Chapter 273 Sit down and talk, project starts

Chapter 273 Sit down and talk, project starts

Chapter 273 Sit down and talk, project starts

Regarding the matter of Universal Studios Shanghai, we finally reached the point where we had to sit down and talk.

When Universal's executives hurriedly landed in China, things became complicated.

For the leaders of Shangjing City, Universal Company, which had been talking with them for a long time and had stronger strength, was naturally the best candidate for cooperation.

However, the orders from above made them helpless. How could the arm twist the thigh? Preventing cultural invasion is a red line. These officials are all shrewd and who dares to take this responsibility?

However, Universal Studios refused to make any concessions, or made very few concessions, so the relevant leaders of the Shangjing Municipal Government had no choice but to find other ways.

Wang Hao's Galaxy Pictures therefore became an alternative.

Especially after Sony Pictures also came because of Wang Hao, the leaders of the Shangjing Municipal Government were even happier.

After all, although Sony Pictures did not have any theme park business before, it is still one of the six major companies in Hollywood and is as famous as Universal Studios. Even if they replace Universal Studios, others will have nothing to say.

Then, the top executives of Universal Pictures, who had been very tight-lipped, suddenly flew to Beijing and actively contacted them, which made these leaders in Beijing even happier.

While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains. This is the wisdom left by the ancestors of the Chinese nation. How could the leaders of Shangjing City not know this?

The executives of Universal Studios here changed their previous arrogant attitude, lowered their posture and communicated with the leaders of Shangjing City, saying that adding Chinese elements to Universal Studios was something they could discuss.

Wang Hao and others also received the news that Global executives had arrived, but they were not nervous and remained calm.

For them, they are just interrupters, and any gain they can get is profit, the only difference is how much they make.

Anyway, the higher-ups would not allow Universal Studios to be built like this. They only needed to cooperate with the Shangjing Municipal Government and force Universal Company to make concessions, which would be considered as doing their job well.

The leaders of Shangjing City, executives of Universal Company, and Wang Hao and others sat in the conference room, each with their own thoughts but all with smiles on their faces.

Although it was a harmonious meeting room, there were undercurrents in private.

There were seven or eight meetings regarding Universal Studios and Galaxy Studios, and the various items at the meetings kept changing.

Privately, after several meetings, Universal Pictures finally began to take Wang Hao seriously, realizing that he was the key to this matter and that Sony Pictures was just a cheerleader.

So they contacted Wang Hao individually and visited him in person.

According to the conditions given by Universal Studios, they can invest and even acquire Wang Hao's Galaxy Pictures, and they can also acquire the IP copyright of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe].

As for the price, they valued Galaxy Pictures at $2 million and the acquisition price for Galaxy Cinematic Universe is $5 million.

"This price is really insincere, Mr. Arnold."

In the office of Galaxy Pictures, Wang Hao chuckled after listening to the offer from Universal Studios executive John Arnold.

"Perhaps you don't know, Mr. Arnold, but in the past, our Galaxy Pictures has achieved a total box office of more than 4 million US dollars just for the Galaxy Cinematic Universe movies."

"But that's only what we've achieved in the past, isn't it?"

John Arnold was somewhat disdainful of Wang Hao's statement. The total box office of only 4 million US dollars was just the box office result of a Hollywood S-level blockbuster production.

“The risks of film production are huge. Just because your movie universe has achieved good results in the past doesn’t mean it will achieve good results in the future.

If a movie loses money, it’s still unknown whether it will be able to earn $5 million in the future.”

"Mr. Arnold, you don't look like you're here to negotiate!"

Wang Hao's face turned stern and his voice became a little colder.

"You have to know that Galaxy Pictures doesn't have to cooperate with Universal Pictures.

Moreover, after so many years of dealing with it, you are not unaware of the situation in this country. The official will is above all else.

If the problem is not solved, there is no way your Universal Company will be able to build Universal Studios!"

John Arnold's expression turned a little ugly when he heard this, and he even looked at Wang Hao with a strange look.

In fact, long before they came to Galaxy Pictures, someone in the team who was very familiar with the situation in China had speculated that this Wang Hao might have some unknown relationship with the Chinese top management, which was why their projects were repeatedly stuck.

Now seeing Wang Hao's fearless attitude, John Arnold also vaguely agreed with his colleague's opinion.

So facing Wang Hao's tough attitude, even though he was dissatisfied, John Arnold still didn't dare to walk away. He could only adjust his mentality and said again:

"Boss Wang, it's just the price, we can negotiate.

However, our plan for the Universal Studios project is only 10 billion US dollars. If your offer is only one-tenth of the total project offer, it is impossible to think about it. "

Although John Arnold's tone was still not very good, it was softer than before.

At this time, Wang Hao was sure that if he added another 100 million or 200 million US dollars, the person on the other side might actually agree.

But let alone 600 or 700 million US dollars, even if it doubled to more than 10 or 200 million US dollars, he still would not sell the copyright of "Galaxy Cinematic Universe".

This is the cornerstone and hope for the future industrialization of the Chinese film and television industry and is priceless.

Besides, he knew in his heart that Universal Pictures was probably just talking.

Not to mention whether they can come up with so much money at once. Even if they can, the other party is unlikely to really give it. It is estimated that they will try to stabilize Galaxy Pictures first, and then they can do whatever they want after the approval is obtained.

So Wang Hao’s answer was very straightforward. The acquisition was impossible. Either Universal Studios would cooperate with them, or Universal would leave and Galaxy Pictures would join forces with Sony Pictures.

Such negotiations naturally ended in a bad mood, and the commotion they caused successfully attracted the attention of other domestic real estate companies.

Companies like Sunac, Country Garden, Evergrande and others swarmed over like sharks smelling blood.

It’s not like they haven’t coveted Universal Studios’ projects before, but they couldn’t get involved in such a key project.

But now the emergence of Galaxy Pictures and Sony has given them an opportunity.

However, the one who was more anxious than them was Wanda, who had previously given Wang Hao a cold shoulder.

Through the message from Lu Zheng, the old Wang of Wanda finally let go of his pride and dared not to be so arrogant again, and invited Wang Hao to a banquet again. After changing to a five-star hotel, the old Wang of Wanda became "much" friendlier, and he praised Wang Hao as soon as they met.

"Director Wang is really a young and promising man. It is really eye-opening that one person can create such a big momentum!"

Faced with the compliments from Wanda Lao Wang, Wang Hao just smiled.

"Mr. Wang, stop being polite and let's continue our last discussion. There are a lot of people looking for me now, and I will definitely do this project. Let's all be honest and settle things as soon as possible to avoid more trouble later."

Lu Zheng at the side also chimed in, "Yes, if the two Mr. Wangs can cooperate, this project will definitely be a sure win. I think it's better not to let those foreigners take advantage of it."

Wang Jianlin nodded after hearing this, and without the same aggressive attitude as last time, he asked humbly:

"Mr. Lu, what you said makes sense. I just wonder how the talks between you and the Shangjing Municipal Government and Universal Company went, Director Wang?"

Wang Hao pondered for a moment and then revealed the current negotiation situation.

"The Shangjing Municipal Government wants to finalize the matter as soon as possible. At the same time, they cannot let Universal Studios take full responsibility for the project. After all, it is not allowed by the higher-ups."

He stretched out his hand and pointed upwards, and Wang Jianlin and Lu Zheng understood.

“As for Universal Pictures, although they are willing to give in, their pride as a big company makes it difficult for them to lower their status. I think it will be difficult to negotiate.

In addition, Sony Pictures is also very interested in this project, but since they have never been involved in this field before, they are still somewhat cautious.

In fact, if you really ask me, this is the best opportunity for you, Mr. Wang, to intervene.

This will not only put more pressure on Universal, but also give Sony confidence, and at the same time give the Shangjing government more options.”

Wang Jianlin nodded upon hearing this.

"Director Wang is right. I think so too. It's just that this cooperation method..."

Wang Hao pondered for a moment, then gave his opinion.

"This is what I think, Mr. Wang, this film and television production base project is the foundation of our Galaxy Pictures' future, and we will definitely not give it up.

Besides, Wanda is mainly engaged in commercial real estate, and you are not deeply involved in the film and entertainment industry. I think it would be better if we could keep the film and television base and the related commercial real estates belong to Wanda. What do you think?"

After listening to Wang Hao's suggestion, Wang Jianlin did not agree immediately.

Because he knew that things might not be as simple as Wang Hao said.

If the distribution is made in this way, Wanda will get a great deal. After all, everyone knows that the profits from a film and television base cannot be as great as those from commercial real estate.

Sure enough, after making the suggestion, Wang Hao said:

"Of course, the most important thing now is to get the project off the ground. At least the film and television production base must be finalized first."

Well, Wang Hao’s meaning is very clear. Wanda must first pay to help Galaxy Pictures build the film and television production base of [Galaxy Movie Metropolis] before it can carry out his commercial real estate project.

The conditions had been clearly stated. Wang Jianlin pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

He had also been in the business world for many years and knew that Wang Hao was right. The most important thing now was to reach an agreement with the Shangjing Municipal Government and secure the project first.

With Wanda's support, Wang Hao is naturally more confident.

Finally, after the third meeting failed to reach an agreement due to the Universal Company's reasons, Wang Hao also made a suggestion to the leaders of the Shangjing Municipal Government.

It would be better to put Universal Studios aside for now and let them build the film and television production base of Galaxy Movie Metropolis.

Anyway, the planned Universal Studios resort is so large that Wang Hao and his team don’t need to occupy the main park of Universal Studios. They can just choose the surrounding land.

This will also put pressure on Universal, and if their [Galaxy Movie City] can succeed, they may be able to use it as a substitute.

In response to Wang Hao’s proposal, the leaders of the Shangjing Municipal Government held a meeting to discuss it, and then reported it to the higher authorities. The final approval they received was “you can try it.”

This time they completely abandoned Universal Studios. Finally, Galaxy Pictures, Wanda Group and TZ District Government sat down for talks and signed a project letter of intent and a joint venture agreement.

The agreement states that the TZ District Government will use the land of Putou Village near the Beijing-Harbin Expressway as capital to build the Galaxy Cinema Metropolis in a joint venture with Galaxy Pictures and Wanda Group.

The investment amount of the project in the first phase is 32 billion yuan, and it is claimed to be 50 billion yuan.

Among them, the TZ District Government holds 25%, Wanda Group holds 21%, Galaxy Group holds 44%, and Huaying Group holds 10%.

The project is scheduled to start construction in March 2009 and be completed in September. It will cover a total area of ​​3 square meters and a total construction area of ​​9 square meters.

The project content includes demolition work within the park, road leveling, construction of water and electricity pipelines, as well as the main body of the park, including the photography studio, set workshop, industrial park comprehensive service office building, and post-production workshop.

After a series of agreements totaling nearly seven or eight hundred pages, including intellectual property license agreements, joint venture agreements, and management agreements, were signed, Wang Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, he just needs to wait. When it comes to engineering projects, Wanda Group is more professional than him, and the initial funding is mainly advanced by Wanda Group, so he doesn't need to worry about that at all.

Of course, this does not mean that Galaxy Pictures has not invested. The intellectual property licensing agreement has already included the copyright of the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe".

If this project fails in the future, the IP of this science fiction movie universe will no longer belong to him.

Of course, Wang Hao doesn't think he will fail.

And when all the dust settled, even if Universal Studios protested, it had no effect at all.

The [Galaxy Film City] project soon entered the groundbreaking stage. Wang Hao also attended the groundbreaking ceremony and shoveled the first shovel of soil.

The construction site is changing at a very fast speed. The construction party responsible for this project is China Construction Eighth Engineering Bureau, which has dealt with Wanda Group many times.

Anyway, the workers on site are working overtime, and everything is working towards a common goal.

It is now April, and "Taken", the first Hollywood movie directed by Wang Hao and featuring foreigners as the main characters and aimed at overseas audiences, is finally going to be released.

The release date was April 2009, 4, which happened to be two days before Lu Chuan's "Nanjing! Nanjing!"

(End of this chapter)