Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

On Friday morning the next day, Lin Baicheng went to Morning Star Pictures.

"Chairman!" "Good morning, Chairman!".

This is not the first time Lin Baicheng has come here. The employees greeted him one after another when they saw him.

Even new employees who have just joined the company in the past few months will be asked to remember the appearance of the big boss and have seen Lin Baicheng's photo, so he will not be blocked at the door or blocked by security guards when the big boss comes to his company. It's just that the employees don't know him.

"Yeah!" "Good morning!"

Lin Baicheng greeted him all the way into the elevator. The person who originally entered the elevator had already walked out, and he was not polite when he saw it.

Lin Baicheng brought his personal secretary and bodyguard to the executive office floor.

"Chairman!"

When Lin Baicheng came to the door of the office, the secretary he arranged to work at Morning Star Pictures immediately said hello after seeing him.

"Call Lansing over."

Lin Baicheng said to her and walked into the office.

The two bodyguards followed him into the office and took a look before walking out. Catherine, the personal secretary, was working in the secretarial room outside.

Soon after, Shirley Lansing arrived.

Catherine then came in with two cups of coffee and went out.

"How are the negotiations going on with the Home Alone creative team's contract?"

Lin Baicheng asked aloud. The first movie was a hit, so a sequel will definitely be made. He will not be troubled by money. However, as previously feared, the entire creative team is demanding a salary increase. Morningstar Pictures will naturally have to negotiate with the creative team. It is impossible to give them as much as they ask for.

"Now it's up to Cameron, and the company is still negotiating with his agent, Michael Ovitz."

Shirley Lansing went on to say: "Cameron Atlanta joined the CAA agency. CAA was established in 1975. Its founder was Cameron's agent Michael Ovitz. Ovitz Although the salary offered by Ovitz is relatively high, it is still within a reasonable range, but the lower the salary offered by Cameron, the better, so the company is still negotiating with Ovitz."

Lin Baicheng nodded: "So, how much will the cost of this shooting be?"

"The estimated shooting cost is US$45 million, mainly due to the substantial increase in the salary of the creative team. However, the company is negotiating with some companies for advertising placement. Based on the box office of the first Home Alone film, the advertising placement for the next two films will be recovered. $5 million is still fine."

This time, the second and third parts of Home Alone were filmed together, so the production cost was so high.

Of the US$45 million production cost, the total salary of the actors, directors and behind-the-scenes team alone is about US$15 million, and one-third of the salary for the third part will be paid after the release of the third part, which is not included in this calculation. of $15 million.

What’s more, the main actors and directors also share the U.S. box office profits in the third film, but fortunately the base is not large.

Lin Baicheng reminded aloud: "The placement of advertisements must be appropriate. Don't have too many product placements that will affect the movie itself."

"You can rest assured that the producer and director will do a good job in reviewing it." Shirley Lansing nodded to express her understanding.

Lin Baicheng added: "For implanted advertisements, don't forget your own company's products, such as Xingyue console, Rubik's cube, yo-yo, claw machine, etc., they can all appear appropriately in the movie. By the way, the companies where these toys are located , have you taken the initiative to contact Morningstar Pictures?"

Shirley Lansing nodded and said: "Yes, these companies have contacted the company, and related products will appear in the movie."

"That's pretty much it."

Lin Baicheng was slightly satisfied after hearing this. It should be that he, the big boss, did not think about many things but his subordinates thought of them, rather than him, the big boss, urging his subordinates to do what they should do. If that were the case, how could he be so busy on his own, and what else would he do with such a useless manager?

"All advertisements placed by the company will be charged, which is nothing more than a discounted price. I have already said this, so I believe you don't need to remind me repeatedly."

Shirley Lansing said immediately: "Chairman, please rest assured that the company and other enterprises are cooperating in accordance with normal business dealings."

The reason for doing this is because some companies are 100% owned by Lin Baicheng, and some companies only hold part of the shares, and there are running accounts of revenue and expenditure between companies so that there will be no problems.

Furthermore, the revenue and profit of each company is also related to the dividends and bonuses of executives and employees. These are very important to employees. If they are not calculated clearly, they will dampen the enthusiasm of employees.

To be more realistic, even if it is a brother company, if there is no benefit every time you help, then the company will be demotivated from top to bottom, so the efficiency of work can be imagined.

This is not only true for Morningstar Pictures and other companies, but also for every company under Lin Baicheng's name. Even the capital transactions between subsidiaries within the group are carried out in accordance with normal business cooperation. It is nothing more than what your own company will do. Just give me a discounted price.

"If the company's funds are not enough, we will take out a loan. You make a report and I will sign it."

The reason why Lin Baicheng said this is because this time the second and third parts of Home Alone are no longer solely owned by him, but jointly invested by him and Morning Star Pictures. The investment ratio is 30:70, and Lin Baicheng only needs to invest 30% Funds are enough, but in terms of profit distribution, it is an even distribution of 50-50, which is considered a more beneficial cooperation method for Lin Baicheng.

However, after this cooperation, all the copyrights of Home Alone will automatically belong to Morningstar Pictures. Therefore, as long as the second and third parts of Home Alone continue to sell well, Morningstar Pictures will not only not lose money, but also make a profit.

The rights to a blockbuster movie series are very valuable. Not only can they continue to make sequels, but they can also make money through video tapes and other various licensing.

In the long run, in the future era of DVDs and Internet video websites, copyrights can be used to continue to make money.

Lin Baicheng only invested US$50 million in Morningstar Pictures. With this money, he acquired three film companies, established distribution channels, and invested in film production. Last year, he even invested in the subsidiary Blockbuster, so the expenditure was huge.

Although the company's profits are positive, and the movies it invests in are generally profitable, and the distribution of Home Alone is a huge profit, the film industry does not pay back so quickly, and Morningstar Pictures simply cannot afford more than 30 million now. Dollar.

Even if the more than 30 million US dollars does not need to be spent immediately at once, the crew will have to spend at least more than 10 million US dollars in the early stage after they decide to start filming. Actors have to pay part of their remuneration up front, and they also need to spend money on advance preparations for filming.

Shirley Lansing said: "Chairman, if you don't say anything, I will mention this to you in a while. The company will probably need a loan. If the company needs a loan, I will apply to you. of."

"Just make sure you know what's going on."

Lin Baicheng nodded when he heard this, and then asked: "How is the recent development of Blockbuster?"

"We have started to get on the right track, and many stores are already making profits."

Shirley Lansing replied and took the initiative: "Currently, Blockbuster's stores have basically covered Los Angeles and New York. Next, Blockbuster will expand to other cities in California, taking the form of flagship stores and franchisees. Form management.”

Morningstar Pictures invested $10 million in Blockbuster, which is why the parent company is not flush with cash.

"Chairman, according to what you said, the flagship store will be purchased and operated by itself. Therefore, Blockbuster's investment is relatively large. The company's investment of 10 million US dollars has only about 1 million US dollars left. This is because the payment for the video tape can be deferred. Pay, otherwise Blockbuster will run out of funds."

"Blockbuster's business model requires too much capital, and Morningstar Pictures simply cannot support it. Once Blockbuster begins to expand to other cities in California, it will inevitably require a large amount of capital, not to mention subsequent expansion across the United States. ”

Shirley Lansing talked about the difficulties. In fact, she was not in favor of the business model of owning a flagship store and buying a store. She thought it was better to rent a store, which would not require too much capital and the company could expand more quickly.

However, Lin Baicheng was the big boss and he insisted on it. After the persuasion failed, Shirley Lansing had no other choice but to execute it.

"Morningstar Pictures should stop investing in Blockbuster."

After hearing this, Lin Baicheng thought for a while and said, "Since Blockbuster doesn't have much money now, let Blockbuster do the financing. I will find a partner for Blockbuster."

That's true, but Lin Baicheng will not find investors for Blockbuster for the time being. Instead, he will invest money himself, but it will no longer be financing in his own name, but overseas offshore companies and funds. In this way, he My true shareholding ratio can be hidden.

The amount of financing this time will not be too large. The funds raised are almost enough for Blockbuster to expand its stores to the entire state of California. If it lacks money later, it will really need to find venture capital or Wall Street financing.

Blockbuster is definitely going to be listed, so cooperation with Wall Street capital is a must. Cooperating with Wall Street capital before going public can bring more benefits to Wall Street capital, so that Wall Street capital will be more interested in Blockbuster. Instead of choosing to invest in other small companies of the same type after seeing Blockbuster's good development.

Although Blockbuster has no competitors yet, Lin Baicheng is sure that once Blockbuster covers California, there will definitely be companies that follow suit. Even before Blockbuster covers the entire state, there will be competitors.

In any industry that makes money, there will be no shortage of followers.

Make money, business, not shabby!

"Yes, I will notify Manager Kilman in advance."

The Kilman manager Shirley Lansing refers to is Blockbuster manager Errol Kilman.

As for Shirley Lansing herself, she is now the president of Morningstar Pictures, which is a promotion in disguise.

Although presidents and managers are essentially the same, they are somewhat different.

There are dozens of people in a company, and when there are not many departments, the department leaders are usually called supervisors, and the top leader is the manager; but once the company develops and grows, the number of people gradually increases, and a department is divided into several small departments, then the department is The leader's title becomes manager, and the top leader becomes general manager.

When an enterprise develops to the point where it establishes a subsidiary company, because the subsidiary company also has the relationship of general manager, the title of the top leader of the parent company becomes president.

"It's up to you."

Lin Baicheng was about to end the conversation when he suddenly remembered: "At United Artists Film Company, I asked someone to check to see if there is a movie with the word 'Paradise' in it. "

The reason why Lin Baicheng asked this was because he knew that United Artists went bankrupt because of a movie when it just entered the 1980s, and was eventually acquired by MGM.

As for the movie that bankrupted United Artists, he only remembered the word "heaven", which meant sending United Artists to heaven, otherwise he might not have remembered it.

The main reason for asking about this matter was that Lin Baicheng wanted to know the specific time when Lian Mei went bankrupt, and then made an acquisition of Lian Mei. Although United Artists is not comparable to the other seven, it has been established for more than 60 years. The company's film library must have a lot of film copyrights. After the acquisition, it can supplement the shortcomings of Morningstar Pictures.

"Chairman, you are talking about the Gate of Heaven."

Shirley Lansing said immediately after hearing this.

"Tell me briefly, especially the production cost of this film, do you know?"

Lin Baicheng was moved when he heard this. Whether it is this movie or not, you will know by looking at its production cost.

"Know."

Shirley Lansing nodded and said: "Heaven's Gate was directed by Michael Cimino, the winner of the 51st Academy Award for Best Director last year. Last year, United Artists spent a huge amount of money to film it. It is said that the external investment was as high as 40 million. A large-scale production worth US$40 million. However, although United Artists advertised an investment of US$40 million, the real investment may not be that much, but US$30 million is definitely there. Only United Artists insiders know the specific figure."

"Take a middle number and calculate it to be US$35 million. This investment is indeed not low."

Lin Baicheng couldn't help but nodded slightly. He knew that this movie should have made United Artists bankrupt. This is a big investment. The production cost of one film is almost as much as two Home Alone sequels, and this is Home Alone after the main creative team's salary has increased significantly.

When filming the first film, the production cost of Home Alone was only US$8 million. Heaven's Gate can be worth the cost of four Home Alone films, which is not a big production.

"The movies shot last year should be completed this year, and will be released either this year or next year. Lansing, please remember to pay attention to the movie Heaven's Gate. When it is released, remember to tell me."

If you want to acquire United Artists, you must wait until United Artists goes bankrupt before taking action. Also, Lin Baicheng did not have to acquire United Artists. If United Artists was willing to give up most of its shares or sell its film library, he could accept it. Anyway, he only acquired United Artists for its film library.

"Okay, Chairman."

Shirley Lansing couldn't help but be a little confused when she heard this. She couldn't figure out why Lin Baicheng paid attention to the movie Heaven's Gate produced by United Artists.

Lin Baicheng didn't explain. There was no need to say too much now.

Afterwards, the two talked about the company's script library and distribution channels. After chatting for more than an hour, Lin Baicheng asked Shirley Lansing to leave.

Lin Baicheng did not leave the company immediately, but stayed at Morningstar Pictures to work.