Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 336 officially marked his entry into the ranks of Hollywood A-list production directors.
"Bruce, things aren't that simple."

Amy saw through Gu Bei's thoughts and shattered his beautiful fantasy: "The production cost of Spider-Man still cannot include too much external funding."

Gu Bei felt a huge question mark appear in his mind.

Sony and others don't have the funds to invest, and they won't allow the introduction of external funds. Are they supposed to generate electricity out of love?

Even if Gu Bei and the lead actors took all the profits, this level of heavy-industry film was not something they could make with just love.

Gu Bei looked at Amy: "Since you agreed to the board's proposal, it means you must have a way to solve the funding problem, right?"

Amy nodded, then looked at Gu Bei: "Bruce, do you want the rights to Spider-Man merchandise?"

So I was the one who paid for it!

Gu Bei thought about it carefully for a moment.

The copyright for Spider-Man is a very large system.

The most crucial element is undoubtedly the film adaptation rights to Spider-Man.

Sony values ​​this copyright very much, but it doesn't care as much about other copyrights.

Just like the TV series adaptation rights that Gu Bei previously obtained, which were later returned to Disney as a price during the extension negotiations with Disney because the Amazing Spider-Man copyright might expire.

And derivative copyright,

It is second only to film adaptation rights in importance.
Because if done well, even if the superhero movie itself doesn't make money, it can still generate huge profits by selling toys.

This is why Sony, during the Toby and Garfield era, liked to cram as many villains as possible into their movies, and especially liked Venom as a villain.

No other reason than that Venom is the most popular villain in the Spider-Man universe!

However, Sony's efforts did not yield very good results.

After all, Sony itself doesn't have many family-friendly IPs.

They also had little experience in making toys.
Compared to big players like Disney, who have been immersed in derivative products for decades, they are too inexperienced.

So when Spider-Man later entered the MCU, Sony simply sold the merchandise rights to Disney, thus foreshadowing the falling out between Sony and Disney in 2019.

Because when they reached an agreement
DVD sales are declining but still manage to stay strong.
Pay-per-view and cable TV copyright revenue are also a considerable expense.

But when the agreement expires...
DVDs have fallen to rock bottom.

Copyright revenue has also been decimated by streaming media.
The only difference is that streaming media rights revenue is slightly higher than before, but it's not enough to make up for the previous decrease in revenue.

Making a movie with the same box office would already be less profitable than before, but Disney is demanding a 50% investment share in the Spider-Man solo movie.

Sony looked at its own Spider-Man rights, then at Disney's.

Spider-Man appeared in the Avengers, so they didn't have any money to share.

They didn't have any money to share in the Spider-Man movie merchandise and toys either.

With only movie box office and streaming revenue remaining as potential revenue streams, Disney is demanding to take another half.
So, does this copyright belong to Sony or Disney?
The two sides fell out.

They eventually reached a settlement, but the specifics of the agreement are unclear.
We'll probably have to wait until the next major falling out to find out from various leaks.

But Sony is undoubtedly completely controlled by Disney. After all, Sony can make movies like Madame Spider-Man, and it would probably lose money if it took over the production rights to Spider-Man. By working with Disney, it can at least make a living.

After Gu Bei thought it through,
This is feasible!
After all, the derivatives market is expanding in the future.

However, revenue from DVDs, copyrights, and other back-end sales is shrinking.
Even if Gu Bei can't control Spider-Man in the future, he can still make a pure profit by selling the copyright to Disney!
Gu Bei said to Amy, "Amy, we can talk about this later."

"can."

Amy smiled slightly.

She also planned to use this copyright to bind Gu Bei to her scheme.

After all, Gu Bei needs to share the box office revenue and the back-end revenue.
It requires a cumbersome board procedure and there is a high probability that it will be rejected by the board.

After selling the copyright of this derivative product to Gu Bei, wouldn't Gu Bei be even more dedicated to making the Spider-Man series than she was?
Amy did this because

It was because Gu Bei took on the Mission: Impossible series.

Gu Bei rose through the ranks at Sony Pictures Classics, essentially becoming Sony's Nolan.
If Paramount were to steal Sony's business, seeing Paramount make money would be even more painful than Sony losing money itself!
After a film screening,

Gu Bei didn't have much interest in it.
After all, if they could acquire the rights to Spider-Man merchandise,
So he planned to directly create a successful Spider-Man universe.
After all, besides Spider-Man, toys of popular villains like Venom are also very profitable, as are Spider-Gwen, Miles Morales, Peni Parker, and others that haven't appeared in the comics yet.

Oh no, I've become Sony, the company I used to hate the most!

"Clap clap clap!"

Marco Müller was the most attentive person watching the film in the entire audience.
The moment the lights came on at the screening,

He stood up excitedly and clapped his hands with all his might: "Bruce, you have truly surprised me. I never thought you could go so far as an artist!"

"Thank you!"

Gu Bei could understand Marco Müller's excitement.
After all, people his age have truly experienced the era of dream-making musicals and are best able to understand the helplessness between dreams and reality in La La Land.

However, Gu Bei was worried about his health. Was it really okay for him to clap so excitedly?
Marco Müller excitedly took a copy of La La Land with him.
After all, the opening of the Venice Film Festival is very close now. Fortunately, this year's opening ceremony is in early September, a few days later than usual.

It can be said that the main competition list for the 66th Venice International Film Festival was waiting for La La Land, which was the key to deciding the list for this year's festival.

Gu Bei, meanwhile, led Rose Pictures and Summit Entertainment to face the fierce competition of the summer movie season, while also negotiating with Sony on Spider-Man merchandise.

However, although the negotiations have not yet been successful
But since Gu Bei and Sony have already reached a consensus,
Therefore, announcing Spider-Man's release date at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con is the best option.

Gu Bei had just signed with Sony,
The revelation then appeared on the internet.

Bruce Ghou has signed on for a new Spider-Man movie, not a sequel to Spider-Man 4, but a complete reboot of Bruce Ghou's Spider-Man film!

As soon as this news came out,
The internet instantly erupted in discussion.

"Good heavens! My Sam Raimi, my Tobey Maguire, have they both lost their jobs?"

"I'm afraid that's the case. Besides them, Spider-Man producers Laura Zeskin and Avi Arad have also left the project. This will be a Spider-Man project that belongs entirely to Bruce Gou."

"Why did Bruce have to get rid of Sam and Toby? I've spent almost a decade growing to like them. We don't need a new Spider-Man!"

The entire internet was filled with criticism.
Even when they first heard that Gu Bei would be joining the Spider-Man project, they were overjoyed, after all, the plot of Spider-Man 3 was widely criticized.

But when I learned that the original trilogy team had been wiped out...
Their joy immediately turned to anger.
A campaign to 'drive out the Bruce' has been launched on the internet.

They planned to use public opinion to drive Gu Bei away and bring back Sam and Toby.

"how's it going?"

Liu Yifei's worried voice came through the phone's microphone.

"Eat well and sleep well!"

Gu Bei looked at the news on his computer screen, sipped his coffee, and replied with a smile.

People are nostalgic.

Gu Bei could understand everyone's feelings very well.
Just like he prefers Garfield spiders to Dutch spiders;

I also prefer Hengchao to Davidchao.

But we still have to look forward.

If Sam Raimi can make Spider-Man 4, then Sony won't need to hire John Gu Bei to reboot Spider-Man.

Of course... Warner Bros. really deserves to die!
After a pause, Gu Bei teased Liu Yifei a little, "Right... did you buy a bed that's too big?"

Liu Yifei asked in confusion, "No!"

"It's a bit cramped for one person!"

Gu Bei smiled as he watched her step in.

"Ahhhh!"

Liu Yifei screamed in surprise.

Gu Bei was still a little confused. They were an old married couple, why were they still so shy?
result,

Two voices came from the other end of the microphone:

"Sleeping alone..."

"...It's a bit small!"

Gu Bei immediately understood.
This is the voice of Shu Chang and Zhang Liangying.
It seems that the two of them were just nearby.
They could hear each other's sweet nothings clearly.

No wonder Liu Yifei reacted so strongly!

"Bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Crackling!"

As Gu Bei listened to the sounds coming from his phone, he was filled with questions. What on the other end could be making such noises?

After a while,
Liu Yifei's voice finally came back on the phone.
She bit her lip slightly, her voice seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth: "Gu! Bei!"

"Woman, spare your life!"

Gu Bei could almost picture Liu Yifei's angry face in his mind.

A slight smile involuntarily curved the corners of his mouth.

"I'm furious!"

Liu Yifei touched her cheek; a trace of warmth still lingered.

Although she had just used force to suppress the two little demons
But in the foreseeable future, they will probably bring this up to make fun of it a lot, and it won't be long before they get over this joke.

"Why are the three of you together today?" Gu Bei asked curiously.

“I finished my work these past two days, and since Changchang and Liangying are both in Kyoto, we got together.”

Liu Yifei replied that she stayed in China mainly to handle some work and free up time for the second half of the year.

After a pause,
She suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has already been released! I went to see it with Changchang and Liangying. You're probably going to lose this time!"

How much did it gross domestically?

Gu Bei asked curiously what gave Liu Yifei such confidence.

"The premiere grossed 5900 million!"

Liu Yifei said with a smile, and then continued, "I saw the North American box office figures on Tieba. The midnight screenings grossed $2260 million, the highest ever!"

Then, the opening day box office, including midnight screenings, was $5818 million, but it opened on a Wednesday.

It has already grossed $1.58 million in its first five days, and with overseas box office revenue, it has reached $3.94 million in its first five days, once again setting a new record!

“It’s pretty impressive!”

Gu Bei said with a smile.

"How about it?"

Liu Yifei said smugly to Gu Bei, "If you admit defeat to me beforehand, then the demands I make of you will be much simpler!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Gu Bei replied with a smile. "Even if I lose, I will lose fair and square, and I will never admit defeat."

"Hum~"

Liu Yifei was somewhat dissatisfied.

Despite the fact that the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had already broken a series of records, Gu Bei was still unwilling to admit defeat.

Keep in mind that the production cost of The Half-Blood Prince was $2.5 million.
It is the most expensive film ever made in history.

In addition, there is a global marketing and promotion budget of $1.5 million.

The total cost alone is a whopping four hundred million US dollars.

And what about Twilight?

The second and third movies together only cost one hundred million dollars.
On average, the production cost of the second film was only $5000 million.
It's not shameful to lose to a mixed-race prince at this cost!

"Besides, I might not even lose!"

Gu Bei said calmly, "Just a heads up, some of the midnight screenings in Twilight City were sold out three months ago!"
I've already thought out my bet terms!

"What is it?"

Liu Yifei asked curiously.

"you guess!"

"I won't guess!"

The North American film market during the summer of 2009,
It's Transformers 2's time to shine.
It achieved two consecutive wins at number one at the start of the summer season, plus a second place finish with a mere $400 million difference.

It took a full three weeks for the Transformers craze to cool down somewhat, but by then Transformers 2 had already grossed $3.15 million, securing the top spot at the North American box office this year.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince then took up the baton.

However, it's clearly not as explosive as Transformers 2 in terms of sheer momentum.

Twilight, on the other hand, will not hit the market until late August, mainly to avoid these two giants and to secure enough screenings from theaters.

But before that,

Gu Bei still has to go to the comic convention to face Spider-Man fans.

"The new Spider-Man movie is scheduled for release on July 22, 2011. Let's welcome the new Spider-Man movie director—Bruce Gou!"

Amid the host's introduction,

Gu Bei walked out from backstage and headed towards the center of the stage.

As he walked, he turned his head and glanced at the audience below, where countless media flashes were pointing at him, and a group of Spider-Man fans had indifferent faces.

From this moment on,
Gu Bei has now officially entered the ranks of Hollywood A-list production directors.

His name will not only be known to seasoned movie fans, but will also be known to more and more people, including ordinary people who may only go to the cinema once or twice a year.

(End of this chapter)