Chapter 416 Behind "House of Cards" - the struggle between finance and the media
In fact, "House of Cards" is not a pure TV series, or in other words, the root of its birth has nothing to do with TV, but a collision between traditional Hollywood media, Silicon Valley technology companies and Wall Street bankers.
As mentioned earlier, Hollywood and Wall Street are actually colluding, packaging film and television dramas as financial products, and transferring production costs to leeks through entertainment-type public offering funds. This approach will not only maximize the benefits of traditional Hollywood media, but also It can also reduce the risk of production failure as much as possible. In addition, Wall Street bankers can also earn a lot of money through management fees, which is a win-win cooperation, but well, people have to think a little bit, right? ?
When Wall Street found out that Hollywood's model is simply a no-cost business, Disney's book loss for years but its real profit operation method can't help even the IRS. It clearly makes money but doesn't have to pay taxes. The point is that this is different from other companies. Tax avoidance is different. Disney and other entertainment companies avoid taxes in the United States with great fanfare. As a result, this kind of tax operation has become the favorite of major financial groups. Everyone wants to get in. Through This way the costs are passed on.
So, the acquisition went ahead.
But unfortunately, the media giants who have already tasted the sweetness are not willing to give up their own interests at all.
Especially after seeing the market value of AOL Time Warner as high as 150 billion, Disney's market value soared to 80 billion, Paramount's old father Viacom swept 25% of the media share, Vivendi In the end, Universal was sold to GM. After News Corporation, the financial backer behind Fox, also moved from Australia to the United States, Wall Street financial groups also knew that the acquisition was impossible to succeed, so they changed their thinking and used commercial funds. , established an entertainment production company.
That is the so-called, do it yourself.
Since 2004, Hollywood has sprung up countless independent production companies backed by film and television funds. MRC, which created "House of Cards", also appeared in this wave, but unlike other small capital consortiums, MRC's fathers are too big, Guggenheim is the manager on the surface, but apart from him—
Company shareholders also include AT&T, WPP, and Goldman Sachs.
Goldman Sachs and AT&T need no introduction, but WPP is the largest advertising company in the world. Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Volkswagen, Canon, Nokia, Amex, and Merrill Lynch are all contracted by them. Not only that, but that The Ogilvy & Mather government relationship that is engaged in the publicity business of the donkey elephant and the two parties is also owned by WPP.
It is no exaggeration to say that as long as you have money, they can promote your products to every household.
If the three of them are already awesome to the bone, then the Guggenheim is actually not bad. For those who study architecture, the Guggenheim is the classic of modern architectural art, but in fact, in the twenties At the beginning of the century, together with Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Morgan, he was already listed as one of the four richest families in the United States. Not only that, they are also the second largest Jewish rich family in the world with Jewish blood, and , Married with the No. 1 Rothschild.
Many people say that the Rothschild family has long been disillusioned. They underestimated the development of the United States and suffered a lot in Europe. They were persecuted by Mustache during World War II. When the Soviet Union promoted socialism in Eastern Europe, they confiscated a lot of their assets. These two points are indeed not true. False, but more people are unwilling to say that the Guggenheim asset management company, the parent who controls 300 billion wealth, is his great-grandson.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
How can people not understand this concept?
And when a company is endorsed by Guggenheim, AT&T, WPP, and Goldman Sachs, four groups with over one trillion assets at the same time, all projects can be promoted on a flat basis, so that in the first year of establishment, they convened Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett created the Golden Globe Award for best picture "Babel".
After that, "Traveler" starring Hugh Jackman, "Fate Planning Bureau" and "Elysium" starring Matt Damon, "Teddy Bear 1, 2" starring Mark Wahlberg , "A Million Ways to Die in the West" starring Charlize Theron, "Baby Driver" directed by Edgar Wright, and "Knives Out" jointly created by 007 and the US team.
It seems that this result is actually average, right?
But actually...
These products launched by capital groups who don't know how to create are just so-so!
Like the financial products of Relativity Media, Legendary Pictures, and Lionsgate, these entertainment production companies control all special codes are cross-border talents, either from a Wall Street bank, or from the New York Stock Exchange. Those who come out of the institute are either index analysts from Nasdaq or futures and options experts from the Chicago Stock Exchange.
If you talk about finance, then they all know it, but if you let the financial people do entertainment, isn't it equivalent to the forty thieves buying Youku Tudou! In addition to spending money, they will, that is, turn the money from leeks into their own money!
Under such circumstances, any investment is a big hit for them, and after experiencing the sudden death of the film and television industry in the past three years, they decided to retreat tactically to avoid this already The business that was monopolized by the six big companies turned to the TV drama industry. When meeting in the company, a bunch of financial people didn't know what project was good, so they asked their subordinates what these guys usually like to watch. , an intern who just entered MRC said that he was rewatching the British drama "House of Cards", so financial executives who had never watched this drama found the source of the film.
Just like what Wang Hailin said about compradors, what drama a TV station buys is very different from the preferences of the management.
If they are all old men, then there will be countless flirtatious dramas on the market. If they are all old women, then small fresh meat will be popular, and what do financial people like? Of course, it's not a soap opera that only housewives watch!
For them, political thrillers such as "House of Cards", "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" are more interesting!
So, these brick-makers who felt that "House of Cards" was very suitable for their own tastes slapped their heads, bought the copyright of "House of Cards", and directly packaged the production tasks and threw them to CAA.
The production of the entire TV series actually has nothing to do with MRC. Director David Fincher, screenwriter Eric Ross, and starring Kevin Spacey were all recruited by CAA. After the script, MRC used the forces behind it to contact Time Warner, wanting to sell "House of Cards" to HBO, contacted Viacom, tried to use "House of Cards" to attract the attention of CBS's Showtime, and contacted Rainbow The media tried to get the AMC TV station under its name to participate in the bidding, and also contacted Netflix, hoping that they could buy the online copyright.
This is actually the biggest benefit of having capital backing!
The pilot episode hasn't been filmed yet, so let's sit down and talk about money first!
In Lionsgate, Legend, Theory of Relativity, Hollywood giants don’t even want to bird you, but what about Guggenheim, Telephone and Telegraph, WPP and Goldman Sachs? Knowing that these people are here to grab the cake, the Hollywood giants can only hold their noses and sit down and talk, because before they officially tear their skins, they still need these qualified guys to help them run public funds to cheat money.
During the negotiation process, the funniest thing happened.
At that time, Time Warner, Viacom and Rainbow Media felt that MRC's "House of Cards" was a good idea, and they were willing to order it on a seasonal basis, but they needed MRC to shoot the pilot episode first. But after Netflix knew the news, they were planning to transform from a rental company After becoming a production company, they immediately expressed that they were willing to invest in production, and offered generous conditions, such as customizing two seasons at once without a trial broadcast, with a total budget of more than 100 million US dollars, and the production team can retain the final editing rights, etc.
From a creative point of view, the decisions of Time Warner, Viacom, and Rainbow Media are undoubtedly correct, but from a financier’s point of view, Netflix, which can make itself profitable quickly, is more sincere.
So, MRC signed a production contract with Netflix and sold "House of Cards" to Netflix.
If things come to this, then this is actually a story of a poor boy turning over.
Netflix, which started out as a rental company, made a bet on "House of Cards" and transformed itself into a streaming media giant.
But actually...
The story of "House of Cards" does not end here!
Because after Netflix bought the copyright of "House of Cards", they had no intention of producing this show at all, but immediately held a shareholders' meeting to express to the investors behind Capital Group, Pioneer Group and Black Rock Group that Netflix The idea of transformation already exists! They're going from a rental company to a creation company! They want to change the inherent structure of Hollywood! Break the traditional play mode of Hollywood giants! That is wired for media playback! Let the Internet become the first choice for users to watch dramas in the future!
Not only that, Netflix also pulled out Walt Disney's blue ocean strategy model, using the success that countless capitals want to replicate to tell shareholders that their ideas are based on reality. In addition, they also dug from Disney. In came Jonathan Ferland, a Disney communications executive, as Netflix's chief content officer, and Kelly Merriman, an international business executive poached from Time Warner, as Netflix's chief marketing officer.
With the Walt-Disney model and the evidence of industry professionals, Capital Group, Vanguard Group and Black Rock Group suddenly felt that Netflix was doing a great thing, so they increased their investment in Netflix and changed It changed the nature of Netflix and changed it from a video website that competed with YouTube and Hulu to a TV station that competed with HBO and Showtime. It is precisely because Netflix has changed from a website to a window for public opinion, so its stock price has dropped. Soaring all the way.
After discovering this situation, the capital behind MRC suddenly realized that since they could not compete with Hollywood in the traditional field, they could also switch to online! Anyway, as long as they are involved in production, they can use this method to evade taxes. Ever since, Guggenheim, Telephone and Telegraph, WPP, and Goldman Sachs have bought Netflix shares one after another!
When this happened, the founder of Netflix began to reduce his shareholding on a large scale!
Roll the capital's wool!
Because he didn't expect to succeed at all! What he wants to do most is to cash out!
However, because the momentum of cashing out was too great, Icahn, the wolf king who smelled something abnormal, also came here after hearing the news.
Eat ten percent of Netflix's shares.
When this happened, all the capital behind Netflix found out that something was wrong, because how did Wolf King absorb 10% of Netflix’s shares in the open market without them reducing their holdings?
And after they started to liquidate, they discovered that the founder of Netflix actually wanted to run away!
As a result, the most classic case of a strong man breaking his wrist appeared.
When Carl Icahn represented the California Civil Service Retirement Fund and the American Teachers' Pension Fund entered the market, the founder of Netflix, who found that the cash-out move had been exposed, decisively announced the poison pill plan, that is, whenever an individual investor holds more than 100% of the shares Tenth, after institutional investors hold more than 20% of the shares, Netflix will issue additional shares, and he will actively buy them.
The money that was once cashed out was sent back in a special way!
This move also prevented Capital Group, Vanguard Group, Black Rock Group, Guggenheim, Telephone and Telegraph, WPP, and Goldman Sachs from liquidating him immediately, and when the withdrawal was irrevocable, the founder of Netflix knew that he would play smashed!
In the case of hemorrhage, he understood that if "House of Cards" failed, the capital that could smash him to death with money would tear him to pieces, so he, who wanted to live, understood that his own "House of Cards" had to be made, so I completely let go of the production of "House of Cards", trying to let these guys who understand the content save themselves...
And when CAA learned that Netflix's life is now hanging by a thread, they want to live and are willing to pay for their lives, they collected the money and created a super luxury team, bringing the director of "Twin Peaks" James Frey, " Joe Schumacher, director of Batman and The Phantom of the Opera; Charles McDougal, director of The Office and The Good Wife; Carl Franklin, director of Roma and War in the Pacific; Alan Coulter, the director of "The Family" and "Boardwalk Empire," all moved here.
Not only that, they also invited Beau Willimon, the screenwriter of "The President's Killing Bureau", Rick Cleveland, the screenwriter of "Nurse Headed", "Six Feet Under" and "The West Wing", "Law and Order" and 'FBI' Writer Gina Gionfriedo Co-Writing 'House of Cards', Then Well...
is the success of "House of Cards", and Netflix's stock price soared.
So, any big data is bullshit!
Why is "House of Cards" successful?
That’s because Netflix tried to use it to prove to capital that Internet media is as useful as traditional media, and when they weaved a scam and wanted to leave, the appearance of Carl Icahn made them have to make their dreams come true, so…
Those who wanted to save themselves used money to pile up a success!
No way, who let them take more than three billion hot money from these capitals?
If they fail, death is cheap!
It is precisely because Roland knows that the success of "House of Cards" only needs to be piled up with money, so when the old man mentioned the TV series to him, he would immediately think of this project that is favored by all parties. After thought-
"Do you think remakes of political thrillers are more likely to succeed than sci-fi dramas like "Hijacking"?"
"certainly."
"Because of the novelty?"
"Yes, it's freshness." Roland admitted, and said with an open mind: "This kind of drama is about the dirty things in the political world, such as how is a president born? And how does he choose?" His deputy? The distribution of official positions is related to the transfer of benefits? Not only that, but also through the depiction of party struggles, it can also show the dirty things that the general public thinks the upper class can’t do. Of course, if you think it’s not exciting enough, We can even depict a black president’s road to the top, and depict alternative scenes of businessmen ruling the country, in short, there are many things that can be filmed, and there are many points that can attract the audience.”
"Well, I like what you said."
The old man shrugged unpretentiously. He was very interested in what the black president said. While leaning back and stroking his forehead with one hand, his eyes also moved from the computer screen to Roland, looking at the man with his arms around him. , a confident guy, he shook his head and said, "But do you know why, in the past few decades, few companies have produced this kind of TV series?"
"Because of censorship."
Of course Roland knew this, "Before 1997, there were many kinds of censorship systems on the market. Since there was no uniform standard, it became very troublesome to review this thing, so not many people were willing to touch this kind of review system. Reasonable, he said, and reasonable subject matter. And in January 1997, after the emergence of the rating system for TV dramas, the appearance of Y, Y7, G, PG, 14, and MA levels made the production of TV dramas have clearer standards. The focus is on federal The Communications Commission has also made a requirement that TVs and set-top boxes produced after 2,000 years must be equipped with classified chips, so this classification, which is linked to current affairs and prone to sensitive topics, has become a taboo for various producers."
"Yes, the existence of censorship has made countless producers too lazy to touch this kind of subject matter." The old man nodded and added: "But the most troublesome thing for the producers is actually the unreasonable censorship system, because whenever the producers When Fang takes a TV series to the Federal Communications Commission for review, they will let you pass with their eyes closed, but if there is a problem during the screening, they will unceremoniously issue a fine to the producer, so no one wants to do it This kind of project will lose money if you hit your head."
Yes! The censorship of American TV dramas is actually disgusting!
If the Motion Picture Association of America controls the power of life and death for film projects, then the FCC controls the power of life and death for TV dramas. Unlike the American Motion Picture Association, which is composed of seven major organizations, the model of self-timer and self-examination, the FCC is Government agencies are generally not directly controlled by commercial companies.
Because it is not controlled by commercial companies, it is not up to the producer whether the TV series will be released or not. If it is only these, then forget it. The most troublesome thing is actually its phishing law enforcement.
Since American dramas are filmed and broadcast at the same time, the Federal Communications Commission will approve a large number of American dramas every week. It is obviously unrealistic to watch all of them. Whoever declares is rated, and whoever is rated is responsible for the model. That is to say, if I produce a TV series and I think it is suitable for audiences of all ages, then I will fill in the grade Y when I declare, and wait for the federal Once the Communications Committee receives the declaration, they will stamp the approval directly on the declaration and then allow you to screen.
If you don't have any problems with the screening, it's over.
But once you are reported by users during the screening, then the Federal Council will start an investigation.
If they feel that your report is wrong and your drama has no problem, then you can continue to play it, but if they think that the report is correct and you have a problem, then you must cooperate and remove the drama according to their requirements, and make a review of it. The content was revised, the application was resubmitted for rating, and the broadcast continued after paying the fine.
Of course, there are still pitfalls.
Because of your re-declaration after modification, they will still not review it!
That is to say, if you are still reported, if the Federal Communications Commission still thinks you have a problem, it can still issue a ticket!
This has led to few TV stations willing to shoot political thrillers.
This kind of thing is too easy to get a ticket!
As for why MRC dared to shoot?
Isn't that because there are Guggenheim, Telephone and Telegraph, WPP and Goldman Sachs behind them!
And why did Netflix dare to buy it?
In front of Capital Group, Vanguard Group, and Black Rock Group, who has the Federal Communications Commission confronted?
It is precisely because they have the best means, so they dare to do it, and DreamWorks...
The bones of the body are really light.
So even if the old man felt that this drama might be made, he wasn't in the mood to test it out.
Because once entangled by the Federal Communications Commission, the entire company will face big problems.
Although the fine is only 32,500 US dollars, the political thriller...
That can be fined until delisted!
If the donkey party is dissatisfied, it will be fined, and if the elephant party is not satisfied, it can also be punished.
No way, who made the Federal Communications Commission a three-two system?
The same political party occupies a maximum of three seats, and with a total of five seats, a monopoly cannot exist at all.
"Forget it, I'd better hold on to the show "Hijacking". "House of Cards" is too troublesome to do."
The old man thought for a moment, and finally shook his head.
From the creator's point of view, "House of Cards" is really interesting, but he is now a businessman!
But for Roland, there is still room for this kind of play, because—
"As long as the little bushes are pulled together by his father and the zipper that has just retreated, this matter can actually be done..."
When the light words appeared in the old man's ears, the guy who had given up suddenly raised his eyebrows.
Looking at the guy who didn't take the review seriously, this old man who was almost sixty, trembled twice with the creases on his face.
It seems happy, but more like helpless.
"Okay, tell me, do you really want me to keep doing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?"
Now that the conversation has come to this point, the two sides will stop talking about it, and when the old man asked this crucial question, Roland, who was sitting there, suddenly felt that the time had come to 1992.
At that time, the old man also used this tone to ask him about Sony Pictures Entertainment.
And at that time, Roland suggested that he...
Eat Sony's global distribution channels.
"Yes." The past was vivid in his memory, Roland nodded with emotion, and said, "I don't worry if you shoot me."
"How reassuring?" The old man asked, the pupils under the lens were shining with undisguised expectation.
"Eight billion, eight billion, benchmarking "Star Wars."
"Wow! Is J.K. Rowling planning to write so long?" When the old man heard the eight parts in Roland's mouth, a flash of surprise flashed across his face, but after he heard eight billion and "Star Wars", , knowing it spontaneously, made him nod his head, "If this is the case, then I can understand why you want to drag me to death... "Star Wars"! "Star Wars"! This But a series worth tens of billions..."
Talking to your own people is easy.
There is no need to hide it, because everyone understands it.
While the old man made it clear, Roland also shrugged and said: "Besides, your proposal just now is the root of my heart. If DreamWorks can merge with NBC, it will be a good thing for me. Because we can also have the power of the media in our hands, and we don’t have to borrow things from east to west as before..."
"Hahahahahaha~" The sincere words made the old man laugh heartily. In fact, it was also out of this consideration that he thought carefully about the "House of Cards" project. He thought it was impossible before, but now...
If Roland can really move the core figures of the two parties, donkey and elephant, then no one would dare to check their dramas.
"Okay, since that's the case, then I accept." The old man thought for a while, and finally made a decision, "You finish "House of Cards", I will go to shoot "Harry Potter", I hope we can be the same as before, Pleasure to cooperate."
Roland liked this answer, and while opening his arms to hug the old man, he also asked a lot of questions.
"Then "Harry Potter", how many movies are you going to make?"
As for the old man, he answered very neatly, "If you help me realize my dream, then I will help you achieve my goal."
Although there was no positive response, Roland was very satisfied with the result.
Because Harry Potter is the project he wants, NBC is the medium he wants, and House of Cards...
is the drama he wants to do.
Of course, not because of Kate, but because of Netflix, too…
stream media.
Note: ①Some people have always said that Hollywood and Wall Street are two opposing entities. That is because since 2004, Wall Street and Hollywood, which want to get involved in Hollywood's operating model, have done it, and the fund-driven production companies are crazy Established, trying to get a piece of the profit-free business, but in the end, no one could succeed. ②Netflix is actually a fraudulent company. If you dig up the resume of their founder, you will find that that guy has done many times to start a business, go public to cash out, and leave the market directly, and Netflix is one of his scams. But because they took too much money, and let those capitals suffer in the hands of Wolf King, so they could only bite the bullet and spend money on "House of Cards". If the drama is not successful, then no drama is considered successful. As for big data, it has nothing to do with House of Cards, as confirmed by Jodie Foster and David Fincher. ③ MRC finally disintegrated. With the success of "House of Cards", it was discovered that streaming media is the capital of the future, so it resolutely gave up this fund company and sold it to Eldridge. Then, Telephone and Telegraph acquired and the United States Time Warner, which parted ways online, attempted to build its own new media group, while Guggenheim and the Communist Party chose to buy Disney, Goldman Sachs intervened in Fox, and finally the three parties promoted Disney's acquisition of Fox. ④ The essence of Netflix is a TV station, but it has moved from TV to computer. Its core competitiveness is only programs, which is no different from Hollywood giants.
(end of this chapter)