hollywood draw

Is Greenberg Studio valuable? A few years ago, people would have regarded it as an ordinary empty shell film studio. After all, such small empty shell film companies are countless in Hollywood.

Basically, the relative successors in each circle have more than one similar movie studio under their jurisdiction, just like every successor has a charitable foundation for tax avoidance.

Most people in the circle set up film studios not to invest in movies at all. On the contrary, more than 9% are to sign contracts with the film projects they want to join, and to receive work salaries and various sharings. No one in this type of shell companies has expected to make money from the beginning.

But with the fact that in recent years, the joint investment of "The Walker of the Insular" first, and then the extremely brilliant "The Matrix" trilogy and other works, Greenberg Film Studio has gradually attracted many people's ideas.

In addition, the "Charlie's Angels" which has performed well this summer, these films do not mention offline revenue, but the box office on the surface is just there. As long as they are knowledgeable in the circle, they can easily calculate how much money they have made.

If this is the case, it would be fine. Film companies that are much larger than Greenberg Studios are not uncommon in the circle. A temporary success can be said to be completely dominated by luck. The decades of Hollywood's history all show that such a small film company cannot survive for a few years.

After all, luck won't stay with you forever.

There is another very important point, distribution. Similar to the lucky small film company, even if it succeeds in multiple films for two or three years, the only thing waiting for them is to be acquired or go bankrupt due to an investment mistake.

The reason is very simple. As long as it is a film company that can be named, it does not make money by producing. The six major Hollywood giants, as well as the previous companies such as MGM United, will always support the company's profits.

This is the sadness of Hollywood content producers, who dominate the superstructure, has been distribution companies since decades ago and up to now.

There are countless channels in it, such as Warner Brothers. Even if it is a film that is wholly owned by itself, it will lose money in the end.

For example, if you are going to the right hand, borrowing from each other, advance money, taking priority, etc., you don’t have to make any moves on the account. If you put it on the surface and fully comply with the rules of laws and regulations, you will find that except for the investing producers who do not make money, this circle will make a lot of money as long as you are related to the movie.

There is no need to find loopholes in it. As long as large film companies want to do it, even if they invite a team of lawyers from the best law firms on Wall Street and an accountant team from PwC, they still cannot find any fault from the legal level under the review of professional teams like them.

This has created a situation where no matter how profitable a small film company is, it will inevitably become a subsidiary of the six giants after a few years. To put it bluntly, it will become the content output department of the six major film capitals.

The key point is that Wayne's Greenberg Studio has been the content output department of Warner Bros. in the past two years, as everyone in the entire Hollywood film industry recognizes.

But what about the actual situation? Not only was Warner Bros. unable to tamper with the projects that both parties cooperated with, but he also quietly acquired various copyrights and turned this increasingly profitable studio into an empty shell freak as he seemed to develop.

Especially in the past two years, you should know that the previous "The Walker of the Stop" is okay, and the "The Matrix" trilogy is half of the most profitable copyright of the Warner Bros.

On the surface, the two parties jointly invested in the production of videos, and of course half of the money made by each other. Of course, half of the money was found in the Warner Bros. distribution department, and the portion of the money after the issuance commission was deducted.

But the problem lies here. With the relationship between Wayne and Warner Bros., the projects released by Greenberg Studio, Warner Bros. are all given to our company's videos, which means that the distribution commission is the lowest level in the industry.

Then there is the most profitable offline copyright operation, whether it is the authorization, trading of peripheral items, the right to play one, two, and three rounds of TV broadcasting, the most profitable videotape trading and rental, etc., all the money earned offline in the later period is half the money of two companies and one person.

It's not a one-time deal. According to Hollywood's operating rules, this situation will continue, just because the half of the copyright of "The Matrix" that Greenberg Studio holds in his hands.

That's right, Hollywood is a business society and never lacks intrigue and dark means. But no one will challenge the most basic operating rules.

Just like an oriental actor named Zhao Long, even if he only plays a small character in "The Matrix", according to the rules of the Actors' Union and the Producers' Union, as long as the film is still profitable, it will be divided into the actors every year according to the proportion.

The same is true for Wayne. Not to mention that he can get money now, as long as Greenberg Studio is still there and this part of the copyright is still there, even if he is gone in the future, his descendants can still get money.

This is only half the copyright of the "Matrix" trilogy, "Charlie's Angels", which was released this summer, but it was agreed with the publisher Warner Bros. from the beginning that the copyright belongs to Greenberg Studios.

The treatment of these projects can reflect the meaning of Wayne's existence. If you are an independent filmmaker, the most basic price for the six major hairstyles is to pay the copyright of the film.

"Wayne, Greenberg Studios has been doing too much this year."

Looking at Wayne who was in deep thought, Bruce Rosenblum touched the cigar and it took about ten minutes to speak: "First, "Quick Chase". As far as I know, this film can be compiled as long as it succeeds. In addition to the pay of the son of the Oriental Kung Fu superstar, the investment in this project is still very low."

There is no doubt that big investments are likely to produce popular products, and big productions are the most stable money-making projects. These have always been common sense in Hollywood.

But investments that cost tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars also mean extremely huge risks. Even if a medium-sized film company messes up such a project, it still faces a bankruptcy crisis.

Therefore, film projects like Hollywood Film Company have the best choice in the eyes of which are not high investment, have certain guarantees of success rate, and can be easily sequelized.

"I won't mention "King Kong". As long as this kind of big project is successful, it is inevitable to make a lot of money. But..." Bruce Rosenblum's voice was a little hesitant, and he carefully glanced at the face of the man opposite, and then continued:

"The success of "Charlie's Angels" has allowed many people to see the feasibility of such female protagonists. Greenberg's Studio's Tomb Raider and "Resident Evil" are also of this type. As long as the films have good results, serialization will never become a problem.

Man, do you say that in the eyes of some Time Warner shareholders, this is still an empty movie studio?”

Wayne nodded gently and threw the cigar into the ashtray, regardless of whether it was still burning. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, and his upper body was buried in the sofa, watching Bruce Rosenblum thinking.

That's right, it was a good idea before. Now, with Greenberg Film Studio, more and more projects are being produced, bigger and more serialized, which will inevitably attract more people's attention.

This is equivalent to a wildly growing film company, but it doesn't have to bear any interference. It can be said that all the benefits are taken, but the corresponding obstacles have also disappeared because of the existence of Warner Brothers.

Thinking of this, he smiled unnaturally, and suddenly thought that Steven Spielberg's dream factory would want such treatment in his dreams.

"I'm here this time, just to remind you privately."

Bruce Rosenblum shook his head and looked at the lazy man opposite the table, but couldn't help but say: "Wayne, every Hollywood top director, has an intangible asset. It is precisely because of this scarce asset that you and Warner Brothers have become a community of interests.

But as Greenberg Studio becomes more eye-catching, that balance will inevitably be broken. So, no matter what you want to do, it’s better to speed up your movements.”

In fact, from these reminders from Bruce Rosenblum, Wayne has already understood that some things Jeff Robinoff, including Time Warner's head Kevin Tessulhara, has never clearly told the distribution manager.

Maybe he guessed something, or maybe he got some hints from Jeff Robinoff, and at most it was that way.

"Tell me, which shareholder of Time Warner is interested in my studio."

Looking up at the opposite side of the table, Wayne asked with interest.

"Ivey Niwo."

Since talking about this, Bruce Rosenblum gave a name without any hesitation. He then said: "At the day before yesterday, at Time Warner's routine board meeting, he proposed that Time Warner or Warner Brothers should start to acquire your film studio.

But the proposal was eventually put on hold by Kevin, but with Greenberg Studios, the proposal will definitely be brought back after a large number of films are released next year."

"Well, a good offer."

With one hand fumbled on the stubble on his chin, Wayne nodded seriously and joked: "I think he should have investigated my studio secretly, and he didn't mention these. But why is he sure that I would be willing to sell this studio?

How much money I take from Warner Bros. every year, he, as the major shareholder of Time Warner, shouldn't be unclear?"

Ivey Niwo, Wayne has an impression of this guy, a typical Jewish investor. He still remembers that this guy seems to have a close relationship with a Warner Bros., and most importantly, this guy not only holds a large number of Time Warner shares in his hand, but is also very rich.

More importantly, he instantly thought of several sets of beach photos. Well, if you have time, you might be able to make an appointment with the lady in advance and find a beach to go on vacation.

"When the Time Warner Board really decides to do this, you have no choice." Bruce Rosenblum slowly frowned. He didn't believe that with the other party's intelligence, he couldn't figure out the possibility of it.

"I'm very much looking forward to coming soon that day." Wayne shrugged and waved his hand indifferently. Then he put away all his joking expressions, and the expression on his face gradually became serious. He stared at the eyes of the Warner Bros. executive opposite and said word by word: "Of course he wants to acquire, but I will never ask for a cent of cash!"

Bruce Rosenblum's eyes widened and he took a breath in an instant. "f**k, you want to exchange shares!"

"Don't be excited. It's not impossible to cross-hold shares with each other, isn't it?"

Even without looking at the cigars burning in the ashtray, Wayne lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and muttered, "But there must be a premise for these, Time Warner must give me a satisfactory share. Don't worry, Bruce, I believe this will not happen in a short time. When it really happens, it may take how long it will take."

His subtext is very clear. Since Greenberg Studio has produced a large number of films, its value will increase greatly over time.

Even if he wanted to acquire his studio, Time Warner would never pass this complicated resolution in a short period of time. Especially when it comes to the issue of shares, he estimated that with the efficiency of those people, it would take several months or even one or two years to negotiate internally on the board of directors alone.

"Don't forget, Bruce and Kevin Teshura are there."

Wayne smiled and reminded him, believing that since Kevin Tessulhara had not called, it means that the proposal did not receive many shareholders of the board of directors at all.

Even if this Time Warner CEO really has to pass a similar resolution one day, he will be vented in advance. The interests between them have always been the same. Even Kevin Tessulhara hopes that he can get a large share in one fell swoop.

"Wayne, Kevin Teshura is not Michael Eisner yet. Even if you and him know some of the plans, they cannot be explained in public. You should understand what I mean, right?"

"Of course, I understand, but I can tell you clearly." Wayne took a big sip of cigarette and said calmly: "I never wanted to make Greenberg Studio bigger. Even if it was foreseeable that this studio would become a freak, the ending I could accept was still to sell myself for Time Warner."

When he heard him talking about Time Warner, not Warner Bros., Bruce Rosenblum laughed. Combined with all the information, he instantly figured it out.

Of course, if the result you imagined really happens, it will never be a bad thing for you. After all, no matter what, you and Wayne are a community of interests.

"And, Bruce." Wayne reached out his hand without caring and shook it between the two. "I don't need Kevin Teshura to be Michael Eisner, nor do I need him to be Michael Eisner. My ambition is not as huge as it has expanded."

Some things about Disney are basically well known to everyone in the circle. Since becoming the head of Disney in 1984, Michael Eisner has not only developed Disney into a media group with a market value of tens of billions, but also invisibly becoming the actual controller of Disney.

What is Michael Eisner now? Yes, the chairman of Walt Disney. But as long as he dials back for more than ten years, he was just a professional manager at Disney at that time. To put it bluntly, he was a complete worker.

However, this professional manager with super-capable ability is also a dark-minded master. For more than ten years, he first made full use of his rights and some shortcomings in the management team to eliminate dissidents, and replaced the entire management team with his own people.

Then he used this management team that was like a one-man rule and became the major shareholder of Disney without knowing it. Then as he had more and more shares, he gradually became the chairman of Disney.

To be honest, Walt Disney has no relationship with the Disney family now, and the initiator hiding behind the scenes is Michael Eisner.

Nowadays, the Disney family has a pitifully few shares. Especially in the past few years, the entire Disney board of directors has become Michael Eisner's voting tool.

From a professional manager to becoming a major shareholder and chairman of Walt Disney, this is a typical example of a migrant worker turning over as a master, and these are all very widely circulated news in the circle.

In fact, Time Warner is completely different from Disney, but as long as Wayne wants to get a similar result, it is not necessarily impossible to cooperate with Kevin Tessulha.

For example, the top media groups in the world, all have market value of more than tens of billions of dollars, which is similar to Disney. Michael Eisner worked hard to become Disney's chairman and largest shareholder, and the equity in his hands was only a little over 6%.

Don't underestimate this number. These media groups are huge in size and their shares have long been completely dispersed. In fact, except for the Murdoch family of News Group, no media group is controlled by one family.

In the end, Wayne's goal was to get enough voice to influence the group's direction. He never thought that like Michael Eisner, he would turn Warner Brothers into his own backyard, but he had never had any interest in managing the company.

Besides, even if everything develops according to his plan, it is still not an easy task to get enough equity in Time Warner.

What Wayne can do is to take advantage of the rapid accumulation of capital in the past two years, and wait until the right time comes, and strive to get everything he wants.