Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

"Because filming will be done overseas, the filming budget remains at $1500 million. Add to that a $500 million director's fee, a $3000 million special effects budget, and a $1000 million post-production budget, bringing the total investment to $1 million!"

The CEO's surname is also William, but he is older than William, who used to be in charge of global publishing and is now in charge of film and television production.

WMN is a semi-family business, with its main senior executives coming from the William family. Of course, capital operations are more sophisticated in the US, and even family businesses hire professional managers.

Therefore, when Wu Yang faced the two of them, he still addressed one as William, and the other as President William.

In fact, when Wu Yang mentioned Paramount's involvement in actors and special effects, both President William and William already understood why their investments differed by a factor of two.

Paramount, as one of the six major Hollywood studios, has its own talent agency. Although it doesn't have A-list stars, it still has many second-tier celebrities.

You have to understand that the price for acting in your own productions is different from the price for acting in other productions. Otherwise, why would you spend so much money and energy cultivating stars and artists?

WMN Group started as a celebrity agent, so in recent years, its collaborations with celebrities have primarily involved providing them with comprehensive commercial services on a commission-based basis.

The film and television production department was only recently established because of Wu Yang, and it hasn't had time to cultivate its own star artists yet.

Not to mention the special effects team, so if you want celebrities to take on roles, you have to pay them according to market rates.

The same applies to visual effects companies; if they aren't trained by our company, they can't enjoy the same internal pricing.

Paramount can get actors and special effects for just $3500 million, even without A-list stars.

For the same cast, WMN would have to spend at least $5000 million.

This is the gap between an industry newbie and an industry leader.

Moreover, both Williams were aware that when Anderson first contacted Wu Yang, "Manchester by the Sea" had not yet been released or won any awards.

Even so, even though Wu Yang did not receive a director's fee, he still enjoyed a 20% share of the profits.

Wu Yang is now much more famous, so if director Wu Yang isn't paid a salary, then he must enjoy a higher share of the profits.

The current collaboration with WMN was also a result of market research and was offered accordingly.

Although the two investments differ by a factor of two, the accounts are not calculated based on the amount of investment.

A reasonable allocation method needs to be calculated after comprehensive consideration.

Given Wu Yang's current fame and status, if he provides the script and cast, without taking a director's fee...

Even for a project with an investment of $1 million, the company must take at least 25% of the profits.

With the combined influence of producing both the actor and the script, Wu Yang's salary and profit sharing are already comparable to those of a top Hollywood star.

For example, Matt Damon, a top Hollywood star, has a base salary of $2000 million per film and also enjoys a 5%-10% share of the profits.

The reason for requiring the participation of top Hollywood stars in the film is that...

Besides relying on A-list stars to boost box office revenue, the most important thing is that they have already signed agency contracts with Hollywood A-list stars.

At least Matt's management contract is with WMN Group, and it is because of the influence of these A-list stars that the group's stock price has been able to rise steadily.

Similarly, only when investments yield substantial returns can stock prices continue to soar!

Just like Wu Yang's films, which successively boosted the stock prices of Huayi Brothers and Enlight Media.

This is a common business practice in the US.

"So it seems this targeting isn't just aimed at Director Wu, but also at WMN. What are your thoughts on this?"

Considering the cause and effect, Wu Yang already knew the truth after James revealed Paramount's sponsorship fee.

The former was because they rejected Anderson's offer to lower the price for cooperation, while the latter was because they threatened Paramount's interests.

That's why Paramount interfered and paid WMN twice the sponsorship fee, and partnered with Space Chrysanthemum to set up obstacles for the movie.

The problem now is that even if Wu Yang and WMN reluctantly agree, once that so-called film consultant is brought into the crew, it's obvious that he will find fault with everything and hinder the filming progress.

Even if the movie is successfully completed, the budget will be overrun because of this person, and any unexpected problems after its release will definitely affect the box office performance.

If this person ruins the movie, we'll lose a fortune!

Including the application for the Space Chrysanthemum, it is now in a state of being delayed, and at least a month has already been wasted.

"Actually, there are several suitable locations in China for filming this movie, and China's aerospace technology is already capable of meeting the requirements of filmmaking. If WMN Group can withstand the pressure here and sponsor the film with $1000 million, I can guarantee that the filming of the movie in China will proceed smoothly!"

"Furthermore, even if filming in China still accounts for $7000 million of the budget for actors and special effects, after deducting the director's salary and $1500 million from sponsorships, I am confident that I can successfully complete the film with the remaining $1500 million, without requiring any additional payments from WMN!"

While waiting for President William, Wu Yang thought of bypassing the American space agency and having Wang Ju contact the domestic space agency, Han Sanye, to apply for aerospace technology support under the same pretext of sponsoring 1000 million dollars.

Given Wu Yang's current status in the domestic entertainment industry, all he needs to do is find Wang Ju and explain the situation to Han Sanye.

I believe that relevant departments that are eager to promote Chinese culture overseas will definitely provide strong support, thus eliminating the need for sponsorship fees.

Wu Yang didn't mention this, after all, if the American space jewels could get them, why couldn't the Chinese space jewels?

Even if Wu Yang wants to save money, he can only cut back on the filming budget; sponsorship fees are a must!

Wu Yang's pride as a Chinese lies in not letting down the country or his family, especially since the production cost of 1500 million dollars can be exchanged for almost 1 million yuan.

That's enough to cover personnel costs and filming expenses, and might even boost the local economy where the filming takes place.

Get it in one fell swoop!

At this moment, the two Williams were also considering countermeasures, after all, this was an attack from their own side.

Moreover, facing Paramount right from the start, to be honest, both William and President William were a bit hesitant to act rashly.

WMN Group originated from an agency and is therefore well aware of the power of the Big Six Hollywood studios.

Although the film and television industry is small in size in the United States, it has been able to promote culture overseas, giving the impression that the United States is number one to the world, thereby attracting elites from all walks of life to the United States.

Therefore, behind each of the six major Hollywood studios is the support of the top American financial groups.

It is difficult to shake their position, and even more difficult to surpass their position.

Fortunately, WMN Group is not entirely adrift; it has the support of top conglomerates behind it, so it is not afraid of being tripped up in its normal business operations.

But now WMN is getting greedy and wants to cross over into the territory of the six major Hollywood studios to grab a share.