Chapter 348 Sony's Attention
Chapter 348 Sony's Attention
In his previous life, Wang Hao had read countless news online about foreign companies acquiring Chinese brands and then shelving them.
Therefore, he never hesitates to speculate his opponents and partners with the greatest malice.
Yes, even when it comes to Sony Pictures, Wang Hao remains extremely vigilant while cooperating with them, and will not let his guard down just because of the other party's goodwill or concessions.
After all, there are no eternal friends in the business world. Perhaps Sony Pictures is also considering acquiring Galaxy Group.
However, with the sudden emergence of "Inception", Sony Pictures' ambition has probably faded a lot.
Because Keita Miyamoto and Sony Pictures know very well the value of being a director of a billion-dollar box office movie. Such commercial film directors are rare even in Hollywood, where there are many talented people.
As for directors who can achieve success with multiple films, they are even rarer.
Moreover, the box office of this movie has entered the top ten in the history of global films. It can be said that "Inception" has completely raised the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" to a higher level.
At least now, before "Avengers" was released and completely ignited the concept of "cinematic universe", the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" can already be compared with the "Marvel Cinematic Universe".
Before the release of "Inception", the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" was at most an A-level series project in the eyes of senior executives of the six major Hollywood film and television companies. It still had a certain gap compared to S-level series projects such as "Transformers", "Harry Potter" and "Pirates of the Caribbean".
Of course, even with "Inception" as the ballast, given the arrogance of white people in Hollywood, the executives of the other five major film and television companies are still unwilling to admit it. However, this does not prevent them from facing the possible benefits that the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] may bring in the future.
Because according to the project plan announced by Galaxy Group and the dozens of scripts filed with the Hollywood Writers Guild, the Galaxy Cinematic Universe currently has at least five phases and the scale of dozens of films.
Not to mention that every future movie in the Galaxy Cinematic Universe will be as successful as Inception, even if there are two or three movies like Inception in each stage, this movie universe project has a promising future.
As far as Keita Miyamoto knows, several other Hollywood film and television companies also acknowledged this in internal meetings.
Therefore, in this cooperation, Sony Pictures surprisingly only made some small moves. In terms of the overseas promotion, screening and peripheral sales of "Inception", it is considered a rare conscientious Hollywood company and did not cheat Galaxy Group too much.
At the same time, they also showed great sincerity towards Wang Hao's trip to Japan.
In addition to the company's senior executives in Japan, the cocktail party hosted by Sony Pictures this time also attracted many figures from the Japanese film, television and entertainment circles.
Not to mention those well-known directors and producers, leaders of some brokerage companies, distribution companies and publishing companies were also invited.
You have to know that compared to Hollywood, the entertainment industry in Japan is actually more xenophobic, and it is difficult for foreigners to integrate into this circle.
Sony Pictures specially held this cocktail party for Wang Hao today, and these people were willing to come, which is enough to prove that the Japanese entertainment industry still has a friendly attitude towards Wang Hao.
"President Miyamoto, it seems that Sony's influence in the Japanese film and television industry is not weak."
When Wang Hao held up a glass of wine and looked at the lively scene in the courtyard and the crowds of people from the entertainment industry who gathered there with Miyamoto Keita, he couldn't help but praise them.
Keita Miyamoto was also very proud. In addition to the name of Sony Pictures, many people who came to today's cocktail party came to give him face. So the more people who came and the higher their status, the greater his influence and connections here.
However, Keita Miyamoto still sighed.
"Alas, our Japanese film market is still too small after all, and the aging of the population is getting worse, which has led to the film and television industry going downhill year by year.
Over the years, the number of film and TV drama projects on the island has been getting worse year by year, and fewer and fewer celebrity artists have been able to start work.
We, Sony Pictures, are the only company that can still make a living in Hollywood.
If it weren't for you, Wang Sang, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to survive in Hollywood."
What Keita Miyamoto talked about was mainly that the "Spider-Man Cinematic Universe" and the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" revitalized Sony Pictures.
If it weren't for these two major projects, Sony Pictures would have really been at the bottom of the six major Hollywood film studios in recent years.
"Well... you can't say that, President Miyamoto. Japan is a developed country after all, and it still has a lot of accumulation and background in the field of culture and film.
It’s just that we Chinese have an old saying.
The running water does not rot, and the pivot of the house does not stink.
Many things still require more communication, exchange, and management to bring new vitality, right? Standing still is not a good choice. "
Miyamoto Keita was silent for a moment, carefully savoring the meaning of Wang Hao's words.
At this time, several directors came over to make friends with Wang Hao and toast him. Although Wang Hao didn't know much about Japanese directors in his previous life and had never heard of their names, he still politely clinked glasses with them.
After these people left, Miyamoto Keita said quietly:
"Many things between countries are beyond the control of you and me."
“Hahahaha,” Wang Hao laughed. “President Miyamoto, we were just talking about business cooperation. How did it become a national event?”
He shook the champagne in the glass, and the bubbles in the wine floated up, stimulating a charming aroma in the air.
“Let politicians worry about those things.
President Miyamoto, there is no need to overcomplicate things. We are just businessmen, and many things are business activities.
For example, introducing Chinese cultural works to Japan, or introducing Japanese cultural works to China, what's the problem?
Nowadays, China's Internet is developing rapidly. Even if we don't do this kind of thing, the Chinese Internet is full of cultural product resources from Japan.
Rather than letting pirated copies circulate for free, it would be better for us to make the money.”
Since it is a cooperation, why not be bolder?
This time, collaborating to draw on the heritage of Japanese comics for "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" is only one of Wang Hao's purposes. Introducing cultural works from Japan is also a side job for him.
After all, Galaxy Group has a plan to develop the entire cultural industry chain in the future. Movies, TV series, comics, animation, music, games, etc. will all be involved in their group.
Among them, all these cultural products from Japan have the potential to enrich the foundation of the Galaxy Group.
Even compared to entering the North American market and breaking into Hollywood, Wang Hao pays more attention to Japan.
When Miyamoto Keita heard this, he was stunned at first, then nodded.
"Mr. Wang, you are right. Let's toast to business." The two men clinked their glasses lightly. At this time, Miyamoto Keita's assistant came up to them with a middle-aged man with black hair, a plump appearance and a pair of black-framed glasses.
When Miyamoto Keita saw this person, he immediately smiled and introduced him to Wang Hao:
"Wang Sang, this is the lawyer Yusuke Ogawa that I told you about before.
Their law firm was established in 1983 and has been in charge of comic copyright business. They have cooperated with many comic companies and cartoonists. If you want to acquire the comic adaptation rights, it is no problem to leave it to them. "
Wang Hao wanted to acquire the rights to adapt science fiction comics, so he naturally couldn't go to each company and cartoonist to negotiate. That would be a waste of time and would make him seem too eager to bargain. The most appropriate way was to entrust a lawyer to handle the acquisition.
And the lawyer Yusuke Ogawa, introduced by Keita Miyamoto, is indeed very suitable.
Not only is he a top student from a prestigious university and well-versed in the laws of Japan, but he has also studied and exchanged in China. It is not a problem for Wang Hao to communicate with him.
And after just chatting for a while, Wang Hao discovered that this person knew a lot about comics.
Upon asking, I found out that he was actually an avid comics fan and had a large collection of comics at home.
"Wang Sang, a great director like you wants to adapt and film our science fiction comics? That's great!"
When he heard Wang Hao's purpose, Yusuke Ogawa's performance was still very exaggerated.
"We really lack directors like you, Wang Sang, who are proficient in special effects and have a deep understanding of science fiction. It would be such an honor if those comics could appear on the big screen through your hands."
"Mr. Ogawa, you are too kind."
Wang Hao and Ogawa Yusuke came to the corner of the cocktail party to communicate. As for Miyamoto Keita, after Wang Hao had just communicated with him, he still needed to communicate with some guests.
"I personally really appreciate the two comics Battle Angel and Ghost in the Shell. I just wonder if your law firm is confident that it can obtain the film adaptation rights for these two comics?"
Wang Hao finally stated his purpose, but Ogawa Yusuke showed an embarrassment on his face.
"Wang Sang, the two works you mentioned are both sci-fi masterpieces with a certain reputation not only in our country, but also in the world. The film and television adaptation rights of such works are very complicated. Even the creators cannot make the final decision. We dare not say that we are completely sure."
"Oh, is that so?"
Wang Hao took a sip of champagne and glanced at Ogawa Yusuke. This brought him great pressure and sweat broke out on his plump round face.
However, he was also a very smart person. He rolled his eyes and thought of the information he had collected before. He immediately had an idea and asked:
"Wang Sang, I would like to ask, what do you want to do by purchasing the film adaptation rights of these two comics?"
"Of course it's to make a movie." Wang Hao answered as a matter of course.
"No, Wang Sang, you don't understand what I mean."
Ogawa Yusuke quickly explained:
“I’ve seen most of your work before, and I know you’re building a [science fiction movie universe], which is indeed a very brilliant idea.
So what I want to ask is, when you acquired the film adaptation rights of those two works, do you want to adapt them directly into movies, or do you plan to integrate these works into the [science fiction movie universe]?”
"Is there any difference?" Wang Hao seemed to understand what he meant, but was not quite sure.
"Of course there is a difference."
Yusuke Ogawa immediately explained eagerly:
“If you want to adapt the comics into a live-action movie, you naturally need to purchase the film adaptation rights for the work.
But if you just want to incorporate elements of those works into your movie universe, there is actually another way. I wonder if you know about "fan fiction"? "
"Fanfiction?"
The so-called "fan fiction" works are secondary creations based on the structure of the original works, which borrow the existing character images, character relationships, basic storylines and world views of the original text. They are a kind of "secondary derivative works."
There are many such works in the Japanese comics industry, most of which are spontaneous non-profit activities by fans of the works.
In China, fan works appear more frequently in online novels, which is a borderline infringement.
Of course, Yusuke Ogawa didn't ask Wang Hao to do anything illegal.
"If you just want to borrow characters, settings or story outlines from the original comics and incorporate them into your work, then we can buy the secondary creation rights of the work from the author.
This is definitely easier and cheaper than buying the rights to a comic book movie adaptation.”
Wang Hao did not fully adopt Yusuke Ogawa's suggestion.
Of course he knew that what the other person said was right. If he only wanted the right to secondary creation, it would be much more practical and simpler to use the characters and settings of "Battle Angel Alita" and "Ghost in the Shell" to write his own story.
However, there will inevitably be disputes over copyright and other issues in the future, and there is even the possibility that the other party will take advantage of the situation to gain popularity.
So Wang Hao’s intention is still to buy the copyright if possible.
"Inception" has grossed over 10 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, and his Galaxy Pictures is about to usher in its second round of financing this year. It can be said that Galaxy Group has no shortage of money.
However, just the two works "Battle Angel Alita" and "Ghost in the Shell" were not enough. After sufficient communication and understanding the general story style and subject matter required by the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe", Yusuke Ogawa provided several science fiction comics to choose from on the spot.
Like "Star Cleaners", "Saluo", "Cowboy Bebop" and so on.
Wang Hao was still very interested in the works introduced by Yusuke Ogawa, so he asked him to collect the specific information of these suitable works in the next two days, preferably with the difficulty of acquisition and the approximate quotation amount, and then report to him.
When Yusuke Ogawa heard this, he knew that his firm had gotten the job, and he immediately said excitedly that he would do a good job.
And when Yusuke Ogawa, who successfully got the business, said goodbye and left, Keita Miyamoto came over again with a smile on his face.
But before Miyamoto Kei could get closer, an actress who was very tall among Japanese people, led by her agent, walked up to Wang Hao with a glass of wine.
"Hello, Director Wang, my name is Masami Nagasawa, and I'm a fan of yours!"
(End of this chapter)