The Best Entertainment Era

Golf, a sport that can make people have infinite associations, used to be used as a joke on the Internet. It is said that a ball is worth tens of millions.

The putter swayed lightly, and the white ball passed through the neatly trimmed grass on the lawn and rolled out of the hole. It was only three feet away from the hole, but now it ran five feet away.

Ronan, you still need to practice more!

The speaker had a dark face and a pair of conspicuous protruding ears, giving him a naturally pleasing appearance.

Ronan straightened up, looked at the white ball rolling away with some disappointment, and said, Will, I'm a novice.

Will Smith came over with the cue and said, Shall I demonstrate it for you?

Ronan shrugged slightly and said, I'll do it myself.

Will Smith was called by Tom Cruise. According to Tom Cruise, Will Smith and his wife are the key development targets of Scientology and have participated in several Scientology activities.

It's farther away now. Will Smith spoke quickly. Unlike comedians who are serious guys in reality, this person is full of joy in life: I bet ten dollars that you can't make it with this shot. into the hole.

Ronan and Will Smith just met today, so they are not very familiar. They just shook their heads. Why did Will Smith's last sentence sound weird?

Is it that this provocative ear is not serious, or am I not serious?

Ronan put himself in a good position, swung the putter lightly, and the ball rolled out, but this time it still didn't go into the hole.

No way, the level of novices is limited.

The little Anderson played golf before, but his level was just that. The former Ronan also played golf, but only once or twice, and his level was just a little better than that of a pure novice.

Ronan shook his head and sighed, why can other people enter two holes at once? Not only is the technique superb, but people can't get it out after entering. Sure enough, there is a big gap in level.

Novices need to practice more, and buy more golf balls later.

It's better for you, Will. Ronan handed the cue to the caddy next to him.

Will Smith is also welcome, put in a good posture, putt into the hole easily, as expected of a veteran.

Just practice more. Will Smith took out the golf ball from the hole and encouraged him: Practice for a while, with such a short distance, it's easy to hit the hole with one stroke.

Ronan nodded: I'll practice it later.

Practice in a more advanced way, the kind that asks the doctor to pick the ball and repair the hole after the practice...

A battery car drove over at this time, and Tom Cruise and Jeff Katzenberg were sitting in the car. Tom Cruise rushed over and said, Have you finished playing this hole?

Ronan waved: It's over.

Will Smith shook a pair of protruding ears and said, I helped Ronan complete the last shot.

Get in the car. Tom Cruise greeted the two.

Ronan and Will Smith got into another battery car, pulled by the driver, and followed Tom Cruise and Jeff Katzenberg in front.

Have you known Tom for a long time? Will Smith asked

Ronan replied: It's been more than a year,

We hit it off and quickly became friends.

Will Smith turned his head and looked at Ronan a few more times, guessing that this guy is also a member of Scientology?

The battery car entered the stadium rest area. Tom Cruise and Will Smith seemed to be regular customers here, and the few people they met took the initiative to say hello to them.

There were not many people in the rest area, and when they came to a place where there was no one, Tom Cruise called Will Smith over: Let's talk about the next activity of the church?

Will Smith has participated in several activities of Scientology, and he does not reject this, saying: Okay.

The two found a random place to discuss how to follow Scientology to conquer the stars and the sea in the future.

Mr. Katzenberg. Ronan shook hands with Jeff Katzenberg: We meet again.

After shaking hands with Ronan, Katzenberg looked at him and asked directly, You asked Tom to ask me out?

Some time ago, he and Spielberg entrusted Tom Cruise to ask Ronan out, and now Ronan asked Tom Cruise to help him out.

Ronan didn't need to deny it, and said, It's Tom I specially asked for.

Katzenberg pressed his shiny forehead and said, You have something to do with me? Have you changed your mind? Are you going to cooperate with DreamWorks?

Besides, he couldn't think of what Ronan would ask him to do.

Ronan said very seriously: I want to cooperate with DreamWorks Animation Studio and cooperate with you.

Cooperate with me? Katzenberg frowned. How do you want to cooperate with me?

Having said that, he thought of the embassy film industry, and he had some guesses in his heart.

Ronan said calmly: Mr. Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation Studio has released animated feature films every year in recent years. Last year's Prince of Egypt and this year's City of Gold, the former was produced by 20 The overseas distribution of Century Fox, the latter is the distribution of Universal Pictures in markets outside North America, and DreamWorks Animation Studio lacks a long-term stable overseas distributor.

Katzenberg stared at Ronan with burning eyes, and said, Your Embassy Pictures wants to distribute movies overseas for DreamWorks Animation?

Exactly. Ronan originally had this purpose: I heard that DreamWorks has several animated feature films that are negotiating with other companies for overseas distribution.

, your negotiations with Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures are not going well, why don't you consider Embassy Pictures?

During this week, Connie and others collected a large amount of information about DreamWorks Animation Studios and Jeff Katzenberg. Although they were all widely circulated news, Ronan still analyzed a lot of useful information from them. information.

Katzenberg suddenly smiled and said, If I remember correctly, Embassy Pictures has only discovered the film Purge 2 overseas so far.

Ronan must be confident: But this small production with a production cost of only 1 million US dollars has already received 40 million US dollars at the box office through the overseas distribution channels of the Embassy Pictures.

The biggest problem for Embassy Pictures is that the overseas distribution network has just been established, and only one film has been released. If there are three or four films that are successfully distributed overseas, maybe Jeff Katzenberg will take the initiative to talk to him about the work of DreamWorks Animation Overseas distribution of the office.

The overseas box office has already reached 40 million US dollars? Katzenberg was a little tempted.

How good would it be if these overseas distribution networks belonged to DreamWorks? Many of the problems DreamWorks faced could be resolved.

It happens to belong to a small company.

Ronan said: It must not be difficult to find out. After this weekend, this number will continue to increase. Mr. Katzenberg, you are an old man in the industry, and you know better than me that animation movies have far more audiences than horror movies. Thriller, if Embassy Pictures were to operate on the same scale to release an animated feature film, the results may be even better than this.”

Katzenberg shook his head: Ronan, you are changing the concept secretly.

Ronan didn't feel the slightest embarrassment of being exposed, and said with a smile: Mr. Katzenberg, I'm just offering you a choice. Cooperation is about win-win. It's your preference. If you think six Big companies are better suited to distributing DreamWorks Animation titles, and Embassy Pictures is willing to wait.

He glanced at Katzenberg and continued: DreamWorks Animation Studio has produced four animated feature films so far, and each of them has changed overseas distributors. Why? The attitude of the six major companies towards DreamWorks is the same as everyone in Hollywood. I know. But why does DreamWorks Animation Studio let its competitors distribute movies for itself? Because apart from the six major companies and their subordinate distribution labels, there is no more suitable choice in Hollywood.”

Katzenberg asked Ronan: Is your Embassy Pictures the right choice for DreamWorks Animation?

Of course Ronan will not be modest at this time: At least it is more suitable for DreamWorks Animation Studio than the six major companies. Embassy Pictures and its parent company Relativity Entertainment are not as powerful as DreamWorks. There is no competition between the two parties. Embassy Pictures Its overseas distribution network is simple and clear, not as complicated as the six major companies, which is conducive to the supervision of the producer, and the embassy film industry does not have such a bloated organization and personnel, and the distribution cost of the same scale is much lower, and the relevant distribution is proportional Naturally, it will also decrease.

Katzenberg asked with concern: How much lower can it be?

The conditions of the six major companies are too harsh, otherwise he would not have repeatedly changed overseas publishers, and those people have absorbed more than half of overseas income.

Ronan has learned about the overseas distribution of several animated feature films of DreamWorks Animation Studio, and said: Online takes 40%, and offline home entertainment channels represented by discs and TV station copyright income take 40%. Thirty-five percent, 40% for derivative products, and there is no need to calculate the promotional expenses separately.

Katzenberg is obviously thinking that this is much better than the distribution conditions of the six major companies, but he also has doubts: Ronan, animated films are not only about online distribution capabilities.

I know, there is still offline distribution capabilities. Ronan said: The embassy pictures obtained the distribution network of Polygram Pictures back then, which was established on the basis of record distribution, with everything online and offline! From the beginning of this year to now, I have invested heavily to further develop channels, and now the overseas distribution network of Embassy Pictures is only stronger than that of Polygram Pictures in its heyday.

He knew what Katzenberg was worried about, and he also knew what Katzenberg was constantly switching between the six major companies: Don't you still have illusions about the six major companies? DreamWorks Animation Studio has produced Four animated feature films, four overseas distributors, Universal Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., they have all cooperated with you, and you know the harsh distribution conditions better than me. The remaining Sony Columbia, itself, has not distributed Hollywood feature films overseas, and Disney...

Hearing the name Disney, Jeff Katzenberg's face changed slightly for a moment.

Ronan keenly caught it and said, When it comes to releasing animated feature films, no company in the world can compare to Disney. Mr. Katzenberg, do you think you will cooperate with Disney?

Katzenberg has returned to normal, and said calmly: Disney, huh...

Ronan knew very well that as long as Katzenberg was still in charge of DreamWorks Animation Studio, even if the film rotted in his hands, he would not hand it over to Disney for distribution.

Who in Hollywood knows that the head of Disney Animation Studios, Jeff Katzenberg, who created the great success of The Lion King and pushed Disney Animation to the highest peak in history, at the most glorious moment in his life, was captured by Walt Disney swept the house.

In the field of animated film production, Jeff Katzenberg achieved great success, but in the internal power struggle of Disney, he was a complete loser.

The man who beat him was Michael Eisner, who turned Disney from a studio into a giant media company.

How many people have lost a power struggle with Michael Eisner? Michael Ovitz, Roy Disney, Cook Dee

Dick, Jeff Katzenberg...

Since leaving Walt Disney, Jeff Katzenberg's biggest wish is to step on Disney animation in the field of animation film production.

In the previous life, Jeff Katzenberg did this very quickly. Disney Animation Studios was in a slump after Tarzan, but unfortunately for Jeff Katzenberg, in the years after the new millennium, Disney The animation production couldn't compete with DreamWorks Animation Studio, but they directly got a group of hookers.

Walt Disney directly acquired Pixar Studios, and threw away the face, so that the Five Tigers of Pixar Studios will fully enter the field of Disney animation production, thus bringing revolutionary changes to Disney animation films, and Disney quickly regained animation The location of the movie boss.

It has gradually become the norm for many Oscar judges to dub Katzenberg's films when they are the voice actors of DreamWorks Animation Studios' feature films, but to vote for the feature films of Disney's Pixar Studios.

For Jeff Katzenberg, who wanted revenge on Disney, the greatest sorrow was the encounter with the gang of Pixar studios.

Let's put it this way, Ronan. Katzenberg said, I don't like the Big Six companies, especially after working with them a few times. Relying on their upstream position in the industry chain, they can't wait to spend all the overseas income of a film. Put it in your pocket.

If there is a better choice, DreamWorks Animation Studio will not continue to contact Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures before, and the overseas income of the lower-investment Shrek and the higher-investment Little Pony King extremely critical.

Katzenberg sighed lightly. Embassy Pictures is a distribution company. Even if they do not cooperate, it is necessary to handle the relationship well. He said: I don't doubt the online distribution capabilities of Embassy Pictures. Human Purge 2 The overseas box office is gratifying. But for animated films, offline income, especially derivative income, is the most important.

Now that Ronan came here, he was of course prepared, and said: Mr. Katzenberg, I'm sorry to ask you one thing. Except for Disney, the other five major companies have produced animations that have spread widely. Is it a feature film?

Katzenberg thought for a while, then shook his head and said, No. In fact, the other five companies have only really started the animated feature film business in recent years.

We don't talk about Disney. Ronan first excluded Disney: The other companies are just starting the animation film business. The so-called offline distribution channels, especially overseas offline distribution channels, are still mainly based on authorization. They simply don’t have the complete offline distribution channels of animated films like Disney, they don’t have peripheral distribution channels, they don’t have close cooperation with toy doll manufacturers, they don’t have terminal sales outlets like Disney Town and Disney Stores, and overseas offline Distribution is nothing more than a simple and extensive authorization.

He raised his voice slightly: Like the TV stations and home entertainment channels they have access to, Embassy Pictures can also access it.

Ronan waved to the side, and Connie who came along immediately brought a briefcase, he opened the briefcase, and handed a thick stack of copies to Jeff Katzenberg: This is the embassy film company's You can take a look at the list of contracted agents around the world and the photocopies of the contract headers.

With Katzenberg's professional ability, the authenticity of these things can be distinguished with a few glances.

After receiving it, Katzenberg flipped through it, and the flipping speed was quite fast. When he turned to the second half, he couldn't help saying: The distribution network of Polygram Pictures was so sound back then!

Ronan sighed: They have great ambitions, but it's a British company.

Your overseas distribution network is stronger than I imagined. Katzenberg had to admit this: Except for derivatives.

Derivatives, toys, dolls, dolls, figures, etc., animation movies are extremely profitable in this regard.

A lot of revenue will be lost in the way of authorization alone.

Luo Nan is very aware of this, and has also considered it: We adopt the sales model of DVD discs, entrust a third-party agent to produce, and then sign a contract with the terminal distributor to distribute the goods. And I can find a suitable manufacturer, and the quality is guaranteed. Guarantee, the cost is only one-fifth of that in North America.”

Possibly even less, but leave room for that kind of talk.

The latter statement immediately moved Katzenberg, who asked, Where is the manufacturer?

Ronan didn't answer.

Katzenberg then thought of a place, and the expression on his face turned into confusion: It can't be Indians, right? Some of Disney's products are processed by Indian agents, and the quality is a bit poor. Last month, the customs also complained that the bacteria exceeded the standard. And fillings are not up to standard, and a large number of them have been detained.”

Not Indian. Ronan worked in the film industry in his previous life, and has been in contact with the derivatives industry: In terms of export products, these agents are trustworthy, low-cost, and high-quality. I can guarantee this.

It used to be all too common for export standards to be generally stricter than domestic standards.

In this era, Hollywood has not really cooperated with them on similar movie products, but there is no need to worry that the manufacturers there have not contacted them. Many toy and doll manufacturers may have been in the business of producing Hollywood animation products for several years.

For example, acting as an agent to process these small commodities can only be said to be trivial to the industries in some areas over there.

In another five or six years, some passengers who come to California Disneyland or Orlando Disney World will spend many dollars to buy a lot of things, which are very likely to be exported to domestic sales.

Katzenberg didn't ask again, knowing that it was a commercial secret, and he wouldn't tell Ronan if he asked.

Ronan

, you gave me a problem. Katzenberg didn't hide his excitement, he sighed a long time, and said, How should I choose between the six major companies and your Embassy Pictures?

He wasn't asking Ronan this question, he was asking himself more.

If you choose to continue to cooperate with the six major companies, the overseas distribution may be more stable, but the bulk of the income will be taken away by the issuer.

Choosing a new company like Embassy Pictures is bound to be accompanied by certain risks, but DreamWorks Animation Studios may reap more benefits.

Katzenberg can only sigh inwardly. Benefits and risks always go hand in hand.

Ronan said slowly: Unless you choose to cooperate with Disney, other companies are not much different from Embassy Pictures.

For the other five big companies, it didn't take long to really start the animated feature film business.

The decision was difficult, and Katzenberg had no intention of making it immediately.

Mr. Katzenberg, I have a suggestion.

Having said that, Ronan revealed the real key in a timely manner: As far as I know, DreamWorks Animation Studio now has two animated feature films facing distribution problems. One is Shrek with a production cost of 10 million US dollars. , and the second is The Little Pony King with a cost of 80 million U.S. dollars.

These are all public information, and Katzenberg admitted with a nod: These two films were originally planned to be released in the first half of next year, and the other in the second half of the year, and now...

Ronan continued what he said just now: Dreamworks Animation Studio might as well hand over Shrek, which has a lower production cost, to Embassy Pictures for overseas distribution, and My Little Pony King will continue to cooperate with the six major companies. The film can still be guaranteed by the distribution of the six major companies. When the time comes to compare the results of these two animation films, the effect will be clear at a glance.

Katzenberg thought about it. This is also a way. The two films Shrek and Little Pony King were launched almost at the same time. embodied.

Ronan asked, Is Shrek finished?

It's mostly done, says Katzenberg. The rest is just music and voice work.

Ronan asked again: If we cooperate, can I watch this film in advance? After all, it is related to overseas distribution.

Katzenberg felt his head was a little confused, and said, Ronan, let me think about it carefully.

No problem. Ronan said with a smile: I hope to get good news.

The two shook hands and said goodbye. Jeff Katzenberg didn't go to play golf anymore and left the golf club first. Ronan didn't stay long and said hello to Tom Cruise and Will Smith. Also out of the clubhouse.

For the films of DreamWorks' live-action film department, it is best to get the overseas distribution rights of several key films. If they can't get them, Ronan will not force them.

However, if the overseas distribution rights of DreamWorks Animation Studio can be obtained, there will be more room for operation in the future.