Heads Up Hollywood

Jeff Bewkes has served as chairman and chief executive officer of the HBO television network since 1995.

During his several years in charge of HBO, he changed the past development model of relying on leased copyrights, and gradually developed a self-made drama model, which doubled the number of HBO subscription members.

Such outstanding performance has aroused the idea of ​​Time Warner's top management, especially Ted Turner, the largest individual shareholder and vice chairman, who praised his ability very much.

According to inside information, because of the outstanding performance in the past few years, Jeff Bewkes is likely to make job adjustments next year and be promoted to the chairman of the board of directors and CEO of entertainment and network companies.

In fact, it is.

Jeff Bewkes's ascent started at HBO, and then it got out of hand.

In July 2002, he was promoted to chairman and CEO of entertainment and network companies;

In January 2006, promoted to Time Warner President and Chief Operating Officer;

In January 2008, he was promoted to executive director and CEO of Time Warner;

In July 2009, he was promoted to Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner.

However, under his leadership, Time Warner's stock price... fell all the way, and the company's assets were repeatedly split and sold, from Warner Records to Warner Publishing, and finally even Time Warner as a whole.

The world's largest media and entertainment group, under the leadership of Jeff Bewkes, not only failed to save the decline of the merger with AOL America Online, but instead stepped into the abyss.

Even because of Jeff Bewkes' personal self-willedness, a large number of high-level talents have left, the most famous of which are of course Alan Horn of Warner Bros. and Chris Albrecht of HBO.

In the early years, Jeff Bewkes was just a loan receptionist at Citibank. After he switched to HBO, he really started the transformation of his life. He managed step by step and rose all the way.

At this time, Jeff Bewkes was in a bad mood.

He had just received a notification from DreamWorks that Tang En Pictures had already paid 80 million US dollars, through the right of first refusal, to obtain the North American TV copyright of "Band of Brothers".

The two parties have completed the signing ceremony.

For Jeff Bewkes, this is no small worry.

Since the broadcast of "Spider-Man" and "Chain Saw" in May, the previously unknown STA TV network suddenly made efforts to grab a large market.

And the self-produced drama "Under Six Feet", which was broadcast in June, has received numerous praises. This situation is exactly the same as when HBO played "The Black D Family" back then!

HBO can have more than 7.5 million member users today, of which the "Black D Family" family contributed at least 2 million!

The quality of "Six Feet Under" is no less than that of "The Black D Family", and the content direction is more stern and colder, which is easier to attract the audience's curiosity.

Doesn't this mean that this series can also bring benefits similar to "The Black D Family" to the STA TV network?

The number of member users increased by 2 million?

By then, the paid subscribers of STA TV network will exceed 5 million!

Of course, this has not surpassed HBO, but it is hard to say if you count "Band of Brothers", the one with the hats of Steven Spielberg, Dunn Walker, and Tom Hanks. A blockbuster film might have unprecedented influence.

Thinking of this, Jeff Bewkes secretly regretted it.

If he had known this earlier, he should have lowered his profile, lowered the conditions, cooperated with Spielberg, squeezed out Twain, and invested in the production of "Band of Brothers". Even if it is necessary to bring in the British BBC TV station to share the investment and share the profits, at least the North American TV rights are firmly in the hands of HBO.

It's all right now. He called out a sky-high price of 80 million US dollars, but he didn't even buy the copyright of a TV series. In the past, it was unimaginable.

"This Tang En is really a catfish. He has disrupted Hollywood, and he is here to disrupt the TV market!"

Jeff Bewkes gritted his silver teeth, his face sullen.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of Twain, but worried that the sudden rise of STA would affect HBO's position as the industry leader, which in turn would affect his smooth promotion.

...

Chris Albrecht, a former comedian, has a hilarious and relatable laugh.

He recognized Tang En's annual salary and buyout plan very much. He had long wanted to escape from the shadow of Jeff Bewkes, and he could find a like-minded leader to express his ambition.

However, Tang En's next sentence left Chris Albrecht so surprised that he was almost speechless.

"Chris, Tang En Pictures will definitely have an IPO in the future. I can give you a guarantee. As long as STA TV Network can develop smoothly, I will give you the original stock subscription quota, which is at the same level as the president of Marvel Pictures."

Marvel Pictures, like thunder!

It is definitely the biggest money-absorbing studio under Tang En Pictures.

Dunn equated STA TV Network with Marvel Pictures, which undoubtedly gave Chris Albrecht the greatest confidence and guarantee!

Of course, there is also a heavy pressure!

The smooth development and growth of the STA TV network is not enough. It needs to leave behind similar competitors and form an oligopoly.

Just like Marvel Pictures, even DC Comics, which has been popular in the United States for half a century, was completely crushed by Marvel with the appearance of Twain.

Chris Albrecht took a deep breath, "Mr. Walker..."

"You can call me Dunn."

"Okay, Dunn, if that's the case, I need an assistant."

Tang En smiled, "Of course, I entrusted STA TV Network to you because I hope it can develop according to your ideas. You can just tell me who you need."

Chris Albrecht said: "I have a friend named Roy Price. He used to be the vice president of Disney Children's Channel. He left last year and went to McCarthy Consulting Company as a business consultant. More importantly, , his father, Mr. Price, is a senior in the industry in Hollywood, he runs a Price Films, and has rich network resources in the industry."

Tang En pondered for a while, nodded his head and said: "I have worked in TV, I am proficient in business, and I am also a Hollywood family, with rich background and network resources. Chris, you have already prepared, right?"

Chris Albrecht laughed: "I just didn't want to break your trust."

"Yes, I agree!" Tang En waved his hand, "You can let him be the president of STA TV Network and assist you in your daily work."

"Thank you!" Chris Albrecht said with a flushed face, hesitating for a moment, "Twain, there is one more thing."

"explain!"

"I hope that ... the STA TV network will have its own TV production department."

Tang En couldn't help laughing, "You want to produce and sell yourself?"

Chris Albrecht nodded and said: "I know Dunn Films also has a TV production department, but... After all, insiders know better about the user preferences of the STA TV network. Of course, the peripheral business distribution of self-made dramas must be called Twain Films operates."

Tang En readily agreed: "No problem! Previously, I approved an annual TV production fee of 100 million US dollars. How about it, Tang En Pictures and STA TV Network will split half and half."

"It would be great!"

Seeing Chris Albrecht's excited expression, Tang En smiled at the corner of his mouth, in a great mood.

This is a master of American drama in the field of content, Tang En will definitely not miss it.

When he was at HBO, he successively launched classic American dramas such as "Sex and the City", "The Sopranos", "Six Feet Under", "Deadwood", and later moved to the Starz TV network, and later launched "Spartacus", Works such as "The Big Brother in Fengcheng" and "The Desire for Power" were extremely popular.

"By the way, you are at HBO, and you have some good assistants, right?" Tang En had a faint smile on his face.

"Yes..." Chris Albrecht made a long sound and lowered his voice, "Boss, do you want me to bring them here?"

"clever!"

Tang En snapped his fingers.

Chris Albrecht hesitated, "In the past few years, I have been promoting self-produced dramas inside HBO, and set up a content team, which includes producers, marketers, and creative screenwriters. It can be said that nearly There will be several wonderful series on HBO in a few years, and this content group cannot be separated."

"You led it?"

"yes!"

"Okay!" Tang En laughed loudly, "Damn it, he is not kind, so don't blame me for being unrighteous! Dig, anyone who is willing to come, dig it for me!"

"ah?"

Chris Albrecht's eyes widened with surprise on his face, "These people... HBO definitely won't show it."

"Chris, you must have a solution, right?" Dunn gave him a deep look, "You are now the person in charge of STA TV network, you only need to be responsible for STA, not HBO!"

Chris Albrecht took a deep breath, "Give me $5 million and I'll fix 'em!"

"Ha ha!"

Tang En laughed, stood up and patted him on the shoulder, "Chris, that's right! HBO is our deadly enemy, weakening their strength is our growth!"

...

That night, Tang En put his arms around Angela Lindelwald and Karolina Kurkova, two long-legged blonde models, making love to death and having sex.

However, unlike Tang En's gentle enjoyment here, Jeff Bewkes on the other side woke up from the bed like a nightmare, and he received a call.

HBO director Chris Albrecht decided to give up his loyalty bonus of more than 5 million US dollars and resign immediately!

With the popularity of "Six Feet Under" on Starz TV, Jeff Bewkes has become more aware of the role of boutique drama series on professional cable TV stations.

They are planning to persuade Chris Albrecht to change his mind and develop HBO together.

After all, losing the copyright of "Band of Brothers" made him feel a little worried. He must take precautions and increase efforts in the content field.

Unexpectedly, Chris Albrecht made such an important decision!

"what happened?"

"I heard... Tang En made an appointment with him this afternoon."

"Twain?"

Jeff Bewkes' eyes widened and he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

He just snatched the copyright of "Band of Brothers". Before he succeeded, Tang En went out and poached his capable generals. This was bloodletting him!

"This bastard!"

Jeff Bewkes was so angry that he slammed the phone out.