Chapter 132 We’ve raised our prices!
Chapter 132 We’ve raised our prices!
In Fan Wumian's view, the film festival is like a carnival party for his peers.
He took Zhuang Muxi for a walk and had a look.
I found that there are many directors and investors around me who are also working hard to promote their own works. They have even designed exquisite brochures, small badges, glasses and hats with text printed on them.
There are many people who want to sell film distribution rights, and many stall owners are busy selling film scripts or looking for suitable investors.
You'll know it at a glance.
This situation is clearly a "buyer's market", and unknown new directors are particularly disadvantaged.
Every year there are always agent distributors who are able to pick up bargains in similar film trading markets, buy the distribution rights of a certain film at a low cost, and then make a fortune through channels.
The director, who has to watch the agent and distributor make money, can only silently comfort himself that he can earn some fame.
I didn't sleep well on the plane and was suffering from jet lag.
However, Fan Wumian was particularly excited.
After walking around and returning to her stall, she found that several potential customers, who seemed to be living a "low-life" life judging by their height and temperament, were busy talking to Ji Qiao.
After Ji Qiao helped introduce the two parties, she said that they were from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The leader, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, said to Fan Wumian in English:
"I don't know why, but it seems that you are very confident in your work. I attend the three major European film festivals every year, and I have never seen Hong Kong movies priced so high in this market."
"We have also set up an overseas office in Hong Kong. As far as I know, the investment cost of this film is only about 100 million US dollars, and it seems that it has been less than a month since the announcement of the start of filming. It is actually a science fiction film. What kind of bad movie can be made."
"According to the share ratio you requested, if the box office reaches 2 million US dollars, wouldn't that mean you dare to ask for 10% of the box office dividends?"
The other party had the word "look down on" written all over their faces.
Fan Wumian put his hands in his pockets and shook his head:
"No, look at this line of ellipsis. In fact, the box office revenue of $1 million is 8000%, which is roughly equivalent to 10% of the total box office revenue. There is no direct correlation between the shooting time and the quality of the work. Sylvester Stallone shot Rocky in just 5 days, and Phone Booth and The Blair Witch Project took even less time."
There was a short-haired woman who was in charge of carrying bags. She looked ordinary and had obvious bow legs. She helped her boss to speak:
"You know nothing about the market, right? You will never be able to sell it at this price!"
Fan Wumian replied casually:
"If I can't sell it, I'll burn it. Even if I throw it into the sea or into the trash, I won't sell it cheaply anyway."
With the idea that he could hold on to the movie for a few years and treat it as an investment and financial product, he was indeed not in a hurry at all.
It is obvious that he is fishing with a straight hook like Jiang Taigong, and those who are willing will take the bait.
Given the awkward position of Chinese-language films in the international market today, as long as he shows an eagerness to sell, these distributors might dare to bargain for a third of the price, and he can just forget about getting any box office dividends that could bring in higher returns.
Done.
Fan Wumian added:
"Whether a movie is good or not, you still have to watch it first to know, otherwise no matter how much you say, it will be useless. Chinese-language movies used to be cheap because I hadn't entered the industry yet. If you choose to look down on me because of my age and miss this good movie, you will be scolded by your boss in the future."
The middle-aged leader smiled and replied, "Don't worry, that will never happen!"
Seeing such a powerful potential buyer, the boss broke down the negotiation with him in just a few words, and he left without even taking the movie ticket.
Ji Qiao felt a little tired and said:
"The overseas distribution rights for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers were both bought by Sony, while Hero was sold to Miramax."
I learned about the situation in advance.
Since the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the overseas distribution rights of several mainland commercial blockbusters have risen in value.
The global overseas distribution rights for "Hero" are said to have sold for US$2100 million, and "House of Flying Daggers" is said to have sold for HK$1 million.
Fan Wumian thought that the price of 350 million US dollars was not too high. He mainly wanted to make some money from the box office dividends, so he said:
"You are sick. You didn't even watch the movie, but you said I made a bad movie. What's the difference between this and pointing at my nose and scolding me?"
Looking at his poster again, Fan Wumian suddenly thought of something and said to Ji Qiao:
"Please ask around. Are those distributors who prefer to pay full price for overseas copyrights instead of sharing box office profits because they can avoid taxes? If so, I'm afraid I'll have to change my posters."
Recently, in order to transfer the money in the company account to his personal account at the lowest tax rate, Fan Wumian has also asked an accounting firm to help find a solution.
Because according to Hong Kong's tax laws, individuals who make money from stock trading do not need to pay additional income tax.
He thought about movies like "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers", all of which had their copyrights bought out directly by overseas distributors. He guessed that there might be some rules that he was not clear about. After much thought, the most likely possibility was that it involved tax issues.
As soon as Ji Qiao left the stall, more reporters came over.
Interview Fan Wumian in person, asking him how he felt, whether he had confidence, and about the preview arrangements for "A Quiet Place".
This year's Berlin Film Festival lasts for a total of 10 days, with the first 7 days being competition days. The judges will select popular and high-quality films, add them to the main competition unit, and select the works that ultimately win the grand prize.
Fan Wumian arrived late and was delayed for some time. He would have to wait until tomorrow to start the preview of "A Quiet Place".
Since some good movies have already emerged, and A Quiet Place is similar to early silent films, he really didn't dare to expect to win an award. When answering reporters' questions, he seemed very modest and optimistic, and only said that he came here to learn and communicate. Ji Qiao went out for a walk.
After returning, he said to Fan Wumian:
"I heard from an American that Hollywood agents and distributors can really reduce taxes by paying full price for movies. They seem to purchase movie distribution rights through bank loans, and then use profits to repay the loans, which can reasonably delay tax payment."
"An employee of Formosa Films told me that you can't trust Hollywood accounts."
"Even if the movie makes money, they still make a loss, and sometimes even the director and actors don't get any box office dividends."
"."
Fan Wumian realized it later and remembered the Hollywood movie "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The total production and distribution cost was $5500 million and the box office grossed $9.1 million, but in 20th Century Fox's account books, the film still lost $5100 million in the end.
Staring at the poster behind him, Fan Wumian touched his chin and said:
"Take it down and replace it with a new poster with full copyright for overseas distribution, priced at $2000 million."
Agent Jiang Shixi was stunned.
He stared at Fan Wumian with wide eyes for a while before saying:
"We haven't even found a real potential buyer yet, and not only has the price not dropped, it's actually increased so much!?"
Fan Wumian said in a firm tone:
"It's worth so much money. With a purchase price of $2000 million, the distributors can earn back their costs with just $4000 million at the box office, and the rest will be a profit for half of the box office."
"I originally wanted to lower their entry price, expand the potential buyer group, and make some money from box office dividends later."
"Since the box office profit-sharing system doesn't work, it's better to just do a one-time deal. Besides, no one will care if the price is lowered, but if the price is raised so much, it will definitely attract a lot of attention, which is equivalent to advertising."
Fan Wumian’s real psychological price has always been around 1000 million US dollars.
The reason for calling out a sky-high price of $2000 million is mainly to stand out among hundreds of films and to leave enough room for negotiation with agent distributors.
What the public intellectuals say, "Europeans and Americans don't like to bargain," is pure nonsense. Anyone who believes it is a fool.
Zhuang Muxi knows the true cost of "A Quiet Place".
After listening to what Fan Wumian said, he was also shocked. His expression was similar to that of a stunned little white rabbit, and his big eyes kept blinking.
She doesn't think her box office appeal can compare with that of world-famous actresses like Sophie Marceau.
As the assistant director, Lu Hao very much agreed with Fan Wumian's decision.
He has always felt that "A Quiet Place" is much more likely to win the hearts of overseas audiences than films with a strong Chinese style such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers", and is even more attractive than many Hollywood routine commercial blockbusters.
Since the quality is not bad, of course we have to set a high price
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Fan Wumian was determined to change the price, and Ji Qiao and Jiang Shixi had no choice.
After removing the original poster, a new poster was designed, still with black text on a yellow background.
More than an hour passed.
A new poster was put up, which read
——"A Quiet Place"
We've increased our prices!
The overseas full copyright distribution rights, except for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and China, are priced at 2000 million US dollars!
This year's biggest box office dark horse! You will regret it forever if you miss it. Welcome to the preview! "
As soon as this poster, which was translated into multiple languages, came out, the entire film trading market exploded instantly, attracting many colleagues, reporters and representatives of agent distributors.
Seeing that the hundreds of reserved movie tickets were quickly sent out, agent Jiang Shixi hurriedly contacted the cinema, hoping to increase the number of preview screenings.
Ji Qiao also asked Lu Hao to help take photos, saying that she wanted to send a press release to the mainland media and take the opportunity to publicize it.
He can even shoot movies. Lu Hao's photography skills are also very good.
Although there are always some people who like to show off at the Berlin International Film Festival every year, there are not many directors who are as good at causing trouble as Fan Wumian.
The selling price of the work was directly raised from US$350 million to US$2000 million, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire trade fair.
People generally think that he is either crazy or he has made some really great works, so he is so confident.
I contacted several cinemas, but they couldn't find showtimes that day.
Have a night's rest.
As soon as he got up the next day, Fan Wumian received the news.
It was said that the film festival committee arranged for someone to take away 20 reserved movie tickets from Ji Qiao.
The Daily Mirror and the Süddeutsche Zeitung also published news about A Quiet Place and its crazy price increase.
(End of this chapter)