of whom were well-known celebrities.

They would glance at Cao Yang every now and then, and after the people talking to Cao Yang left, one of them would step forward, smile, and greet Cao Yang, showing great tacit understanding.

The same goes for Martin Scorsese, who won Best Director tonight.

The same applies to Spielberg, Eastwood, George Lucas, and those older white men who had previously interacted with Cao Yangping and others.

Fat Bing guessed that those old white men were probably high-ranking executives from Hollywood film companies.

Of course, the same thing happens with superstars, but only with male stars.

For example, Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.

However, Forest Whitaker, the black actor who won the Oscar for Best Actor tonight, was surrounded only by black actors, with very few white actors seen around.

That's quite interesting.

There's another reason why Fan Bingbing thinks Zhang Ziyi's new boyfriend isn't as "high-profile" as rumored.

That is, he was taking Zhang Ziyi around everywhere, seemingly introducing her to connections, but no social circle centered around him was formed, which is somewhat inconsistent with his high-profile persona.

True celebrities automatically create a social circle wherever they go, attracting people around them to "inadvertently" join in. Fat Bing turned her gaze to Cao Yang again, then couldn't help but smile. Even though Cao Yang was now in a corner, there were clearly quite a few people gathered around that corner, and more people were constantly moving closer.

After the Oscar dinner, Cao Yang took Pang Bing back to their house in Arcadia.

"I discovered something very interesting tonight."

After taking a shower, Fatty Bing came out and smiled mysteriously at Cao Yang.

Cao Yang had been taking a shower in another bathroom for half an hour before Pang Bing finally came out.

He had planned to shower with Pang Bing, but Pang Bing was wearing a diaper because she was attending the Oscars today, and she actually peed in the diaper. This made her a little embarrassed, and she refused to shower with Cao Yang no matter what.

There's no way around it; to attend an event like the Oscars, you have to start putting on clothes specially designed by the sponsors as soon as you wake up in the morning. These clothes are extremely troublesome to put on and take off, and sometimes it's impossible for one person to do it alone.

The Oscars involve more than just walking the red carpet and attending the awards ceremony; there's also a follow-up banquet, and by the time it's all over, it's almost midnight.

Even if you don't drink water, it's hard to guarantee that you won't need to urinate throughout the day.

How to do?
The best solution is to wear diapers.

This applies both domestically and internationally.

Just like these female celebrities who attend the Oscars, they seem incredibly glamorous on the surface, but how many of them don't wear diapers in private?
When you can't hold it in, you can only pee in a diaper. Many female celebrities have probably had this experience.

Cao Yang grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap.

"What's interesting?"

“I counted today, and a total of seventeen young female celebrities came to talk to you. Most of them you just said a few polite words and let them leave, but you talked to three female celebrities for quite a while.”

Fatty Bing snuggled closer to Cao Yang, finding a comfortable position, and said with a smile.

"Oh, you're paying attention to that? What's wrong, are you jealous?"

Cao Yang naturally put his arm around Pang Bing and casually slipped his hand inside.

“Why would I be jealous? I can certainly understand you talking to Eva Green, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron. What I can’t understand is why you show such respect whenever I mention them?”

Fat Bing grinned as he gripped the handle and said, "Look, I can feel it very clearly right now."

Cao Yang said with a smile, "Don't try to change the subject. I've remembered what you promised today."

"No, no, I was just saying it casually," Fatty Bing quickly said.

"Just saying? I don't think so..."

An imminent battle is inevitable.

However, in the heat of the battle, the two pulled some unusual moves.

……

For the next period of time, Fat Bing did not return to China, but stayed here.

Cao Yang was busy with the post-production of "New Pirates of the Caribbean" and kept a close eye on the team's negotiations with Warner Bros.

After nearly a month of intermittent negotiations, the first deal reached was for "Joker".

Warner Bros. considered "Joker" as a film that Cao Yang was aiming for awards. Compared to the "Batman" series, winning awards was certainly important and could expand the scope of "Joker," but the level of importance placed on it was still less than that of "Batman."

The rights to "Joker" belong to Warner Bros., so even if Cao Yang is the producer, director, and screenwriter, his share of the profits should not be as high as those of the adapted films for which he owns the rights.

However, the box office success of "Inception," coupled with its five Oscars and Warner Bros.' eagerness to collaborate, narrowed the gap in copyright.

Ultimately, the total box office share was increased from 15% to 18%, and as usual, Berman, who was in charge of the entire negotiation team, added a condition: if the global box office of "Joker" exceeded $5 million, the total box office share would be increased to 21%.

Warner Bros. did not object to this point—an art film with an investment of only 7000 million to expect to gross 5 million worldwide? Dream on.

Bellman also didn't quite understand why Cao Yang insisted on adding this "harsh" condition. What was the difference between adding it and not adding it at all?

Oh well, what can I do? Cao Yang is now his boss at Bellman. I don't understand, but I have to respect him.

Moreover, Bellman also decided that in future similar negotiations, without Cao Yang's instruction, he would add this clearly incentive-based condition.

Before Sony Classics, Bellman had already reached the upper-middle level and had some understanding of Warner Bros.

Cao Yang actually budgeted $6000 million for "Joker", but Warner Bros. offered $8000 million.

Bellman wasn't surprised, but for the sake of Cao Yang's reputation, he managed to reduce the budget from 8000 million to 7000 million. Any lower and Warner Bros. wouldn't have agreed.

Those unaware of the inside story might think that Bellman was "scheming" against Cao Yang.

The investors gave you an $8000 million budget, and as the director's agent, you actually think it's too high?
This kind of bizarre thing could only happen at Warner Bros.

Cao Yang could definitely understand what Bellman meant and knew that he was doing it for his own good.

A $6000 million investment and an $8000 million investment may seem like a small difference, but in terms of box office revenue, especially for films that are generally considered art films, the difference is quite significant.

For example, a $6000 million investment yielding $2 million in box office revenue is not the same as an $8000 million investment yielding $2 million in box office revenue.

The former makes money at the box office, while the latter might even have difficulty recouping its costs.

Bellman only negotiated $70 million, getting Warner Bros. to lower the price by $10 million. When discussing this with Cao Yang, he still felt some regret, telling Cao Yang that this was already Warner Bros.' biggest concession.

Cao Yang expressed his understanding.

Furthermore, preparations have already been made, and Cheng Jianye, who was assigned to the "The Fault in Our Stars" production team as executive producer, will definitely be free by then.

Cao Yang was determined to place Cheng Jianye in the production crew so that he could supervise everything and prevent the budget from suddenly running out.

Warner Bros. is very, very willing to make additional investments.

Cao Yang had always wondered why Warner Bros. never tried to collaborate with James Cameron. One wanted a larger budget, while the other's budget was never enough—wasn't that a perfect match?
Perhaps even Warner Bros. couldn't handle James Cameron's extremely long production cycle.

As for the negotiations for "The Batman," there has been some progress.

Why is Warner Bros. so insistent on having Cao Yang direct the film?
The main purpose was to leverage Cao Yang's influence and abilities to drive the success of "The Batman".

What they really wanted was the name "Cao Yang".

Therefore, even if Cao Yang doesn't direct, "The Batman" will still be promoted as Cao Yang's film—as long as he becomes the film's producer, supervisor, and screenwriter, in Hollywood terms, it will be his film.

As for the director, unless they are a big-name director or a director with a particularly strong auteur style, they are not that important.

Warner Bros. contacted Nolan first.

Surprisingly, Nolan did not immediately refuse, but replied that he needed to consider it for a few days.

(End of this chapter)