Chapter 225 I do what I want
In his previous life, Roland heard such a rumor.
When a guy in his twenties was reading an online novel, he found that the quality of the novel was not good enough, so he left a message in the comment area and wrote out his own thoughts. When the original author saw it, he replied arrogantly. The sentence is similar to the words of 'youcanyouup, nocannobb', so this young man fell into the pit of the Internet, and then wrote "Buddha is the Tao".
Although this kind of rumor is quite legendary, it is a pity that the author of "Buddha is the Way" has never stood up to admit or clarify it.
However, compared with that author, Michael Dobbs personally recalled why he wrote "House of Cards".
After entering the British political arena in 1975, he was fully in charge of Margaret Thatcher's election campaign in 1987. Due to the great resistance in the election for the third term, after the successful election, he worked continuously for two and a half years. Take a vacation.
During his vacation, he read a terrible political novel, and he was speechless at the melodramatic fighting methods there.
So, if you can publish with this kind of rubbish, wouldn’t it be a global best-selling idea for me to write it myself? He wrote a book.
"House of Cards" was born.
╮(╯▽╰)╭
To put it bluntly, this novel was actually a surprise for him. As a politician, what he needs is the inflow of profits from being recognized. Because of this, when the BBC approached him and said that he wanted to buy the copyright, This guy, who is known as a baby-faced killer in British politics, sold it without thinking, because he needed the publicity and approval of the BBC.
When Roland asked Cole Needham to bring someone to negotiate a copyright transaction, after learning the true identity of the buyer, the key question he raised was not the copyright fee, but—
"Your boss is Roland Allen? Because his girlfriend's father likes my book, so he bought the copyright?"
"Who is his girlfriend?"
"Uh... Kate Winslet." Cole Needham hesitated for half a second before speaking out.
"Kate Winslet?" When Michael Dobbs heard the name, he repeated it in confusion, and then suddenly realized: "Oh... Mariana?"
"I know she..."
"The British Ministry of Defense suddenly changed its face and decided to lend more than a thousand soldiers to the crew of "Saving Private Ryan". I also heard a little bit. He wants to buy the copyright? Yes...I believe your boss will not shoot randomly ..."
"Oh no, I think the effect he produced may surpass that of the BBC."
Buying copyrights is sometimes as simple as that.
Many times, the author’s expectation is that his hard work can be better photographed by others.
As Margaret Thatcher's chief of staff, former special adviser to the government, and vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, how could he not know the messy things going on at the top of the UK? And it is precisely because of knowing these that he believes that knowledgeable people can take more accurate pictures.
Of course, Roland may not be a knowledgeable person, but a guy like him can find a bunch of knowledgeable people to shoot.
As for copyright fees, this is even simpler.
Cole Needham inadvertently revealed that Roland won the filming rights of the two books "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" written by the British national treasure writer John Tolkien, and only spent one month. After 15 million, the expected price in the hearts of both parties has been adjusted almost.
No matter how popular "House of Cards", "The King of Shows" and "The Final Chapter" are, they can't beat "The Lord of the Rings". Since "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" combined only sold 15 million, That Michael Dobbs didn't have a lion's mouth.
"Twelve million, I think you can accept this price."
"From the date of signing the contract, in the next twenty years, you can make as many versions as you want, and I only need the screenwriter status stipulated in the industry and the consultant status I requested. After the deadline, you still have the same The priority renewal right of the price, as for the price, in principle, it cannot be lower than 12 million."
Although it is not a buyout price, this price is far lower than Roland expected.
12 million is divided over 20 years, which means 600,000 a year. "The Shawshank Redemption" is released on ABC for one year, and it can pay the copyright fee for five years here. As for the authorship requested by the other party? Roland is not a devil, is he?
I cast a "House of Cards" by myself, but in the screenwriter's column, I wrote the name of Warcraft Films and Television?
Isn't this a joke?
And write on himself, or the company CEO David Olsen?
This is even more whimsical.
You know, even Marvel, which harvests leeks, is not so shameless. Even in 1982, they spent two hundred and twenty dollars to buy the copyright of venom from Spiderman's iron fans, and a lot of comics were derived from it. Image, after that, the venom in the Marvel universe is equivalent to a re-creation after purchasing the copyright, but the column of the author of the venom does not include Stan Lee.
For many years, only the name of the painter.
How dark the capital is, when it comes to issues that do not involve actual interests, they are still willing to put on a glamorous coat to whitewash the peace, if they are too lazy to pretend that this has nothing to do with profit...
To say it’s a dog is to insult man’s best friend.
When Cole Needham and Michael Dobbs were discussing the copyright transfer of "House of Cards", "The Great Showman" and "The Final Chapter", Roland, who only went to Kate's house on weekends, also brought " Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets came to the crew of "Star Wars".
It’s actually quite interesting to say, “Star Wars” was officially launched on June 26, and the old man Spielberg came to support him, and then the crew rested the next day. The reason is—
Mainly because the bearded Lucas and the old man Spielberg left the crew on the night of the official launch to attend the opening ceremony of "Saving Private Ryan" the next day...
Roland felt that these two guys were not making a movie at all, but showing their affection!
Today you turn on the phone, I will come to join you, and tomorrow I will turn it on, and you will come to watch the ceremony?
My God! As soon as the production crew started, all that was burned was money!
In the end, you burned investors’ money unscrupulously because of satisfying your own selfish desires?
This special code is too unprincipled, right?
Of course, Roland just beeped a few words in his heart. If he was really asked to say it, he would not dare.
However, the closer the relationship between the old men, the more convenient it is actually for Roland.
After handing "The Sorcerer's Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets" to Lucas, the bearded man who put down the guide tube simply started to read them.
He couldn't finish reading the series of novels with more than 400,000 words in a while, but while he was flipping through them, he also discovered that the stories in his hand were exactly the type Spielberg liked!
"Wow... I really envy Steven now."
"Over the years, he's crushed me in terms of awards, box office and games, we're evenly matched, and while Jurassic Park was the first billion-dollar movie, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark Those are all my series, and all kinds of adapted games, not to mention the hot sales, but the sales of the two of us are actually about the same..."
"If you have to count, it is equivalent to 1:0, he 1 and I 0."
“But outside of those three categories, I lead the way when it comes to teaching students.”
"Don't say that Robert Zemeckis won the Oscar before Ron Howard, and just "Forrest Gump" can surpass Ron Howard in box office, but in fact, Robert Zemeckis Ron Howard is also responsible for Stan's current achievements, right? If Ron Howard hadn't resisted the crowd and selected Tom Hanks from a group of rookies, then Robert Zemeckis might now And no Oscars either..."
"Seeing that after awards, box office, games, and teaching competitions, we will be one to one."
"But I didn't expect that he taught you again..."
"Although you haven't directed a serious movie until now, but..."
"Really, if I were him, I would like you too."
"Blizzard Entertainment? Harry Potter?"
"Why doesn't Ron Howard go to study the things I like?"
Roland was delighted to hear the sour words. Who doesn't like to do things that can not only make money, but also gain the favor of the people around them?
However, while being happy, he did not forget to excuse Ron Howard, "Oh, George, if you say that, then Ronald would be too wronged, who doesn't know that you like "Star Wars"? But you won't take pictures for us..."
Steven Spielberg does not shoot "Star Wars", and there are also a bunch of other masterpieces;
Francis Coppola does not shoot "Star Wars", and the signboard of "The Godfather" is still loud;
Martin Scorsese does not shoot "Star Wars", the gangster's bowl of rice can still make him eat for a lifetime;
And if George Lucas doesn't make Star Wars, he's got nothing...
The "Star Wars" series can be filmed for anyone, but not for your own people.
Because this is the pride of George Lucas.
is also the only pride.
Therefore, after hearing Roland's blatant statement, George Lucas did not continue on this already answered topic, but said with a smile: "Leave the publication to me, I said back then No money from you, no matter how many copies of "Harry Potter" are published, I won't charge you money, but, should there be publicity and recommendation? Advertisement..."
"what are you thinking?"
Whether a book sells well or not depends on business operations.
J.K. Rowling wrote a detective novel under a new pseudonym after she became famous. After a few months of sales, the total sales volume was less than 500, and the sales ranking on Amazon was only a pitiful 5,076.
But after Aunt Rowling's identity was disclosed by the media...
Overnight, the sales of "The Cuckoo's Call" written by Aunt Rowling skyrocketed by 5,070 times.
It sold more than two million copies within a month, and instantly became the best-selling novel of the year.
It is impossible for a newcomer to become popular without relying on operations.
The sales process that Roland arranged for "Harry Potter" is actually very simple—
"George, I would like to ask you and Steven to write two recommendations."
“Steven would say it’s the best children’s book he’s ever read, and after reading it, he got back the feeling he had when he was filming E.T.”
"And you said that this book made you smell danger, and you felt that if "Harry Potter" was made into a movie, it might threaten the status of "Star Wars" in people's minds."
“Then I was asking David to come out and say that the Olsen sisters listen to a Harry Potter story every night before they fall asleep, and it’s their favorite bedtime read…”
Children's and women's money is the best money in the world.
Even if J.K. Rowling has repeatedly stated that "Harry Potter" is not a children's book, this will not prevent it. The publishing house has been putting the words "children's book" on the entire series of books!
Whoever has trouble with money, isn’t that making trouble with himself?
In this case, the book will sell better if it is jointly recommended by two directors who are originally Kids King.
What is Harry Potter about?
I do not know!
But it doesn't matter!
Spielberg thinks it can compete with "Alien E.T." George Lucas thinks it can threaten "Star Wars", that's enough!
Not only that, the Olsen sisters, who can generate 500 million in revenue a year just by selling clothes, also fell asleep listening to this story. Those children who usually wear their "endorsement" clothes are all capable Paid leads!
Since the person I like likes this novel very much, shouldn’t it be over if we spend money and buy it?
Of course, if that wasn't exciting enough.
There are actually supplementary means.
The first batch of one million copies was printed, and Roland snapped up 800,000 copies out of his own pocket, first putting the book on the New York Times bestseller list.
Then, when the adults and children wanted to buy curiously, but found that the second batch of books hadn't been restocked, they directly released the news that Amazon and Lucas Publishing were conducting online sales activities, and bought the books they bought back. 800,000 copies are being sold.
This entry and exit not only smashed the sales list, but also picked up a madly snapped up advertisement, and most importantly, it also gave Amazon a wave of free drainage, which is a win-win-win.
In the end, the children were satisfied with the high-quality book, and the fans who felt that what Spielberg and Lucas said were true were also satisfied. Not only that, but also the traditional media, which received a lot of advertising fees, were also satisfied. And while people are reading, they also discovered Amazon, a treasure site that can break the boundaries of snapping...
Books that are not available in traditional bookstores can be bought on Amazon!
Hiss...this site is terrifying!
Of course, there is no such thing as a win-win situation in business. A business that can make money for everyone has not yet appeared.
After a simple calculation, you will find that in this plan, Roland, who is so busy, didn't get any benefits!
Not only that, but I also put my own funds in the book!
This is simply a loss to grandma's house!
Hey, why is it so difficult to do business!
After losing money like this, I, Roland, will lose money and become the richest man!
But after Lucas listened to Roland's thoughts, the slightly twitching corners of his mouth betrayed his mood at the moment.
"Is it too late for me to regret it now?"
"I think it is necessary for me to take a commission according to the rules."
"No, No, No, George, you can't be a little Jordan, since you said it, you have to do it."
Roland shook his head like a rattle.
Just kidding, you are a **** if you don't take advantage of it!
Lucas became financially free twenty years ago. Since he doesn’t care about money, why not let me, who lost money to my grandma’s family, earn it!
Lucas was just casually saying that when "Raiders of the Lost Ark" became popular, he only took his own dividends according to the lowest percentage in the industry rules. Now that Roland can hype a book, that is his own ability. And he is just helping to publish it, it doesn't matter whether he earns money or not, but—"What does it mean that you can't be a little Jordan?"
"Ah... did I say that?" Roland who said it casually played sloppy eyes.
"No?" Lucas looked puzzled.
"Probably not, I'll go to the studio to see."
Roland, who didn't know how to explain it, ran away, and Lucas shrugged his inexplicable manner.
However, when Roland left, he also called his secretary, "Take these two books back and publish them."
"The sooner the better."
Roland naturally couldn't hear Lucas' instructions. After leaving the office, he was attracted by the identical pair of figures in the crew—Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley after putting on makeup , It's really a girl's likeness!
That's right, Elizabeth in "Pirates of the Caribbean" in later generations is Natalie Portman's stand-in in "Star Wars". It's time to change the skin game.
The point is, Roland remembers, Natalie Portman doesn't seem to have any dangerous roles in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, right? That being the case, what is the use of finding a substitute?
Could it be that she was filming on the set for her, and she herself needs to study **** the set?
Wow... This is really a beauty at the top level.
Of course, no matter what Roland thinks in his heart, it will not change the outsiders' opinion of him.
When Roland wandered around the set unscrupulously, everywhere he went, he received smiles and greetings.
No way, no one in the industry knows that Roland, who seems harmless to humans and animals, is one of the very few who holds the power of life and death in the crew of the Jewish Gang?
If the filming is not done well, the most likely is to be scolded by the director. If Roland is provoked by being unreasonable, then...
Roland, who is favored by those directors, can replace them directly.
Even if they don't change, they won't be able to mix well in the circle in the future.
Of course, those who are afraid of Roland are those who have insufficient connections behind the scenes. Those parents, uncles, and uncles are so-and-so. Although they will not show their faces to Roland, they will not put their attitude too low.
The most typical of these is Francis Coppola's daughter.
When others greeted with a smile, she raised her hand and patted Roland on the shoulder, hugging him very familiarly.
"Hi, Roland, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Sophia, you are beautiful again."
"Don't... tell your girlfriend what you say, I don't need it..."
"Then you can take my words as a guest..."
"Huh? You mean, I've become ugly again recently?"
"Oh, please spare me...how dare I..."
Laughing wildly, the intimacy of the two aroused the envy of everyone around.
Natalie Portman, who was wearing a black dress, glanced at Roland and the others a few more times, while Keira Knightley, who was dressed in the same way as her, swept her eyes away and walked over.
It's a pity that regardless of what outsiders think, Roland didn't care about it. After chatting with Sophia for a while, he didn't shy away from other things, and asked directly: "Didn't you stop acting after you got the golden raspberry?" ?"
"Joining fashion, the affordable luxury brand Milk-Feder has won one of the best independent fashion brands selected by fashion magazine?"
"Since fashion has a bright future, why did you suddenly come over to film?"
"Could it be that old guy George pulled you here?"
If someone else asked this kind of question, Sophia would definitely turn her face away, but Roland...
After all, they are our own people.
Even though she felt a little unhappy, Sophia didn't show her face. Of course, this was also related to her coming over to say hello, "No, it was an accident that I came to film. I mainly came to find George."
"Why are you looking for George?" Roland asked curiously.
"Make a movie." Sophia answered very happily, "Being a director myself."
Notes: ①I feel that what other people write is rubbish, and it is true that I wrote "House of Cards" by myself. This is the news published by "Reference News" on May 11, 2018. ②It is indeed Michael Dobbs’s idea to hope that his work can be photographed well. Also in “Reference News”, he disclosed the details of his negotiations to sell the copyright to Naifei at that time. Naifei said that he would definitely invite Kevin -Space and David Fincher, he just sold it (although I believe the 100 million in the "Daily Economic News"). ③ Marianne Dashwood is the younger sister in "Sense and Sensibility", the one played by Kate. ④ Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley really look alike after putting on makeup. When Keira's mother visited the crew, she didn't recognize her daughter. ⑤ Letting a stand-in perform, studying on the set, and creating a schoolmaster persona is a stalk of Natalie. As early as when "Star Wars Episode 1" was released, Natalie said to the outside world that she would take the high school final exam , so she didn't go to the premiere, at that time she had already started to be an intellectual character.
(end of this chapter)