Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 698 I don't need their approval! (23)

Netflix was actually fascinated by big data for a while...

But it's unreliable!
They spent a lot of money making a bunch of terrible movies that barely made a splash.

Those interested in Netflix's early dark history can check out "Bright," a typical product that combines big investment, big stars, self-righteous commercial elements, and political correctness. The script seems to have been written by AI, a modern-day Men in Black mixed with Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, with an overwhelming sense of big data.

The production cost of "Bright" was $8000 million, and it starred Will Smith.

It can be called the most expensive online movie in history.

At the same time, the average cost of domestic online movies was around 500 million RMB, less than one percent of that of "Light Spirit".

But what will be the final quality of "Light Spirit"?

Mediocre, strange, boring.

The huge investment not only failed to produce the expected hit, but also made Netflix a laughing stock.

Later, Netflix learned its lesson and, after a complex internal power struggle, got rid of the big data proponents…

We've entered the "coal boss mode"—we don't really manage the creative process; we just find the right people, give them plenty of freedom and budget, and let them film good stories.

They compared global cultural exports:
The 1.0 version of global cultural export simply means "telling your own story and showing it to the world".

In any content consumption market in the world, the audience's demand for "stories" is eternal.

Every country and nation has its own stories, but the commercial productivity of designing, packaging, and presenting these stories varies greatly among different countries.

It can be said that the side with stronger productivity is the one exporting culture, while the side with weaker productivity is the one receiving cultural export.

The Soviet Union was once able to "make its own stories and show them to the world," and its influence extended beyond the socialist camp. It not only had world-renowned film masters such as Tarkovsky, Ryazanov, and Eisenstein, but also produced works such as "War and Peace," "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears," "Nostalgia," and "Seventeen Moments of Spring," which transcended the Iron Curtain between East and West during the Cold War and became globally recognized classics.

Hong Kong cinema is also a great miracle of cultural export!
Especially between the 1970s and 1990s, Hong Kong-made kung fu films not only swept across Asia, but also entered markets like the United States, which have a dominant culture.

To this day, Bruce Lee and his signature moves remain a global cultural icon, and Jackie Chan's international influence is unmatched by any other star from Mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

The epitome of "telling domestic stories for the world" is undoubtedly Hollywood in the United States.

The combination of Hollywood visual effects and creative genius achieved a dominant performance in the process of globalization, creating masterpieces such as *Jurassic Park*, *Titanic*, and *Saving Private Ryan*. Coupled with the end of the Cold War, America's cultural influence reached its peak in the 90s.

Netflix has a natural advantage in this regard…

It's an American content production company!
However, local content creators are in high demand, and as rising stars in the internet industry, their appeal to content creators is less than that of Hollywood…

Moreover, the appeal of "American stories" to global audiences is declining!
Especially since 2016, with the United States itself launching a wave of "de-globalization" and internal divisions and polarization constantly dominating media headlines, the global audience's favorability toward the "American story" has naturally declined year by year.

Then comes the 2.0 version of global cultural export—becoming a coal mine owner.

He gave Alfonso Cuarón maximum freedom: only responsible for writing checks, giving full authority to his team.

This delegation of authority not only means not interfering with the filming process, but also not interfering with the editing, giving the director the utmost respect, and incidentally helping him win awards!
Actually, Alfonso Cuarón isn't the first foreign director to enjoy this kind of treatment…

Bong Joon-ho is number one!
At that time, Park Geun-hye was in office as the right-wing president of South Korea, and left-wing filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho, who were on the "blacklist of arts and culture," could not get investment from domestic chaebols.

When Bong Joon-ho was filming "Snowpiercer" in the United States, his nemesis was none other than Harvey Weinstein, a producer at the pinnacle of Hollywood's workplace manipulation. Besides his penchant for sleeping with actresses, Weinstein was also known as "The Scissors"—he would ruthlessly revise content he deemed unsellable.

It's worth noting that when *Snowpiercer* was later released in China, only one minute was cut, but Weinstein insisted on cutting 20 minutes after watching it. Regarding the "final cut right," Bong Joon-ho and Weinstein remained deadlocked. And the consequences of a foreign director offending a local producer are twofold: first, *Snowpiercer* only received the opportunity to be shown in independent theaters, resulting in disappointing box office performance;

Secondly, during the Oscars season the following year, Weinstein diverted publicity resources to Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmaster," resulting in the meticulously crafted "Snowpiercer" failing to even receive a nomination.

Then Netflix provided the famous South Korean director with $5700 million to produce "Okja"...

Not only that, they also got the coveted final cut rights and the prestigious Cannes premiere.

From this perspective, Alfonso Cuarón's collaboration with Netflix is ​​a match made in heaven...

Shen Yan's help in making the contact can be considered a kind act of kindness!
……

A24 does not have global distribution capabilities…

Therefore, the distribution rights to "Carol," "The Danish Girl," and even "La La Land" need to be sold...

The Venice Film Festival's copyright trading center... is practically useless.

The European screenings have been handed over to MK2…

The three films have a total marketing and distribution budget of $2000 million. As for the returns, we'll have to wait and see how well they perform at the box office…

It's a revenue-sharing agreement!
Signing a revenue-sharing agreement with MK2 is quite suitable; they only take 20% of the profits... the rest goes to the production company.

It's not that they don't want to buy out the shares...

The main problem is that Shen Yan's desired buyout price was too high...

MK2 simply can't afford it!
As for copyrights in other regions, we'll have to go to the Toronto Film Market...

……

After the banquet, Shen Yan returned to the hotel…

Then, as usual, a group of media and reporters gathered at the hotel entrance.

We had to stop and conduct a brief interview.

"I feel pretty happy... I was a little surprised too, but after receiving the award, I calmed down a lot, after all, the quality of 'La La Land' speaks for itself!"

"Of course I hope to achieve something during Oscar season, otherwise why would I go and direct a musical?"

"Yes, I recommended all three films... 'The Danish Girl,' 'Carol,' and 'La La Land'... Actually, I really think 'The Danish Girl' has a good chance of winning the Golden Lion!"

"...Perhaps the pace is too slow?"

"The Danish Girl" was really poorly made; such a powerful story was portrayed in a lukewarm way.

Under the guise of focusing on and caring for minority groups, it's just an Oscar-nominated film catering to the sensibilities of older white men...

Unfortunately, this set of products is no longer very popular!
Oh, a reporter asked: "Brother Yan, what are your thoughts on the Golden Rooster Award nominations?"

"...I don't look at it, I don't need their approval!"

(End of this chapter)