Chapter 135 If you can't beat the opponent, then join them!
When Roland heard "The Prince's Revenge", he was staring at Hanks with a surprise on his face.
It wasn't until Jeffrey Katzenberg on the other end of the phone couldn't hear the slightest response, and when he called out, Roland responded with a smile: "Oh, Jeffrey, of course I have time, if you think I'm The voice is in line with your expectations, so I will give it a try after the filming of "Forrest Gump" is finished..."
Of course Roland will give it a try. Although he has forgotten what the top ten movies at the world box office are each year, in the history of Disney, there is only one movie related to "The Revenge of the Prince", and that is "The Lion King". king".
"The Lion King" needs no introduction. As a film with a global box office of more than 800 million, it was the second highest in the world before the release of "Titanic". Twenty years later, the record for the highest-grossing non-CG animated film is still unbroken.
The creation process of the whole film is just like Simba's growth experience, full of legends. You must know that before the establishment of the project, everyone in Disney regarded it as a water test. Because there was no basis for success, the studio Everyone in the studio was pushing for the Pocahontas project, and because of that, most of the team members on The Lion King were newbies.
But these novices have created miracles.
To put it bluntly, "The Lion King" is now more like a stepmother. You must know that the previous "Aladdin" invited Robin Williams, and "Beauty and the Beast" also had "The Little Mermaid" The producer of "The Wizard of Oz" and other previous works escorted, but "The Lion King"? At the beginning of the establishment, there were no big names, but when dubbing...
The first thing they thought of, of course, was Roland Allen who had just broken the record!
Like that famous saying—
If you can't beat the opponent, then join them!
In "Beauty and the Beast", I was pushed to the ground by "Terminator 2" and "Captain Hook" for two rounds; "Aladdin" was pushed back by "Home Alone 2" for a full month; "Jurassic Park" "Gods block and kill gods and Buddhas block and kill Buddhas, after sweeping the entire summer vacation of 1993; the Disney guys finally figured it out!
Why are we fighting Roland?
Ah no!
Why should we be beaten by Roland?
Our Disney animated films are always G-rated!
But Roland will grow up after all!
In this case, we don't have any contradictions at all! He makes his live-action movies, and we make our animations. At the same time, we can also invite him, who still has an influence on children, to come over and dub, so as to stretch our box office!
That's right, the box office harvesting model of "Jurassic Park" has brought them inspiration. Since Roland can play a decisive role in boosting the box office in a movie that is just over two hours long and has less than half an hour of appearances ,That…
Why don't we use each other?
Knowing that Roland is fatally attractive to children, isn't it stupid to fight against Roland?
So, Disney, who was beaten up all over his head for two years in a row, but is still watching a movie this year to join in the fun, reacted!
But their sudden awakening made Roland deeply moved...
As a guy who never thought of cooperating with Disney, he really has nothing to say about the epic pie thrown by Disney, but even if there is an accident, he still feels very normal, because—
The status is different.
Looking at Tom Hanks in front of him who heard about Disney's invitation but didn't take it seriously at all, Roland finally realized what it was like to have excellent resources in front of him for me to choose from.
When you climb to the top of the pyramid, every household will present the best projects to you. At this time, you just need to follow your own success formula and keep looking for books that are easier to succeed.
"The Lion King" is really awesome.
But as long as Roland takes over this project, from then on, the world will praise him for making this project that is not loved by mothers and fathers a success! Among all the behind-the-scenes revelations, he, Roland Allen, accepted Disney's invitation to do the dubbing, which is the top success factor! Because he is now more successful than Disney's original animation!
This is the same as "Jurassic Park". The same script is replaced by James Cameron. As long as there is technical support from Industrial Light and Magic, it will definitely be a big hit! Although the current truck driver does not have the strong box office appeal of Spielberg, CGI technology is the foundation of the film's success, but...
The world can only praise Spielberg for his vision and courage.
How to judge the successful nature of an event is actually a false proposition.
Standing in front of the stage, the famous one is the one who finally makes a profit!
Even though this profitable guy originally went for the project with a high probability of success, but...
Who made him the big guy who pushed everything?
It is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to give charcoal in the snow.
But the latter is obviously easier to remember by the former.
So, facing the "Lion King" sent by Disney, even if Roland has always wanted to dismember Disney, he would not refuse the project in front of him. Not only that, but he would also happily cooperate with the other party.
Because the media can call his behavior——
‘Farewell to Roland Allen as a child, the last gift to the children of the world. '
Then-
He will be hung at the top of the historical records, and will be continuously known by batch after batch of children.
Children aged three to six are attracted by The Lion King;
Children aged six to ten can swim in the "Home Alone" series;
Teenagers between the ages of ten and fifteen can read "Terminator 2" and "Jurassic Park" of the technological revolution;
From the age of fifteen, they can save the world;
After that, it’s time to fall in love, join the army, and so on…
After taking over "The Lion King", Roland will include all the age-appropriate classics at the beginning of a person's birth...
Want to give Amway movies to newcomers?
Just get him a Roland Allen movie collection!
And this perfectly fits Roland's original idea—
growing up.
...
When Roland took the big cake from Disney unexpectedly and expressed his emotion at the inexplicable realization of his original growth vision, he didn't know that all of this was still managed by the old man.
"The Lion King" is indeed a Disney movie.
The chairman of Disney Studios, Jeffrey Katzenberg, is indeed a friend of Spielberg.
But it was the director of the film, Rob Minkoff, who really suggested that Roland be dubbed.
Who is Rob Minkoff?
He's Spielberg's guy!
His first movie "Rabbit Coaster" in 1990 was voted by Spielberg!
Not only that, the reason why Disney let a newcomer direct a new project is to see someone wipe Rob Minkoff's **** before agreeing, otherwise, a new director wants to control a project with an investment of nearly 50 million ?
Dream it!
After learning that Roland was about to come out, this guy who didn't find a voice actor for "The Lion King" directly contacted Jeffrey Katzenberg, expressing that he wanted Roland.
Ever since, things are even simpler.
Jeffrey Katzenberg made a phone call to Spielberg. The old man simply watched the animation of the script, and then asked the other party to call Roland by himself—after all, the fat and water don’t flow into the fields of outsiders!
The old man felt that the script was a joke, so he had to get it from his own house!
Otherwise, give it to others for nothing?
Isn't that mentally ill?
As for why he didn't call himself?
Because he was blocked at home by someone...
The cost of "Jurassic Park" was more than 70 million, and the box office exceeded one billion!
Such an astonishing achievement made the already sought-after old man even more attractive!
In later generations, many people will look at a list called return on investment, and a bunch of low-cost movies such as "Blair Witch" and "Chain Saw" are listed on it, but for the big seven investors, these The impressive results achieved by small-budget films have no reference value, because the mortality rate of the project is too high.
Because of this, Spielberg, who constantly used his box office records to prove that he was equal to success, at the critical moment when he was about to leave Universal, naturally attracted the attention of five parties, except for the already finalized, 100% can get him and the Roland project Other than Sony, Warner, Paramount, and Fox have all set their own prices again.
As for Universal, Sid Scheinberg, the president of the parent company American Music, personally acted.
As Shane Berg, who once gave Spielberg a long-term appointment and asked him to take pictures of himself, he didn't take anything at the moment. He sat on the sofa calmly, looked at his busy friend, and said with a smile: "Steven, Have we known each other for twenty years?"
"Yes, the Atlanta Film Festival in 1968 was the first time we met, and it has been twenty-five years."
Spielberg, who was writing at his desk, didn't raise his head, and replied directly.
"Wow, I've spent more than a third of my life with you, that's how lucky I am."
Shane Berg, whose facial hair was already white, looked at the guy who didn't want to face him with emotion, nodded happily, and said, "The greatest achievement in my life is to discover that you, a guy who dared to run around in the world, ..."
"Do you know? Everything I have now is given by you. The more dazzling you are, the more the board likes me."
With such words, the hand holding the pen paused, and Shane Berg took a close look at the tiny movements. After taking a sip of coffee, he continued in a nostalgic tone: "To be honest, when I signed you back then, I really didn't expect you to achieve the current results, breaking box office records time and time again, and constantly bringing us surprises, and after "Jurassic Park" broke one billion, you are short of two Oscars, and I believe that in March next year, when you hold the trophy, "Schindler's List" is invincible, and you can also leave Universal with a complete victory..."
The rambling words made Spielberg, who was pretending to be working, slowly raise his head.
To be honest, he was quite unwilling to face Shane Berg.
The relationship between him and Shane Berg is actually like the relationship between Roland and him. If Shane Berg hadn't tried his best to accept him, a guy who wanted to steal his teacher, he would not know what he would be living now. Sample.
After all, sneaking into a film and television studio and looking through the company's confidential documents is a big deal. If Universal calls the police and prosecutes, he will definitely not be able to afford it. I want to make a movie again, no company will accept a thief like him, even if... what he stole is just knowledge.
Just as Roland would not object to his plan to promote the Jewish Gang actress (fart, Roland is obviously greedy for Scarlett's body!), Spielberg is also unwilling to quarrel with Shane Berg.
Otherwise, no matter how high-ranked Shane Berg was, he could ignore the persuasion of the other party and shoot "Schindler's List" first, so as to miss "Jurassic Park"... But he didn't, he didn't want to turn against his mentor.
Being unwilling to turn against each other does not mean letting it go.
Now he doesn’t want to stay at Universal, because if he stays here, he will always be just a director.
And the group of the Jewish gang still counted on him to break through the blockade and perform miracles...
"Sid, are you here to persuade me?" Now that the matter has been clarified, Spielberg is no longer pretending.
Put down the pen, put both hands on the table, and at the same time, helplessness was written on the face slightly turned to the right.
"Sid, you know, twenty-five years is already the limit."
"I can't stay in Universal forever, even if you are willing to let me earn two or three hundred million for a movie."
The frank words made Shane Berg smile, because Spielberg's idea was exactly the same as his prediction, or, in other words, exactly the same as the American Music Company's vision-Spielberg is not the kind of person who can live in a prison, this You can get a glimpse of one or two from George Lucas and Francis Coppola who played with him.
And when he came back this time, he actually only had two goals.
The first is to retain.
Second, it is the purchase after unsuccessful retention.
"Well, since you don't want to stay in Universal, we won't force you either."
"This is the price we offered, I hope we can reach a consensus on this matter..."
Scheinberg took out a document from the handbag he was carrying, and when he got up and handed it to Spielberg, his mouth didn't stop, "We need the copyright of all your movies..."
"From the beginning of "Flywheel" to the end of "Schindler's List", during this period, the films released by the world, we hope to stay in the world forever, including the sequel..."
"Of course, it's up to you whether to make a sequel, how to make it, and who will make it. We only need other rights besides creation. How much share you get now will remain the same in the future, including derivatives such as toys. The fee will be paid to you according to the current ratio, and we have estimated the price of all the copyrights of your movies..."
"You get 2% of Universal Studios' ticket revenue every year. This is the biggest share I can get for you..."
What?
When Spielberg learned that Shane Berg wanted to buy his own film copyright, his first reaction was to refuse.
But after he listened to Universal's offer, the old man who wanted to keep silent, grabbed the documents on the table.
While retaining the share of various derivative products, they will also pay 2% of Universal Studios ticket revenue every year as the collection fee for all film copyrights? This—this is simply giving away money for nothing!
Except for "Jurassic Park" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Spielberg's masterpieces are basically unable to make sequels!
And "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was another project that George Lucas offered to Spielberg in order to prevent Spielberg from making the "007" movie! Although Lucas didn't care who should listen to this series at all, the copyright has always been tightly held by Lucasfilm! And Paramount was responsible for releasing the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series back then!
To put it bluntly, the contract Shane Berg now brings, with 2% of Universal Studios’ revenue per year, is just Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. The copyright purchase prices of films such as "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List", and among them, only "Jurassic Park" can really exert objective value...
Exchange the copyright of a sequel to "Jurassic Park" with tens of millions of shares per year?
What is the difference between this and telling him clearly that you are leaving, and looking back on twenty years, I will give you a gift? ? ?
Spielberg certainly understands that Universal did this because he didn’t want to take "Jurassic Park" away...
But the problem is that the amount they paid has far exceeded the value of the IP of "Jurassic Park"!
To put it bluntly, the money they give out in a year is enough to make a "Jurassic Park"!
"Sid...you..." Spielberg carefully looked at the contract and found that the other party was not talking nonsense, then he looked up again and looked at the other party with surprised eyes, "Is this Universal's decision?"
"No... This is the decision of the board of directors of Universal's parent company Music of America, and also the decision of the parent company Panasonic."
Hearing this, Spielberg immediately understood.
Like Sony, the determination of these Japanese companies to fully enter the entertainment industry is still really strong!
Sony knows that if you pull yourself away, you can turn around, and Panasonic understands that if Universal loses itself, it means losing its financial statements.
Everyone knows that the sequels of "Jurassic Park" can make money with their eyes closed, and as long as they have this IP in their hands, their studios, derivative products, and video tapes will continue to produce value!
As for the final loss or gain?
Then leave it to future generations to consider!
And for Spielberg?
Yes is obviously the best decision!
After all, from the beginning to the end, he never thought of using his own money to make a movie!
Besides, it is not a good plan to take away the copyright now, because the other two partners are not good at it!
"Well, two percent, can't say no..."
"As you wish, these copyrights will stay with Universal, I..."
"Will leave alone."
After thinking twice, Spielberg accepted the contract.
That clean and quick movement made Shane Berg heaved a sigh of relief.
After all, no one wants to see Spielberg take a series of movies such as "Jurassic Park" out of the world.
Because he doesn't care which one he joins, or he does it alone. These things are the foundation of his rapid rise.
"Okay, Steven, we're done talking, can you talk about anything else?" Shane Berg, who sat down again, spoke in an extremely relaxed tone.
"Of course, Sean, what do you want to talk about?" Spielberg, who received 2% of the ticket revenue, was also in a happy mood.
"Talk about your student?" Sheinberg asked with a smile.
"Oh, don't think about "Spider-Man", my Amblin will be responsible for the production..." Thanking the other party does not mean being honest, and Spielberg never wanted to tell the other party about his deal with Sony.
"Really? If you need to publish, you can come to us directly." Shane Berg shrugged, saying that it doesn't matter.
"Issuance? You'll have to grab this by yourself..." Spielberg kicked the ball back with a smile on his face.
"Oh come on, we're old friends!"
"Yes, we are old friends, but the copyright of "Spider-Man" is in Roland's own hands. As a guy who doesn't like to meddle in other people's business, I can't influence Roland's thoughts without authorization, right?"
Note: ① "The Lion King" is indeed Disney's water test. The guys in the project team are basically newcomers, because after the death of Walt Disney, Disney felt that he could not handle original fairy tales, and the film director Luo Bo Minkov, who was originally a member of Spielberg, left Disney when DreamWorks was established, but unfortunately, the model of DreamWorks was not suitable for him. Spielberg didn’t care about animation, so he was at the time Instigated by Robert Zemeckis, who is obsessed with CG, he made a live-action CG movie, which is "Little Elf Mouse". ②In reality, "The Lion King" is also a member of the Jewish gang. Matthew, who voices Simba, is a Jew, and James Jones, who voices Mufasa, is from Lucas. In 1994 they did not How did it appear, but they contributed to the No. 1 box office "The Lion King" and won the Oscar with "Forrest Gump". ③In order to keep Spielberg and prevent him from taking the project away, Panasonic offered 2% of Universal Studios’ ticket revenue to buy the copyright of all of Spielberg’s works, and this behavior made Spielberg Ge has received nearly 700 million in the past 17 years. In 2018 alone, he was allocated 49.1 million in tickets. Copyright share.
PS, although I have diarrhea and dehydration, my fever has subsided, thank you for your concern, thank you very much.
(end of this chapter)