Chapter 590 Universal Pictures
"BOSS, as far as I know. Hollywood producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto are in contact with Hasbro and plan to develop "Transformers"? ”
There are no secrets in Hollywood, let alone Ron Meyer, the man who controls the Seven Giants.
"Don't worry, I have already talked with Hasbro. I promised them to invest at least 100 million US dollars to film "Transformers". If necessary, we can add more money.
They were very excited, but due to the capabilities of Hongmeng Film and Television, they never agreed.
But we initialed an agreement, and as long as I have a major Hollywood company by the end of this year, we can officially start negotiations for the adaptation of the "Transformers" project.
As for Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto, they are just Hasbro's alternatives.
But if we reach an agreement with Hasbro, we can consider letting them be the producer.
Of course, it’s up to you to decide whether this is really the case. "
Lon Meyer nodded, "I will contact Hasbro as soon as possible after I go back. ”
"This is my first project after acquiring Universal. I must win it." Xu Liang emphasized his tone.
The main reason why I remember it is that it is famous enough and the person who filmed it was a Chinese.
Originally, he thought about putting out "Night at the Museum" again, but after thinking about it, he decided not to do it.
“I will try my best.”
Xu Liang smiled.
It would be better to wait until "Transformers" is a box office success and then add more.
Without the chance, Xu Liang thought of summoning spirits.
Big BOSS’s first project, if he doesn’t give me face, he would be very ignorant.
But unfortunately the former has already been filmed, and the subsequent "Saw" is also being produced by Lionsgate Pictures.
But coincidentally, when I checked again, the Hollywood script copyright agency actually had the name "The Conjuring" in it.
However, instead of making large-scale productions worth hundreds of millions, we can still play with small costs.
After opening the contents, my guess was confirmed. This was indeed a script.
Speaking of which, Xu Liang prefers "Death is Coming" and "Saw". The series are long enough and profitable.
“Let’s take a look.”
Xu Liang has already grabbed the most profitable Marvel series in the next twenty years and doesn’t mind waiting.
Xu Liang took the notebook next to him, took a look at it, and handed it over.
And with a small cost and quick results, it can also quickly increase the voice within Universal Pictures.
Lon Meyer took it and took a look, and it was clearly written on the title page - The Soul Conjuring.
Lon Meyer is not a yes man. It is already very embarrassing for him to make a big production with an investment of over 100 million. If he makes another one, everyone will have opinions.
With results, anything you say will work; without results, if you talk too much, even if the following people agree, they will violate it.
Because there had been so much time in between, he had forgotten the general plot of The Soul Calling.
"I'm waiting for your good news."
Xu Liang spent some money to buy the script.
Quietly wait for Ron Meyer to finish reading.
“How do you feel?”
"A very good horror movie script."
"Spend some money and film it next year."
Lon Meyer nodded, and it was only a production worth ten or twenty million dollars. Cost, he wants to give this face.
“As for the director, leave it to James Wan, the director of “Saw”.”
Lon Meyer didn’t know James Wan, but he still agreed.
As the saying goes, small-budget movies must give face to big bosses.
"Okay, these are the only two movies I want to make, and you can decide the rest by yourself."
Lon Meyer breathed a sigh of relief, he was really afraid that the big boss wouldn't care. Add tasks.
Now, two movies are within his tolerance.
“Have you brought Universal Pictures’ annual report this year?”
"Bring it."
Lon Meyer quickly took it out of the briefcase.
“Please take a look.”
Xu Liang took it.
Universal Pictures has many profit-making departments under one company.
For example, UCI United International Film.
This is a joint venture between Viacom and Universal. It has 104 theaters and nearly 868 screens in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Panama and other countries and regions.
Then there is Universal Home Entertainment.
One of the world's largest film VCD and DVD video tape distribution companies.
Universal Pictures, responsible for all distribution for Universal Pictures.
Universal Games, a subsidiary of Universal, publishes games including "Resident Evil", "Destiny", etc. Although it is far inferior to giants such as Harmony Games and Nintendo, it still has its own loyal players.
Universal Television, the television production arm of Universal, has produced "House" and "How to Get Away with Murder."
Universal Animation Studio, although far less famous than Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky, has also produced the popular animated series "Barbie".
But at the heart of all these departments is the Production Department.
Throughout 2003, they produced and distributed 19 movies, eight of which grossed over 100 million yuan.
"Boyfriend", "Love Actually", "The Far East", "American Pie 3: American Wedding", "The Incredible Hulk", "Fake God", "Peter... Pan" and "Fast and Furious 2: Rise of the Furious."
Among them, the fantasy adventure film "Peter Pan" is a standard bad movie.
The production cost was US$125 million, but in the end the box office was only US$100 million. Even if some were recovered from DVD and TV rights, it would still be a huge loss.
Those with a box office of more than 200 million include "Love Actually", "Far and Away", "American Pie 3: American Wedding", "The Incredible Hulk", "The Impostor" and "Fast & Furious" "Passion 2: The Storm Rises Again" six parts.
There is only one "Fake God" with more than 300 million yuan.
The global box office total is US$484 million.
Added all of this together, Universal Pictures' box office revenue in 2003 totaled $2.64 billion.
Peripheral revenue including DVDs and toys totaled US$2.31 billion.
TV and gaming revenue $190 million.
Hollywood's second largest copyright library has licensing revenue of $580 million.
The film’s distribution revenue was US$790 million.
In addition, all miscellaneous income, such as studio rental, prop rental and other income.
Universal Pictures’ total revenue in 2003 was US$6.73 billion.
After deducting various expenses and paying taxes, the net income was US$938 million.
It can be seen from the report that the returns from the film industry are not as generous as he originally imagined.
But the cash flow is really awesome.
"Very good, no wonder many people praise you in front of me."
Xu Liang put down the information and smiled.
Lon Meyer had a reserved smile on his face, but he couldn't hide the pride in his eyes.
During the years when he was in charge of Universal, no company except Warner Bros. and Disney could stabilize him.
Even Warner and Disney have higher returns in television and theme parks, and are not much different from Universal in terms of production.
“However, the parent company has a gaming business, so I plan to separate Universal Games from the company and merge it into Hongmeng Games North America.”
“I respect the decision of the parent company.”
Lon Meyer said simply.
Anyway, the game business does not account for a large proportion in the world, and all games are the mainstay.
When he came, he was mentally prepared to be annexed.
“If I come to acquire UCI United International Videos, do you think Viacom will sell it?”
As the commercial complexes under Taihua Real Estate are completed and opened one by one, Taihua Real Estate A theater chain department has also emerged under Taihua, so it plans to acquire UCI and United International Films to build Taihua's theater chain into an international theater chain company.
“As long as the price is right, I think Viacom has no reason not to sell it.”
Ron Meyer laughed.
Xu Liang also smiled and nodded, that’s what’s good about foreign countries.
As long as the money is in place, everything is easy.
If Viacom doesn't sell, he has a way.
If the company wants to develop and add more screens, it needs investment.
The shares of UCI United International Films are 50/50 each.
As long as Viacom doesn’t follow suit, it’s easy to own more than half of the shares.
If you want to follow, that would be better.
Come on, let’s discuss it again, how about acquiring MCI?
In short, there are still many ways.
(End of this chapter)