After talking to Zhang Youan on the phone, only two days passed before Zhang Youan got another call.
After the call was connected, Zhou Yan was very curious, "Why are you calling again?"
Zhang Youan sighed, "I don't want to keep calling, mainly because Jeff Brown is urging me. You have to call me every day.”
“Jeff Brown?” Zhou Yan asked curiously.
“It’s the person in charge of the Backstreet Boys at Jive. I asked him not to worry and wait a few days, but he still called me every day. After he called you that day, I received a call from him. Yes. Just answering his phone calls cost me a lot of money, and I have to ask you to reimburse me later.”
"It's so urgent..." Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "Well, I'll ask the studio to send the tape over now, and I'll get back to you today after listening to it."
"Okay, then, I'm waiting for your news."
After hanging up the phone with Zhang Youan, Zhou Yan called the studio and asked them to send over the demo of "Yellow".
The tape was delivered that morning.
This demo is better than Zhou Yan expected. The voices of two people in the group are quite suitable for this song.
In this case, Zhou Yan did not hesitate anymore and directly replied to Zhang Youan saying that he agreed to give the song to Backstreet Boys.
After Zhang Youan received the reply, he contacted Jeff Brown.
When Jeff Brown received the call, it was already 11 o'clock in the evening. He had just laid down on the bed and was not asleep yet, because he had been thinking about "Yellow" in his mind.
He told Zhang Youan that if there is any news today, no matter how late it is, he must be notified.
So when he heard the phone ringing, Jeff Brown quickly got up and ran to pick up the phone.
"Hello, is this John?"
John is Zhang Youan's English name.
Zhang Youan on the other side smiled and said, "It's me, Jeff, you haven't gone to bed yet?"
"Of course, I'm waiting for news from you. How about it, has Y agreed?" "
"Yes, I agree. You can come according to the terms we agreed on. Let's sign the contract sometime. "
Hearing Zhang Youan's words, Jeff Brown breathed a sigh of relief. Although the process was not that smooth, the result was good.
As for signing the contract, it is very simple. Tomson has a cooperative authorized copyright company in the United States. They just sign the contract directly with the other party. There is no need for Tomson to send anyone over.
After getting up tomorrow, he can arrange the signing and at the same time arrange the recording of a single for the Backstreet Boys.
There is no need to find a recording studio, because I have to record a single for the Backstreet Boys before, so I have contacted the recording studio. It is in Sweden. Several members of the group can fly there directly tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The recording of "yellow".
"John, if I have the chance, I will definitely thank Y in person."
Zhang Youan laughed and said, "If you send me the money as soon as possible, that would be the biggest thank you. Our Y is also a very pragmatic artist."
"Don't worry about this. After the contract is signed, I will let the company arrange the payment." It won’t be delayed.”
“That’s good. It’s very late over there. You can’t do anything today. Have a good rest and I’ll talk to the company we work with tomorrow. , I’ll contact you directly.”
“I’ll trouble you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The next afternoon, the Backstreet Boys were sent to Stockholm, Sweden, to start recording "Yellow".
Because the recording went so well, they stayed in Sweden for a few more days and recorded three more singles.
After returning from Sweden, the members of the group began recording music videos.
Once everything is completed, the single should be released in the United States on June 1st.
……
"Spring in the Cowherd Class" was filmed for half a month, and the crew took their first vacation.
Everyone was nervous and a little tired during this period. In addition, it had been raining for the past two days, so the crew was shut down. Zhou Yan gave everyone two days off.
Zhou Yan himself also returned to the city, but instead of resting, he met Bregman on the first day of vacation.
Brigman came to China this time, on the one hand, for the establishment of the Columbia Yenching Representative Office, and on the other hand, for the remake rights of "The Sixth Sense".
Less than two months have passed since Zhou Yan came back from the UK, but after many days, the two met in Yanjing, and Bregman couldn't help but sigh, "It feels like a long time." I haven’t seen you yet.”
Zhou Yan asked with a smile, "Did the filming of "Sense and Sensibility" go smoothly?"
"Yes, everything went well. With Lindsay and the others watching the scene, I don't need to worry too much."
Zhou Yan nodded. He had heard An Li say before when he was on the set that Bregman didn't often stay on set.
"I heard from Zhang Youan that you have something to tell me about "The Sixth Sense"?"
"Yes, I do have some thoughts that I want to communicate with you."< br>
Zhou Yan picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then said with a smile, "Anthony, although we are friends, I can't make it easier for you to reshoot "The Sixth Sense". In the end, it still depends on the decisions of your companies." "Y, please don't get me wrong, I don't want to get any convenience from you. Just because we are friends, I cherish this friendship and don't want to mix it up too much." Other things. I came to you from the perspective of a producer, wanting to understand the inner world of the original author. This will make it easier for us to reshoot the film later. I think this is something that is beneficial to both of us. "
Zhou Yan smiled. Bregman was a very talkative person. He came to him just to take advantage of the two people's pretentiousness and give them an advantage in the competition with Warner.
But he can always describe his backdoor behavior in a high-sounding and impeccable way.
“Of course I also hope that the people who make the remake will have a deeper understanding of this movie. Anthony, let’s not beat around the bush. If you have any ideas, just tell me directly.”
Bregman smiled, "What I want to tell you is that for this remake of "The Sixth Sense", we can find Martin Brest to direct it."
Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes. eyes closed, "Martin Brest, are you talking about the Martin Brest who filmed "Scent of a Woman"?"
Hearing Zhou Yan say "Scent of a Woman" ”, the smile on Bregman’s face became even brighter.
"Yes, he has also filmed "The Three Old Guns" and "Midnight Run"."
"Are you sure you can invite us?" Zhou Yan showed a skeptical expression.
Although Martin Brest is not a well-known director, he is definitely a good director and has his own style.
Compared with some other great directors, Martin Brest has very few honors and has basically never won any awards, but his reputation is very good.
There are not many works, but the quality is quite good.
Especially "Scent of a Woman", because of Al Pacino's wonderful performance, this movie is very well-known around the world.
Therefore, Zhou Yan is more skeptical about whether Columbia can really invite Martin Brest to remake "The Sixth Sense".
Bregman nodded affirmatively, "I can guarantee you, and we can increase the budget to sixteen million US dollars."
Zhou Yan glanced at Bregman, "You and Zhang Youan Did you talk about it?”
“We talked about the budget, but not about Martin Brest.”
As expected, Zhang Youan is still more difficult to deal with, so Bregman. Just come to attack yourself.
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It seems that Warner's competition has troubled you a lot."
For Zhou Yan, it doesn't matter if the remake rights of "The Sixth Sense" are given to Warner or Columbia, or even to a small company outside the Big Eight, as long as the bid is appropriate.
The cost of reshooting rights and the budget of the film are what Zhou Yan values most, and what Tomson Company values the most. Bregman came to him privately, and there was a high probability that he could not beat Warner in these two areas.
However, what Bregman said is indeed attractive to Zhou Yan. With similar conditions, Zhou Yan certainly hopes that the director can be better. In his opinion, Martin Boo Leicester would be a good fit.
Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "If you can invite Bruce Willis or Kevin Costner, I can let go of the other conditions."
Bregman's expression froze. This was the second time he heard about these two actors from Zhou Yan.
To be honest, he also thinks that inviting these two actors to participate in "The Sixth Sense" is a good choice, but with their budget, it is difficult to hire Martin Brest. Next time, I will invite an actor of this caliber again.
Maybe they can also negotiate risk remuneration with these actors, that is, a share, but it must be approved by the other party.
Besides, even if risk remuneration is negotiated, the fixed remuneration will not be much less.
Sighing slightly, Bregman told Zhou Yan honestly, "Y, it is already difficult to increase our budget... No, it is not difficult, it is impossible to increase it again. I dare Guaranteed, the budget that Warner can make can only go so far.”
Zhou Yan picked up the tea cup and blew on the tea foam. The hot air from the tea was blown up and floated in the air. Zhou Yan looked at Bregman through the hot air, "How did the budget limit of 16 million US dollars come from?" , are you unable to raise more money, or do you only have such a high budget for this movie? If it is the latter, I don't understand why you are so optimistic about a film with a global box office of tens of millions of dollars? The estimated budget of the movie is only 16 million US dollars?”
The box office of "The Sixth Sense" in North America was more than 13 million US dollars, but this movie was not only released in North America, it was also released in China. Mainland China and Neon have both achieved great success, with several ticket warehouses adding up to tens of millions of dollars.
“We are more considering the ticket warehouses in Europe and the United States.” Bregman said.
Zhou Yan frowned, "If it's because of your risk assessment for this movie that you can only give us a budget of 16 million US dollars, then it's probably hard for us to continue talking. "
Brigman asked strangely, "What's the difference between the two? "
"If you just can't raise more money, I can help you."
"You help us?"
Zhou Yan nodded, "Well, I can invest some money for you. ."
Bregman was stunned for a moment, "You mean, you want to invest in this remake of the movie?"
Zhou Yan shrugged, "I didn't say enough. Do you understand? ”
Bregman pondered for a moment, "Then how much money can you invest?"
"Four million U.S. dollars, I can help you raise 20 million, or if you want to reduce your risk, I can do that too. Invest more, but if I take more risks, I will naturally need more dividends."
Hearing what Zhou Yan said, Bregman was very surprised. He found that he still knew too little about Y. , Y was able to come up with four million US dollars without blinking an eye.
Four million US dollars, let alone in China, even in the United States, is a lot of money.
As far as Bregman knows, the budget for a movie made in mainland China is usually between 1 million and 5 million yuan. If it exceeds 10 million yuan, it is already a big production. .
"If you are willing to invest, of course we can talk."
No matter what Zhou Yan's situation is, Bregman will not reject any investor at will.
As a producer, making money is a very important skill. The most important job he has to do every day is making money.
With a reliable financial backer dad, his production career will be able to go further.
If Zhou Yan can really invest more than four million US dollars in them, then the plan for "The Sixth Sense" will be easily launched, and with Zhou Yan's participation, those who want to win "The Sixth Sense" There is basically no suspense about the remake rights.
However, it seems that Zhou Yan is very confident in the remake of "The Sixth Sense".
Zhou Yan looked at his watch and said, "Well, you'll come over again at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and we'll talk in detail then."
Brigman nodded, it seems The investor is not Y person, there should be someone else, so this is reasonable.
"Then we'll see you tomorrow."
"Well, see you tomorrow."
After Bregman left, Zhou Yan called his brother Zhou Hong and told him about "The Sixth Sense".
After hearing what Zhou Yan said, Zhou Hong said in surprise, "You are really generous. You are going to invest four million US dollars in one go. So what do you mean by calling me now? Do you want to make a move from before?" Qizhi’s dividends?”
“No, I want to ask you and Brother Siqi if you want to vote together. If you are not interested, I will vote for you myself and I will not touch Qizhi. The dividends over there.”
“You have that much money?”
“Well, that’s almost enough.”
Zhou Yan received a lot of money during this period, and there was nothing to use the money in the middle, so he saved it.
“You are so capable of making money.” Zhou Hong couldn’t help but sigh.
“I have been working for several years, and I have saved so little money.”
“It’s quite a lot, so you won’t have to pay the money alone. It will come directly from Zhou’s Entertainment Come on, keep the money for yourself. If you don’t have the money, you won’t have enough confidence.”
“Brother Siqi, do you want to ask?”
"No, there's no need to involve him in everything. I'll talk to Colombia about investing in the movie. These foreign companies are very scheming, and I'm afraid you'll get caught. If you invest money, will the box office be good? It doesn’t matter if the movie does well at the box office.”
“Indeed, this is something to be careful about”
“Don’t worry, the Americans and I will. I have dealt with them a lot, and I know them quite well." Then Zhou Hong laughed again, "But I have to tell you, your business style is not very good, even if you are optimistic about a project, you can't play stud. If something unexpected happens, it will be doomed. Although doing business requires a bit of adventurous spirit, businessmen are not gamblers, so they have to leave a way out for themselves."
Zhou Yan laughed, "What does it matter? , Even if I lose all my money, I still have you, and I still have shares in Qizhi Company, so I won’t be completely doomed.”
In fact, Zhou Yan never thought of relying on Zhou Hong and Huo Siqi. Even if all the money on hand is lost, and money comes in after a while, he can get up at any time as long as he is not in debt.
Although "Mysterious Country" and "Piano Boy" are not as popular as before, they can bring him an income every major period of time.
The reason why he was able to save so much money during this period was also because the previous dividends were delayed in delivery.
In addition, many of the dividends and bonuses from "The Sixth Sense" have not been received.
It is precisely because he recovers blood quickly that he dares to bleed like this.
"You are really confident, but you should also consider starting a family. I think Xiaoxian is also good at making money. Don't end up with more money than her. If a man doesn't Women can make money, but their family status is not guaranteed.”
"Hey, you said it as if you were here. Are you married? Where is my sister-in-law?"
"You..." Zhou Hong was angry for a while, then sighed and said, "I'm in Yuhua I looked at a piece of land here and built a few houses. I will leave one for you. The house my mother left is still a bit too small and it is not convenient to travel. You don't like ostentation and enjoyment, but I can't let you. The woman will suffer with you.”
“Of course I will give you the house.”
“It’s not for free. If Mr. Zhou makes money later, I will keep it for you. Thirty million counts as money to buy a house.”
“Thirty million?” Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows, “Then I still don’t want this house.”
"No, no, I've already calculated it for you. Without your 30 million, I can't build this house."
"Aren't you buying and selling by force? Thirty million can buy it. How many houses are there?"
"Of course they are rough."
"Does that mean I still have to pay for the decoration?"
"Otherwise. , I will deduct another 10 million from you and I will help you decorate it.”
"Forget it, I'll decorate it myself." (End of Chapter)